believe The Byrds said it best when they said there is a time for everything... The Byrds?... and A Plea For Purging seems to agree:  funny, but serious when it counts; outrageous at times, but always honest. They seem to grasp what is most important in life and they aren’t afraid to show you what they are really made of. There are not many filters with Plea, and that is why we love them. Still riding their March release of Depravity while touring and writing for a summer 2010 release Vox man Andy Atkins took some time to talk to us very honestly about Depravity, their next album, and life in general. Thanks Andy!

You dudes seem way funny and real crazy, from your mock T’s to telling jokes on stage (ask Andy to tell you the whale joke), but your last March release Depravity was very serious marked with a lot of conviction. You seem to take your music very seriously but with everything else you seem to come across as very light-hearted, talk to us a bit about your views on life and music and the vision for A Plea For Purging.

Andy Atkins: Well, it’s not ALL fun, games and DOO DOO parties with A PLEA FOR PURGING.  We are definitely light hearted dudes, who love to have fun and hang out.  I love making fun of people, including myself.  I love making fun of this ridiculously serious “scene” we are apart of.  We aren’t the type of dudes that want to be viewed as dark, mysterious, and totally cool.  We are just trying to be real and unapologetic about it.

As far as our music, like I said, we want to be real.  I

write about my life and people in my life.  I write about being pissed, sad, unhappy and mad just as I write about being happy.  Christians always write the same ol’ happy song about God being good.  Let me say now that I believe our God is big and good.  But I also know that I’m not programed.  I have a brain and emotions.  And as a Christian I still get upset and I still have bad times.

I question a lot of things in life.  I question God a lot.  And I’d be a hypocrite if I lied and said I didn’t.  So I’m gonna write about that.  In that, I hope people feel comfort in knowing that they aren’t alone in those thoughts.  I got a lot of new things going on in my life right now and I’m stoked to talk about it on the next record.

I know that everyone wants to know the meaning behind the last track “Depravity”, can you take a minute to explain, to those that may be confused, what exactly you wanted listeners to take away from this track?  Hit us with a bit of wisdom and insight.

AA: This goes along with what i was just saying.  Basically, I know and believe that there is one God.  I believe he created me and loves me.  I have felt his spirit and I have redemption thru his son.  With that being said, I still feel alone sometimes.  I still feel like I can’t hear God talk to me sometimes.  I still question the statement I just said.  “Do I REALLY believe in this invisible God?”  I got a lot of filthy stuff in my life that separates me from feeling the presence of God.  If everything I’ve already told you is true, that I want to be real and appear transparent to fans and friends, then I am gonna write about these thoughts.

“Depravity” is my confession to others that I am still growing and questioning and my challenge to others to do the same.

One of the first things I think of when I think of A Plea For Purging (other than brutal and awesome) is merch. You guys sell a ton of merchandise. You probably have more merch than any other band right now. From a business standpoint, what advice would you give young bands about handling merch?

AA: Well, I wouldn’t say we sell a “ton” of merch but we are blessed to stay afloat financially through merch sales, yes.  For a band these days, merch sales are as important as lungs are to the human body.  Record sales are low as the state of the industry isn’t as flourishing as it once was.  And for a band like us, we aren’t getting thousands of dollars to play shows, so if we were working with just guarantee’s to do all of our budgeting, we’d be up a creek.

If i were going to give any bit of advice to a young band in the ways of the merch game I would say this:  Never get into merch debt.  Pay all of your merch costs up front.  It might be hard in the beginning but will pay off tremendously in the long run.  Many bands fall apart due to debt.  It’s probably the number one band killer, so keep your debt low. When you sell a shirt for $10, $12, $15...etc, you don’t have $15 to go out and blow.  Put your costs back and save for re-orders and new merch.  Simple and effective. The more merch you have, the more merch you’ll sell.  Give the buyer options.  Follow the trends.  Your music makes your statement.  Your merch pays your bills.

Whats your favorite design that you sell?

AA: We just got a new shirt last week.  Its called “THE RUDE DUDES SHIRT.”  Its a cartoon drawing of us from MikeC Hardcore.  We are all naked on the front of the shirt.  With our name covering up anything too lewd to show on a shirt, of course.  The back says “RUDE, NOOD, DOO DOO DUDES.”  And of course it says “PARTY” on the front too.

I think it’ll be an all time great seller.  PS We love Mike C!

We hear there is talks of a new album summer of 2010, can you tell us anything about the sound or direction of your new stuff?

AA: The new record will be the heaviest thing PLEA has ever released.  It will also have a lot of new elements that PLEA has never showed off before.  Clean vocals will make their way to the record.  Lower tunings. Traditional songwriting song structure.  We are really wanting to do something new to us, or should I say NU to us.

Lyrically the record will be honest.  We have been questioning what we do and why we do it.  We have been questioning our friends and enemies a lot.  We question this whole “Christian Music” thing a lot.  All these questions will make their way to the new record.  It should be sure to raise some questions, I’m sure.

We get a lot of feed back from listeners and readers about whether a band is a “Christian Band” or not, what is Plea’s take on this topic?

AA: Well, I’m not one to care what people tag their music.  I think christians can sing songs about things other than spiritual issues and biblical topics.  What makes music “Christian?”  But if you are asking, do we consider ourselves a Christian band, well I’d tell you we sing songs about our battles with ourselves and our God.  Our purpose is to show others the love of Christ through our music and our relationships.  Take that as you will.  I have gone on record to say, we are a Christian band in the past.

What music or life factors would you say have contributed to the writing of this new album?

AA: We are tired of seeing God’s name with a price tag on it.  I think others are too.  We don’t want to be apart of the mass marketing of the name of Christ.  These realizations have led us to wanting to speak our minds about the topic.

I recently watched one of your tour updates, it was funny and ridiculous as usual. Having all the fun Plea has you got to have a few crazy stories from the road, what would you say are your top two?

AA: One time Aaron(drums) pooped all over Lyle Paschal(ex-guitarist) in the van.  It was funny.  No, that’s not the reason he is now EX-guitarist and no longer guitarist.  Haha.

This isn’t funny, or exciting to most, but we recently got to stop at the Redwoods in Cali to see some huge trees.  It was an awesome day in the woods.  The rare times that we get to do those kind of things rule.  Touring can be all work and no play sometimes.  

Tell us about your experience with Facedown Records, how you came to be on it and where you see the label fitting into the music world today.

AA: Facedown Records is the BEST RECORD LABEL on this planet.  We love everyone at the label and appreciate what they do for us.  We are undeserving of how well they treat us.  And I know they treat all their bands the same way.
Joining the Facedown Family started differently than one would think.  We didn’t really hit up Jason to sign us.  I was actually in an email convo with him about something totally different. It had something to do with online distro, and Jason mentioned his interest in our band.  The rest is history.

I think Facedown is really rising up in the industry while keeping its integrity.  God is doing many great things through the willingness of Jason and Virginia Dunn to be obedient. I am blessed to be apart of what God is doing through Facedown.

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War Of Ages | A Battle Within
Written By: Jameson Ketchum

ust another metal band? Hardly. War of Ages has been plugging along for years now, blowing the competition out of the water while maintaining a humbleness that seems to be quickly disappearing from the scene. If you look up “hard work” in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of War of Ages. If you want to know who the (self-proclaimed) toughest metal band is right now, that’s War of Ages. I could go on with more praises and clichés, but I think I’ll just let you all decide for yourselves. Leroy Hamp and I stood in the midst of dust and soundchecks during a recent festival to hash out what War of Ages really is all about and what we can expect from them in the future. Hint: More brutality.

What sets you guys apart from other metal acts today?

Leroy Hamp: I don’t really know. We do what we do, we play what we play. What sets us apart from other metal acts is that we are a Christian metal band, but what sets us apart from other Christian metal bands? I don’t know. We are stronger. We’re probably the toughest metal band out there (laughs).

I would definitely agree with that. Speaking of tough, tell us a bit about recording with Tim Lambesis.

LH: It’s awesome. He’s very musically talented and very easy to work with. We trust what he’s saying as you need to in a producer. He’s got good input and we don’t always agree with what he wants and he doesn’t always want what we want but we find that happy medium. We roll well with him and we’re going to go with him for the next album. We love how he works. Daniel Castleman, his engineer, we love how he works and we feel a very strong connection with him. We love him.

I sat in on one of your Bible studies before a show in Vancouver awhile back. How long have you guys been doing this and how has it helped?

LH: We’ve been doing that awhile. We try to keep each other in check on the road and the one way we do that is through Bible study because we’re not able to attend church that often. Every day we’re in a new state you know, we don’t know the churches or whatever so we just keep trying to do it ourselves. Some weeks are better than other weeks. We’ll do it four or five times one week. Other times it’s once or twice a month, but we try to do it as much as possible and keep each other accountable.

You guys are known as one of the hardest working and touring bands out there. How long have you been consistently touring the country and can you give us your favorite story from the road?

LH: Every time I get this question I can never think of a hilarious story.

Or maybe like a time you saw God really working?

LH: We don’t see much God at our shows (laughs) just kidding. There was one time we played a show in Seattle and this person came up to me and said they didn’t care if we were a Christian band or not and they weren’t a believer but the song “Heart of a Warrior” touched his life so much that it actually changed him as a person. That took me back to when I changed my life. When I changed my life around I wasn’t a Christian, I could care less about God. That change happens slowly. That foundation was built very slowly and it wasn’t until I realized real joy that was God. That’s when God changed my life even though He had a hand in it from the beginning. But when that kid told me that I said I know man, I started out saying that I want to change MY life, not for any spiritual whatever, just for MY life.

When people attend a War of Ages show, what do you want them to come away with?

LH: Enlightened. Something different. I don’t necessarily mean that musically. Musically is awesome, thank you very much you know but at the same time if there was something that was said or wasn’t said then I hope that you can think on that. I crack a joke sometimes that maybe I should get on stage and rip up a Bible, I say that very loosely you know. But I was saying that to a couple of kids and out of the four kids that were standing there I asked them to name ten verses that they knew by heart, start naming them. Out of the four of them they gave me eight. Maybe if they weren’t put on the spot they could’ve given me ten but I asked them “You’re upset why? Because I ripped up a book that sits on your doorstep or couch or nightstand? Why do you have it?” You might as well rip it up or burn it if you’re not going to use it. It’s those very people that get pissed off at me for doing are the same people that can’t give me ten verses. I would never do it but at the same time I think what if I did? I’d have to explain myself I guess.

Can you explain a bit about the origins of your name?

LH: That’s a battle within yourself man. Every man and woman has that battle that they fight within themselves whether it’s with their looks, sexual addiction, drug abuse, suicide. That’s that war of ages and it changes for everyone on a daily basis. War of Ages, I don’t know if you know this, but we sing a lot about being warriors and fighting battles. It’s the same way in your personal life; you learn to fight, to roll with this. That’s pretty much what we’re about. You can say it until you’re blue in the face that you’re not a leader but we’re all called to be leaders, called to be disciples. We’re all born leaders in different ways.

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Jason Dunn of Facedown Records
Written By: Jameson Ketchum

ave you noticed a pattern lately? A pattern looking something like all your favorite metal and hardcore bands being signed to the same label? It’s not a coincidence, its Facedown Records, the powerhouse label that seems to be quickly taking over the metal scene one epic act at a time. Not to say that this was a successful overnight endeavor, president of Facedown, Jason Dunn, has been hard at work for over a decade perfecting this brand that bands are so proud to slap on their albums. In a scene where labels aren’t delivering and faith seems to be wavering, Facedown holds strong and encourages you to do the same. Dunn explains a bit about the origins of Facedown Records as well as what it takes to make it in this business.

So you were in the band No Innocent Victim when you started up Facedown Records. Walk us through that decision and maybe your first year with the label.

Jason Dunn: I joined No Innocent Victim in 1996. I was 17 at the time and still had a year left of high school. I started Facedown as a mailorder distro in 1996 and sold friends bands CDs, records and tapes through the NIV mailorder and at our shows. Then in late 1997 Facedown became a label and started putting out albums. In 2000 it became my full time job as it required way more time than I could commit to it as a part time hobby. No Innocent Victim was not on Facedown until 2005 when we put out our album “To Burn Again”. Before that we put out albums on Victory Records and Rescue Records.

What would you say was your big break as a label?

JD: I often refer to signing Overcome as our first big break. They had put out two albums on Solid State / Tooth and Nail and were released from their contract. I met them through touring with NIV and became friends and they decided to give me a shot and let me put out some releases for them. It instantly put Facedown Records out where people would see it by having a known band on the label. That then lead to us developing Figure Four which eventually merged into Comeback Kid and the rest is history. That was the first wave of developing bands though, with a lot of great bands in between that I did not mention.

It’s been said that Strike First, Facedown’s first imprint, acts as a sort of boot camp for Facedown. Can you expand a bit on this?

JD: We started Strike First Records in 2003 as a way to work with more young bands that we could put on Facedown. It became a sort of Minor Leagues of Facedown. It gives us the ability to sign young bands that might have very little tour experience and it gives them the tools, opportunities and resources to take their bands to a higher level than they could do on their own.

Tell us about your motto, “More than Sound”.

JD: More Than Sound is our desire to bring more to the music community and world than just sound, bands, etc… As Christians we want to make real impacts in the lives of those who are less fortunate and have needs that can be met.  Each month we spotlight a different non-profit organization on our website (we call them our “featured Samaritan”) and a portion of all the online store sales go to benefit that organization as well. We are also hoping to be able to put together benefit shows, tours and events and also arrange community service outreaches. Make sure to check out our website and click on “More Than Sound” to learn more about this. It’s a very exciting part of what Facedown is.

Unlike some other labels that seem to waver sometimes when it comes to really representing their faith, your label’s bands are just so up front about it, in a good way. Was this something that has been there from the beginning?

JD: We have never been ashamed to be known as a Christian label.  I think people have known that from the early days. We have always signed bands that are made up of believers. Sometimes they happen to be very outright with their faith and sometimes they present their faith in more quiet ways. I feel like we have a good balance of both (and everything in between) and it really showcases that there are all different parts of the body of Christ. We are not all to be the mouths, some of us are hands (serving others), some are knees (allowing the legs to walk), etc…

So far you have Strike First and Dreamt Music operating under the Facedown flag. Do you see anymore imprints coming in the future and what might they focus on?

JD: I don’t see us taking on any more divisions than we currently have.  Our current setup seems to meet all of the needs that we have as a company and ministry.

In your opinion, why do we still need labels?

JD: Fans need labels because most bands do not have the resources to pay for their own recording, manufacturing, video directors, promotion, etc… So the labels partner with the bands to be able to bring their music to the fans. Some bands have made a lot of press by doing things independently (Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, etc.) but these are bands that already had HUGE fanbases. This is not really realistic for most bands though. I like to always tell people that by supporting the bands on Facedown through purchasing their music, they are directly supporting their favorite bands. Every time someone buys music from our artists, it creates more opportunities for all of the bands on the label and for the ones in the future.

What is up next for Facedown Records?

JD: We have a very busy 2010 in the works. New albums from War Of Ages, Wrench In The Works, Impending Doom, A Plea For Purging as well as some new bands and some bands that released Strike First debuts last year. It’s looking to be our busiest year yet!

What would you like to say to the bands out there just starting out who dream of being on your label?

JD: Focus on playing music you like and having a purpose with what you do.  Don’t worry about getting signed. Just do your thing, work hard, get out there and play and opportunities will come to you.

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Brandt Russo | Can’t Ignore The Poor
Written By: Jameson Ketchum

ack in August we brought you the story of Brandt Russo, a regular guy who felt God’s call to sell off his possessions and join the poor on a mission to remind us (and himself) why God never gives up on us. His clothing company, Can’t Ignore the Poor, was born out of an inspiration that couldn’t be swept under the rug. God has given this guy an incredible gift and drive to keep the homeless in the forefront of our minds as Christians, as people.  This month we bring you more on the Brandt Russo.

Tell us about when the idea of Can’t Ignore The Poor came to you?

Brandt Russo: Last year in April, a few friends and I decided to watch a documentary called “Born Into Brothels”. It was about a woman who moved to the redlight district of Calcutta to help children born into whorehouses, basically. She gave them a point and shoot camera and taught them basic photography skills. Her vision was to get them to shoot ‘through the eyes of a child’ and take the prints back to New York to auction them off, using the proceeds to fund their education, and get them away from the sex industry. As I was watching, I felt this incredible sense of urgency to help, and started to rack my brain for ideas. My roommates at the time had a screen printing press in the garage, single screen, real simple, and we decided to make a quick shirt design. I posted MySpace bulletins and sold them on the Texas A&M campus, printing on ANYTHING we could find. I couldnt just watch that movie and ignore the longing. I had to help these kids, so I just did what I could, and the rest is history, I suppose.

You have a few bands backing CITP. How did these connections come about and what do they do to represent the company?

BR: Most of them were just my best friends that supported my dreams and loved the idea behind CITP. Its slowly getting more recognizable in the music scene, and soon I hope to be able to sponsor many more bands with a heart for change. I grew up in the music scene, and have been in my fair share of hardcore bands, so I want its influence to be used in a way that affects change. On my down time, I actually tour with Before There Was Rosalyn and sell shirts on the road along with educating and encouraging kids about how they can reach out and begin to change lives. The bands have been huge in getting the word out.

Why do you think that homelessness has become something that our society, and more importantly the church, has chosen to push to the wayside?

BR: I think that the bottom line is that we are a people who go out of our way to blame someone else for the things that go wrong in the world. Compassion is a lost artform, and its much easier to ignore a ‘crackhead’ then it is a loving father that lost his job and is struggling to make payments. Even those of us with the best of intentions fall prey to the tactics used by the media to dehumanize these beautiful yet broken people.

What advice do you have for the average person who wants to help but feels like the problem is too overwhelming?

BR: Mother Teresa said many things worthy of being quoted, but there are two that I feel are terribly fitting for this question. The first is that “If you can’t feed 100 people, feed just one”, and the second is that “God doesn’t require us to succeed; He only requires us to try.”. Living in a broken world with broken systems will always produce broken people. The best, and only thing the average person can do, is merely love their neighbor. Just begin by finding one person, connecting with them, and doing all you can to help their situation. It will prove not only to play a part in the healing process for them, but you as well. We are all called to love, and there are a million things that could keep us busy if only we had eyes to see like Jesus sees. Be the change that God expects to see in this world. The only thing holding you back is you.

Tell us how the veggie oil bus came into existence and how you use that to help others?

BR: It was just another one of those crazy ideas I had that panned out better then I could have ever figured. While I was traveling homeless a couple of years back, I had a dream about having a school bus that worked as a homeless shelter that basically never closed and within a few days of sharing my vision, I had a fullsize 1987 GMC schoolbus. Me and friends all over the USA helped me gut it, build beds and a kitchen and shelves and a couch and just make it as cozy and ‘homelike’ as possible. I have picked up more homeless folks and hitchhikers than I can even count. The bus has been such a blessing, not only to me, but to those just needing a ride or a place to sleep on a cold night. The veggie oil was just logical because I had absolutely no money to travel, and God made this dream a reality. I just filmed a movie thats coming out this month (http://www.myspace.com/adoptajesusfilm) in the bus. Bob Wilkinson, a producer from PBS hit the road with me last year for 14 days and just documented what it was like to live and travel in the bus and help folks. It was fantastic.

So you have some new endeavors coming up. Tell us a bit about your renewed love for photography?

BR: Basically I dream of documenting injustice in its many different forms (skid row in LA; types of urban poverty like new orleans, philadelphia, and someday overseas etc.) and eventually having a gallery of sorts to raise awareness and bring well needed education. The idea is to be able to auction off the prints and the money will go towards rehabilitation and restoration of the subjects involved. I have dreams, when eventually settling down, to have a space where I could set up art easels and drums on the sidewalk to attract anyone who feels like being creative. You can open your Bible to its beginning pages to see how much of an artist our Creator is, and we were made in His very image and likeness. I think that’s why art mediums have such a way of inspiring change and stirring emotion. I want to be able to capture what moves me, and share that with the world (while being able to support myself and my ministry). I feel so strongly about this, and will work my hands to the bones to be able to afford this and make it happen.

You recently made a new friend who has been helping you spread the word. Can you tell us a bit about this?

BR: I recently have been getting to know Demi Lovato. For those of you who dont know who she is, she stars in the Disney channel show, “Sonny With a Chance”, and feature films like Princess Protection Program and Camp Rock. Its pretty hilarious how we started on talking on Twitter, and whats even more hilarious is when she tweeted about my website, in a matter of minutes it overloaded and shut down. We have been talking here and there, and its been such an amazing thing. Demi is incredibly talented and has such a great heart to change this world and inspire people with her music. Since the Twitter shoutout, I have been getting HUNDREDS of emails from Demi fans with questions about Jesus and the poor, and its been such a blessing to be able to reach out to that scene of kids. I recently hung out in L.A. with her photographer, Dirk Mai, and we talked about collaborating on Skid Row and shooting together, so God is putting the most unlikely yet incredible people in my path. I would have never imagined my story and the story of CITP reaching as many ears and hearts as it has, and I just hope that those relationships continue to create change in this world.

How do you feel about these two “scenes” being bridged?

BR: Terribly excited. Thats really all I can say. There is a kid inside of every one of us, and I think its healthy to be that kid more often then none. I feel that this generation is one that will affect much needed change, and we have to be open to not only shaping the ideas in the minds of these kids, but allowing their ideas to shape ours as well. I forget who said it, but I heard that violence is for those who have lost their imagination. Jesus said that we couldn’t enter the kingdom of Heaven unless like a child, so to be able to invite these kids into my life and the lives of the hurting and broken is a beautiful thing. I didn’t really start to question the world around me until I was 22 years old, and it took a lot to change my mind about a lot of things and ideas that were laid like concrete foundations in my mind. I am just blessed to have a voice (for whatever reason) that is heard, and pray that the message stays pure and easy enough for Disney kids to understand (laughs).

The common view among people involving helping the poor is the standard “Oh they’ll just use the money to buy beer or drugs” or “They’re only homeless because they’re lazy”. How do you fight these claims?

BR: I truly don’t think Jesus had a litmus test He conducted to figure out who to help and who to disregard. He commanded us to love everyone, and to give to all who asks. What is amazing about most homeless people I meet is that their addictions were acquired on the streets as opposed to their addictions LEADING them to the streets. Most I meet are honest, hard working folks who caught a patch of bad luck and now, years later, pop whatever pill dulls out the pain. The most needed thing among the homeless is relationships. Not only a hand up, but a heart who is just as invested in them as God is. Its hard to fight these claims, because they can often be true. I get screwed over by homeless folks often, but whats funny is its usually just as often as I do with the ‘honest’ christians I know (laughs). The bottom line is that if we took the time to simply get to know the poor, we will soon realize how we are all human, and in need of grace and love. Regardless of how many times I get screwed over helping the homeless, I will never give up on them for the simple fact that for the millions of times I screw God over and yet for some reason, He continues to be there for me.

I recently read your blog about your iphone. I thought your response was very revealing and honest. Do you encounter this type of thing often?

BR: All the time. I think with ‘non profit’ types, there is tons of skepticism of where the money goes. Especially with my past, and selling everything I had and giving the money away to the poor, I have plenty of people who don’t understand my lifestyle and find it easier to criticize than actually take the time to process the idea and see how similar ideas would affect their own lives. Its hard to preach a message of compassion without your fair share of people who feel entitled to the things they have and have no desire to part with them, regardless of how much others need our assistance more then we need our ‘things’. I have just come to the understanding that EVERYTHING we have in our lives is a gift, and we are held divinely responsible to GIVE. There really isn’t a day where I go without criticism for SOMETHING I do, but I have to continue to remember those who came before me, and the exact same things happened to them. Criticism can most often be taken as a sign of progress, which way your progressing is completely up to you. I am just on a journey to find out what I need in life to live with joy, and the more I can give away to bring life to others, I will.

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Impending Doom | “This is Gorship”
Written By: Jeremy Seick

ince Impending Doom has entered the scene they have brought utter brutality, which powers lyrics that work to not only strengthen and empower, but save and point us toward redemption. Crying out against anyone who questions their motives and where their hand is reaching, Impending Doom pushes forward deeper into this scene. “We will crush your walls that dictate where our ministry goes... These venues are our church, we are the gospel in the darkness, and this is our exaltation,” states Doom in their debut release, Nailed. Dead. Risen. And if you are still caught up by their sound or the version of the pentagram as their logo or lines like “I hope I scare the Hell out of you” then you have missed the point. And If you have gotten the chance to see Impending Doom live then you know that they are there to love, judgment free. Not just Christians and not just non-Christians, Impending Doom loves us all. Purely. All the while melting our faces. Reticent front-man Brook Reeves gave us a couple minutes to ask a few questions that may give us a little more insight into the band though I quickly learned that Impending Doom has said what they want in their lyric books. So if you still have questions, go grab yourself a copy but until then, here is what Brook had to say.

Whenever I have you guys playing people always second guess the fact that you are a ministry because of the sound and the reputation of the genre. I am sure that you come across this all the time. What do you tell people that come at you with that opinion?

Brook Reeves: We tell them that there isn’t only one way to worship God, we worship Him through heavy music and that has the same meaning as if we were playing acoustic and pianos on stage. There is NO rule saying you cannot be a Christian heavy metal band. People like to think there is but in that case we like to break the rules and worship our Lord and Savior through the style of music that everyone would least expect.

Many Impending Doom songs deal with issues of religion, rules and traditions. You are some of the first to really write lyrics regarding these issues. What situations in your life have caused you to want to speak out against this in your music?

BR: The church. Plain and simple, there are churches out there that are based on “man made religions” and that is NOT of God. These people give God a bad name and make others who they judge want nothing to do with Him and it sickens us. So we are very verbal about false witnessing in the church these days. And don’t get confused that I’m talking about all churches, ‘cause there are some great on fire churches out there, but the corruptness in a lot of them is what we write our songs about.

You guys are easily one of the heaviest bands in the scene right now, what are some of your influences of late, and some that you grew up on?

BR: Musically we are really into bands like Slipknot, Meshuggah, Deftones, and many more. We all grew up on Korn, Slipknot, Metallica, etc... And we still love those bands today.

In this industry I feel like faith-based bands serve two purposes; to strengthen and encourage the saved and to lead the lost to salvation and redemption. When writing, do you feel like you aim at one of those goals more than the other?  

BR: Yes, absolutely.

(Laughs) Alright, that is fair. You, more often than not, play with bands that do not share your same beliefs and attract crowds that share those same differences, is this ever a challenge?

BR: Um...challenge? I would say no, we love talking to all the bands about what we believe in, but we never force it down anyone’s throats, it’s key to have them want to talk to you rather than you preach to them about something they don’t want to hear. We have never had problems with any of the secular bands we tour with; they are very respectful of our beliefs as we are to them.

Right on. What should Impending Doom fans keep a look out for in the next few months?

BR: Our tour with August Burns Red, possibly a small winter headliner, and that’s all I can say for now, besides that we are in the early stages of writing another album already, and it’s coming along amazingly!

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Hands | Something New
Written By: Jameson Ketchum

nless you’ve lived in a cave for the past several months then you’ve definitely seen Hands in every magazine out there. One of Facedown’s most recent acquisitions, this North Dakota five piece is quickly making waves. Their debut Creator is a uniquely challenging collection of hardcore. Drummer Josh Silbernagel graciously filled us in on all things Hands just days after returning from his honeymoon. What a champ.

You guys are from Fargo North Dakota, and were signed within a year and a half of starting this band, what factors and bands would you say have been vital to your success so far?

Josh Silbernagel: Yes… Fargo! I think that any success we have had can be attributed to the fact that we come from a place that is so cold, so desolate, so… brutally epic that when people hear the name of that place coupled with a band whose sound is described as “ambient/hardcore” they are overcome by an irresistible desire to see what this strange combination is all about. Ummm… in all seriousness I think we have just worked hard to write music that is interesting and creative and have been willing to get out on the road to let people experience it.

Most people don’t think of North Dakota as a breeding ground for this type of music. What is the scene like there?

JS: The scene in North Dakota is interesting. It’s not huge but there is a lot of really cool music happening right now… considering the fact that our entire state has a population of less than 500,000 people. The scene has really grown up a lot too. I can remember 10 years ago when Shane and I started our first band, a rap-rock band called Silent Frequency (I’m not ashamed to admit it!), and there were no touring bands in our entire state. It was a big deal to have a show that was outside of your home town. Now there are several bands from Fargo who are out touring nationally (Battlefields, The Suit, These Hearts, Gumbi, Ghost Hand Punch, Host). It’s also been cool to see the scene diversify musically. Not only has hardcore and post rock really taken off around here, but we’ve also seen the development of indie and rap communities in town as well.

I have been seeing you guys everywhere these past few months. Tell us a bit about the journey that Hands has been on these past six months or so?

JS: Oh man, where to start. Well in the past six months we have been touring all over the place! We did a couple of regional headlining runs. We did a west coast run with The Showdown for a few weeks. We had the opportunity to join Demon Hunter, Living Sacrifice, and Throwdown as a part of the Huntour. We played several awesome fests this summer including Cornerstone, Life Fest, Sonshine Festival, and Tomfest. Oh… and then we also got to make a quick run over to Germany where we got to play a festival called Freakstock! Somewhere in the middle of all the touring we released our new album Creator which we are really stoked about too! Then about a month ago Shane moved to Missouri and I got married. I guess you could say we’ve been kind of busy!!!

Walk us through your decision to sign with Facedown Records?

JS: The process of signing with Facedown was kind of interesting. When we started our band a couple of years ago we really didn’t have any ambitions as far as “making it” was concerned. We just wanted to write good music and have fun playing together. That being said we are all kind of work-a-holics when it comes to music and so things just kind of naturally progressed to the point where we were playing lot’s of shows and opportunities were opening up for us.

We decided to record an EP called The Everlasting just to get some of our early material down and so that we would have something that our fans could listen to. While we were in the studio recording that album we wound up getting a one-off deal offered to us by Oort Records (formerly Lobster Records), so with nothing else really on the table we signed with them. Before writing began for the Lobster album we had a summer tour planned and while on that tour we started talking to Facedown because we had been brought to their attention through a bunch of their bands that we had been playing with (Means, For Today, A Plea For Purging) and they offered us a deal as well.

We decided to sign with them for the record following our Lobster release then went home to write and record what became our concept album The Sounds Of Earth. We did one more tour then started writing for Creator which we recorded after finishing a tour with War Of Ages and Hope For The Dying out to Facedown Fest this past spring.

Sorry… I’ve never really been what you’d call “succinct”.

For those of us who have yet to see you live, describe your show and what you want kids to take away from it?

JS: I’ve said in the past that Hands is all about combining chaos and beauty. I think that really describes our live show appropriately. We are very passionate about the music that we play and it seems to really translate live. We rock hard. We don’t tend to have huge pits full of moshers and dancers at our shows though because our music isn’t just breakdown after breakdown, and sometimes it takes kids a while to “get” what we are doing. But overall we’ve had an incredibly positive response. We hope that anybody who comes to one of our shows is able to draw inspiration, energy, life, hope and renewal from what we present up on stage.

The first band I thought of when I first heard you guys was Life In Your Way. Were they big influences on you guys?

JS: I think early on Life In Your Way was a really influential band for us. Shane is our primary writer and he was into big them at the beginning of our band. We’ve kind of moved out of that territory as we’ve allowed more of a post-rock/ambient vibe settle into our sound, especially on The Sounds Of Earth. But yeah, Life In Your Way was definitely an early influence. Too bad we never got to tour with them... bummer.

Whats behind the name Hands?

JS: Shane came up with the name Hands. He kind of threw it out there one day at practice while the band was still in a formative stage. We all felt like there was something special about it. It was different. It wasn’t some super pretentious metal band name like “The Blood of the Immaculate Witness Within the Throne Room of the Skull Reaper of the Blasphemous Betrayer”. It was just short and simple and was really a word loaded with spiritual connotations; you could draw a lot of meanings from it. We just left it at that with no pre-determined explanation. I guess the real question is “What to YOU is behind the name Hands”.

Where will we be seeing you guys in the next few months?

JS: We’ve kind of been taking it slow over the past month or so due to my marriage and Shane’s big move but we will be hitting the road again shortly. We are headlining a festival in Canada this weekend and will be playing several home region dates shortly there after. In November and December we will be out on another national tour that we will be announcing shortly… so make sure you are checking in at our Myspace site for those dates! Other than that, we are working on writing new material and have more touring for Spring planned! Hopefully we’ll be seeing you on the road sometime soon!

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1,000 Words | Healing
Written By: Tommy Green of Sleeping Giant

wanted to make some stuff clear before I even begin to talk about the normal yet miraculous ministry of Jesus in healing people spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Please understand and hear me when I say that I am not the smartest dude, I don’t know it all, and I fail often. That being said, I want to make very clear that if you ask me about healing and doctrine or theology about healing,

I am going to talk about Jesus.  He is the root and author and substance and finish line of healing. He is the model of ministry.  In the book of Hebrews it states that Jesus Christ is the picture of God the Father. His heart his mind his will his intention his power his wisdom his authority everything that we as man need to see about God and what he would do if he were here, we see in Jesus. That is SOLID TRUTH.  If we want to see God, look at Jesus. Does God heal people, Did Jesus?  Does God physically make people sick to teach them lessons- Did Jesus? What is the Will of God for the Sick?-Jesus  So healing is all about Jesus.  He is the total understanding encapsulated in human flesh.  He is the knowledge of the Holy One. He is the center point of this issue.

So we in sleeping giant are just dudes, and I am just a dude with my own relationship with Christ Jesus, and I (we) believe that Jesus as the Bridegroom God loves to Partner with his Bride- and bless the people he loved and died for. He almost refuses not to use people to do his work I swear.  It would be easier if he just did it himself but, that is not in line with his character towards his people from Genesis to Revelation he has designed partnering with people to do his will in the earth, the only one to fulfill it and do it 100% was Jesus Christ which is one more reason why I love him. He is so perfect and glorious and wonderfully complete that he makes up for my imperfection and ugliness and insecurities.

Jesus is all we need. Ok so, He can heal people all by himself but his preferred method of working and administering justice mercy and righteousness is through the ones who carry his spirit on the inside.  So he uses us now.  Jesus in us, the hope of Glory, the worlds only hope is on the inside of us now, and he can and will get out and touch people if we will let him be God and do it.  SO healing, right- Did Jesus ever turn anyone away and send them home without healing ever???  In the bible??? No. That’s the standard, (EVERYONE IS HEALED) just because you pray and don’t see it right then and there does not mean that his Character changed on us in our day.  Jesus Christ the same Yesterday Today and Forever it says and we either believe that or we don’t believe ANY OF IT RIGHT?? Right. So Biblically Jesus of Nazareth healed Every single person that came to him to be healed. In every Synoptic Gospel there is not one written account of anyone not receiving physical healing from the Lord when they came and asked. AND just to take away the ammo to the whole, “well he was God so he can we can’t…” you need to look and be encouraged by the testimony in Acts Chapter 5 as the early disciples did the EXACT SAME THING, it is written in the immutable unchangeable infallible WORD that we all say we believe in that these simple men who followed Jesus healed ALL who came to them as well.

I say that just to underscore the principle I am talking about, THE cross covers all Sin all Iniquity all disease all of the works of the enemy. ALL of it is under his heel now. We participate and demonstrate that when we heal the sick and preach the gospel and comfort the mourning and visit the orphan or widow. Our Model and our standard for Healing the Sick by the Power and authority of Jesus Christ and No other is in fact Jesus Christ-Jesus Christ healed the sick, what was the will of the father in the last days even just by the weaker hands of the disciples- healing all who came to them to bring glory and honor and renown and lives to God the Father.  It’s the same for us now. I would like to explain more but the only real thing I have to say about healing or anything else right now is that we have decided to follow doctrine, church teachers, pastors and biblical apologists to construct our versions of Christianity, not realizing that the only real foundation anyone can lay is Christ himself. That is all the way around-

Our model for, “Christian” living, loving, relationship, and ministry- needs to be Christ himself. Jesus knew about the Kingdom he belonged to and that was the message he preached and told his disciples to preach- The Kingdom of heaven is the true reality. When we substitute our experience of disappointment and frustration on top of the message of Jesus Himself, we will come up with a Jesus that is not quite the Jesus of the Bible. That is unfortunately the Jesus I think most of the body is convinced of. Jesus lived in a daily relationship with the Father through the Holy Spirit, hearing his voice, interacting in daily life, and following his lead into and out of situations.

Most of the church still has doubt fear and apprehension about whether or not God could even speak to them about daily stuff.  And most of the Church is still very divided about the HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus’ Spirit is really not given free and full expression at church on Sunday, yet people want to live like Jesus on Mon- Sat. Come on.  Open up the doors that the King of Glory can come in and wreck our pretty services and maybe teach us how to live and operate with the authority of truth- The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.  We can touch it feel it know it because It is actually HIM- Jesus. Visit Tommy Green at myspace.com/sleepingxgiant

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