Any number of things can influence your career choice. Family
hopes and dreams, parental occupations… all add up to place a weight of
expectation on the youngster looking to make it in the world. In the case of
young Michael Bloodgood, it seems impossible to imagine that he was ever marked
out for anything apart from forming a Christian metal band. When your surname
is synonymous with both a central element of Evangelical theology (atonement
through Christ’s blood) and sounds like the best ever death metal band (in Denton
or anywhere else for that matter) then there really is no option other than
picking up your guitar and hoping for the best.
Formed in Seattle in the mid-1980s, the band achieved some
success in the Christian metal scene with their high energy arena metal
anthems. As their website chronicles, however, things were far from plain
sailing. Their first national tour, promoting popular album Detonation, was far from successful –
the band often turning up at venues only to find out that the places they were
meant to play didn’t actually exist. Today’s song is taken from their 1988
album Rock in a Hard Place, and is
described on the liner notes as “experimental”, which is perhaps a kind way of
saying that they didn’t really know what to do with it. Personally, I think that
it had great potential as a chant at one-sided football matches (How many goals, and how many signs? Seven!
Seven!)
It is interesting, however, in that it attempts to provide a
full overview of the Book of Revelation, while only offering minimal commentary
on the book itself. As such, it perhaps comes closest to actually recreating
the experience of reading Revelation, in which we are presented with a series
of symbols without clear explanation. Instead, we are given a clear theological
introduction, and then are allowed to meditate through the constant repetitions
of the number seven, which echoes through the number of churches, and seal,
trumpet and bowl judgements in the book of Revelation. Since the earliest days
of the Christian church, the numerological symbolism has fascinated writers and
been seen as key to expounding the book’s structure – but here the mystery is
allowed to wash over us. Admittedly, the
1980s production doesn’t tend to encourage a particularly contemplative state
of mind, but the song is nonetheless an interesting counterpoint to the very
exact interpretations of Revelation found elsewhere.
Seven
(Carlsen-Jackson-Shelton, 1988)
God gave Jesus a
revelation
And the Lord sent His angel to John
The faithful witness
The firstborn from the dead
The ruler of kings of all the earth
The one who loves us and has freed us from our sins
His blood has washed us clean and now He's coming
So shall it be, amen
Seven, the number of churches
Seven, the number of spirits
Seven, the number of lamp stands mad of gold
Stars and seals, the number of horns
The number of eyes lookin' at you
Seven, seven
The number of crowns
The number of plagues
The number of bowls made of gold
Trumpets, how many trumpets
How much thunder, and how many signs?
Seven, seven
God gave Jesus a revelation
And the Lord sent His angel to John
God gave Jesus a revelation
And the Lord sent His angel to John
And the Lord sent His angel to John
The faithful witness
The firstborn from the dead
The ruler of kings of all the earth
The one who loves us and has freed us from our sins
His blood has washed us clean and now He's coming
So shall it be, amen
Seven, the number of churches
Seven, the number of spirits
Seven, the number of lamp stands mad of gold
Stars and seals, the number of horns
The number of eyes lookin' at you
Seven, seven
The number of crowns
The number of plagues
The number of bowls made of gold
Trumpets, how many trumpets
How much thunder, and how many signs?
Seven, seven
God gave Jesus a revelation
And the Lord sent His angel to John
God gave Jesus a revelation
And the Lord sent His angel to John
Listen on Spotify: Apopalypse: Apocalyptic Advent Calendar
No comments:
Post a Comment