Hidden behind the high-energy, mosh-inspiring sounds of Audio Adrenaline, is one of the most sincere messages of any band on the Christian music scene. Fans can catch their message as they open for DC Talk on their Jesus Freak tour.

“Our main audience is younger Christians,” guitarist Barry Blair explained. “And to them, we’re letting ’em know that they’re not alone. There’s others like them and they need to be bold and stand up for their faith.”

“It’s kind of hard to be a Christian at that age,” he said. “But God works in your life. To our non-Christian audience, our message is of the same gospel that has been around for 2,000 years. There is a way to know you’re going to heaven and it can change your life and give you a reason to live.”

The Nashville quartet formed in 1991 while the four musicians were students at a Kentucky college. They released their self-titled debut a year later and went on to record their most successful record to date, Don’t Censor Me.

With help from “Big House” and “Can’t Take God Away,” Don’t Censor Me has gone on to sell more than 250,000 units. “Big House” received Dove Award nominations for rock song and video of the year and a Billboard Music Award nomination for Best Christian Video.

“That song is the coolest thing,” Blair said. “It is goin’ all kinds of places. It has been used in youth camps as a praise song and even some churches sing it. It is humbling in a way to know that God is using us in such a huge way.”

The band’s rendition of “If You’re Happy and You Know It (Bang Your Head),” from their 1995 Live Bootleg release, is heading in similar directions as an already Sunday-school favorite.

“We do a lot of high school stuff, and it’s totally cool,” Blair added. “As a band, we want to talk to people and make friends. We’re down to earth, real people, with personalities like every one else.”

It is this attitude that inspired that band’s latest release, Bloom. “A lot of it is what has happened to us as a band,” he said. “A lot of people were giving us a pat on the back after the last album, but it’s not us, it’s God that is doing this. We’re making us smaller and making Jesus bigger.”

Released last February, Bloom was produced by John Hampton, whose resum‚ includes work with the Gin Blossoms.

The band recently filmed a video for the first single off the disc, “Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus.” The subject of not being perfect reappears on the tune “See Through.”

“The song sparked out of the idea that this is some glamorous lifestyle,” Blair explained. “When really, there are some nights when we don’t want to be on stage at all. On those nights, it becomes just a regular job.”

“Like all people, there are nights when we fall,” he said. “We want to point people to Jesus, and the song is about how God still works when we’re not.”

Also included on Bloom is a cover of the 70s classic “Free Ride.” According to Blair, the song fit perfectly with the sound on the rest of the album.

“For us, a ‘Free Ride’ is to heaven through Jesus,” he said. Like DC Talk’s cover of the Doobie Brother’s “Jesus Is Just Alright,” the song may help the band’s exposure away from the Christian music scene.

“There’s a potential for that to happen, and it could happen to any Christian artist,” Blair said. “For us as individuals, we feel called to a specific ministry, and we don’t want to change our ministry in any way.”

“Some of our songs would be great on mainstream radio,” he said. “But the message is the most important thing.”

Audio Adrenaline includes Blair on lead guitar, Mark Stuart on lead vocals, Bob Herdman on keyboards and Will McGinnis on bass guitar.

After the DC Talk tour, Audio Adrenaline will jump on the road with Steven Curtis Chapman and may be on their own tour in a year or so. Meanwhile, you can catch Audio Adrenaline at Hilton Colisuem on May 20th at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster and the Iowa State Center Box Office.