DETRITUS

"When the Son of man returns, will He find the faith on the earth?"

I listened to a pod cast with them this morning.

Some things I took away:

More of Christians in a band and sounds like maybe only Mark B.

When asked about their faith as part of the band the sentiment seemed to be "We are in a differnet place now" Also about the faith aspect of the 1st 2 albumns "Well it helped us sell alot of records in America" THat one hurt the most...

They dont wanted to be labeled a Christian Thrash band but just want to be a thrash band that has things to say. Overall seems like they might have some SJW elements but hard to say. Im bad at decyfering lyrics during a listen and am waiting to read them.

I think its safe to say its more of a secular project .. Im bummned I jumped on the pre-order having faith that they stayed a little with their roots. I LOVE the music approach to the albumn but wont listen to it much probably.

Just my 2 cents and if people want to hear the interview I did I can post the link (there is no explicit language)

Yes, please post a link to the interview.

I don't really care for the new music so no loss there for me.  I'll stick with the first two albums.   It's just sad that we have to add them to the "We're just in a different place now, we've moved on" list.   They were an important band in the Christian scene back in the day, regardless of their attitude toward it now.

They are Episode 4

I would love to be wrong and get another interprtation of the interview.

The problem is I have plenty of great secular thrash bands to jam when I want that. To be frank, I generally prefer most secular thrash bands musically. I listen to Christian metal to be edified.

(This is a general statement as I have not dug into Detritus’ new lyrics).

When asked about their faith as part of the band the sentiment seemed to be "We are in a differnet place now" Also about the faith aspect of the 1st 2 albumns "Well it helped us sell alot of records in America" THat one hurt the most...

Good grief.

Gave it a cursory spin and the music is not exactly my cuppa. Lot of synths, plus I get quite heavy goth vibes from some tracks (not per se a bad thing) but it's certainly not the Detritus of old. I understand that bands move on soundwise, in particular after all those years but I am not particularly fond of the direction the likes of Detritus, Seventh Angel, Believer and Veni Domine have taken.

Now if it is true that they have gone full secular I don't see a reason to listen to it as I do not listen to secular music on purpose.

I'm frankly sick of hearing about the overrated old Christian thrash bands anyway. My 2 cents.

Nearly all of them who are still around have garbage music to accompany their garbage theology.

I'd rather listen to Hating Evil, Angel of Sodom, etc.

I'm glad that despite my previous comment that it took a bit for this to come out and I held off on a preorder. I'm also glad I didn't buy a shirt for the older albums. As much as I'll still listen to those, I don't like wearing shirts for bands that others may check out and find that they are being lead astray. I usually get rid of shirts when that happens.

With the way the world is heading I wonder if any bands will hold their ground?

Well, this news is disheartening, but not surprising.

And deleted from my collection.

Good riddance to bad rubbish! 

It would also behoove Boone's  Overstock to more fully vet Christian  bands that have reappeared after lengthy absences.

Listened to the interview. Thanks for linking it!

It was plainly stated by the member doing most of the talking (I don't know who it was) that they don't agree on a lot in regard to faith these days. They said the lyrics are deeper than what may be perceived on the surface but ultimately the only true unifier they had lyrically and as a band was having a generally positive and hopeful message. The band's joy in being back together is everyone still finding common ground and getting along. No one denied having faith nor did anyone affirm it, they just said no one is in the same place, someone classifying the older material as more "fundamental" and eluding to being on a Christian label back in the day as something that happened by chance.

Those are my best, nonjudgmental observations. It is clear they have no intentions to be a Christian band. Unfortunately they are on Retroactive for the CD release, which, again, eludes to that being the case.

The one thing I didn't get was if the person that wrote the lyrics is actually a Christian or if there was a single lyricist. That could notably change how the lyrics have been written across the whole album. It can't be known until the lyrics are all out. The person who made most of the comments in the interview didn't sound like they wrote lyrics but they spoke the majority of the time. If that person isn't a Christian then it makes sense that they waffled over terribly on the faith question.

Connecting this to other bands, Wytch Hazel is not a Christian band in any regard but the lyricist, lead writer is and they have a massive bend towards true faith. Azusa seems to have several Christian members but have little to nothing eluding to faith.

Personally, I don't like reading Christianity into the lyrics. I bought Wytch Hazel's material and gave up on Azusa.

I'm just finishing my first spin. WOW, liking it much more than I thought I would. Keep an open mind when you first listen, try not to compare it to Detritus of yore.
Now if I could only find the complete lyrics so I can be assured they still stand on solid rock.

BaleMaster wrote:It would also behoove Boone's  Overstock to more fully vet Christian  bands that have reappeared after lengthy absences.

 Amen!   And not just Boone's, but Girder, Roxx, CMD, etc.

I know that Duane at Vision Of God records vets bands, even newer ones from album to album.
But even his system is not perfect and sometimes a few slip through the cracks.

BaleMaster wrote:It would also behoove Boone's  Overstock to more fully vet Christian  bands that have reappeared after lengthy absences.

Boone's sells lots of non-Christian used stock.  They aren't judge-y like that, thankfully.  I don't think a retailer should be in the business of judging bands' faith or lackthereof, any more than I think a musician has a responsibility to write explicitly Christian lyrics if that's not who they are.  Those are both terrible ideas.  If they want to, fine, but it shouldn't be required to satisfy the religious police.  Lighten up, guys.  This thread is starting to sound like a grumpy fundamentalist support group.

I for one am thankful that one of my favorite bands has new music.  I'll take vague lyrics over none at all.  Honestly, I'd prefer it so I can play it at work without my co-workers vetoing or mocking it (like they do with obvious Christian lyrics).

strangerhoncho wrote:

I don't think a retailer should be in the business of judging bands' faith or lackthereof, any more than I think a musician has a responsibility to write explicitly Christian lyrics if that's not who they are.  

Here's where I would disagree:

When a retailer / distributor markets a new album from an older Christian band to the Christian market, they invariably market / hype that new album as a Christian release, even if it is not.  That is probably because they know it has a built-in audience and following and why mess with a good thing, right?

When a retailer does that, that is deceptive marketing.  I see it done often.  Or the band will have a Christian member and they may market the album as Christian when it is not (e.g. the new Fierce Heart).

When a retailer does this, it is unfair to the fans of the band in their previous incarnation who might buy the album thinking they are getting something they are not.  Rather than giving potential buyers an informed choice, they are trying to hook them.

At least with the new Detritus, I will give credit to the marketers, press releases, videos, etc. because they are not trying to be deceptive in that way.  They are not presenting the new Detritus as an explicitly Christian band now, rather they are saying this is a band with a long history, the lyrics are a positive alternative to the negativity around us, etc.  

If these retailers give the right information so that people can make up their minds, that is not a problem.  But if they hide or withhold information to get sales, yes that is a problem.

Constantine wrote:

strangerhoncho wrote:

I don't think a retailer should be in the business of judging bands' faith or lackthereof, any more than I think a musician has a responsibility to write explicitly Christian lyrics if that's not who they are.  

Here's where I would disagree:

When a retailer / distributor markets a new album from an older Christian band to the Christian market, they invariably market / hype that new album as a Christian release, even if it is not.  That is probably because they know it has a built-in audience and following and why mess with a good thing, right?

When a retailer does that, that is deceptive marketing.  I see it done often.  Or the band will have a Christian member and they may market the album as Christian when it is not (e.g. the new Fierce Heart).

When a retailer does this, it is unfair to the fans of the band in their previous incarnation who might buy the album thinking they are getting something they are not.  Rather than giving potential buyers an informed choice, they are trying to hook them.

At least with the new Detritus, I will give credit to the marketers, press releases, videos, etc. because they are not trying to be deceptive in that way.  They are not presenting the new Detritus as an explicitly Christian band now, rather they are saying this is a band with a long history, the lyrics are a positive alternative to the negativity around us, etc.  

If these retailers give the right information so that people can make up their minds, that is not a problem.  But if they hide or withhold information to get sales, yes that is a problem.

Yeah, I agree with all that.  They definitely shouldn't market it as an explicitly Christian band if that's not the case or if that's not how the band wants to be marketed.  But I'm glad you recognize that they aren't doing that with Detritus.

I should also point out that there are some bands with all Christian members who don't sing explicitly about Christian themes or who don't want to be marketed as Christian bands because they honestly believe it's wrong to make money by selling Jesus.  I share that belief to some extent.  Many former Christian bands go this route because they have matured.  But I allow for individuals and for bands to do what rings true to them.  If they want to make money singing about Jesus, I don't think it's great and seems to go against Jesus' actions in the temple, but I'm not going to judge them for it.  If they don't want to make money singing about Jesus, I'm good with that too -- regardless of motivation.  I don't know what Detritus' motivations are, but given that they said the band members have differing positions now, it makes sense to keep the lyrics vague so that the music can represent the band as a whole.  I think it shows integrity, maturity, and respect for each other, while also giving us new music.

Considering how badly Detritus played us American Christians, they'll never again receive the benefit of the doubt from me.  

strangerhoncho wrote:

BaleMaster wrote:It would also behoove Boone's  Overstock to more fully vet Christian  bands that have reappeared after lengthy absences.

Boone's sells lots of non-Christian used stock.  They aren't judge-y like that, thankfully.  I don't think a retailer should be in the business of judging bands' faith or lackthereof, any more than I think a musician has a responsibility to write explicitly Christian lyrics if that's not who they are.  Those are both terrible ideas.  If they want to, fine, but it shouldn't be required to satisfy the religious police.  Lighten up, guys.  This thread is starting to sound like a grumpy fundamentalist support group.

I for one am thankful that one of my favorite bands has new music.  I'll take vague lyrics over none at all.  Honestly, I'd prefer it so I can play it at work without my co-workers vetoing or mocking it (like they do with obvious Christian lyrics).

That's not being "judge-y"...that's showing Biblical discernment.  Something clearly lacking with this newfangled lineup and their present mindset.

I haven't bought a copy yet. Does anyone know who produced / mixed the album?

I can post the lyric booklet if anyone wants to read it. The more I listen IM hearing more of a message, yes its more on a investigative message based on what we were used to from them but its there to me anyhow. Yes they call out the Church but after talking to a pastor from the UK the Church seems to be having alot of issues.

Just my opinion when I take out the first 2 albumns in context. I feel that if this was under a new name and the members were using sudonyms we would be finding a religous context to the lyrics.

Just my 2 cents.

MagnusPrime wrote:I haven't bought a copy yet. Does anyone know who produced / mixed the album?

From the booklet:

"All material written and composed by Detritus. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Greg
Chandler at Priory. Produced by Detritus."

I was never into Detritus. I haven’t heard anything from them that impressed me.