The crowd-funded album from one of Christian rock’s most iconic voices is led by the single “He’s God,” currently going for radio adds
Les and Joyce Carlsen have released their power-packed new full-length album Free Will to all major streaming services as of March 20, 2026. You can find it now on the platform of your choice at https://lescarlsen.hearnow.com/free-will.
The album is led by the singles “Free Will” and “He’s God,” the second of which is freshly going for adds at rock radio. Les Carlsen has been honored as Effect Radio’s Artist of the Month for the duration of March in honor of the album’s streaming launch. And it’s no wonder with power-packed songs that people like Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage called “good stuff — production is clean!” and Chris Jericho of Fozzy called “killer!”
Free Will wrestles honestly with human responsibility, pain, perseverance, and hope — all anchored in Scripture. The album opens with “Truth and Love,” a reflection on Carlsen’s early years navigating criticism from both the church and the secular market. More than forty years later, his message remains unchanged.
Free Will was fully fan-funded album and released initially on CD only through Girder Music in December of 2025. It’s the result of a longtime partnership for the Carlsens: in marriage, in music, and in ministry.
“I think that everyone who is a believer has a separate calling,” Les Carlsen reflects. “We were designed in a way where God gives us certain talents, and we use those talents to his glory. For Joyce and me, our calling works together. We feed each other in our relationship and our friendship through our shared musicianship and creativity. To me, it’s a total gift from God to be married to Joyce for over 51 years and still act like we’re young kids going for it. That’s just who we are.”
Les Carlsen is best known as the frontman for Bloodgood, the Christian rock genre-definer. His longevity through decades of change is attributable to a heart fixed on the message of the music.
“The mission has always been the same, but the enthusiasm has doubled and tripled and quadrupled,” Les enthuses. “God is still God, the mission is the same, but He’s revealed so many more things to me over the years. Our calling remains extremely fresh, relevant, purposeful and essential.”
From the rock worship anthem “He’s God” to the sweeping Gospel narrative of “Epic,” from the urgency of Christ’s return in “Make Way” to the daily surrender expressed in “Everyday,” the album captures faith lived out in real time. “Everyday” shatters the boundaries between rock and classical genres.
Joyce brings a heart of encouragement to the album with “Bite My Tongue.”
“It had just been a rough day where I was reminded of incidents throughout my entire life where I have felt marginalized, that my opinion didn’t matter, and that I had no voice,” Joyce recalls of the day she first sang the song as a voice memo into her phone. “What’s impossible with man is possible with God. When we’re in bondage to whatever — substance abuse, believing lies, dwelling in self-pity or self-hatred —when we turn to the One who has all the answers, He sets us free. That’s the change that happens in the song. The melody starts from a deep, dark place, and it ends with joy, light and hope.”
“He Loves Deep” and “Keep Pushin’” return to the harder-edged, riff-driven sound. The nu-metal-flavored album closer, “Come to Me,” leaves listeners with Jesus’ invitation to find rest in Him.
Listeners will find classic rock bedrock in Free Will, but they’ll also find fresh, experimental riffs, innovative vocal stylings and timeless lyrical truths.
Musically, the album was created remotely with musical collaborators Paul Jackson (guitar), Craig Church (guitar), Juan Van Dunk (bass) and Dan Needham (drums). Joyce served as the recording engineer and played a major role in crafting musical arrangements. Despite how different this might look from when the Carlsens first began making music together in the 70s, they’ve embraced this new era of creative flexibility.
“When you’re doing music together as a group all in one room, there’s an exchange of ideas that’s instantaneous. Working remotely means you have to wait to get answers,” Joyce says. “But as you can hear on the record, it turned out pretty wonderful. Maybe having the time to sit and digest and tweak and perfect it is a plus. We’ve worked with these musicians for a lot of years, and so the chemistry is there, even though there are hundreds of miles between us.”
Les adds, “There are so many new advances in recording and sounds, and also so many bands have come and given their own twist and turns to metal and hard rock. I feel like anything goes now. Anything can actually be used and tailored to work in this genre.”
Early reviewers of the album have been blown away by its finesse and modernity. MyndBynd magazine has described Free Will as a project that “walks the line between sophistication and raw power. It’s grounded in classic hard rock DNA, but injected with a modern aggression.”
Angelic Warlord wrote, “Songwriting is spot on in such regards. Carlsen, as ever, vocally performs as if in his Bloodgood prime, while guitar team of Jackson and Church not to mention the Van Dunk (bass) and Needham (drums) rhythm section are up to standard as well. Of course, packaging and production prove equally able.”
The album release coincides with an appearance at Sweden’s Light the Dark festival, following close behind the announcement that they will be a part of Immortal Fest in Versailles, OH and Germany’s Loud and Proud Festival in September. Find it on your favorite streaming service at lescarlsen.hearnow.com/free-will or purchase physical merchandise at lescarlsenmusic.com/shoplescarlsen.
Rock On Purpose 