Babylon Mystery Orchestra

May 11, 2010

Interviewer: Jesse

Jesse:  Considering you dedicated an intro track (“A Constitutional Right?") to the song “Jesus Save…” I gather that this subject is one of your more passionate ones, not that the rest aren’t of course.  I especially like this song because it’s heavy as hell and catchy.  Since Roe vs Wade, every president has been, or claimed to be, a religious person of some fashion.  In fact, I can’t see any president being elected (Democrat or Republican) who would openly admit to being non-religious.  Seeing as pro-choice is basically synonymous with being a democrat or a liberal, how can liberal/democrat presidents honestly claim to be both of faith and pro-choice and why is this constantly overlooked by most Christian Democrats?

Sidney:  To be "pro-choice" has been thoroughly demonstrated by recent events, such as the up-roar over the Tim Tebow Super Bowl commercial, to be purely a pro-abortion stance. There is no respect given to the alternative choice. To be "pro-choice” can no longer be confused with advocating that the choice in question is merely a matter of who makes that choice. It has evolved into open advocacy for abortion and the promotion of it as not just an acceptable method of birth control but also a preferred one. Jesus said:

MATTHEW 7: 16-20 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

And by the actions of the Democrats, we shall know them as well. Considering the Obama administration's pro-abortion, pro-homosexual and anti-Israel policies combined with a mandate oriented adherence to a godless command and control central planning government, I find the concept of a Christian Democrat to be as extinct as the Conservative Democrat...and I have to call into question the intelligence or the integrity of anyone claiming to be a "Christian Democrat" in the current political arena.

Christians are human beings just like non-Christians. They are flawed and they commit many sins. They are not perfect...just forgiven. Being the flawed people they are, they too are susceptible to the desire to "fit-in" and be perceived as good people according to worldly standards. In many ways, it is unavoidable. Therefore they are just as easily led by disreputable politicians, entertainers and other assorted people of influence into following sweet sounding lies: The nobility of tolerance, the enlightenment of diversity or even the charity of taxing your neighbor's income to take care of your fellow man. This type of thinking is alive and well WITHIN the Christian church. How else do you explain the tolerance of homosexual priests and social justice ideology that has infiltrated and, in many instances, overtaken modern Christianity? That, by the way, is the theme behind Babylon Mystery Orchestra's third CD The Great Apostasy: A Conspiracy Of Satanic Christianity.

Jesse:  History is more than not doomed to repeat itself, as they say, but sometimes a lack of history can be just as harmful.  You add some very enlightening quotes from Che Guevara in your song “Viva Cristo Rey!” which might shock and surprise the majority of the teenagers walking around with Che shirts on.  Why do you think he became such a cultural phenomenon?

Sidney:  Because they have no idea who and what he was. The youth of today are not very individualistic but instead are very easily corralled into groups. I see the proliferation of tatoos and body piercings more reflective of their need to conform rather than as a representation of individuality. I would blame the divisiveness enshrined in rock music over the previous decades for fertilizing this mass conformity. Unfortunately, in preaching the lies of diversity and tolerance you wind up desensitizing people to the nature of evil and to the concept of truth. The cult of Che Guevara benefits from both. By challenging authority in a free society like the United States, you can wind up romanticizing communism and socialism as a form of trendy rebellion. In reality both communism and socialism are extreme forms of conformity...something rock musicians used to claim to dislike. But then there is that truth thing. If you don't believe in something called the truth, but instead believe that truth is "relative and you can make your own truth,” you will find yourself not only vulnerable to your own fantasies but also the fantasies imposed upon you by others. And many people, Che Guevara was among them, will take advantage of the willfully blind. Che was a murderer who had a romantic self-delusion that he was a great freedom fighter. He lost every battle he had anything to do with and surrendered at the end of his life with a fully loaded, unfired gun claiming he would be more valuable to his captors alive than dead. They disagreed.

That so many rock musicians and entertainers walk around wearing Che memorabilia is rather funny. He hated long haired people and rock music. So get a good laugh when you see Carlos Santana wearing a Che shirt. He is the living definition of the "useful idiot."

Jesse:  What are some of the typical responses you get from not only people who have heard your music, but from the random person who came upon your site? I imagine that you get a fair amount of hate mail. What was one of the more memorable exchanges you've had with a critic, be it on an email interview or an in-person/phone conversation? Talk about the nature of the resistance you've encountered since BMO's first album was released up to now and contrarily, the amount of praise and thanks you get from fans as well. Do they balance out or is one voice significantly louder than the other and what do you make of that dichotomy?

Sidney:  In terms of the volume of response by just general contact I would say that things are relatively even. I have gotten more response, both positive and negative, as BMO has progressed through successive records. When someone decides he hates you he often feels the need to send several messages before he moves along...but they move along. I must say that the most response was overwhelmingly generated in response to the previous CD Axis Of Evil. There were plenty of people who seem to link anti-Islamic as being racist. Not that we haven't seen a lot of that in American politics but since Islam is not a single race and the largest Islamic country isn't Arab I did find it all resoundingly ignorant. This also revealed itself in many reviews of the CD. Though I am not inclined to respond to negative reviews, I felt it acceptable since many of the reviews were less about the record and more about using my statements as a platform for promoting their own self-congratulatory illusion of superiority. You can find both the reviews and my responses to them on the Axis of Evil reviews page on www.babylonmysteryorchestra.com...but I should warn you, I included some graphic imagery that some people should find uncomfortable. In the case of Islam, the truth often hurts.

I knew when I started Babylon Mystery Orchestra that staying true to the vision I had about writing controversial, though non-obscene, material would necessarily give people more reasons to dislike what I was doing rather than like it. That is a choice I was glad to make. I am not interested in "fitting into" the metal scene or seeking anyone's approval. What I may lack in performance or technical ability is made up by a willingness to irritate. I think Babylon Mystery Orchestra irritates all the right people.

From a more religious perspective, I take Jesus' words to heart: JOHN 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Too much "approval" is a sure sign you are dead wrong...and be assured, a lot of the criticism comes from Christians who think I am too aggressive in my approach. One recent review of the new CD by a Christian reviewer lamented my "loveless, non-humble attacks" on Che Guevara and The Twelfth Imam. It is just further proof that the truth is now considered hate speech. That might be the part that disturbs me the most. That so many Christians are unwilling to see the world as it is...but that refers back to your earlier question about Christians and the Democratic party. There are plenty of people out there packaging Christianity in a pretty wrapping. I would say BMO's approach is more akin to the famous colonial era preacher Jonathan Edwards who labeled it "Salutary Terror.”

Jesse:  What’s in store for the future of Babylon Mystery Orchestra? How long do you generally spend on writing each album?

Sidney:  It has usually been two years between BMO releases. I am not necessarily going to try to hold to that schedule anymore. It does take a lot for me to make time for recording. However, I have two songs completed and a third started for the next record. So there will be a next record. I will release it when I am finished. It will probably be between 2 and 3 years from this one.

Jesse:  I’m not sure how much of a sports fan you are, but if so, I offer my humble congratulations to your Tide for beating our Longhorns, haha.  Even if we did have one hand tied behind our back, ha!

Sidney:  You forget, we tied that hand behind your back! I am glad that Colt McCoy is not seriously injured. Maybe his injury evened things out for those two first quarter "gifts" we gave you guys by trying that fake punt and mishandling that kickoff. Obviously our defense was tremendous since you only got six points out of such major blunders deep in our end of the field...with McCoy still in there. If our defense had yielded 14 points instead of 6, we might have been cooked quick.

When the game started Texas was considered, statistically, to have the best rushing defense in the country. If that were true you would have won the game. I don't think they run as much in the big 12 as we do in the SEC. Having two of our guys get over 100 yards exposed a weakness on your team and I think that was the difference. It wasn't revealed till after the game but our quarterback was nursing hurt ribs himself. If we would have had to depend on the passing game we would have ourselves been weakened.

However, the fifty or so yards passing we got in this game seems huge compared to the twelve yards passing the last time Alabama won the title when we whipped Miami in 1992. You definitely had to know we were going to run it straight at you.

Yea, I love Alabama football...can you tell?

Jesse:  Any last words or comments to leave the readers?

Sidney:  I appreciate everybody who takes the time to find out about Babylon Mystery Orchestra. There is still more life in it so stayed tuned.

Jesse:  Again, many thanks for your time and I wish you and Babylon Mystery Orchestra the best in the future.

*Comments:

*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.

Check out Jesse's review of The Godless the Godforsaken and the God Damned here

Sidney Allen Johnson -
     All Instruments

Formed: 2002
Greenville, Alabama  USA
Label: Band Self Released
Genre: Symph. Gothic/Heavy Metal

CURRENT LINE-UP:

DISCOGRAPHY:

Divine Right of Kings (2003)
On Earth As It Is in Heaven (2004)
The Great Apostasy: A Conspiracy
     of Satanic Christianity (2006)
Axis of Evil (2008)
The Godless the Godforsaken
     and the God Damned (2010)

BACK

BACK