In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
The current state of the Western metal scene is depressing, but there are still glimmers of hope. One such glimmer is Sanctified Ethos. They are a Christian black metal band that recently formed in Colorado. Their first demo, The True Art Of Isolation, was released just two months ago. The man behind the band chooses to remain anonymous; he lets the music speak for itself.
The first thing you will notice about this demo is the being on the cover. That is a seraph. The seraphim are the highest order of angels. They fly around God’s throne and proclaim His glory. Their portrayal on the cover is a refreshing change of pace from all the blasphemous imagery that is commonplace in metal. The lyrics are also drastically different. They speak of the struggle to remain righteous and pure in a fallen world. Take the title track for example:
“To exclude the mind from needs and lust
To drive away the illusions of pleasure
The items that bring no peace nor mental treasure
To deny the true human nature
To push aside the snakes and it's whispers
In hopes to one day be free from ego
And all its desires
To walk the path imperfect, perfectly
I'll notice my mistakes and repent the taste
My will
Be strong with God”
I can say from personal experience that no amount of material pleasures will ever fill the spiritual void that is present in so many people nowadays. Only God can fill that void. The other standout track, “Chaos of My Wicked Ways”, has the following lyrics:
“My mind wonders back to my wicked ways
All the pain I inflicted onto the ones who showed me love
Blasphimised Christ in all devilish ways
I destroyed my relationship with fate
I am haunted
For I was once corrupt
My soul filled with sulfur
Hate, lust and pain was what I craved
Though Christ has found me
The demons still laugh
masquerading as suicide within mind
O how they dance
O God Father please hear me
Even if my past sins lead me to Hell
I'm still proud to serve thee”
We all have self-destructive impulses, or sin as religion calls them. Sin encourages us to harm ourselves and others. It drags us into a dark hole of misery. Religion encourages humanity to climb out of that hole and pursue something greater, something transcendent.
The band draws from a wide range of influences. They start off sounding similar to bands like Xasthur, then they play material influenced by death metal, then they play blackened doom metal. All of this is wrapped in harsh and abrasive distortion. Many black metal bands pursue a lo-fi sound quality, but Sanctified Ethos is one of the few bands that does it right. Since this is a one-man band, I’m assuming the drums are programmed. If so, they are programmed well, for their blast beats and double bass sections are strong and focused. What surprised me was the track “The Deserver”. Those drums sound real and they’re at the forefront, making the music sound even more raw.
The vocals are the best part. They consist of a ghastly rasp that is made even more chilling by the reverb. It reminds me of bands like Leviathan. The guitars build the cold and frightening atmosphere by playing slightly melodic tremolo riffs that echo from the dark reaches. On the title track they play simple and direct death metal riffs alongside the tremolo riffs. On the next track the riffs have been slowed down considerably while still possessing a haunting sense of melody. The demo ends with an acoustic rendition of the main riff from “The Deserver”.
This demo is incredibly rough, but that’s the point. The music forces you to go through pain and suffering to see the hidden beauty. Sanctified Ethos is one of the most promising black metal bands to have formed in recent years. Their work possesses a divine spark that is absent in so many modern metal bands. I hope they go on to release more albums so we can have more sources of holy light in this dark and spiritually bankrupt age.