Fire, the most unpredictable of elemental forces. It provides light, it provides heat, it consumes, and it regenerates.

The straightforward message found in Day of Fire's songs comes directly from the struggles Brown faced in his young life, struggles casual observers might deem as success.

Meet the band

Joshua Brown - lead vocals,
Gregg Hionis - guitar,
Dusty Beach - bass/backing vocals,
Joe Pangallo - lead guitar,
Zach Simms - drums

Joshua Brown was the frontman of Full Devil Jacket, which was signed to Island/Def Jam when he was 22. The radical transformation of Joshua's life along with the straightforward message found in the lyrics, has given Day of Fire the platform to have a major impact on culture.

Essential Records artist Day of Fire has given the band opportunity to examine the fire that burns within, especially after frontman Joshua Brown spent much of his young life hurling himself against obstacles in his path, bent on self-destruction.

Brown has had a new existence forged for him in this modern life, and the band shares both the hard truths and the tender moments of this process in Day of Fire's debut album.

"I started writing music at 15, and started doing drugs at the same time. I had big dreams of becoming a rock star. For the next five to seven years, I played in bands around Jackson, TN., where I grew up, and worked really hard to get a record deal," Joshua says. "As my band started getting bigger and bigger, so did my addictions."

An EP and full-length project followed, as did tours in support of Nickelback, Fuel and Creed, but the rock 'n' roll lifestyle quickly took a toll on Joshua. "About a year and a half after I signed the record deal, I ended up OD'ing on heroin," he says. "I went to rehab after that and got cleaned up. As soon as I got out of rehab, I went on tour with Creed, playing the biggest shows of my career. I had money, I had girlfriends, I had everything I thought I needed, but I was still empty inside. I was still feeling just as insane as when I was doing drugs."

It was in the middle of preparing a second Full Devil Jacket album that Joshua finally started listening to that small voice inside him that beckoned him out of the darkness.

"I started looking other places to find peace. I started reading the Bible a little bit, and God started speaking to me through that," he says. "I tried to do both for a long time - be a rock star in Full Devil Jacket and serve God. But eventually, I quit reading my Bible and trying to serve God, and everything got worse."

"We flew out to L.A. to record, and while I was out there, I pretty much had a nervous breakdown. I couldn't play, I couldn't sing, I couldn't write, I couldn't do anything because I was still trying to live both lives," Joshua continues. "Eventually, I got to the point where I told God I'd do anything it took to find sanity. I said, if You want me to quit this band, I will. Anything you want me to do, I'll do it.'"

"Right in the middle of the recording process, I flew back to Jackson to collect my thoughts and myself. I started going to this church, and after about three months, God began to really work on me. He began taking away my addictions, began taking away my depression, began taking away my insecurities. I quit the band before the second record was finished. I turned away from the record deal, the publishing deal, all of that, and I just started running toward God," Joshua says.

Joshua withdrew completely from the music business, sharing his experiences and newfound wholeness with anyone who would listen. "I started going into jails and telling people what Jesus had been doing in my life. I started really concentrating on what the Word of God says to do, and my life began to radically change," he says.

After a two-year hiatus, Brown began writing songs again, this time with guitarist/songwriter/fellow believer Gregg Hionis, and the pair began playing in their hometown of Jackson, TN. "God just started giving us songs. We realized He wanted us to spread His message through whatever ability we had," Joshua says.

Brown and Hionis connected with the executives at Essential Records who were struck by the power of Brown's testimony. Essential offered Brown and Hionis the opportunity to demo songs that would later become the foundation for Day of Fire's debut album.

Based on the strength of the demo tracks, the members of Day of Fire met with some of the hard rock world's most prominent producers and musicians. Joshua explains, "God opened the doors in L.A. to all of our favorite producers. We chose producer Scott Humphrey, who's worked on records by Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Rob Zombie, among others. We also worked with Chris Chaney, bass player from Jane's Addiction, drummer Gary Novak and guitarist Phil X, who've played with Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, and Andrew W.K."

It was while recording in Los Angeles that the band's name came to Joshua. Thinking of the day he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, he realized that it was his 'Day of Fire.' Like the disciples' experienced on Pentecost, Joshua shares that "The Day of Fire is the day when the Holy Spirit comes into your life and gives you new vision, new power and sets your heart on fire for God."

Day of Fire knows that it's the interlocking of sonics and syllables that's going to reach the disaffected populace. "It's very aggressive because we're reaching out to an aggressive generation," Joshua says. "It's a vehicle and a language."

The songs on Day of Fire's debut, including "Cornerstone", the opener "Through The Fire", the challenging "I Am the Door", and the sweeping "Jacob's Dream", feature an epic, aggressive sound that fits in alongside the heavy music found on rock radio today.

It's Day of Fire's mission to bring the message of hope to a hopeless generation, to drive into the heart of darkness and shine light into those places. "I want people to have an encounter with Jesus Christ through this music and be radically changed forever, cause that's what happened to me," says Joshua. "And if God can save me, He can save anybody."

Musically Day of Fire is the perfect blend of aggressive rock mixed with the message of hope. The band's national debut release is produced and mixed by Scott Humphrey (Rob Zombie). They appeared on various festivals throughout the summer and will open for Third Day on first leg of the fall tour.

Provident Special enhanced CD includes the life-changing testimony of Day of Fire lead singer, Joshua Brown.

Hear DAY OF FIRE Music