Produced by Paul Moak (Mat Kearney, Matt Maher) and recorded in the band’s new, Atlanta-based, state-of-the-art studio “The Quarry” and Moak’s well known “The Smoakstack,” the 12-track offering has been described by early listeners as “visceral and gritty; reminiscent of the acclaimed band’s Time record.”

The project leads with the incendiary first single “Lift Up Your Face”–featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama – which has claimed more than 3.1 million impressions this week alone. To date, the song has 91 AC & CHR stations spinning and is No. 17 on the National Christian Audience Chart, No. 17 on the AC Monitored Chart, No. 20 on the AC Indicator and No. 17 at CHR.

“It’s been one of the hottest summers ever and Third Day’s new single couldn’t have come at a better time. While New Yorkers sizzle in the summer sun, so does ‘Lift Up Your Face’ as it came in at No. 1 across the board in our pre-test! ‘Lift up your face’ is powerfully refreshing, like a jet ski ride at the Jersey Shore on a 100 degree day,” raves Keith Stevens, Assistant Program Director & Music Director/PM Drive, STAR 99.1

Mac Powell, the band’s charismatic lead vocalist, explains, “The country is going through hard times, and there are doubts and insecurity. The message [of ‘Lift Up Your Face’] is our message of encouragement – not just to listeners though—to us as well. It’s a message we all need to hear and I think that really sums up a lot of what we were going for with this record.”

Musically, MOVE delivers songs that are rootsy, soulful and riveting, taking full advantage of Third Day’s longstanding rock influence. Yet the sound retains an edgy authenticity that’s incredibly timely as heard in the raw and addictive, “Make Your Move.” Additional highlight tracks include the worshipful “Children of God,” “Gone,” “Surrender” and “Follow Me There.” Each song is lyrically inspiring with hints at Third Day’s southern roots from the slide guitar and hand claps, reminiscent of Tom Petty, to the layers of smokey vocals.

Of the new album, Powell adds, “There are a lot of songs that [come from] a believer talking to people outside of the walls of the church and then there are several songs that find people outside of the walls of the church looking in through the windows of the church, trying to see what’s going on and asking those questions like ‘do you really believe this? I need you to prove this to me because I want it to be true, but I just don’t believe it right now.’”

It’s hard not to believe once a listener is enveloped within the driving drums and exuberant delivery of gospel-tinged “Follow Me There” or challenged by the guitar-picking, hand-clapping, in-your-face classic, “Surrender.”

Still, songs like the worshipful “Children of God” and “Trust in Jesus,” recall the band’s deep connections to offerings birthed from the heart of the church. And on tracks like “Sound of Your Voice,” it’s as if Third Day’s members momentarily forget the audience is even listening and are simply singing praise from the deepest shadows of their own souls.

The band will be undertaking several incredibly ambitious launch events leading up to the Oct. 19 street date – and will continue to connect with its fans through the holidays.

Tai Anderson, Third Day’s deft bassist, shares, “We can’t wait to tour this new record. We wrote a lot of material for the Move project while we were touring earlier this year. We constantly challenged ourselves to write songs that would work just as well or better live than our biggest songs. That challenge carried through the project and live became the filter for what would ultimately make the final cut for Move.”

In addition, fans can catch Third Day as part of the World Vision/AEG live sponsored “Make A Difference Tour 2010,” which launches on Sept. 30 and will hit arenas in 20 cities through the end of October. The tour also features New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado along with recording artists Michael W. Smith and tobyMac.

About Third Day
Over the past decade, the Atlanta-based, multi-Platinum rock band Third Day (made up of members Mac Powell, Tai Anderson, David Carr and Mark Lee) has racked up 27 No. 1 radio singles and sold more than 7 million albums which reflect an impressive 2 RIAA Platinum and 8 Gold Certifications. A recent Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee (2009), Third Day has garnered 24 career GMA Dove Awards from 42 nominations, 3 GRAMMY Awards (with eleven career nominations), an American Music Award (11/24/2008 during its Revelation promotional window) 3 American Music Award nominations and multiple ASCAP honors for songwriting. As a credit to its songwriting, Third Day’s memorable “Call My Name,” off its Revelation project (7/29/08), was selected by country star Keith Urban as a bonus track on his Defying Gravity project.

As a top-ranked touring band, according to Pollstar magazine, Third Day has played for audiences reaching into the millions. Because of its mass appeal, Third Day has been featured by top media outlets including “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (NBC), “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (CBS), “60 Minutes” (CBS), ABC’s “Nightline,” USA Today, the New York Times, and even graced the cover of Billboard magazine (June 7, 2008). For more information on Third Day, please visit: www.ThirdDay.com.

For more info on Third Day, visit the JFH Artists Database.