Discussing the Unblack Community

I believe a lot of the reason unblack metal discourse is so mid-tier is because we get so many artists who are lost in personal pride. Uncountable are the artists I've seen who believe they're above all the allegedly "mediocre slop" the scene puts out, despite a majority of it being pretty great. The good quality bands we've had, they claim, are just so few and far between. They seem to view themselves as mini saviors, brave warriors reclaiming the scene from the subpar ramblings of everyone else in the scene.

This view is disgusting and factually wrong for a few reasons.

1) The scene is not mediocre. The idea that unblack metal sucks is a stereotype based solely on word of mouth, NOT on research of the scene. Remember that I [run Unblack Archives] with 900+ pages documenting this scene. If anybody is qualified to talk about this, it's me, and I don't say this out of pride, but out of observation. How many of you reading this have asked me questions like, "Can you name good unblack bands?" or, "Can you name any Christian bands that sound like (insert well-known secular band here)?" These are alarmingly simple questions. I'm not denying that there are mediocre projects in the scene, but the amount of them is trivial compared to this ridiculous stereotype that we can't seem to shake, even from amongst our own kind. 

To give examples is almost an exercise in futility because every person who mentions this tries to move the goalposts of what "good" is. Let's break this down a bit anyway, and give a couple examples along the way. There are those who claim the scene is full of raw bedroom garbage. This ignores VERY high-quality bands like [Dominus Dominantium], [Dawnbreaker], or [Exortta].

There are those who also claim the scene is full of squeaky-clean mainstream-friendly music and there's nothing raw, underground, or with real emotion. On a side note, how can both of these things be? How can the scene both lack raw music, and at the same time, have too much of it? It just shows how lazy and uninformed this perspective is. Here's a list I copy/pasted from Unblack Archives showing a ton of raw bands: Raecylahk, Usvart Gjennopvåkning, Rising Hour, Bloedoffer, Son of David, Unblasphemy (Swe/Ru), Maccadeshkem, Darkaliel, Ira Divina, Dynamon Dark, Ancient Fortress (NZ), Envothril, Catholic Soldier, Malak (Ger), Emperador, Fire Throne, Katumus, Arctic Grail, Gyr, Eufrattes, Docile Servant, Anti Katholisch, Calvarium, Hemathohidrosis, Rito perpetuo, In Aeternum Mortis, Spirit Sacrifice, Bezalel... Remember though, there are no bands like this.

Then, there are those who claim the scene is full of copycats. There is no original material in the unblack scene; it's all just mediocre Christian bands copying better secular bands. This, too, is easily disproven: [Improthrone], [Flaskavsae], [Display of Agony], [Yze], [Betheos Abshalom], [Auralian Disharmony], [Vibrant Life], need I go on? Full disclosure notice, I am affiliated with a few of the bands in these lists. (For example, Vibrant Life was my own project; stuff from "anpentaprod" is released through my record label; etc.)

2) It puts down other artists. The scene is full of talent, as demonstrated above. To deny that the scene has good music coming out of it, and/or that it needs its hand held by more talented musicians while the children step aside and play with their toys, is to essentially slander other people. Why? There's no benefit to this. The scene's biggest problem, by far, is a lack of reach/promotion. So much talent exists here, but it never reaches a wider audience for whatever reason. These artists are already demotivated as their hard work is put aside and ignored, and it has no impact. Then, their hard work is painted with broad, negative strokes by others who are supposed to be their comrades. What motivation is there, then? Remember that while Christians, these people aren't perfect. The mere fact that it's "good work for the kingdom" should be enough of a motivator, but these are people experiencing normal human emotions. Sadness and doubt are a fundamental part of earthly life. Why make it worse?

3) Their own music is often mediocre. I'm not going to give examples, to avoid hurting feelings, but it is an obvious pattern I've noticed over time. It's an inflated sense of self. They believe their music to be revolutionary, and hype it up as the next big thing. They finally publish the music, and it's the exact same thing they're criticizing, whether it's played in a sloppy way, or it's derivative of secular bands with no originality, or it's composed in a boring way, etc. It's to the point that I feel confident saying if you do actually find a band that isn't necessarily "terrible", just "average/inoffensive", chances are good that that band isn't full of well-meaning but "goofy" "fundamentalists" or something, but rather is actually one of those criticizing the scene for being so subpar.

4) It contradicts the purpose of the music. The point of unblack metal is fundamentally spiritual. It is even more so than the majority of secular black metal which claims to be spiritual, but is actually plagued with posers, lukewarm clowns, and grifters. While the unblack scene [does unfortunately allow] some of these people, it's overall tolerated MUCH less. There is a reasonable expectation that one is actually Christian, not merely posturing, because our path is one we don't just sing about, but live daily, in our actions and minds and souls. The path set out by Christ is one of devotion and of humility. The reason one makes unblack metal should always be to serve the Lord in some way. Some is made to affirm existing believers; some is made specifically to evangelize to those on the outside; some is made as a reflection of personal thoughts to God, be it praise, calls for help, love, sadness, the list goes on. It is all made with God in mind, first and foremost. To position oneself as a more talented artist and to position other believers as inadequate is to act in the sin of pride. How can one make music for the Lord while one's heart rests not with Him, but with one's own talent and superiority? The object of worship is, then, not God, but oneself. The goal becomes not to praise God, nor to show His love to the lost, but rather to receive accolades, money, and fame for oneself, attempting to reduce the living God to a mere tool one can use to advance one's own career. Can such music even be called "unblack" at that point? Are the people doing this even Christians, or are they lukewarm servants of two masters?

Let's put this dangerous mindset aside and consider what our real motives are. Let's do better and serve the Lord anew. ........... While we're at it, let's please please please please please please please finally stop stereotyping the unblack scene. It's lazy, it's objectively wrong, it's slanderous, it's demotivating, it's harmful, and it's ANNOYING.

Thank you humbly to God for directing my steps in creating this post, and my sincerest apologies to Him for the amount of emotional impulsivity in my words. I am only a dim mirror.

The Attempted Trump Assassination

It probably goes without saying, but I wholeheartedly condemn the shooting.

If anyone hasn't heard yet, [click here]. I don't like Donald Trump. I severely dislike him as a person and disapprove of nearly every action he's ever done. But attempting to kill him is not the answer, and it's not the answer to most problems we face in this world. We are not to seek the deaths of others - the Bible states clearly that committing murder is a sin. It's not like I'm unsympathetic to the desperation that these gunmen face. You see a problem in the world. You try to solve it, and it feels like the only solution left is to take extreme measures like murder. However, it's imperative to understand that these are just feelings, emotions. They're not based in factual logic. It's not possible for the human imagination to exhaust all possibilities to solve a problem. This is one reason we must rely on God; He is perfect in His judgments and is all-knowing, and can weigh all situations objectively. Also, emotions do not justify the majority of wrongdoing. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Reasons and excuses are not the same thing; having a reason to do something wrong doesn't excuse the wrong, especially when considering we live in a universe ruled by an omniscient deity who actively offers His guidance to us.

It doesn't matter that it was a controversial figure. It doesn't justify an attempted homicide. If this had been Joe Biden; if this had been a beloved actor/actress; if this had been a random passerby on the street; it would be equally damnable. Despite my extreme opposition to what Trump stands for, I will pray for a speedy recovery for him, as this is something that shouldn't have happened to him. We are all entitled to live our life as long as God has apportioned it, to make our choices and live accordingly. To take a life is to end someone's life outside of what God has apportioned. I firmly believe Trump is a heretic and is living a life that will lead him to Hell, and I would assume someone who hates him enough to shoot him believes similarly. If anything, this is all the more reason not to shoot him, because if the shooter had succeeded, he would be sent to Hell prematurely. As long as a heretic lives, there is time left for them to see the error of their ways and to repent unto Christ. To shoot them is to take God's justice into one's own hands, and to deprive that person of thousands, if not millions of chances to turn away from their wicked path.

Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all this comes in the fact that the shooter missed, and killed a random attendee of the rally. This is the end to the path of murder: innocents will inevitably suffer for it somehow. Occurrences don't happen in a bubble; they have a ripple effect and carry across the world. The family and friends of an innocent person will be grieving, and their loved ones alongside them. Tragedy is spreading because of this act. And this only comes from a failed assassination attempt. One that failed so hard, some seem to consider it a joke. A shot to the ear? It's ridiculous. Yet think about this: Tragedy has manifested from this failure. How much more would the tragedy be magnified if it had succeeded?

In the end, this was a shortsighted, ignorant act, the adult equivalent of a baby throwing a temper tantrum and throwing things around a room. It's an immature, emotionally-guided pseudo-solution that was doomed to fail from the start. It lacks the excuse of one being an infant who doesn't know better, and thus deserves nothing but scorn. Again, it doesn't matter that this was a "Republican", or a "presidential candidate", or "a one-percenter", or any other trait or demographic that pertains to Donald Trump. None of those things are what make this shooting wrong - what makes the shooting wrong is the fact that it was a shooting. It should never have happened to anybody, no matter who they are. Remember that Christ had nearly, if not all of the same power on earth that He has in Heaven. He could have, Himself, slain every single unrepentant sinner in less than a second. A righteous [god] and the measuring stick for morality, He instead taught [the parable of the weeds] and and [Matthew 5:45], and never killed a single person, even during His crucifixion. This shooting violates all of this, and deserves our condemnation.

May God bless you all and guide you according to His gracious will. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you to God for helping me to write this.