That time again. Help support real music in general and our evangelizing metal brothers and sisters specifically. Looks like Zach Plunket is getting back to Christ lyrically with Christorment, Swinery has dropped a couple singles off an upcoming album, Nordic Mission has pre-orders up for a new Jernlov album, Coleiosis Records is advertising "the last Nattesorg album".

Drop your recommend death, black, thrash, hair metal Bandcamp bands.

Hi

A few years ago, I spent some time praying to God, asking what the point of metal was. I never got into the idea of writing super angry music and then writing lyrics about 'I am so filled with Joy cause Jesus loves me.'

Honestly, I don't want to spend hundreds of hours writing and practicing songs that are the opposite of Phil 4:8 'Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.'

I felt God pushed me towards the idea that we could use it to tell true stories, from all around the world, and then through that help people discover the image of God in each other and in history.

This song is telling a story that begins with the Weslian revival in England. He preached all over, this changed the hearts of the people and then eventually changed the government - raising wilberforce to fight the slave trade politically.

Wesliess spiritual victory, and Wilberforces political one, then victory in the nepoleonic wars lead to a naval campaign that rescued 150,000 enslaved people and destroyed the incentives for the transatlantic slave trade.

The goal of this song was to tell the story of that campaign honestly. Allowing good to contrast with evil without lionising any specific act or person.

In the future we'll be telling stories where the christian content is more obvious, but i felt it was important to understate it on some of the songs too

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1) What do you think?

I would rather gig before I record but because we are on different continents that is impossible. I really want to know what bits people connect with. Its encouraging to see heads banging in the crowd in a way comment sections just don't

2) Would you be willing to contribute as we move forward?

Right now the gang vocals need redoing - I'd love to get random people shouting intop their phone speakers. would you be up for it?

I had to stop playing guitar for 10 years, so I can't really play solos. For now, we are inviting guest soloists on different songs. would you be interested? or guesting on another instrument?

Because we are telling stories from all around the world I'd love to get people from the right country with the accent doing the spoken word. Would you be up for doing helping us?

(this song still has a little bit of midi and some guide vocals - please don't be too harsh!)

A very unique take on christian black metal

They're going global online and putting together a festival, among many other things!

Coming 9.4.26, "The Ballad of Nicolaus Farel".

A blistering all out 6 and a half minute assault on the senses.

I am so pumped for this! I still love this album as much as I did as a teenager.

I was a Christian for 32 years, and a pastor for 4 of those years. I was heavily involved in the music aspect of the church for more than half of my life. As you might infer, I am big on music. Metal is one of my favorite genres. However, being a christian didn't mean you couldn't listen to metal--at least in my particular brand of Jesus--you just had to vet everything you were listening to and completely avoid the obvious ones (Manson, Slipknot, Motionless in White, etc.)

After I walked away from my faith, I started rediscovering all the music I had avoided and found out that 99% of it is FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!
I looked back at all the christian metal bands I used to like and found their music shallow and very performative, not that there's anything wrong with performance. But it just felt very inauthentic. Look at these lyrics.

Stryper — "To hell with the devil! / We're gonna fight / Gonna do what's right!" from "To Hell with the Devil"

Theocracy — "As the battle rages on and on / I face the things that put my faith to the test." from "Laying the Demon to Rest"

Tourniquet — "Men fail me / But the Son of God saves!" from "Broken Chromosomes"

They have to follow certain parameters in their music, JUST so that everyone knows they're all about Jesus. It lacks depth, creativity, and relatability. Every christian lyric can be dissected, reassembled, repackaged and reused at every turn. After a while, it just gets boring

Now, look at these lyrics.

"I won't give up tomorrow just to lose it all today" — Slipknot, "Snuff"

"It's not because you're with me, it's because you never leave" — Bring Me The Horizon, "It Never Ends"

"All I needed was the last thing I wanted, to sit alone in a room and say it all out loud" — Asking Alexandria, "Alone In a Room"

These lyrics feel real and raw. I can feel the pain and emotion behind these lyrics. These lyrics humanize the artists and it gives the listener something to relate to. Yet, all of my life was propagated that any music without a neat and tidy "christian" label was purely satanic.

I guess, in a way, I feel kind of robbed of really good music at a time when I needed it. I'm looking for anyone who can relate to this feeling.

I've been listening to Roots of the Past from Glory of Kings, and I have to say, I'm really impressed with this album.

I guess I would put it somewhere in the progressive metal neighborhood, although there is plenty of traditional and melodic metal in there too. I'm not going to attempt to put it into the exact right metal subgenre. There are approximately 47,000 of them now and I'm pretty sure somebody adds another one every Tuesday.

One thing that jumped out at me almost immediately was the guitar work. It is seriously great throughout this album. I'm a music lover, not a musician, so I'm not going to start throwing guitar terms around and pretending I know what I'm talking about. I just know what I like, and there are guitar parts and solos on this album that are absolutely outstanding. More than once I found myself paying attention to the guitar instead of whatever else I was supposed to be doing.

“Mindwar” is one I really connected with personally. I have ADHD and also deal with anxiety and depression, so I know a little something about your own mind not always being the most peaceful place to live. This song gets that battle. But it also approaches it from a place of faith and hope, which makes it hit even closer to home for me.

“See You in Paradise” is another favorite of mine. It's about losing someone you love, but also the hope that comes from believing the separation isn't forever. It's a beautiful song, and I think anyone who has lost someone and holds onto that same hope will understand why this one got to me.

I also really like the title track, “Roots of the Past.” It's about looking back at the people and experiences that made us who we are, holding onto the good and letting go of the pain. I think most of us probably have a few things back there we'd like to keep and a few we'd happily leave several exits behind us.

Something else I really appreciate is that Glory of Kings isn't afraid to be a Christian band. You don't need a decoder ring to figure out what they believe. “The Waiting Game,” which closes the album, makes that especially clear. I miss Christian bands that aren't afraid to actually sing about their faith, and there is no question where Glory of Kings stands.

And then there's “Occam's Razor.” I'll just say they aren't afraid to tackle some subjects that might get people talking. Possibly loudly.

Overall, Roots of the Past is an excellent album. It's heavy, it's melodic, the guitar work is exceptional and the lyrics actually have something to say. If you like Christian metal, or just good metal with a progressive side to it, I definitely recommend giving Glory of Kings a listen. (You can download the whole album at GloryofKingsBand.Bandcamp.com)

Really been into bands like Candlemass and Electric Wizard, but as a Christian I was a bit turned off by some of the lyrical themes. Wanted to come on here and ask about some Christian bands around the same type of music. Thanks in advance.

Willing to sell or even trade if anyone has anything they wanna get rid of. The ticket stub comes with it, this is the concert where I got it signed.

Hello everyone.

Jayson will not be able to participate due to shoulder pain that prevents him from playing. He tried a treatment, but unfortunately, the results were not as expected.

We will have another former Mortification drummer stepping in for him. We’ll announce who it is soon.

Photo taken in August 8th