Nephesh - Inter Armas Silent Leges review 10/16/09

Nephesh debut CD "Inter Armas Silent Leges" is a release that a handful of people have been vigorously anticipating, combining elements of symphonic and black metal, this will appeal to fans of Divine Symphony and other bands of the like. Funny enough, I actually pointed this band out to Jason of Nokternal Hemizphear a while back, and as soon as he heard them, he fell in love. Now finally after a long wait the release is here.

Overall, for a debut CD, I see a lot of potential in the band, it is a pretty solid debut release, although it does have its flaws. The CD starts out with this amazing intro, when I first popped the CD in and hit play, I couldnt believe that it was so good. Think Dimmu Borgir, mixing amazing orchestral pieces, and choir vocals. Next Sangre Immortal comes on, which I must say, is probably my favorite song on the CD (other than the intro). Next up we have Tormentors of Sin, which is a track im quite familiar with because it was featured on our second compilation. The keys for this song are haunting, and create a fantastic atmosphere. Skipping around a few tracks, Sentence Darkness is also a fantastic track, with a fantastic introduction, being somewhat slower at the beginning, this is also one of my favorite tracks on the CD. The "official" close of the CD, Symphony of War, is also a fantastic orchestral piece, and shows a lot potential, and assures that this band knows what they are doing.

Now as far as flaws go on this CD, I do not believe everyone will agree with me, but two of the biggest things I could point out are the vocals (clean ones too) and the guitar tone. The vocals have their moments where they sound really good, but to me, they got a little bit repediative, after a while, it starts to sound something like the vocals where done with a lot of liquid in the vocalists throat. If that makes any sense, they just sound watery. As far as the clean vocals go, all I can say is I am glad they appear very few times on the CD, and I hope they do not use any on their next release, unless they find a new (clean) vocalist. The guitars on the CD have a lot of potential in themselves, but I feel that the tone of the guitar takes away from the skill a lot.

All in all, this is an overall good release, and I think it will appeal to those who have been looking for more symphonic black metal in the Christian scene. I will be keeping a close eye on Nephesh in the future, and advise all of you to do so as well. Oh, and one thing I must comment on is the packaging, it looks fantastic! This is no underground packaging, this is professional, which makes it all the more reason to purchase!

A Hill to Die Upon - Infinite Titanic Immortal review (9/22/09)

Infinite Titanic Immortal was an album that I anticipated since I first heard the song "Prometheus Rebound" on A Hill to Die Upons myspace page. Now let me tell you, when I first heard this song, I was shocked, the band previously played sort of deathcore-ish style, and a few different styles before that, but what was now coming through my speakers was top-notch black metal(even though there are some minimal core influences on the CD, they shouldnt bother most people)...it blew my mind. This CD honestly did not disappoint me at all, it met all my expectations, and has earned a slot up there with legends such as Antestor and Crimson Moonlight.

The CD starts out with an instrumental track called Of Fire and Division, which kind of sets up for the next track Prometheus Rebound. Prometheus Rebound seems to be a favorite amongst many listeners, which is entirely understood, the musicianship in this song is phenomenal, and the opening vocals to the song have so much testosterone to them, it makes most other metal vocalists look like pansies.

After Prometheus Rebound we go into two more tracks, The King Never Smiles, and Season of the Starved Wolf, both of which are re-recorded from a demo that was released in the summer of 2008. On my first few listens to these songs, I sort of liked the original versions better, but after listening through and through again, I have come to finally love the new ones a lot better. They are a lot cleaner, and much better produced. These are two songs that I often find myself singing to on this CD, despite who im around and whats going on around me.

The overall musicianship on this CD is fantastic. The guitar tone is quite possibly one of my favorites that I have heard in a while, and the skill is clearly featured on most of the songs. The drums are fast, well executed, and have a fantastic sound to them as well. And as commented earlier the vocals are absolutely ridiculous, and some of my favorite that I have heard in a while. One thing to take note of, for fans of Antestor and Frosthardr, is that AHTDU now features Ravn on bass, who also played in both of those bands as well (although he did not play bass in Frosthardr).

To close this off, this is a must have for all fans of black metal. Everytime I listen to it, I find myself thinking of newer Immortal, even though that is not entirely accurate, I think there are people who may think the same. This has hands down gained best album of the year for me (out of the ones I have heard so far), and I will be keeping a close eye on the band, and hope they continue to put out quality tunes.

Favorite songs: The King Never Smiles, Season of the Starved Wolf, Heka Secundus (On Slithering ice), We Soulless Men, Eclipse of Serpents.

www.myspace.com/ahilltodieuponband

O, Majestic Winter Interview (8/11/09)

If you could start us out with introducing yourselves and telling us a little bit about O, Majestic Winter.

OMW: We are Gorlim and Mormegil. We started in October of 2008. We write, record, and mix all of our music ourselves. We're a 100% Christian band and we just want to show our love for God. Oh, and we love winter.

Now, there has been a lot of positive and negative feedback towards OMW. Right now it seems as if you are one of the most controversial bands amongst black metal. What comments do you have to say to this?

OMW: We knew starting out that we were going to turn some heads with what we were doing. Our vision has always been to write unique music that shows all sides of our creativity. We've tried to use the negative feedback as energy to press on and continue to progress in what we're doing. We accept the positive feedback and strive to continue to please fans.


What is the basic goal of OMW?

OMW: First and foremost, to praise God. We are here to praise Him and spread His word to as many people as possible. Second, to create the music that we have always wanted to hear. Our music comes from the heart and we play what we feel.


You guys put your first CD out in quite a short period of time, are you satisfied with how it came out? Are there things you wish you could go back and change about it?

OMW: Honestly, yes we are satisfied with how it came out. However, we would change some things if we could. Some of the mixing could have been done a bit better and we could have been more precise musically. Overall, though, we were definitely happy with it.


What are some of your personal influences when writing the music?

Mormegil: For me personally, God is the biggest influence. Without his wisdom and power I would be nothing. And I will honor him in what I do. There are several bands that inspire me as well. Such as Antestor, Dragonland, Crimson Moonlight and a few composers here and there's....Lord of the Rings! haha

Gorlim: I really draw inspiration from all over. Black metal such as Evroklidon, Hortor, and Coram Deo. And other things ranging from Virgin Black to Impending Doom to Extol.

Where the both of you raised in Christian homes? If not please feel free to share testimonies.

Gorlim: My mother went to church and got me into going but my father didn't go. I didn't really come to really know who Christ was until around my junior year of high school. I have been steadily discovering Him ever since...

Mormegil: My mom was really the centerpiece in my Christian teachings as a kid. She taught me the gentle things in life and how to have faith and love one another. Only a few of my siblings are Christians...so it's kinda tough at times.


What are some future plans you have for OMW?

OMW: We have an EP coming out on Sullen Records in a few months (hopefully) called "An Autumn Moon". It is more of an ambient cd and is quite different from our debut album. We also have some material written for our next full-length. The material for the next full-length is a bit more folk-inspired and story-driven.

Now, OMW style incorporates all kinds of different genres, noise, black metal, and even core. What inspired you to do this? Adding in the core influence seems to have caused the most controversy, do you think overall your useage of it was done well?

OMW: We were inspired to do this by just wanting to make unique music. We had a vision for something that hadn't really been seen before and we ran with it. We absolutely think that we have used these elements well. We used core elements sparingly and we feel that they were well-placed.

What do you think of the current Christian black metal, or unblack metal scene?

OMW: We love the unblack scene! We have made some great friends and we are huge fans of most of the other unblack bands out there. We hope and pray that the scene will continue to grow and spread.

How often do you guys receive hate mail?

OMW: Rarely. We expected to receive more but luckily we have gotten very little.

What are some of your favorite bands? Christian and secular

Mormegil: As far as the Christian scene goes. I enjoy bands such as Antestor, Nephesh, Dysfunctional Rotout, Vanguard, and For Today. I also enjoy some secular music by Dragonland, Rhapsody of Fire, Dark Tranquillity, Within Temptation, My Chemical Romance and David Arkenstone.

Gorlim: Christian- Virgin Black, Evroklidon, Dysfunctional Rotout, mewithoutYou, As Cities Burn, Long Suffering, Thrice, For Today, and Sleeping Giant... Secular- Manchester Orchestra, My Chemical Romance, Soilwork, Within Temptation, James Morrison, and Kanye West...

Favorite CDs?

Mormegil: Immortal Souls- Wintereich, Dragonland - Astronomy, and Vanguard - Erek and Ivor.

Gorlim: Virgin Black - Elegant... And Dying, My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, and Evroklidon - Flame of Sodom...

What are your favorite Bible verses?

Gorlim: I've always loved Psalm 91.

Mormegil: Proverbs 16:2, Psalm 18:37

As Christians, do you feel it is necessary to spend time in the Bible daily?

Gorlim: I feel that it is fantastic if one can spend time daily in the Bible. I'm quite guilty of not doing this, however...

Mormegil: Absolutely. God's word is the only element that can sharpen your sword of truth. We all need to read more than we do...

What are some challenges you have had to face being Christians?

Mormegil: Everyday is a challenge for me as a Christian. Temptations and struggles are around every corner. We have to learn to flee from evil and choose to be obedient to the holy spirit. Just remember that the world hated Christ first, so I don't really expect to be treated any differently.

Gorlim: Honestly, just living the life of Christ is the most difficult part. He showed a love that is so difficult to live. All I want to do is live the life that He did...

You are currently on Sullen Records, which is also family to many other upcoming Christian black metal artists. What are some of your personal favorites that you share the label with?

Gorlim: My personal favorites are Erasmus, Hortor, Coram Deo, and Frost Like Ashes.

Mormegil: I enjoy Coram Deo, Hortor, Gondolin, and Poems of Shadows

Outside of OMW and other projects, what do you guys do to occupy your time?

Gorlim: Well, music is the main thing in my life. I try to create as much as I can. Other than that, I basically work and just hang out... I also write and read alot...

Mormegil: Hmm, other than writing music, I am an avid gamer (Lord of the Rings online). I love reading and writing poetry...and hanging out with my wife and Gorlim.. :)

Any last words of encouragement or prayer requests to share with the readers?

OMW: We would like to ask for your prayer for our upcoming EP. We want it to truly reach people. Thank you so much for blessing us with your encouragement. May God be with you!


http://www.myspace.com/winterslamentmusic

Exiting the Fall - Beyond the Experience review (8/11/09)

First off, there is so much to say about these talented young musicians. I have grown up going to camp with a handful of them, and am good friends with all of the guys in the band. This however, has not swayed my opinion on their music at all. That being said, this is honestly some of the best in the indie/hardcore genre I have heard...not even kidding.

For those of you that aren't interested in stuff that contains "emo" influence in the music, then just stop reading now. If you don't care, then please, read on, the music is entirely worth it. Vocally, there is a mix of clean "emo" vocals, and some great screams as well. The passion behind the vocals is one thing that grabs me. The lyrics are very spiritual, and written straight from the heart. The focus is all about our generation, and uniting together to see the things we can do through the power of God.

The guitar work on this CD should appeal to many, especially if this genre is your normal forte. Compared to most in the scene, its really well thought out, and executed. There are some good solos in the music. In the opening of "The Echo of Love" there is a nice bluesy introduction. I feel that this shows they can write more then just indie/hardcore music. As far as the bass goes, I think the best part is you don't have to try and JUST focus on it to hear it, it actually sticks out, and there are some nice bass lines. The drums on the EP are quite good too, nothing over the top, but the drums have a very good sound to them, and Jon manages to pull off a very steady double bass pedal. The coolest part being, he threw in a blast beat in "The Echo of Love" just for me!

Generally I am not one who enjoys breakdowns (except for at live shows...), but I honestly enjoy every single one on this EP, they all fit so well. One thing I MUST point out, is that the members age ranges from 15-18. The coolest part about this band is, they are in it for the ministry and nothing else. I was standing next to the singer at the altar years ago when God called him to have a ministry band. Now he is living it . They have a big path set before them. I really do see them going big places.

Please take some time to check out the music, you can stream all three of the tracks on the EP off of their myspace. You can also pickup the EP for 5 bucks, there are also some package deals on their webstore page. It really is worth it.

http://www.myspace.com/exitingthefall
http://www.exitingthefallmerch.bigcartel.com/

Exiting the Fall is:

John - Vocals
Kevin - Lead Guitar
Filipe - Bass
Matt - Guitar/Vocals
Jon - Drums


Reviewed by Alex

Cosÿns - EP review (8/8/09)

Cosÿns is quite an interesting project, I must say. For any of you who are familiar with Derek Cosÿns other work, he has been a part of various projects, the two most notable being Aletheian and Bloodline Severed. The one thing that makes this project stand out from all the others of his, as well as most other projects in general is the concept behind it. Here is what the myspace says:

"In this project, I had a funny idea of a way to put lyrics into instrumental music.

Someone asked me, "How on earth can you put words with music that has no singing?"

The answer is simple: MORSE CODE

For those of you unfamiliar with Morse code, it is a rhythmic series of dashes and dots that translate into letters and numbers, forming words, sentences, etc. (SOS=..._ _ _ ...). The result of some of the morse code translated into music form played a certain style can be reminiscent of bands like Meshuggah or Rush's "YYZ.""


Sounds interesting, yes? I must say, the work on this EP is absolutely fantastic. Although the drums are programmed, the guitar work is phenomenal. If you are a fan of any large secular guitarists, then this has something great in store for you. Each song delivers something new, containing very well thought out riffs, beautiful solos, and some fantastic bass lines.

Honestly, I do not think I can fully stress to you how well the guitar work on this EP is. Most of the time, instrumental music can get a little bit repetitive, in my honest opinion, but this does no such thing. I urge all guitarists to go buy this, and learn from it! As said earlier as well, my only complaint is the drums, because they are programmed, they can be a little bit annoying I guess, although he does do them well.

Also! Be sure to check out Derek's other project Whisper From Heaven, a fantastic doom-ish metal project with female vocals done by his wife! My personal favorite out of all his projects.

http://www.myspace.com/cosyns
http://www.myspace.com/whisperfromheaven

Reviewed by Alex

Ecthirion - Apocalyptic Visions review (6/15/09)

Ecthirion has gained vast recognition in the past year. Getting picked up by Soundmass, and having some familiar session members on the first EP have helped this to happen. The music on "Apocalyptic Visions" is some of the most epic we have heard in the Christian scene. Incorporating amazing orchestrations, fantastic guitars, great clean and metal vocals.

The two familiar session members on this EP are Azahel of Frost Like Ashes, and Eugene from Far Beyond. The only flaw, that is easy to point out on this disc, is the length, at the end, the listener is left wanting more right away. As said earlier, there are some fantastic, well thought out orchestrations, awesome flute pieces, great guitar solos. All of these highlight the album completely. This is something for fans of Dimmu Borgir, Hollenthon, and other fantastic orchestrated metal bands. Every song on this release, is just another epic adventure in the listeners head, none of them are lacking.

I strongly suggest anyone who loves scores for films like Lord of the Rings, classical music, epic metal, and fans of bands listed above, to purchase this right away. You will not be let down. Ecthirion is for sure going to be a band I keep an eye out for in the future, and will be anxiously awaiting new material.

Reviewed by Alex

Hope for the Dying Interview (6/1/09)

First off if you could introduce yourselves and tell us about Hope for the Dying.

Well I'm James, and I play guitar (I've been playing since '99). Josh handles most of the vocals and keyboards, Jack splits the guitar duties with me, Jake holds down the bass and Brice pounds the skins.

We got together as Hope for the Dying in November of 2006, released our first 3 song EP independently in the spring of '07. The following spring, we released a 7 song EP (EP by track list, full length by duration) with some help from some friends of ours. That summer we met the people from Facedown at Cornerstone Festival and started our official relationship in October of '08. They remastered and re-released our album as a limited edition release with new artwork on November 25, 2008 (there are still a few available so buy up while you can!!). Now we're just trying to play shows and tour as much as we can to support the album and get our name out there and share our message with the world.


When you started this band, did you ever expect to be going on tours, and be picked up by a decently sized label?

When we first got together, most of us had been in serious bands before and knew that our goal was going to be to take our music as far as God would take it and just see where that led us. At the time we weren't sure where exactly that was going to lead, but we're all pretty satisfied with how far we've come so far and we're really excited to see what God has in store for us as our relationship with the Strike First family grows and our musical identity matures and improves.


How well has the music been received by most of the scene so far? How was the feedback on your debut record?

I like to think we've had a pretty good reception in most of the venues we've played. The Arise & Conquer Tour was really good for us because all the bands were amazing and really willing to help us out and encourage us and offer advice and support, and I think our styles of music really blended together well and brought out some cool people that probably had never heard of us. I like to think we met a lot of new fans and friends and brothers/sisters in Christ through the A&C Tour.

As for the feedback on the album, I think the response has been overwhelmingly good and much better than we ever would have anticipated. I know we've been notified by Shannon at Facedown of several reviews and the majority have been really flattering. We've been really blessed and we're humbled and thankful to everybody who has critiqued the album!

Out of all the songs on the record, which are your personal favorites? Do any have special meanings to any of you?

My personal favorite song is "Into Darkness We Ride" and it was my favorite from the very first time we played it through at practice. Even before we had any lyrics or even vocal melodies or rhythms it was my favorite song we had written. Then Josh came in with the vocals a week or two later and that was it. I don't know what it is, but that song just felt really good to me. I always love playing it because it's fun and has a lot of cool stuff I think. And the great thing is it really has a cool message of perseverance and pressing on through the struggles of life.

How long have all of you been into metal? What were some of the gateway bands for you?

I can't really speak for the rest of the guys too much, but I know my progression into metal came on as I started playing guitar. I think the first screaming bands I heard were Tourniquet, Zao, East West and bands like that (there was a semi-local radio station that used to have heavy Christian music on Friday nights and I would tune in every week), but the song/band that really got me into metal was called "Easter Bunny" by Disciple (way back when they were still on Rugged Records...well before SRE even existed). That song inspired me enough to go buy their album and, even though I didn't get the album with Easter Bunny on it, I played the "This Might Sting A Little" CD until it wouldn't play anymore. I learned how to play every song on the album and learned every word. I still love that CD today. And there's a great hidden track at the end too!

Where all of you raised in Christian homes? If not, please share your testimony.

I was. I've been in church pretty much every Sunday since I was born. I know a couple of the other guys had different experiences but, like I said before, I don't really want to speak for them!

So far, what have been some of the best, and worst experiences that you have had while touring?

Actually a couple of the worst experiences we had sort of ended up turning into a couple of the best experiences we had. The first was at a show in Houston when Josh landed funny coming off of a light box and twisted his ankle up pretty bad. The second was being stuck in Abilene, TX, replacing the water pump in our van for like 8 ridiculous hours (any body who has even toured in a van knows ALL VANS SUCK TO WORK ON!!!).

Even though both of these events totally sucked when they happened, God used them anyway. I'll start with the water pump experience. Josh was outside working on the thing before the show and TJ from War of Ages decided to lend a hand. When Josh had to come in to do our set, TJ stayed out there and kept working, effectively saving us at least an hour of work. Later he went in and WOA did their set, and when they were done he came right back over and started helping us again. Josh has a pretty decent knack for mechanical stuff, but he's about the only one in HFTD so having another person that had somewhat of an idea what he was doing was a HUGE blessing. What's more is TJ stayed with us until the job was done (which was pretty late into the night) and came with us down to the next show. We haven't exactly been on a ton of tours, but I'd venture to say that it's not every day that the bassist for the headlining band would be willing to spend all night under the van of the lowly opening band, but we found out that War of Ages is just that kind of people and we are very grateful that we had the opportunity to tour with them and hope that someday we'll get to do it again!

Now on to Josh's bum ankle. Turns out he had hurt it pretty bad and we were only like 3 days away from the biggest show of our lives (Facedown Fest on April 3 & 4). He limped through the next couple shows, mainly just hanging out at his keyboard and trying to keep the weight off his ankle as much as possible because he was hurting pretty bad. So we get to Facedown Fest Day 1 and we're all just hanging out, watching bands, meeting all of the awesome people from the Facedown Family and Josh gets to talking with Mike from For Today about his ankle and, long story short, Mike prays for Josh's ankle and tells Josh to stand up and, on the count of three, stomp his foot (the bad foot that is) as hard as he can. So he counts and Josh stomps and there's no pain. He said the ankle was still just a little tender, but he no longer needed the crutches and was able to perform like he'd never been hurt for our set on Day 2 of the fest.

God's blessings really flowed for us on this tour. There were ups and downs, but God taught us a lot about ourselves and about his grace and mercy and love and I think we came back stronger because of it.

Have you made any close friends while touring or playing festivals?

Oh yeah, tons of people! Last year at Cornerstone, we met several people that we're still in touch with today and I can't even count the amount of awesome we met while out on the road. We're really looking forward to seeing a lot of them at Cornerstone again this year!

What can we see in the future of Hope for the Dying?

More Jesus, more metal, more touring, and more music! We're working on some bookings and new music right now. So far we don't have any solid recording time arranged, but we're planning to be ready to record with new songs ready to go by the end of the year. We're really excited to see where things go from here and we can't wait to get back out on the road again.

Being a Christian band, do you find it hard to interact with non-Christian bands? Are there times when some may treat you differently? How is the crowd response to your faith?

Honestly some of the coolest bands that we've met out on the concert circuit have been non-Christian bands. I think sometimes people/bands might come in with a pre-conceived negative perception of Christianity, but we just try to show that 1) Christians can make freakin' sweet music and 2) that Christianity isn't about unleashing judgment on everybody and getting caught up in some "holier than thou" attitude, but it's about love and hope, and sharing the love and hope that Christ showed us to the world. Usually once people realize that we're not there to slap them up-side the head with a bible and shove Jesus down their throats, they will open up and everything will be cool. I think (and hope and pray) that through us, God has planted seeds that will grow into a desire to know more about the hope and love that the Christian faith is supposed to be based on, and that God has and will continue to use us as a tool to build up His kingdom.

What are some of your personal favorite artists? Christian and secular.

Oh wow....this list could probably go on for days, but some of the staples in our travel playlists are Pantera, War of Ages, Plea, For Today (pretty much all the Facedown bands....and no, we're not just saying that!!), Soilwork, Iron Maiden, As I Lay Dying, Killswitch, All That Remains, old school Metallica, Nevermore, an endless barrage of hair metal and power metal when Jack and I are in control of the CD player, Matisyahu, a little old school gangsta rap, and Brice tops it off with some Conway Twitty and Randy Travis (Randy Travis is mainly just because he does a dead on RT impersonation and it's funny, but Ole Twitty is seriously like his favorite artist of all time.)

When playing shows, do you usually see more fans then you would normally expect to show up? Or less? How is the crowd response?

It really depends. We've been to shows where we expected a ton of people and not that many made it out and we've been to a few shows where we didn't expect anybody at all to come that turned out to be some of the best shows we've ever played. You just never know what to expect when it comes to attendance! You just gotta go out there and do it for the Lord and trust that he will bring the people that need to hear what you have to say.

Is there any planned major changes in Hope for the Dying's musical styles for future material?

I wouldn't say there are any major changes in store for our style. I think people have come to associate the name "Hope for the Dying" with heavy, lead guitar driven, technical metal with some old school flare, and I think it's safe to say we'll probably stick to that and just work on honing our skills and keep writing music we love and enjoy playing.

What is your favorite Bible verse?

1 Corinthians 10:12-13. It's a verse that kind of has two purposes for me. On one hand, it's a reminder that God is always in control and will not leave me to fend for myself during the tough times and let me fall into temptation beyond what I can handle. On the other hand, it's a reminder that nothing is beyond my capacity to resist and, therefore, there is no excuse for falling short so it's a challenge to live my life like Christ the best I can, and no matter what, always rely on God for my strength.

As a Christian do you feel it is necessary to spend time reading the Bible daily?

Do I think it's important? Most definitely. Do I do it? Not nearly as much as I should. Do I wish I had the discipline to read the Bible everyday? Definitely, and I think that the more we mature as Christians, the more we are able to discipline ourselves in practices like this. God gave us His Word so we could know Him and learn about Him. If God took the time to commission His people to write these words down, then took the care to preserve these writings over the course of history and see it translated and printed in more languages and places than any other book in history, then it's safe to say that it must be pretty important for us to read.

Did any of you experience rejection from your Church/people in your church for your taste in music and the way you dressed? What advice would you have for people going through this?

I personally haven't experienced any personal prejudices from my own church, but I know that it has been brought up to us as a band in a few places several times by people that don't understand how music that sounds so angry can be possibly be a "joyful noise unto the Lord." The way we try to explain our ministry is by saying that a noise isn't joyful because of the kind of sound being made, but the joy comes from the heart of the person making the noise. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 9:20 and on through the end of the chapter talks about becoming all things to all men in order to get the message of Christ to all people. Some people will NEVER be reached by "church" music or typical churchy methods, but they might go to a heavy metal show in a club somewhere. So if there are lost people at these heavy metal shows, we need to be there showing the love of Jesus. We have to go where God sends us. For us, God has sent us to the metal scene.

What are some of your favorite albums?

Pretty much anything Pantera, I've been jamming "Great Southern Cowboys Vulgar Hits" lately..."Stabbing the Drama" by Soilwork, "The Skull Collectors" by Hibria, "Arise & Conquer" by War of Ages, "An Ocean Between Us" by As I Lay Dying, "The Oncoming Storm" by Unearth, "The Fall of Ideals" by All That Remains, "Depravity" by A Plea For Purging, "The Struggle" by Common Yet Forbidden, really looking forward to "Portraits" by For Today and the Hands album, the list goes on and on!

What have been some struggles you have encountered while touring and playing shows?

The hardest thing about being on the road is learning to deal with being surrounded by the same small group of people day and night, week after week and not killing each other! Sometimes it's easier than others, but in the end, we're all part of the body of Christ and we're out there trying to spread God's love, and we're stronger together than we would be on our own.

Is there any advice that you would like to give to smaller upcoming Christian bands?

Stay true to your calling. Keep God at the top of your priority list and He will minister through you more than you can imagine and take you places you never thought possible!

Any last words or prayer requests for the readers?

Just to remember our soldiers over seas, out fighting every day for freedom. Whether you support the war or not, regardless of how you feel about the current president or the last president or even the future president (whomever that may be), our military is still out there fighting and they still deserve our respect and our prayers and our support.