Courtesy Photo Internationally renowned Christian rock/metal band Disciple will play a concert called “Radical” on Friday, June 25 at Living Hope Church in Alpena. Tickets are $20, available online and at the door.

ALPENA — Internationally renowned Christin rock/metal band Disciple will visit Alpena on Friday, June 25.

The concert, “Radical,” will begin at at 6:25 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20, available at itickets.com, and at the door. Call 989-590-8542 for discounted or free tickets for youth ages 13-18.

About Disciple

Disciple was formed in 1992. They have recorded 12 albums and three EPs, played thousands of shows worldwide, headlined tours since the late ’90s, have had 15 No. 1 singles, sold hundreds of thousands of records, received 2 Dove Awards and multiple nominations, had its music featured by ESPN’s NFL Live, WWE, Fox Sports, as well as in commercials for CBS’ CSI: Miami and Criminal Minds, and more.

To know the story of Disciple, you have to place yourself in Kevin Young’s shoes. Like Kevin, Disciple’s singer and bandleader, let’s say you’ve recorded 10 albums, played thousands of shows worldwide, headlined tours since the late ’90s, and opened multiple times for the biggest artists in Christian music.

You’ve sold hundreds of thousands of records and you’ve got 15 No. 1 singles. Add to that the fact that you are done with your most recent recording contract and your band needs a lineup change.

You’ve been on the road for 20 years, and you’ve seen more hotel rooms than a Gideon Bible. Most people would probably say, “Hey, I’ve done a lot and maybe it’s time to walk away.” Most people are not Kevin Young.

“Disciple started when I was 16, so I’m somewhere between old and young,” Young said in a press release. “I know Disciple’s been around for a long time, and sometimes, when I wake up, I can feel every mile, but I can’t wait to see what’s ahead. It honestly doesn’t feel like it’s been as long as it has, and in a lot of ways I feel like we’re just getting started. The process, where I’ve been and the new stuff we’re doing right now as a band — it’s a gift. We chose to be who we are and embrace the new.”

In a six-month period around the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, Young rebuilt Disciple, as well as his own approach to the band’s future.

“We added Josiah Prince from Philmont and Andrew Stanton from I Am Empire on guitars, Jason Wilkes from High Flight Society on bass and vocals (since the guy was an amazing lead vocalist for his band), and Joey West from After Edmund on drums,” Young said. “It’s Disciple’s best lineup ever. They have the perfect combination of being great players and performers, and are ridiculously talented songwriters.

“One of my favorite things about these guys is that they have embraced where Disciple has been and love to play the classic songs for our fans, as well as have put every ounce of their souls into trying to take Disciple higher than we’ve ever been. I think our fans have embraced them for that in return.”

Next, the band had some business decisions to make. Disciple finished their record label contract in 2013 and the band’s recording future was in limbo.

“We talked to a bunch of labels, but the whole time my manager and I kept asking each other the same question: ‘Why wouldn’t we do this on our own?’ I guess we decided that it was because recording an independent project and all that goes with that was new and a little scary. Being fearful is real, but it’s also a bad excuse,” Young said. “We decided that we would really give ourselves to our fans. It’s one thing to have a record deal, make a record, and see if folks will buy it. It’s a whole different level to engage your fans — really talk to them, tell them what you want to do and why, embrace them and then hope that they will embrace you back.

“We created a bunch of really cool packages that the fans could buy and put them all up on Kickstarter, hoping that our fans would buy things ahead of time to help us make a record,” Young continued. “We were scared to death. But then our fans met our goal in seven days and it just kept going up until the 40-day funding process finished. We were stunned and just so thankful. Nobody has fans like we do.

“So with the lineup solidified and plans for a new record in place, now all we had to do was write the album. No big deal, right? I was a little nervous — excited but nervous. I had more freedom than I’ve ever had to make the music and say the things that I really wanted to say. We had the support of our fans. But what really energized me was the music that was being written by the band members. It somehow felt very Disciple-esque and was somehow new at the same time. I think we all were really inspired by it.”

The first order of business was to bring back Travis Wyrick to produce.

“I hadn’t worked with Travis in six years, but we knew this was going to be a hard, aggressive record,”Young said. “Travis recorded all of our hardest albums and working with him was like going home.”

The finished album is called “Attack,” and it is the band’s most ambitious project to date. It’s bold, it’s hard, it’s experimental, and it’s sweepingly atmospheric.

“Attack” gives a nod to long-time Disciple fans with “Radical” and “The Name” and the album will intrigue new listeners with offerings like “Dead Militia,” “Lion,” and “Angels And Demons.”

“We wrote this record as a new band. ‘Attack’ is the right album title because that’s what we did with every song,” Young said. “Every band member contributed in a huge way to this album. Everybody brought songs to the table that we all worked on, and made each other’s songs better. It was definitely a well-coordinated attack on all sides.

“You know, rock music isn’t the most popular music genre right now, but it’s also the music genre that will never die,” Young continued. “Rock music always comes back around. And with that, I know what we’ve been called to do, and that’s to do our best to show Christ to people with our music, and with how we interact with them, both on and off the stage. I thought about this new album for a year before we started in the studio, and I knew that the lyrics would be the boldest Disciple has ever put on a record. I wanted to talk about Jesus loudly and without shame. That’s why ‘Radical’ is the first track and our first single. It sets the tone for what we want people to hear. We talk about Jesus openly at every show. We do an altar call. That is who we are and that is what Disciple is called to do, and we hope that people hear the new music and say ‘Yeah, now THAT’S Disciple!'”