music, as conservative church leaders accused Christian artists of hiding subliminal messages that could only be heard when records were played in reverse. Inserting a blatant piece of backmasking in the break between the title track and hard rocker "Judas' Kiss", the band's message was less than subtle. Played in reverse, the backmasked portion stated: "What are you looking for the devil for when you oughta be looking for the Lord?" It was not the first – nor would it be the last – time Petra weighed in against critics of contemporary Christian music. The title track became a smash radio hit, the fourth-hottest song of 1983 on Christian adult contemporary radio, and the album was hailed as Petra's best yet: Ever since Washes Whiter Than, the "new" Petra has been working out the bugs of a polished pop-rock sound. With their latest release, More Power to Ya, say goodbye to bugs. Petra has crafted a style that could easily lock horns with anything on the industry charts and win. The band also began receiving attention from the mainstream music industry, as Billboard dubbed More Power to Ya a "Top Album Pick" and praised the band's "surging music, tough lyrics and effective vocals." Helped by the positive press and Star Song's recent distribution deal with Word Records, the album quickly surpassed the sales of Never Say Die, jumping to sixth on the Billboard inspirational chart within three months and trailing only albums by pop and traditional Christian artists such as Amy Grant, Sandi Patti and the Imperials. A year after its release, More Power to Ya remained one of the five best-selling albums in Christian music, while Never Say Die remained in the top 20 – more than two years after it hit the shelves. At the end of 1982, the two albums had sold nearly 100,000 units combined. By the next summer, More Power to Ya alone had topped 125,000, a total nearly unthinkable for a Christian rock album just 12 months earlier. More Power to Ya would not drop out of the Top 40 Christian albums until June 1985, more than two and one-half years after its debut. Not of This World (1983) Petra again hit the road for an intense tour with Servant, playing to an estimated 150,000 people in 1982, mostly in venues seating as few as 1,000 people. Petra played 152 shows in 1983, taking