Louder Than The Music

Singer/songwriter/survivor Benny DiChiara and his chart-topping indie Christian Rock band, Empowered, have released their new EP, SALT, today, Friday, July 25, 2025, from Slingshot Records.



As seen on CBN's The 700 Club, DiChiara, the band's lead singer, has shared his dramatic testimony of healing from a catastrophic brain injury with millions around the world via various media outlets.

On the heels of their 2023 release, Yahweh Nissi, DiChiara and Empowered have teamed up again with Dove Award-nominated and Billboard chart-topping singer/songwriter/producer, 7eventh Time Down lead singer Mikey Howard, to produce SALT.

With their uncompromised dedication to ministry, their signature crunchy guitars, driving percussion, and DiChiara’s distinct and arresting vocals, the band shows no sign of losing the momentum from their previous two chart-topping projects, Three Days and Yahweh Nissi, which have garnered multiple No. 1 songs and music videos on the indie charts, as well as critical acclaim.


Consisting of five cuts: “Go Forth,” “1995 (Reprise),” “The One,” “Throat Punch the Devil,” and “People of God,” SALT Is a pertect album for these turbulent times.

The project is based on Matthew 5:13, in which Jesus says to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Last Fall, while the band was ministering in Kentucky in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, SALT was brought into fruition via a prayer over the band by Pastor Travis Spann of Wilmore Christian Church.

"His prayer over the band went from provision to prophesy right in the middle of it, where he described God seeing us as SALT," DiChiara remembers. "He then broke it down for us in the middle of the prayer. After the service, I thanked him for the vision to name our next project SALT. Not one song on this record is named "Salt," but every offering of a song is in fact that—SALT."

"The big thing that God has been speaking to me since the recording of this album is the word ENGAGE," DiChiara continues. "Engage with others, even when you don't know them. Share the gospel with them. Bring them hope and let God give them a future. Know that THIS thing-engaging-is what we were created for!"

"My prayer is that all who hear this record feel the weight of His love, His justice, and His mercy, and to know that we should reflect that as being a part of the light of the world," says DiChiara. "Go forth, and share His Holy Word!"