MarketThe Altar and the Door
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The Altar and the Door

The Altar and the Door is the third studio album by American Christian rock band Casting Crowns. The album was released on August 28, 2007 on Beach Street Records and Reunion Records. Produced by Mark A. Miller, the album was inspired by lead singer Mark Hall's experience looking at the MySpace pages of his youth ministry students. The album's main theme is the difference between how Christians feel in church and the compromises they make outside of it. Its musical tone, which Hall says is different and more progressive, incorporates more of a rock sound than their previous, more polished studio efforts.

Background and recording
The main ideas for The Altar and the Door were inspired roughly eighteen months before the album's release. Lead vocalist Mark Hall and his co-youth pastor were encouraged by one of their students to look at MySpace. According to Hall, “It wasn’t any major surprise, but we did see a lot of kids who had two worlds going on. MySpace can be Spring Break for the brain, this place you can go and not think anyone’s ever going to find out. Kids would be listed as Christians and then show their porn star name or what kind of kisser they are. They were just presenting so many contradictions on one page. The temptation was to just get upset and think that’s terrible. But MySpace isn’t really a big problem – it’s just revealing what the problem is". He noted that this situation isn't unique to teenagers and that while at church "we [Christians] want to serve [God]" but when "we get out there in the world ... it’s just different. We want to be accepted; we want friends. The compromises start coming in small little increments until you’re just kind of out there. Church becomes more of a guilt activator than a place to go to be with the Lord. It’s a nasty place to live, and we all live there". The Altar and the Door was produced by Mark A. Miller. Most of the recording and all of the mixing for the album was done by Sam Hewitt at Zoo Studio in Franklin, Tennessee and My Refuge Studio in McDonough, Georgia; additional recording was done by Michael Hewitt and Dale Oliver at those same locations. The strings on The Altar and the Door were arranged by Bernie Herms and recorded by Bill Whittington and Steve Beers at The Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tennessee. The album was mastered by Richard Dodd. ==Composition==
Composition
Musically, The Altar and the Door has more influence from rock as compared to the group's earlier efforts, which had influences from AC and pop. ==Critical reception and accolades==
Critical reception and accolades
The Altar and the Door received positive to mixed reviews upon its release. Jared Johnson of AllMusic gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars, saying it has a "slightly greater dose of rock" and "Casting Crowns gave fans no reason to be disappointed on Alter [sic]". "East to West" received the awards for Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the 39th GMA Dove Awards and was nominated for Best Gospel Performance and Best Gospel Song at the 50th Grammy Awards; ==Release and sales==
Release and sales
The Altar and the Door was released on August 28, 2007. It also debuted atop the Billboard Christian Albums chart and at number two on the Billboard Digital Albums chart. with roughly 70% of its first-week sales coming from Christian stores. In its second week, The Altar and the Door sold 41,000 copies. It topped the Billboard Christian Albums chart for 12 non-consecutive weeks from 2007–2008. As a result of the album being offered as a discount at Family Christian Stores, The Altar and the Door topped the Billboard Catalog Albums chart in 2010; it spent a total of five non-consecutive weeks atop that chart. It has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), In the United States, The Altar and the Door ranked as the 144th best-selling album and the fourth best-selling Christian album of 2007. ==Singles==
Singles
Three singles were released from The Altar and the Door. Lead single "East to West" peaked at number one on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and spent nineteen weeks at the top spot, tied for the second-longest run at the number one spot in the history of the chart. It also peaked at number twenty-five on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart The album's second single "Every Man", peaked at number two on the Christian Songs chart and at number one on the Radio & Records Soft AC/INSPO chart. "Slow Fade", the album's final single, peaked at number five on the Christian Songs chart. ==Track listing==
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album liner notes. Casting CrownsMark Hall – vocals • Megan Garrett – acoustic piano, keyboards, backing vocals • Hector Cervantes – electric guitars • Juan DeVevo – acoustic guitars, electric guitars • Melodee DeVevo – violin, backing vocals • Chris Huffman – bass • Andy Williams – drums Additional musiciansBernie Herms • Blair Masters • Dale Oliver • Adam Nitti • Bobby Huff • Gunnar Miller, Logan Miller, Madison Miller and Tripp Weir – special guest vocals (1) • Reagan Hall – special guest vocals (3) • Tony Nolan – special guest vocals (5) String Section • Bernie Herms – arrangements • Jim Gray – conductor • Carl Gorodetzky – contractor • Stephen Lamb – copyist • John Catchings, Anthony LaMarchina and Carole Rabinowitz – cello • Monica Angell, Chris Farrell, Jim Grosjean and Gary Vanosdale – viola • David Angell, Janet Darnall, Conni Ellisor, Carl Gorodetzky, Stefan Petrescu, Pamela Sixfin, Alan Umstead, Cathy Umstead, Mary Kathryn Vanosdale and Karen Winkelmann – violin Production • Terry Hemmings – executive producer • Mark A. Miller – producer • Sam Hewitt – recording, mixing • Michael Hewitt – additional recording • Dale Oliver – additional recording • Bill Whittington – string recording • Steve Beers – string recording assistant • Richard Dodd – mastering • Jason McArthur – A&R • Michelle Box – A&R production • Jenna Roher – A&R administration • Stephanie McBrayer – art direction, stylist • Tim Parker – art direction, design • Jeremy Cowart – band photography • Micah Kandros – additional photography • Charles Dujic – hair stylist, make-up • Norman Miller and Mike Jay at Proper Management – management ==Chart positions==
Chart positions
Album Singles ==Certifications==
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