Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Powerless Rise.....VERY POWERFUL


A few months ago, Tim Lambesis and As I Lay Dying dropped a complete masterpiece on their fans (including myself) with their long awaited album, "The Powerless Rise." Upon hearing this album, some crazy thoughts started running through my head:

"Holy Stinkin' Crap!!!!"
"Could it be possible that AILD is better than TriViuM?"
"If I was a single female, what would I do to marry Tim Lambesis?"
"Most powerful album ever?"

To answer the last question, I believe that it possibly could be THAT powerful.

Recently I was reading Tim Lambesis' blog, and I noticed that what he thinks about and blogs about mirror what is found in his music. Tim writes from his heart, which is more than I can say about a lot of other artists. Let me clarify, I am NOT saying that other artists don't write from the heart, I just feel that Tim has guts and believes in what he is writing. In an industry that often sees higher sales in extreme music plagued with vulgarity, Tim Lambesis has made a serious statement by writing very insightful, spiritual, and religious lyrics to present to his heavy metal followers. It should not surprise you to hear that Tim is my hero.

I will admit, I had listened to AILD's older albums years ago, but because of the changes in lifestyle and views, I now respect and appreciate their music much, much more than I did previously. I'm so glad that my buddy, Tyson, offered to buy me a ticket to their show a few months ago, because that is what sparked my appreciation and awareness of the moral message that they share as a metalcore band.

You must read the following lyrics as they are incredible:


From "Beyond Our Suffering"
"The more I focus on myself, then the more helpless that I become.
So why not erase this point of view? My suffering is trivial."
(Sometimes we are the cause of our own suffering, aren't we?)
"Why won't we look beyond us? Why won't we look beyond our despair?
It seems our problems solve themselves, when we look to those truly in hell."
(Not easy, but true. Plus, what kind of awesome metal head writes that?"

From "Parallels"
"We are all comatose. We are overfed and undernourished, yearning for something more. Never starving yet never quite satisfied. Carnal but without useful flesh or mind." (We may know there is purpose, but may not fully understand all the time)
"From all it is we crave, there must be more to life than to simply stay alive." (Again, sometimes the purpose isn't clear, but at least we know it's there)

From "The Plague"
"Familiarity is the great deception, disguised by authority, sealing out subversion. Whitewashed tombs have hidden the truth, for we unknowingly worship icons of ordinary life. Reach out your hand to find forgiveness, only to be plagued by disease. The horrors of beliefs and customs, camouflaged by commonality." (The more we sin, the more we are ok with it, and the more dangerous it will become. Experience has deifinitely taught me well. Peer pressure can make matters even more difficult)

From "Anger and Apathy"
"Many of us have turned off the light outside, erasing what exists beyond our front door. And for you I find it harder to reach common ground than my most glaring opposition. But what about those who've lost the luxury of choice?
...striving for identity, buried by our lack of interest, souls marked as mere history. How much grievance will it take to awaken us?"
(Those who we forget will not feel that we are there to help them when they need it. DO NOT GIVE UP ON ANY OF HEAVENLY FATHER'S CREATIONS, THEY ARE ALL WORTH THE SAME!)
"I need to know that feelings of discontent are stronger than indifference for those too weak to stand." (Feeling sad is better than not feeling at all)

From "Upside Down Kingdom" (My favorite song)
"Many choose to find their hope in the thoughts of afterlife, when there is none to be found right here before we die. So I understand the feeling of helplessness, when we are just taught to wait here...wait here for death." (We aren't here simply to live)
"We are not forgotten, for a kingdom is offered beyond that of golden streets.
We can represent now what will one day be complete. Simplicity is not a curse where strength is humbled and the powerless rise.
This is a kingdom born upside-down.
This is a kingdom where the broken are crowned."
(There is a reward for standing for our convictions. Although we see unrighteous people standing on pedastals, our good deeds are not ignored)

It is my hope and prayer that you have all read these lyrics, and that they are not just words. I do this hoping to help someone. My music is what shows me principles through a different set of eyes. After hearing things the same way over and over for a lifetime, sometimes it helps us to think about things from a different perspective.

Thanks for your time, I hope you don't feel like you wasted it. The Powerless Rise is really powerful to me.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Feeling Worthless? Are You Appreciated?

Well, simply put, all of your efforts are appreciated....even if nobody is giving you recognition. Lately I have been feeling that I don't get enough recognition for the things I do, whether it be at work, home, or on a golf course. Let's take work for example; I work hard, I do my job, I am always on time, and I have a good attitude. But am I appreciated? Sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Sometimes it feels like people only see the negative things that I do. Mistakes may be small, but they sometimes make me feel like I have failed everyone around me and that people will only see the negative result.

Sound familiar? That little voice in your head probably just told you that you feel the same.

Inspiration hit me about 2 weeks ago. I was sitting in my car on my lunch break, listening to some Metal (duh!), and Tim Lambesis screamed something very inspiring and positive; "We are not forgotten, for a kingdom is offered beyond that of golden streets. We can represent now what will one day be complete."

Just like August Burns Red tried to teach me to look beyond this silly world, As I Lay Dying is telling me to think about where I want to be, not where I am. The only way to live with my Heavenly Father again is to live now as if I were in his presence.

I don't know if you watch The Office, but there is an episode where Kelly and Jim are catching up after not seeing each other for quite a while, and Jim asks Kelly "what's new?" Kelly then proceeds to tell Jim that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has a baby, and how awesome that is. Then she tells him that Brill Pimm (Brad Pitt) and Angelina Jolie had a baby, and how awesome that is. Then Jim Asks, "Yeah, but what's new with YOU?" Kelly says,"I just told you.".........I realized at this point that I have known people like Kelly; caught up in the lives of others. There are some who could tell you more about celebrities, whose lives are always in the spotlight, than they could say about their friends.

"Simplicity is not a curse, where strength is humbled and the powerless rise. This is a kingdom born upside down. This is a kingdom where the broken are crowned."
(This makes me realize that I have to be ok with who I am.)

I highly recommend the album The Powerless Rise by As I Lay Dying. The song quoted above is called Upside Down Kingdom. Keep an open mind, and read the lyrics while you listen to it, otherwise your non-trained metal ears won't understand the singing.