of Aliens in January 1998. Sanctus Real's full-length studio album Message for the Masses was released on June 18, 1999, and shortly afterward, bassist Matt Kollar was replaced by Steve Goodrum. Following Message for the Masses, which was recorded in a garage, the band made plans to record tracks at a major studio. To earn money for the endeavor, Hammitt and Goodrum took telemarketing jobs for a few months, which were difficult and described by Hammitt as "the most dreadful [jobs] ever". They recorded three songs with producer Skidd Mills in Memphis, Tennessee, and after winning a local radio contest, decided to record an entire independent album with Mills. It was completed in 2000 under the title Nothing to Lose, and the band attended 2001's Gospel Music Week in Nashville to distribute copies of the project. From 1996 to 2001, Sanctus Real toured areas of the United States, and also sent demos to several Christian and mainstream record labels. After they received multiple recording contract offers in 2001, the band decided to sign with Sparrow Records. Matt Hammitt said, "At that point, we really had to do some soul searching and figure out where it was we were supposed to be ... Ultimately, we knew we could relate to kids in the church. We are passionate about our faith ... [and] from our personal experience, we felt this was the place we were supposed to be." Say It Loud Toward the end of 2002, before releasing their first non-independent album, Sanctus Real performed as an opening act on the Festival Con Dios tour. The band was also a guest on Bleach's first headlining tour, the We Are Tomorrow tour, in December 2002. Sanctus Real's major label debut, Say It Loud, was then released in December 2002, through Sparrow Records. The album was produced by former Grammatrain lead vocalist Pete Stewart. Sanctus Real began touring again in February 2003 as a guest band on the See Spot Rock Tour, with Relient K, the O.C. Supertones, Pillar and John Reuben. Fight the Tide The band recorded a cover of U2's song, "Beautiful Day", for the compilation album In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa, which was released at the beginning of 2004. The track reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock chart in 2004, becoming their first chart-topping single. "Beautiful Day" also received a GMA Dove Award nomination for