Review: Jorge Canan – Rise Above It All

The name Jorge Canan may be new to many of us, however he is not new to the music scene. He was once a highly revered local singer in the New Jersey rock scene in the 80’s with his bands Raze and Toy Cannon, bands inspired by such artists as Journey and Van Halen, Toy Cannon was poised to possibly become the next big band to follow in the footsteps of other locals reknowned acts such as Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Trixter.

Change Was Coming

The band attracted a lot of attention quickly, and between 1990 and 1991 recorded some high-quality demos, one which won New York’s Z-100 battle of the bands radio contest (see audio embed at the bottom). Because of that, they were able to share the stage with such bands as Poison, Skid Row, Extreme and others in the day. Sadly, as we know, the music scene was changing greatly around that time, and bands like this got left behind.

Jump forward now 35 years, and Jorge is back with a new mission and purpose. While he had stepped away from music for quite some time, God redirected his path, and now he has returned with a new conviction as a self-proclaimed Christian rock artist. His goal, to unleash powerful Christian rock anthems that will inspire and uplift your spirit, and Rise Above It All does just that. As he states:

I’m not a former rocker trying again — I’m a seasoned vocalist returning with purpose. … My voice — gritty, commanding, and forged in real venues — was shaped by years of live rock performance. … What once fueled ambition became assignment. Now, as a solo Christian rock artist, I return, not chasing spotlight, but carrying conviction. My 2026 album Rise Above It All is a declaration of faith, endurance, repentance, freedom, and victory through Christ alone. This isn’t nostalgia. It’s a calling fulfilled. The stage remains. The mission has changed. And this time, the glory belongs to God.

We are served up fourteen bold and anthemic tracks with soaring, gritty yet melodic vocals overlaying a foundation of high energy, melodic/metallic guitar driven hard rock. The journey takes us through lyrically bold songs of faith, dealing with victory in Christ (Rise Above It All), strength (Fire in My Heart), endurance (Through It All), praise (Breaking Chains), repentance (You Won it All), and much more.

Tracklisting:

1. Rise Above It All
2. Fire In My Heart
3. Through It All
4. Breaking Chains
5. You Won It All
6. Second Chance At Sunrise
7. Walk With You
8. You Shattered The Night
9. Brand-New Start
10. Rescued
11. Time Is Now
12. Hold My Ground
13. Turn Us Back
14. Wake Us Up

Available on both the little shiny spinning things as well as the larger black spinning things. Both can be purchased at Jorge’s main site (which links out to the distributors associated with each edition) by visiting JorgeCanan.com and you can also stream the songs there to check out. CDs and samples are also found directly Eonian Records site

Just for kicks, here is the radio announcement from back in the day, when Jorge’s band Toy Cannon, won the battle of the bands:

For the record, the recordings from this (non-are also available at Eonian Records.

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