Abandon is an American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band from

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas. The group had five members: brothers Josh (lead vocals) and Justin Engler (guitar), cousins Stevan (guitar) and Dave Vela (drums), and Bryan Fowler (bass). Abandon signed with

ForeFront Records ForeFront Records is a contemporary Christian music and Christian rock record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo, and is a divis ...

in late 2007, and released the ''Abandon EP'' in July 2008. Their first single, "Providence", was released to radios in August. It reached No. 7 on ''R&R'''s

charts. The group's name was inspired by the Bible verse: "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" ( Matthew 10:38).

History

The group of two brothers and two cousins, with friend Ryan Reavis (former

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

), formed as an

independent band Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

in 2002. They began playing

worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

at their church. In 2005, they began to play local concerts and released their first album, ''Ambush''. It was produced by the band with Tavis Wilson. Soon after the release of their second album, ''Who You Are'' (produced by Kevin Bruchert), Reavis chose to leave the band. Not long afterwards, Bruchert introduced the band to Bryan Fowler after they played at his church. Soon after, Fowler joined the band. They signed a deal with

in the fall of 2007. The record label's

A & R Recording A & R Recording Inc. was a major American independent studio recording company founded in 1958 by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone. History Before founding A & R Recording in 1958, Arnold and Ramone had been working at JAC Recording, Inc.; Arnold h ...

manager, Chris York, discovered the band by hearing them play at a club next door (where York was in a restaurant with his wife). He claims: Abandon's initial ForeFront release, the ''Abandon EP'' ( produced by Chris Stevens), was released on July 22, 2008. It contains five tracks that were released on their forthcoming studio album. Alternative rock song "Providence" and "All Because of You", which has more of a

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

style, were both released as radio singles on August 1, 2008. "Providence" reached No. 7 on ''R&R'''s Christian rock chart by October 24, 2008. Abandon released its second album, ''Control'', on April 19, 2011. The band's single, "Live it Out", was featured on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

for the promotion of ''

Food Network Challenge ''Food Network Challenge'' is a competitive cooking television series that aired on the Food Network. In each episode, professional chefs vie in a timed competition in their professional specialty. The winner receives a cheque for $10,000 and a gol ...

''. It was also played during the

2011 ESPY Awards The 19th ESPY Awards were held on July 13, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre, hosted by Seth Meyers. ESPY Award is short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award. Categories There are 33 categories. The winners are listed first in bold. Other ...

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, and used in

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

's highlights for the

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. Lead vocalist, Josh Engler, decided to stop touring with the band in 2012. His brother, Justin, decided to move from guitar to vocals in order to fill the role. Dave (drums) and Bryan (bass) also decided to stop touring with Abandon that year. This left only Justin and Stevan. They decided to keep working on new music. They recruited Ben Vela, Stevan's brother, to play drums. In April 2013, Abandon successfully funded their new album via a Kickstarter campaign. In early June 2014, it was announced that

Kevin Max Kevin Max Smith (born August 17, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known for being a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk. As a solo artist following the band going on hiatus, he has recorded 12 full-length studi ...

would be stepping down as lead singer of

Audio Adrenaline Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio Adren ...

. Abandon's former lead vocalist, Josh Engler, filled the position. Later in 2014, the band released three new singles which included: "It Was Love", "Forever" (on a compilation album of various artists), ''Reverence: an Offering'', and "While We're Living" (on Jesusfreakhideout.com). Abandon's third album, ''Love Prevails'', was released on November 4, 2014. It was made available for purchase in the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

Musical style

Abandon's music, and lead singer's voice, have often been compared to

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

Band members

* Justin Engler – lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Stevan Vela – lead guitar, background vocals * Ben Vela – drums Former members * Ryan Reavis – bass guitar * Chris Santos – bass guitar (session and live) * Bryan Fowler – bass guitar * Dave Vela – drums * Josh Engler – lead vocals, keyboards

Discography

Studio albums * ''Who You Are'' (2006) (

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

) * ''

Searchlights A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

'' (2009) (

) * ''Control'' (2011) (ForeFront) * ''

Love Prevails ''Love Prevails'' is the third studio album by Abandon. 2TEN Records released the album on November 4, 2014. Critical reception Awarding the album four stars at ''CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on ...

'' (2014) (2TEN Records) Extended plays * ''Ambush'' (2005) (independent) * ''Abandon EP'' (2008) (ForeFront) * ''Abandon II EP'' (2009) (ForeFront) Singles * "It Was Love" (2014) (independent) * "While We're Living" (2014) (independent) * "Forever" (2014) (independent)

References

External links

*
Soul-Audio Reviews Abandon EPevade the noise reviews Abandon EP (3.5/5)Abandon at PureVolume
{{Authority control Christian rock groups from Texas American musical trios Musical groups from San Antonio Musical groups established in 2005 ForeFront Records artists