New Album - Title TBD - Release Date TBD

 

The New Black Metal Album...

This art is by Doomesia, who I will likely commission to do more artwork in the future because he's the only one that has completely and totally nailed the exact vision I've had for this album cover. 

I've asked a few friends what they get out of it, and they've all said similar things, I believe I've gotten across what I wanted to communicate, but if you're curious, here's a better explanation of some of it. I know how pretentious this is, but that's who I am. It's deep to me, but probably isn't as deep as I think it is.

Thank you, to my friends who have answered when I've bothered them for opinions...

1. The icon in the middle is from a vision I had. I saw the face of Christ. I will not be convinced otherwise, and this icon was communicated to me during that vision. It was not exactly the same, but Ayyarametallogo got the closest approximation and it looks fantastic. I will explain the symbology of it in another post as I understand it. It is not pagan, as some have asked already.
2. The cross is intact. To me, this calls attention the unbeatable strength of truth in Christ. It does not fade, it does not crumble. It is the only thing intact and undamaged in the entire image. 
3. The cross is also a symbol of the steadfast nature of God. Unchanging, though not entirely inflexible, especially with his followers. 
4. The cross, more so, is a beacon that calls us. Even if you grow away from it at times, you will come back if your faith has at any point truly been placed there. It is impossible to ignore, though it does not follow you, it remains there as a permanent fixture.
5. The man is weary. He walks with a cane. He's traveled for a very long time to find this church, maybe he attended it before, maybe he's only been there once. The exhaustion is palpable. 
6. The man is sick. He is vomiting. He has searched out this church to cure his sickness. He is welcome to the church despite his sickness, whatever evil or ugliness might exist within him. He is seeking the cure. 
7. He is damaged, but still inside the church. This is where he wants to be, despite his crippling disability or imperfection. This is where he belongs. 
8. The pews are empty. Go to almost any church at this time, most will be at least half empty.
9. The innards are decaying inside of the church due to lack of upkeep. 
10. The church itself is decaying, due to lack of upkeep.
11. The church is failing. The wider church. The state of the modern Christian community is severely damaged, and very few people are seeking it out, so it cannot be properly rebuilt or maintained.
12. The current church society is crumbling, outdated tactics and institutions are failing as a result of oppressive requirements and xenophobic exclusivity policies and politics. What good is a tithe if you're not going to put it where it should go? 
13. Those who seek out the decaying, problematic church are truly sick, and determined to find the answer and cure to their illness. They may not find it at the institution that is the church as it stands now, but they will still seek it out, but it is still the proper place to go. This is hopeful. 
14. When there is nothing else intact, they must look to the cross. There is nowhere else for them to go. The church itself is secondary. Church leadership is important, but it is not a requirement to salvation.
15. The growing plants imply that the nature of the church, despite its issues, is to be restored, though it may not be in the same form that it was. The growth of nature in this manner is also very slow.
16. This church is small, to say that most churches, from the tiny to the large, are subject to failure. 
17. The man is also old. Old and sick, his legalistic clinging to the established tradition of 19th and 20th church administration is no longer a valid approach. There are no people present, let alone young people. The church has failed to attract adherents. His pride may have caused this decay.
18. The bleak, punishing nature of the atmosphere is one that reflects the modern nature of the Christian community. How will it attract younger people, encourage fellowship, and stay alive if it does not create an atmosphere of loving kindness? This results in only the most desperate and world weary to seek it out, but not those who see things as, "Mostly okay," or have found hope where none actually exists.
19. Those who believe things are, "Mostly okay," will not bother with a crumbling, old, moldy church community that does not have their actual salvation or interests at heart. This will cause them to seek out other, more worldly solutions. This will (Read: has) caused further decay.
20. There are no obvious denominational marks here. Though I identify with a specific denomination, there is no discernable structure to this image overall. No direction. 

These are things how I see them. This is how I see the church. This is how I feel about it. This is what I feel I'm required to communicate in order to properly serve God. It may not be how you feel, it may not be how you see things, but I am absolutely, 100% positive that I'm not the only one who has these thoughts. 

We must acknowledge and look at the near total ruin we've caused to Christianity as an institution before we can ever hope to improve the state of it and attract more people to hear, appreciate, and accept the good news. We will not ever improve things if our only hope for improvement is by counting on the end of the world or trying to force the circumstances of Biblical prophecy, and if you think for even a moment that your feeling of superiority or exclusionary practices will at all convince anyone of Christ's status as Savior of mankind, you're not behaving as a servant of the Lord, you are communicating prideful egoistic false doctrine and you will be faced with that, sooner or later. To serve God you must serve others. To serve others, you must admit you are not between them and God, to serve others, you must not gatekeep, you must not judge, you must not continue to fiercely grip your political identity as a Biblically communicated set of requirements for salvation. 

We are damaging our own community, ourselves, and we are serving evil by ignoring the current state of the church and not working diligently to fix it in a way that is Biblical, instead using worldly politics and new age techniques that everyone pretends not to understand in a way that elevates evil and reduces true Holiness to sarcastically communicated platitudes designed to stroke the ego with no meaningful spiritual context or intent to uplift the downtrodden. 

We have caused the current state of the church and allowed evil to manipulate our hearts and minds through a shallow and uninformed look at our own Adamic nature. 

This album is angry.