|PIC1|Christian rock band Downhere has snagged their third Canadian Grammy for their album Ending Is Beginning.

"We're extremely honoured to have won our third Juno award," said co-lead singer and guitarist Jason Germain last week following the band's win at the Juno Gala Dinner & Awards.

"It is so special to us to win such a prestigious award in our home country, and we hope this record is able to reach even more people because of it," he exclaimed.

Released in September 2008, Ending Is Beginning was named the Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), which announced the winners.

Downhere previously won in that category for their album Wide-Eyed and Mystified in 2007. In 2002, the four-man group won in the Best Gospel Album category for their self-titled debut.

Regarding their latest win, bassist Glenn Lavender said he was "pleasantly surprised and honoured", especially considering the growth of the Christian music industry in Canada.

"The Contemporary Christian category has only been getting stronger every year," he said. "This year the other great Canadian artists we were with were Starfield, Article One, newworldson and Life Support."

Their current single "My Last Amen" was No 11 on the US Radio & Records' CHR Monitored chart last week and "Hope Is Rising" was No 20 on the R&R AC Indicator chart.

Currently, Downhere is in the studio recording their first Christmas album, which will be available in autumn.

They plan to hit the studio again as the year closes for the next album and will also be performing in Northern Ireland and Norway this year.

They have released four albums to date.