Album Rewind: Vehemence | God Was Created

I've decided to trek through some of my favorite albums of the past few years and write about them. While I can't assure nothing but musical analysis, instead I can offer why these albums are interesting to me. If I'm talking about it, of course the music is going to be to my liking, but sometimes what really brings an album together to me is the whole; is it, as a whole a composition? Are there underlying themes? How well-placed are the tracks? Much, much more. So, I'm going to start this off with the CD I had in my car on the way home from work today, and always a favorite after a rough day when I feel like just taking a nap or destroying something:


Vehemence | God Was Created

My relationship with metal is a strange one; as a kid growing up, I was always attracted to heavier, darker music. But I reached an age where I decided that metal didn't make sense anymore, that it was cheesy, full of cliches and was immature. While I still believe that this is more or less the case with a lot of it, the good metal is different and will not only help you let off some steam, but always take you some place musically that other forms of music are afraid to explore. When I got back into metal, it was very much about Black Metal and Thrash Metal, with some Death and Grindcore thrown in. Eventually, I decided that Death Metal was just a twinge too brutal for me at times, without any real hooks or trying to be musically deep.

Then I heard Vehemence. Vehemence is brutal, brutal, brutal. Growling, guttural vocal attacks mixed in with anguished screams, pounding drums, punchy basslines and brutal to beautifully melodic guitar work is what makes up Vehemence. In 2002, Vehemence released their second album, God Was Created, and it floored me. Their first album was good, but didn't hold my attention all that well. This album was different, not only was it a well-crafted album, it was a concept album delving into the mind of a troubled teenage boy at odds with himself, religion and having any sort of healthy relationship. It is an album that lyrically is not only dark, brutal and disgusting, but about self-discovery and realization, maybe even self actualization in a way.

No doubt, this album was released during the height of my militant anti-God, atheist stance on religion, and fueled many a passionate rant on society and religion, but thankfully it has held up even as I've passed through the tunnel into agnosticism. The album starts off with a frantic but clean guitar line, which is quickly interrupted by Nathan Gearhart's passionate cry of "JESUS!" accompanied by Vehemence's musically brutal riffs providing the stark contrast that you'll come to know and love throughout the album. The twists and turns the song takes, accentuated by the revving scream of the lead guitar are only the beginning of the journey.

Musically, there is a theme that they return to a few times, a riff they'll revisit at different times in the album, different progressions in the main character's descent into madness and clarity, with the early climax coming in the aptly titled "Christ, I Fucking Hate You!" as the music and lyrics take a turn from self-loathing and disparity to hatred and denial. The calm doesn't come until "The Last Fantasy of Christ" gives the listener a brief break from the brutality of the last few tracks to contemplate the experience so far. While the break isn't long, the interlude in the song is one of the absolutely shining moments of the album; "Even if you did exist, you'll never know what happened to us... You died before it even began..." is spoken before the rest of the band decides to unleash themselves upon you, the listener again.

The album's climax begins at the title track, "God Was Created," introducing listeners back to the musical theme again, as well as the character coming to his conclusions about God, Jesus and religion; "I am my own savior!" -- as well as -- "God was created by human minds!" -- and -- "You are your own God/I am my own God!" The folly of the main character is realized now, as there wasn't anything controlling him but his own foolishness, as the classical guitar to round out the brutality of the title track brings us into the unifying tracks with enough of the brutality and melodic guitar work to bring the entire album together and make it, as a composition, not only whole, but incredible.