1986–1990: Formation as A-180 The band was formed as A-180 in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University by Mark Stuart (lead vocals), Barry Blair (guitars), Will McGinniss (bass), Bob Herdman (keyboards), and Brian Hayes (drums). Herdman had written a song entitled "My God". The song was described in a CCM Magazine article as "a curious marriage of heavy metal and rap". After the song was recorded by A-180, a demo tape was sent to radio stations. The song quickly scaled the charts. Following this, the song caught the attention of
Toby McKeehan (from dc Talk), who brought it to the executives at
ForeFront Records. The label decided to offer a record deal to A-180 but had them change their name to Audio Adrenaline, a name that Herdman had come up with previously.
1991–1993: Record deal with ForeFront and first albums After signing their deal with Forefront, the band started writing and recording demo songs similar to "My God" for the first album. The band has described this period as one of adaptation and experimentation since ForeFront wanted a hip-hop act. As a result, Dave Stuart and Ron Gibson left the band. Singer Mark Stuart said in an interview "We had no idea what we were doing. Forefront signed us to do this rap/metal stuff, and we only had one song" while original guitarist Barry Blair said "We thought 'If they liked My God, we'll send them more songs like that." Blair added that it was a "big, long process of getting to where we are now, of creating music we like, not music we think is what they [ForeFront] would like."
Bloom was a huge hit becoming (in 1999) the only album of the band to be
certified gold by
RIAA. It also marked guitarist Blair's final album, who decided to become a music producer. In a 2015 interview with Breathecast, Blair talked about his reasons to leave citing his love of "the creative part of writing, recording, being in the studio, putting songs together" as the main factor. In the interview, he refers to the
Bloom album as something he was "exceptionally proud of", and how he knew he was creating something that had "meaning and will touch people". Blair also added how his interest started to move away from the touring aspect until he "decided to make the jump to see if I can sink or swim as a producer". With Blair gone, Audio Adrenaline needed a new guitarist. They found a temporary fill-in with Brian McSweeney (from
Seven Day Jesus), but he decided to stay with his full-time act. They then turned the guitars over to Tyler Burkum, who joined the band at only 17 years of age, just in time to record some guitars on the band's next album,
Some Kind of Zombie. The album, released in 1997, included a song from Barry Blair and was the first to feature Ben Cissell as the band's full-time drummer, though Cissell had played percussion on their previous album. In 1999, the band released
Underdog, its fifth studio album. Songwriter Bob Herdman called the album "more fun" than the previous one, while bassist Will McGinniss said how they wanted to "explore more artistically", while merging "ideas from the last three records". The album includes a remake of the band's own "DC-10", which was originally featured in their first album, but this time using a
swing style. The album was well received by critics, while peaking at #76 on Billboard. After the release, the band also opened for
dc Talk on the Jesus Freak World Tour.
2000–2007: Last albums with original members and retirement After a short break, Audio Adrenaline released their first greatest hits compilation,
Hit Parade, in March 2001. Included in the album are three of their most popular songs, "Big House", "Hands and Feet", and the live staple "We're A Band", as well as a song with
The O.C. Supertones, "Blitz", from the album
Some Kind of Zombie. It was at this time that Herdman left the band to become president of a new record label,
Flicker Records, which he co-founded along with Stuart and McGinniss. In November 2001, the band released a new studio album,
Lift which several critics have classified as the band's best.
Lift also marked the first time that guitarist Burkum shared lead vocals with Stuart. The band then followed with their ninth album,
Worldwide, released in 2003.
Worldwide went on to win a
Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 2004, the first of two Grammys for the band. In 2004, the band, along with Herdman, founded a project in Haiti called the Hands and Feet Project, in which the band built an orphanage for children. The band's tenth studio album,
Until My Heart Caves In, was released on August 30, 2005. The album featured most of the lead vocals by Burkum, with only a few sung by Stuart.
Until My Heart Caves In received another
Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 2006. "Clap Your Hands" was also played on
ESPN with football game highlights. On January 18, 2006, Audio Adrenaline announced that they were retiring from active music ministry and cited Stuart's "ongoing vocal challenges" stemming from vocal cord damage as the primary factor. On July 27, 2006, the band played at the popular Christian music
Creation Festival, where they had performed every year since the group formed, for the last time with their original lineup. On August 1, 2006, they released their final compilation album,
Adios: The Greatest Hits, a farewell album containing two new tracks as well as a selection of the band's greatest hits to date. For their final national tour in early 2007, Audio Adrenaline opened for
MercyMe on their "Coming Up to Breathe Tour". The tour concluded on April 28, 2007, at the
Waikiki Shell in
Honolulu,
Hawaii. Their final project,
Live From Hawaii: The Farewell Concert, was released on August 28, 2007, as a live CD–DVD combo and earned two nominations at the
39th GMA Dove Awards, winning Long Form Music Video of the Year.
2008–2011: Other projects After the band's retirement, their members dedicated their time to other projects. Mark Stuart and Will McGinniss started a project called
Know Hope Collective, which features a changing group of musicians singing worship songs and presenting testimonies. They both have also been working extensively with
The Hands and Feet Project in Haiti. Tyler Burkum has been playing for several bands and as a session musician. He also started his own band called The Leagues. Ben Cissell ran a skate club/youth ministry venue called Rocketttown, and then started pursuing film work. The group played a reunion performance at
Easterfest '09 in Queens Park,
Toowoomba, Australia.
2012–2017: Reformation and new singers In 2012, former members Stuart and McGinniss, along with the band's new manager Wes Campbell, decided to re-launch the band with a new line-up. According to them, one of their options was to ask
Kevin Max, formerly of
DC Talk, to be the new lead vocalist. Max, who had worked with Audio Adrenaline previously, said it was "a no-brainer" for him when they approached him. In addition to Max as the new lead vocalist, the band also added Dave Ghazarian of
Superchick on the guitar, Jared Byers of
Bleach on the drums, Jason Walker on the keyboard, and McGinniss on bass. Former singer Stuart remained as producer and songwriter. On March 3, 2013, Audio Adrenaline released
Kings and Queens. The album peaked at No. 70 on the
Billboard 200 chart, and No. 4 on the
Christian Albums chart. Aside of its chart performance,
Kings & Queens received praise from critics who referred to it as "possibly the greatest comeback project in Christian music today" and a "fresh album that will keep both old and new fans alike". In 2013, Dave Ghazarian and Jason Walker left the band, and were replaced by Dwayne Larring formerly of
Sonicflood. In June 2014, Kevin Max also stepped down as lead vocalist. In an interview with Jesus Freak Hideout, Max said the decision was "amicable" and cited a difference of opinion in terms of the band's musical future as the reason for his departure. According to Max, the band's management wanted to move the band towards a more "worship music mode", even becoming the house band for the
Acquire the Fire events, whereas he was more interested in a more "alternative or indie pop rock" style. Max was temporarily replaced by Josh Engler from
Abandon who transitioned in taking on vocal duties. McGinniss wrote a statement in which he called the last years "an incredible blast and honor", but cited his desire to work more fully with the Hands & Feet Project as his reason to leave the band. His departure left the band with no original members remaining. On February 10, 2015, Adam Agee, lead singer of Christian rock band
Stellar Kart announced that he would assume the role of lead singer for the band along with guitarist Brandon Bagby to replace Larring, bassist Dave Stovall to replace McGinniss, and drummer Jack Campbell to replace Byers. They also released "Love Was Stronger" on February 10, 2015, off the album,
Sound of the Saints. Following their 2017 tour, the band has not released any updates, though a dissolution was not formally announced. In 2019, Mark Stuart released
Losing My Voice to Find It, reflecting on his time in Audio Adrenaline, losing his ability to sing, and the time after. In 2023, Agee joined the
Newsboys as a bassist and additional guitarist and became lead vocalist in 2025 following the departure of previous lead vocalist
Michael Tait. == Band members ==