Petra is retiring…
September 8, 2005
I was introduced to Petra by my best friend Steve - it was a formative experience. In fact, I just saw Steve last week and he said he was still really into their Beat the System album (which was a classic! anyone agree?). Petra was actually the first live concert I ever saw, and I thank my dad for taking me, I mean, he actually took me to a long-haired, loud, Christian butt-rock concert - that’s pretty impressive. It was most definitely the highlight of my 6th grade year: without a question.
But now, they are retiring. Read the news here on their official site. In fact, I’m there right now, listening to songs from their newest studio album, Jekyll & Hyde, which, you know, is tempting to buy, because it would be their last album ever.
But, after listening to it online, I think I’m probably okay with the 10 Petra CDs that I have at home somewhere. Petra, thank you for everything that you did - the Beyond Belief tour was amazing, and it was fabulous to be able to see you live at the Puyallup Fair. But, maybe it IS time…you know, after 33 years…maybe…
Tags: Christian Rock Music, Music, Petra
Posted in 
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
September 8th, 2005 at 11:27 am
Ah, Petra…
September 8th, 2005 at 1:38 pm
Oh, man, Beat the System… What memories! :)
September 8th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
Man. Petra were the Godfathers of Christian rock. So formative for me. They just don’t write songs like those anymore. But honestly, looking at that picture you posted - only 1 of those guys has actually been at it for 33 years. Which, I suppose, begs the question? What percentage of actual “Petra” do you actually need to continue Petra? Any at all? Or can I make an obscure “Dread Pirate Roberts” reference, and say that it’s the name that inspires the necessary fear/respect?
If I wanted to write so much - I should probably get my own blog… oh, wait-
September 8th, 2005 at 4:55 pm
And hooray for the Puyallup Fair! I believe your formative experience at the Petra concert there was the same year as when I, as a 16-year-old, drove my younger sister to the New Kids on the Block concert there…
If anyone would like more information on the Puyallup Fair, I’m more than happy to supply it. :)
September 8th, 2005 at 6:05 pm
i don’t want to start some huge battle bigger than the ‘other’ great battle seen on this blog, but man, petra, thank you…for finally giving it up. Before i was a christian, they were one of the bands i loved to mock and they really did make it easy to do so. They were apart of an era when christian rock was an oxymoron. Comeon, you all remember the Alter Boys, King’s X, LSU, Stryper (sp?), and the like. They were horrible. They were bands for the christians whose parents didn’t allow them to see pg-13 and rated R movies — when they were old enough. Those bands were for the kids whose parents saw ‘rock’ music as a form of the devil, no matter how badly they bastardized secular music. They were the bands that disilluisioned many youth in the 80’s, and apparently, into the 90’s, as well, into thinking they were relevant, cool even; but they weren’t. They were sad and disconnected, spending countless hours listening to those bands when they should have popped the Crucified or Mortal into their tape decks.
I know, many of you are sitting there thinking how could this be? Who would disparage these men of faith in something they found to be their calling? One word, Carman!!!
September 8th, 2005 at 6:06 pm
And don’t get me started with DC Talk.
September 8th, 2005 at 7:57 pm
My first Petra album represented a turning point in my life, a coming of age. This Means War was played through my dual-cassette stereo until the chrome dripped from the magnetic tape, and with deodorant and love notes it marked my entry into adolescence. I saw Petra in concert at least twice that I recall, both times at Jesus Northwest, back in the glory days of CCM. I actually waited in line at the Christian bookstore for the release of Beyond Belief, and kept rewinding the title track and playing it through for hours. Along with DC Talk’s Jesus Freak it marked a turning point in CCM quality, and stands as one of the markers and milestones of my youth. It’s funny how songs take on a life of their own in that way encapsulating in a three-minute sound bite a period of our lives.
But Beyond Belief was one of the last Petra songs to play that role in my life. Their next release just didn’t have the punch, and then as I headed to college Petra slowly faded from my radar.
Yet, it’s sad to see them go. While I haven’t listened to them in a long time their simple presence in the Christian music scene was somewhat reassuring. Death, taxes, and Petra albums. It was probably time long ago for them to hang up the guitars and turn off the mics. But that they didn’t was always intriguing and reassuring.
September 8th, 2005 at 8:02 pm
Are you kidding me? Sure, Petra was pure sugar… but they were the gateway drug to the Crucified and Mortal stuff.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:31 pm
Joel, I’m with you
September 9th, 2005 at 11:28 am
oh my Lord, j.t., the mortal reference. how delightful! it’s all coming back to me, the thrill, the rush of christian industrial. . their first album, fathom, was amazing, but i don’t think they maintained, particularly after becoming fold zandura or whatever. i never got in to petra much. but now i feel embarrassed by much of christian music (back then and now). i am sometimes tempted to comment, but i don’t, as the music often serves as a satire of itself.
September 9th, 2005 at 11:38 am
i think the Petra Praise album was the “Jump the Shark” moment. Anytime your youth choir is singing choral arrangements of your songs, is never a good sign.
September 9th, 2005 at 12:44 pm
After Hartman stopped playing it went downhill SO FAST. But Beyond Belief is one of the all time great Christian rock albums.
September 9th, 2005 at 5:18 pm
Joel… Come on dude. Okay petra is a special case. The only album i will still actually claim was good was Beat the System. I agree they should have quit after beyond belief… But you shouldn’t EVER put LSU in the same category as petra. Michael Knott and LSU were the grandfathers of all GOOD MUSIC by christian artists. Michael Knott inspired the greatest of any of the christian artists… From Violet Burning, Gene Eugene, Prayer Chain, etc… I think even Mark Solomon and the Crucified would have to speak up if they heard you put LSU in the same boat as the altar boys and stryper… Plus Mike Knott is a great man.
September 9th, 2005 at 5:58 pm
steve, i’m here to placate. After further review, Michael Knott is the man. I mean, who can forget singing along to ‘the bomb’? And I love the Cush album he sang on. Please forgive me. And nice prayer chain reference. They were mavericks in their own right. They broke free from CCM’s narrow interpretation of Christian music.
this post is so nostalgic.
September 12th, 2005 at 12:32 pm
Petra is actually playing at my church on their farewell tour, on October 6 (Burlington, NC). I didn’t hear about Petra until about 1992, and by that point they’d been eclipsed by dc talk, Newsboys, Audio Adrenaline, etc. Petra was clearly a transformative force in Christian music, about 25 years ago. Seems like CCM hit its zenith with dc talk’s “Jesus Freak” and has been downhill since then - or maybe stagnant since then, with the culture at large sprinting ahead. CCM found its comfort level, so bands like POD, Switchfoot, etc. quickly outgrow the genre and move on to the mainstream. Salt and light.
September 24th, 2005 at 7:55 pm
Hey Petra my dad loves your band and so do I, I’m thinking about sarting to redo my room. I wana do it in PETRA!!! By the way I’m 12 yrs. old. Me, my mom, my dad, and my lil’ sis went to go see your concert in Sheperdstown, WV, We all were screaming and people were jumpin’ up and down! I had greatest time ever!! I really wish that you guys wern’t leavin’ all of us!!!!
~Alycia~
October 13th, 2005 at 6:10 pm
My introduction to Petra was before their first album was released. It was an all day festival, I was working behind the stadium at a book table, and I could hear Petra but couldn’t see them. Listening, I developed an image of what they must look like — Ted Nugent/ZZ Top comes to mind (this was about 1974). When I finally made it to the stands, I was surprised to see four guys who could have been employed at Radio Shack. Blue jeans with creases and short sleeve dress shirts. They sounded good from the beginning, but it was a few years before they figured out how to LOOK like rock and roll players.