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This
one came a little late. In fact, it
arrived one or two days before I leave
home for my summer holidays despite
the fact it has been released since
February. Truth is I'd never heard
about Babylon Mystery Orchestra before
and the title of the album didn't
create me what someone can describe
as the finest first impression! "The
Great Apostasy: a Conspiracy of Satanic
Christianity" is the full title
of this work and I thought "Hey,
another album by some guys which are
very pissed with Christ and religion
This is probably a black metal band.
Let's hope I'll not hear any 'Praise
Satan' etc.". How wrong could
I be? Let's clear something out before.
I don't have anything against black
metal and I'm far from what someone
could call "a religious guy"
but as much religious conservative
fools piss me off or make me laugh
the same goes for all the Satan praising
blood-thirsty clowns (and this doesn't
go to the innumerable bands of this
scene that gave us masterpieces before
being critical and caustic against
religion's dark role in history).
I think you understand what I mean.
Sydney Allen Johnson, the mastermind
behind B.M.O. doesn't belong in any
of those two categories. In fact,
he is a strong believer of Christ
and his teachings but opposes church
and its manipulation over people.
"The Great Apostacy…"
is a concept album and Johnson's version
of church's history in which Satan
used the church from the beginning
to spread his evil teachings and take
over the world. I don't know if the
story sounds intriguing or silly (it's
a matter of taste), but the music
part is really interesting. The music
of B.M.O. moves between gothic hard
rock and atmospheric metal. Johnson
has taken care of every instrument
and the vocals (that's what is called
one man's business) and made an impressive
work. The majority of tracks are slow-tempo
with simple guitar themes and riffs
and some nice keyboards that create
a dark and mystical feeling. There
also are many acoustic guitar parts
on the background adding to this result.
The vocals are almost narrative while
the production job is really good
for an independent release. The booklet
is one of the most interesting I encountered
lately since, except the lyrics and
parts from the Gospels, there are
phrases by famous and exceptional
personalities of human history scattered
here and there, concerning man and
religion. Johnson's talent and excellent
composing abilities are obvious in
tracks such as the ballad-like "One
Way, One Truth, One Life", "Eye
of the Needle", "Wolf in
the Fold" and the ten minutes
long "Antichrist Superczar".
I would like to see him in a regular
band with capable musicians by his
side and a stronger production. I
believe that the result could be great.
Truth is that the whole record is
a little bit monotonous and there
are songs with small differences between
them but we're talking for a really
good album, in general, worth of your
time and money.
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