"The Song of The Redeemed" by RizenAstronaut

Those of you who know me know I like most kinds of music but especially rock and roll. I am a big fan of heavy stuff-the more drums and guitar and screaming, the better, as long as I can understand the lyrics. The majority of the songs and bands in this genre talk about suicide, anger and emptiness all the. For example, the chorus to one popular song is:

Staring down the barrel of a .45 (a gun for those who don’t know)
Swimming through the ashes of another life
no real reason to accept the way things have changed
Staring down the barrel of a .45

This subject is very typical of this genre. One band, however, refuses to conform to the expectations of this sub culture of metal heads. From the beginning, Demon Hunter has used heavy metal to get a message of hope, spreading the counter cultural revolution they call the “Blessed Resistance.” I am listening to their newest album and it is incredibly uplifting. The sound is similar to that of Killswitch Engage or Atreyu or other metal bands but it does not have that eerie chill to it.
For example, the fifth track on the album, Carry Me Down, has the following lyrics in it: For every word we never spoke, We have a tear to cry For every silence's like a wall between a better you and I. So if you see me losing sight of all the death and life Find the peace in every time I fail to see the death in mine Will you carry me down the aisle that final day, with your tears and bones shaking from the weight? When you lower me down beneath that sky of grey, let the rain fall down and wash away your pain.
Lyrics like this speak of a desire to use words to change the lives of those around them. They cut to the heart, moving us to examine the silences we hold onto instead of reaching out, keeping that wall up. These guys are changing the world by accepting the calling on their lives. That is the point of this post. They are reaching a segment of society often just looked over because it is stereotypically anti-Christian and devilish.
Demon Hunter recognizes the power of a life transformed by Christ, especially when combined with incarnational life in Him. This is why the last line of the title track, Storm the Gates of Hell, says this, “Hell hath no fury at all.” A bold statement like this only has strength behind it when spoken in faith and with the knowledge that Christ broke the power of him who holds the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). What impact can each of us have if we but follow the leading of God, not afraid of breaking “rules” or being “unconventional?” My prayer for you, believer, is that your life would resound through this generation with a battle cry that incites a rebellion against the chains of sin and death. Come Spirit of the Living God!!