The title song, "I Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb," is an inspiring anthem, sure to stand next to "Thank You" as a Boltz standard. "Thrown Away" is a touching story song with a profound moral. "I Go To The River" is soulful gospel, while "The Anchor Holds" and "This Is Where I Met Jesus" are two of the most powerful and stirring ballads of Ray's career. But building on a firm foundation of what his fans have come to love and expect from him, Ray now takes some bold steps in new directions, and proves along the way he has some tricks up his sleeve that few might have expected. Assembling a group of some of heartland America's finest musicians, Ray went into a studio near his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, last summer and got to work. "I sat down in the studio with just an acoustic guitar or at the piano, and showed the band each song," Ray explains. "I talked about feelings, and what I wanted to communicate, and then let them go where their own creativity led them." Discovering an immediate and exhilarating chemistry together, Ray and the band found themselves placing some of Ray's harder-hitting lyrical messages in even bolder musical settings. "There is an acoustic rock sound that is just kind of inbred in musicians in the Midwest," says Ray. "You can hear it in some of John Mellencamp's music. Some of the songs on the new album have lyrics that just needed a harder edge to them musically." Sandwiched between the more gentle moments on Allegiance is some rock-solid, energetic pop. "Reigning" lays a beautiful melody and harmonies over muscular electric guitars with lyrics of praise and worship. "Bought With Blood" is a driving acoustic rocker that finds Ray delivering a strong expression of faith and commitment with a tough edge of conviction in his voice. Especially close to Ray's heart is "I Will Tell The World," an upbeat anthem with both a serious message and a mission behind it. "My oldest daughter and a group of teenagers in my church went on a six-week mission trip to Africa recently," Ray recounts. "I saw what a truly life-transforming experience it was for them, and my wife and I got interested in helping Teen Mania, the organization that had sponsored the trip. I asked what I could do to help, and they asked me if I would write a song for them."