Recent Purchases (Secular/Other)

Yes the suspense is killing me!

Son of Nun knows how to build interest.

I should also add that I got a Rust in Peace shirt like the cool person that I undoubtedly am.

Here's most of my CD pickups in May and June. As I mentioned in the Death Metal thread, I've been exploring a lot of the later discographies of classic bands so that accounts for a lot of this. I also filled in some gaps with some old albums I wanted back and re-explored Dan Swano's work.

Wow, tons of Death Metal,,and Armored Saint.

How did that get in there?

Those are the best Hypocrisy albums.

Black Rider wrote:Those are the best Hypocrisy albums.

Agreed.

Has anyone heard these early Orphaned Land works? Death/Doom reminiscent of the Scandinavian/Finnish bands of those early days but with a Middle Eastern twist. Kerrick would probably dig. Lyrics are what we might call "Abrahamic friendly."

Son of Nun wrote:

Black Rider wrote:Those are the best Hypocrisy albums.

Agreed.

Has anyone heard these early Orphaned Land works? Death/Doom reminiscent of the Scandinavian/Finnish bands of those early days but with a Middle Eastern twist. Kerrick would probably dig. Lyrics are what we might call "Abrahamic friendly."

Orphaned Land was actually the band that turned me on to death metal vocals.  I got into them shortly after Mabool was released and their first album Sahara was always my favorite - but everything I had of theirs I really enjoyed.  I ended up purging their CDs from my collection because their lyrics took a more spiritual, almost universalist turn.  They're quite un-Christian in that they claim Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same god, all paths lead to Rome, etc.  But yeah, their early stuff was great and as i recall the lyrics for those were not bad.

Yeah, I've been listening to Mabool since it came out but never really explored anything else from their catalogue. So, I was a bit surprised by their early style which is more in my typical wheelhouse. Their recent lyrics are pretty cringe (that Abrahamic relativism was a phase I went through on the way to Christianity) but I don't know that it would bother me, personally, enough to not own those albums if I wanted them. I'm pretty content with their material from Beloved's Cry through Mabool though. There's no reason I'd reach for any of their later stuff over Mabool.

^Right on.  I had their ORwarriOR album but it didn't really grab me.  I think musically their stuff post-Mabool wasn't as interesting either, so I'm not sure you're missing much by sticking to their early stuff.

Even the early stuff was sketchy lyrically at times. Find Yourself, Discover God? I agree the style is better.

Oy.  It's been probably 15 years since I read their lyrics, but I just re-read those and I agree, they're pretty bad...

There's some theologically silly stuff, but they're not Christians anyway. In a genre where so many are openly antagonistic to Christ, I'll gladly take those who are friendly (if misguided). I don't have to agree with them to enjoy. But we all have our own way of navigating these issues {now we've turned this into that lyrics thread haha).

I own all OL albums since Mabool (which is still my favorite). It's just what Son of Nun says, it's not like they're heretical christians. They may be heretical talmudic jews but that's it. And when they sing "Who cares if you're a muslim or a jew", I couldn't agree more

Andreas89 wrote:I own all OL albums since Mabool (which is still my favorite). It's just what Son of Nun says, it's not like they're heretical christians. They may be heretical talmudic jews but that's it. And when they sing "Who cares if you're a muslim or a jew", I couldn't agree more

For sure.  Though for me personally, I just can't find any enjoyment in listening to music that goes directly against my beliefs.  Secular lyrics about history, politics, or fantasy I've got no issues with.  But if they're singing that "all is one" with album covers like this... then I'll happily find something else to listen to. 

Spoiler:

An interesting album cover, is it not? Jesus Christ, the morning star, who was crucified. Muslims adamantly deny the crucifixion ever happened, symbolized by the crecent moon trying to drag the star off the cross.

That's not what they mean but who's gonna stop me from interpreting the album cover that way?

But yeah, maybe it would be different if they mainly sung in my own language.

I like your interpretation of that cover better than mine.  

Projekt Gemineye - What Lies Beyond (vinyl)

Sabaton: The Great War

After an exhausting week, I treated myself.

Redemption - Snowfall on Judgement Day
Redemption - The Fullness of Time
Symphony X - Paradise Lost

^Great choices, that last song on Snowfall is absolutely majestic.

As for me:

Gloryhammer - Return to the Kingdom of Fife

LOVEBITES: Judgment Day 
Beyond the Black: s/t
Rage: Soundchaser

The Howling Void: Into Darkness Ever More Profound

Stargazer: Life Will Never Be the Same