Paradise Lost

About a year ago I wrote lyrics for 10 songs that were put together by my very talented friend, Mr. Mike Risinger. We planned on the songs being released online with little (if any) support from live shows. It was a fun project that we could work on from a long distance sending songs back and forth; adding things here and there. I ended up recording four songs but then other parts of our lives took priority over our music. I still think about the songs all the time and still come up with new ideas every once in a while. It will still happen someday but I think Mike and I agree that the timing has to be right.

My favorite song painted a very strong picture about an idea of how the final purging of evil would happen at the end of this world from the point of view of a solider in the army of God's Kingdom. I remember "Braveheart" battle scenes kept coming to mind while I wrote this:

The cold of the night,
A shiver down my spine,
Foreshadow the battle unfolding,
My armor testifies,
Of battles come and gone,
My blade bears the marks of the Holy.

This battle has been won,
Before it ever had begun,
We bring purging fire from the Son,
The evil of the world is undone,

A legion approaches,
Marching to their demise,
The might of His throne is behind me.
As God became a man,
And stakes put through his hands,
You shall know pain though retribution,

This battle has been won,
Before it ever had begun,
We bring purging fire from the Son,
The evil of the world is undone,

In his own heart,
He grew selfish,
The desire to be God,
Now paradise is lost

With power of the sword,
We trample through the horde,
My sight's fixed on the prince of darkness,
Descending from the throne,
Comes the Faithful and True,
He will rule with an iron scepter,
His duty justified,
From the beginning of time,
He drives his blade through the deceiver,
In one final blow,
He casts them to shadow,
Victory belongs to the Maker,

This battle has been won

You Can't Kill The Metal

I think everyone has something that they're passionate about. Everyone has something that they can enjoy for themselves. Not because it's what all the people around them like or do. Not because it's the next popular thing and not because it's what everyone expects him or her to do. It's a self-rewarding interest. I think everyone knows at least one Star Wars freak (even if they don't know it). They'll tell you they can't hang out because they have to be at work early in the morning for a meeting but really they're sitting in a lounge chair in a full storm trooper costume waiting in line for the opening of the newest movie to show at midnight.

And just the same, I think everyone knows a metal head. Lurking in almost every society is a community that doesn't need to draw a lot of attention to itself. I think that's mainly because people that play and listen to metal, hardcore, and all the variations don't do it for the same reasons as other genres of music. Of course, there's always exceptions but I'm speaking generally.

There are a few reasons, specifically for me, that the metal scene is so close to my heart. The first is that people that play metal, for the most part, don't do it to be famous. They don't do it to get big houses and cars, tons of money, and a sneaker with their name on it. They do it because they love it. Almost all of the most passionate musicians I have seen play some form of metal. I also believe they're some of the most disciplined as well. Example: Chris Adler (drummer for the band Lamb of God) spends 2-3 hours warming up for a 1 hour show. When a fan told the band's lead vocalist, "you're drummer is awesome" he responded, "you'd be awesome too if you practiced 30 hours a day like he does."

All in all, since heavy metal emerged in the 70's there are now about 20 or more variations of this music. If you ever get sick of your Lil' Wayne, Justin Timberlake, and Good Charlotte CDs, throw in some Unearth or Darkest Hour for a few minutes to wake your ears up. Put on a Zao or Meshuggah album to send the boogie man running. Or crank up some Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Black Sabbath to find the music that got it all started. There's always something refreshing to me about hearing music that was written by a person who never plans on moving out of mom and dad's house as long as he or she can rock out.