An Empowering Song from Sweet Crystal

BuzzSlayers
Sep 5
8 min read

A new single release from Sweet Crystal brings out a wonderful combination of empowerment and goodwill in the form of a heavy rock single that incorporates some blues undertones and a driving feel while still having this great, big, catchy style chorus.

"Whatever Is Needed, whatever It Takes" definitely leaves its impact and has such a great message behind it all.

This is a song that talks about how we should all be supporting each other. Working together for a better future and for each other's sakes.

We are one people and we need to stop separating ourselves from each other and start being together and realizing that we're all here for the same reason.

We are brothers and sisters, and we should do whatever it takes or whatever is needed to come together and make things work.

The sentiment is quite beautiful, and it's portrayed in such a great way. The lyrics tie everything together perfectly; it's got that powerful approach, and the music is outstanding.

This song has a great guitar tone in general. Let's just start there. A perfect balance to them. That's why the song has this kind of edgy tonality, but not over the top.

It's heavy or hard rock, but features more melody, and this also comes from the keys that are involved. The keys and organs throughout the track really add a robust underbelly to the track and also bring to mind certain elements of classic rock as well.

The drumming on this song is pretty much everything. The drummer doesn't just sit in the pocket. He breathes this great life and energy into the track so that everyone can kind of push off of that.

By the time the chorus comes around, the vocals are belting, you have crowd vocals in the background, adding a thickness to everything, and not only do you have the main guitar and bass guitar riff going, but you also have those keys and pianos, so you get a really impactful approach to embedding that melody in your head.

The vocals come across the board; I have a certain kind of passion in their performance. You can hear that lyrically and performance-wise, everything is genuine. This entire song absolutely comes from some authentic place.

This also gives the band and the song so much character and personality as well.

Being able to send that strong message through such a Powerhouse of a single is an amazing thing, and these guys really pulled it off without a hitch.

This song definitely boasts a particular energy as well.

It almost feels like a lot of it was tracked live on the floor, and everyone was feeding off of each other the entire time.

The music video that comes along with the song also showcases the band's live performance attributes, and it does amazing things to show you the presence of the band.

I think this is important simply because when you hear a song like this, you almost immediately want to go see them perform it live.

Having a video that showcases a live performance is perfect for a song like this because you are getting a little bit of that experience along with hearing the freshly recorded single.

This was something that brought on a slew of influences from arena-rock to classic rock, alternative, and hard rock; this encompasses a lot of songwriting approaches, making it something that feels like it's all their own.

Most importantly, again, the message was received.

Now, I do have to mention some of this amazing guitar work. There are some not only great reps but some lead sections here that really showcase amazing performance, technique, and soul in the guitar work.

This is one of my favorite aspects because guitar solos are something that seems to have faded out a little bit in terms of music released as of late.

It used to be that they were great guitar solos in every rock song, but that somehow died out. I'm not sure why, and I think it's ridiculous, so hearing this one was so good to me.

It wasn't short either. It was a perfect length of time right before that final pre-chorus comes in, and then you're hit with that last banger of a chorus once again.

By this point, you're going to sing right along with it, and if you don't, something might be wrong with you.

At any rate, this was a great track and you should definitely dive right into it without forgetting where you heard it first.

While you do that, you should check out our interview with the band below so you can find out where this all came from and what might be coming up next for them as well.

Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about "Whatever Is Needed, Whatever It Takes"! This was a spirited heavy rock single with a live performance energy with powerful lyrics and guitar tone!

Buzz Slayers: Where did this song come from?

Greetings Buzz Slayers! This latest single ‘Whatever Is Needed, Whatever It Takes’ (which we lovingly call WINWIT) is the first single from the band’s upcoming album ‘8’. As we looked around at the rubble and trouble in the world, this Bible verse came to mind:

‘We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.’

1 Timothy 6:7

We can look forward to leaving all these trials and tribulations behind one day... but in the meantime, it’s up to all of us to stay ready to help each other with whatever is needed, whatever it takes.

Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing a few different approaches on this record! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

We started out totally influenced by the progressive rock English music scene of the 60’s and 70’s: bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep all left their musical marks on our writing and playing. We also listened to a lot of American bands like Kansas, Journey, Rush and Spock’s Beard to keep our creative juices flowing. It’s this background in progressive rock that continues to influence and direct our writing and live performances.

Buzz Slayers: When did this all start for you as a band?

Basically, we are considered a Detroit band and have been since we started this journey. In the beginning, we opened up for such classic rock acts as Bob Seger, Foghat, Nazareth, Steppenwolf and many more before finding our true path into the Christian music field. The name of the band reflects the message of our music and mission referring to passages in the Book Of Revelation that describe a river of sweet water flowing out from the throne of God, clear as crystal. Sounded like an amazing sight to see and place to be…so we adopted it and never looked back!

Buzz Slayers: Are you performing live right now?

Absolutely! We’ve never stopped. In fact, two of the more interesting aspects of SWEET CRYSTAL is our longevity and our staying true to our musical styling. The three of us founding members have been playing together for 50 years (!) which meant 2024 was the band’s Golden Jubilee Celebration year. We think there are not a lot of bands that can claim that accomplishment. To this day, we don’t “chase” current trends in mainstream music but stay true to our progressive arena rock beginnings.

Buzz Slayers: Did you record this in a home studio setup, or did you go to a big studio for this?

We are very blessed to have our own recording facility: Nightcrier Music Studios outside of Detroit. This allows us to continue our own unique form of song creation. We constantly record every rehearsal and jam session because you never know when a new riff will spark the creative juices. The final song arrangements are usually dictated by the lyrics (verses, choruses, etc.), which I pretty much exclusively write. We also play a lot of freeform jams at our rehearsals and out of those recordings, we pick melodies, chord patterns and themes that just seem to be…sweeter to our ears. It really is a full band thing on each song.

Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next for you as a band?

What are we hoping for next? More new songs are already in pre-production for our next full release ‘8’. This time around we will be featuring more lead vocals from Bill (guitarist), which will make it even sweeter. Looking for even more ways to get our music, message, mission and ministry out into an increasingly dark world looking for hope and light! With 26 Detroit Music Awards under our belt, we think it’s time to aim for some Dove and Grammy Awards.

Buzz Slayers: Who's in all your headphones right now?

Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard; Transatlantic; Flying Colors; more) continues to put out incredibly thoughtful and insightful songs, rich in both production and lyric content. No idea how one man can be so prolific but every project of his just strikes the right chords with everyone in Sweet Crystal.

Buzz Slayers: This was a pretty big single! Was it a big undertaking? How long did it take to finish this?

‘WINWIT’ started out like a lot of Sweet Crystal tunes do: a weekly rehearsal of the band jamming and warming up to a variety of licks and ideas we have floating around before we get down to real rehearsal business. This time out, I (MarQ Andrew Speck: lead vocals; keys) wanted to take an idea I had and make it more Led Zeppelin-ish (musical term) so Bill (guitars), Steve (drums) and Marty (bass) came up with the funky/hard swing of the opening and main lick. We then play that lick ‘to death’ until someone (usually me) comes up with a bridge (new or from earlier jams) that just fits. This song came together very quickly musically and arrangement but it needed one more idea to make it…well sweeter.

Take a listen to both the intro and backing chants in the chorus. Stadium crowd chanting the key phrase ‘whatever is needed, whatever it takes’… Pretty sweet. FYI: those adoring fans were basically the 4 of us in Sweet Crystal standing around a single microphone multi-tracking our voices! We’re talking 50 takes of the gents chanting in time, changing the tone and timbers of their voices.

Buzz Slayers: What would you tell people they can expect on this release?

This song ‘Whatever Is Needed, Whatever It Takes’ continued where our last ‘7th Heaven’ release left off: it’s a song of hope and inspiration, reminding us of what we need to do while we are here in this life and at this time in history. It still features our signature guitar sounds, wall of synth melodies and pads, straight ahead drumming with a crowd joining in on the choruses thrown in for good measure.

Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music?

Our fans already know that our trademarked slogan - Reaching The World, One Song At A Time ™ - pretty much says it all about our music, message, mission and ministry. We are here to reach out to a world with songs of hope and inspiration; a musical light at the end of every dark tunnel you might be going through because chances are good – we’ve gone through those very same tunnels ourselves and definitely have found a way out.

Basically, we plan to remain exactly who we are for as long as can and we will always try and save you a seat!