Genre: Pop/Rock, Worship
Members: Aaron Blanton (vocals, guitar), Ben Davis (vocals, bass), Garrett Goodwin (drums)
For fans of: Delirious, Sonicflood, Vertical Horizon, The Fray
Label: Fervent/Warner

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It's the dog days of summer in Nashville, Tennessee where the guys of By The Tree make their home. The air is hot, the ground is parched, the landscape is tinder dry. It is a far cry from the lush Pacific Ocean breezes that wafted through the West Coast studios where the band went to record their fifth album for Fervent Records. In these near-draught conditions it would only take a spark to set the world ablaze. The band is stoked. They've just come off two exhausting, yet exhilarating years of touring, writing, collaborating, and refining their sound; preparing for the construction of their eleven-song tour-de-force that is presciently titled, World On Fire.

Producer Dwayne Larring (formerly of Sonicflood) had one admonition to the band, 'Go into the studio and rock.' And rock they did. While other bands might get comfortable and rest on their tried-and-true formulas, By The Tree tightened up, trimmed the fat, and delivered a breathtaking, eleven song collection of wild, revved-up, propulsive rock 'n' roll. The album explodes with light and energy, epitomized by the title track, "World On Fire," with its message of a burning hope that consumes despair.

Frontman Aaron Blanton's first words are incendiary. "I don't know that the English language can capture how excited we are!" he says with smoldering intensity. "These songs are going to blow the doors off when we play them live. They are fun. They are intense. They are revolutionary. They really capture the sound that we have always wanted to have, and have painstakingly worked for the past two years to attain. These songs are not easy-listening, but they are definitely easy to listen to."

Anyone who has witnessed the exhilaration of the band's live show will recognize the frenetic drive at the heart of World On Fire. "When we talk about the world on fire, we are not talking about a wildfire that consumes what it burns," drummer Garrett Goodwin explains. "It's more like the sun that covers the earth in its light. It brings life, and growth, and health. For a lot of musicians, music is an outlet for their pain. For us, music is about living out the Word of God. Don't get me wrong, most of the time we are a bunch of goofballs. We love to have a good time, and when people come to see us live they are going to see rock 'n' roll."

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