Crucifer - Carrier Of The Cross

Ok So how many picked this up from Christian Metal Distro?  I must say I am a little confused by this band.  The album name, and the fact that I got it from Christian Metal Distro, had me assuming that Bill had found a little known gem in Christian Thrash Metal.

Well It is a gem of Thrash metal but the rest of the above I don't know yet.  The archives has the listed as lyrical topics of Torture, Life and Death.

However when digging into some lyrics I am really confused.  There are some songs like the following

False Sense Of Hope

Leave me be, mine to see. whatever I choose leave me be mine to see... blind!

Always confused cluttered thoughts trying to remember what I've been taught
searching for answers never to find how these people play with my mind

What may be right for you, may not be right for me one man's Sh** is another mans treasure you're just to blind to see

telling me how I should run my life go to church find the lord live the wonderful life
what if I choose to believe in myself leave the good book to rot on the shelf I believe I can survive

no for of religion for me to thrive maybe someday I will choose to believe but for right now I cannot conceive
what May be right for you may not be right for me one man's sh** is another man's treasure you're just to blind to see.

leave me to be mine to see whatever I choose
leave me to be mine to see.... blind!

individuals you and I your cup of tea my choice to try.  Your life to lead it's your call within the boundaries of the law
you only live once so little time your life to live and I'll live mine.  Live to fullest so much to do nothing wrong just different from you

what may be right for you may not be right for me one man's sh** is another man's treasure you're just to blind to see.


And I can't leave out the very obvious pentagram with a skull in the center of it and a person in a blue robe on each side and on the outside of the circle a ton of gliphs or symbols of some kind.

But then there are tons of songs like the two following

Faces In The Shadows

Faces in the shadows sacrifice is coming
wait for the day to meet your maker
for he is the way

hatred is black. Extened their hands
turning non believers.  All evil Himans

Faces in the shadows... they seem unreal
faces in the shadows... they know what you feel
shadows on their faces... what do they know
As they let go

Society Is gone. Eaten by hate
Something unseen our chosen fate

hiding from our sins. soon eternal days
resurrections coming. repent your evil ways


No Evil

My time to give. the reason we live
the fear of death. slowly fades

living for him. cross against sin. gets taken away

seeing hearing speaking no evil
pray for those who do
thannkful to thos who taught you well
when deliverance comes to you

no evil
no evil

looking for hoping to change
into the right side of earth living to die
good reason why after the miracle of birth

So what do you guys think of this album?  Did I put this in the wrong section is this a Christian thrash metal gem or is it just a Thrash metal gem that has songs both good and evil similar to black sabbath.

I got the same vibe when I researched them a bit...I thought it was decent musically but went away debating whether to buy (have not as of yet anyway) and thinking "why is this @ Christian Metal Distro?"

Well CMD has sold out so if you did want to buy it you would have to look elsewhere and only 500 copies world wide were made.  Seems that there is a whole spectrum of lyrics in this album as I read them.  But it has me a bit confused.

CMD also carries My Silent Wake albums and Ian has repeatedly made it very clear that they are not a Christian band, though they did/do have some ties to the Christian scene.  Might be the same case with these guys?

Kerrick wrote:CMD also carries My Silent Wake albums and Ian has repeatedly made it very clear that they are not a Christian band, though they did/do have some ties to the Christian scene.  Might be the same case with these guys?

Very true.  That is not what bothers me at all.  I am just confused by this band lyrically.  They are VERY GOOD and I LOVE this album.  I just can't play it on my show unless I find out some more info, which is proving to be very difficult to find.

Gotcha!  Might be best to ask the band directly.  Do they have a facebook page or means of contact?

lhversaw do you have the CMD copy? If so what does the band's biography and background say about them?

Hardcore Christian wrote:lhversaw do you have the CMD copy? If so what does the band's biography and background say about them?

Yes I do biography isn't really clear on weather they are a Christian band or not.  Bill got these from Dark Blasphemy Records CMD did not put these out just carried them.

lhversaw wrote:

Hardcore Christian wrote:lhversaw do you have the CMD copy? If so what does the band's biography and background say about them?

Yes I do biography isn't really clear on weather they are a Christian band or not.  Bill got these from Dark Blasphemy Records CMD did not put these out just carried them.

Ah I see, well I love me some thrash so Im gonna check more into these guys!

Hardcore Christian wrote:

lhversaw wrote:

Hardcore Christian wrote:lhversaw do you have the CMD copy? If so what does the band's biography and background say about them?

Yes I do biography isn't really clear on weather they are a Christian band or not.  Bill got these from Dark Blasphemy Records CMD did not put these out just carried them.

Ah I see, well I love me some thrash so Im gonna check more into these guys!

It is well worth the money.  25 tracks of Good 90's thrash

Ok I finally found the bands facebook page and got a hold of them.  This is the reply that I got:



"The quick answer is no we are not. However, we get asked this constantly since day 1. We started out as a regular death metal trio in 1990 and the first gig we landed was an opening slot for the band Believer at a venue called Street Cry. The only caveat was that our lyrics needed to be approved first. We ended up having to change some lyrics and even song titles. Pray for the Dead was originally called Cremate the Dead. So we played our first show at a Christian venue and it really made us change our direction. We started writing Christian based lyrics and headed down that path. I would say 50% of the lyrics mostly written by Brian are Christian based. The other 50% that I wrote are more open minded, make you think, make a choice, other possibilities, life experiences etc. None of our lyrics are bad with the exception of a word or two and nothing we have ever written is Satanic or anything like that. We just want people to think and make their own decisions. I'm really glad you like it! Let me know if you have any additional questions. I have shirts and other merchandise if you are interested."




So Now I am no longer confused about it. I still don't know that I sill play them on my show but but I will thoroughly enjoy listening to it myself.

Wow, that was a really thoughtful and insightful response from them.  Kudos to those guys for taking the time to answer you like that.  And thanks for sharing here Larry!

This was an interview I came across when I was checking into them to see who they were:

http://toughriffs.weebly.com/interviews/interview-with-jeff-riddle-crucifer

Here is an excerpt that relates to your question:

- In 1993, you released your second album, "Pictures of Heaven". Why did you choose such a title? Is this album conceptual? What is the main message of the lyrics on it?
- It was not conceptual. I chose the title because I thought it was so powerful and would raise the eyebrows and curiosity of metal fans. The message across most of the CD was, if an afterlife exists, prove it to me. Use logic and reason to explain where we came from, why are we here, what happens to us when we die? Is there a God? Are we the result of evolution? This release caused quite a bit of heartburn. Some people thought we must be a christian band and wanted nothing to do with us. Then the Christians started to write to us and come to our shows! We actually didn't know what to tell people because we didn't want to turn anybody off.

lhversaw wrote:Ok I finally found the bands facebook page and got a hold of them.  This is the reply that I got:



"The quick answer is no we are not. However, we get asked this constantly since day 1. We started out as a regular death metal trio in 1990 and the first gig we landed was an opening slot for the band Believer at a venue called Street Cry. The only caveat was that our lyrics needed to be approved first. We ended up having to change some lyrics and even song titles. Pray for the Dead was originally called Cremate the Dead. So we played our first show at a Christian venue and it really made us change our direction. We started writing Christian based lyrics and headed down that path. I would say 50% of the lyrics mostly written by Brian are Christian based. The other 50% that I wrote are more open minded, make you think, make a choice, other possibilities, life experiences etc. None of our lyrics are bad with the exception of a word or two and nothing we have ever written is Satanic or anything like that. We just want people to think and make their own decisions. I'm really glad you like it! Let me know if you have any additional questions. I have shirts and other merchandise if you are interested."




So Now I am no longer confused about it. I still don't know that I sill play them on my show but but I will thoroughly enjoy listening to it myself.

Sick reply!

Glad to have it cleared up!
And since their album is sold out at the Distro can you link me to the bands Facebook? Or give me some way to contact him in the future, I would really like to have one a copy of one of their albums in some way, shape, or form.

There was one song in particular (Sister Crematorium) that has some pretty vile imagery and language that I asked him about when I received my package the other day

Here's what he said: (for anyone who cares)

There are a few songs, especially the ones I wrote that the lyrics are a bit rough. Sister and Pieces. Pieces is about the cold side of the funeral business. Sister is kind of along the same lines, the darker side of death and the unknown. I've always had an interest the funeral business, afterlife and what happens when we die. I really like both songs, but the lyrics are rough. Most of the clean lyrics were written by Brian. I kind of look at each song as a separate story or chapter. They don't all share the same underlying theme.

So for those interested its available on Bandcamp for a reasonable price. I cant post links yet so I added some spaces and such.


darkblasphemiesrecords . bandcamp.com / album/carrier-of-the-cross-the-anthology-2-cd

Welcome to CMR mothy!  Are you a member of or related to the band in any way?

EDIT: here's the link without spaces:
https://darkblasphemiesrecords.bandcamp.com/album/carrier-of-the-cross-the-anthology-2-cd

No Im not associated in any way. I ran across it on Christian Metal distro and did some research on them but dont buy CD's anymore so Im always scouting for digital purchases.

Right on.  Glad to have you aboard.