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Sunday Old School: Believer

It’s quite hard to think of how a Christmas special could be done in a column exclusively about metal music. We came close last year with a look at British hit makers, Slade, who are perhaps best known for their song, "Merry Xmas Everyone." This year, we’re ringing in the holidays with a band who perhaps have a more traditional take on this season, as perhaps do some of our readers who are also subscribers to the Christian faith, or should I say, consider them self to be a Believer?

Have you forgiven me for that terrible pun yet? Then let’s move on to Believer, a band formed in Colebrook, Pennsylvania , that was formed in 1986 by vocalist/guitarist Kurt Bachman and drummer Joey Daub with bassist Howe Kraft and a second guitarist, Dave Baddorf joining soon after. Initially, their music was very melodic and the group demonstrated this with their demo, "The Return," in 1987, which earned them a deal with R.E.X. Records.

As the quartet went into the studio, their music evolved into a more technical take on thrash, not unlike Voivod or Watchtower and their new style was shown when their debut album, “Extraction from Mortality” was released in 1989. The record was released mostly to Christian book stores but the band soon found popularity amongst secular listeners, appreciative of their musicianship and aggressive sound. As a result, Believer almost immediately became one of the most respected Christian metal bands of the time, and perhaps remains so to this day.

One of the songs of the album, "Not Even One," was picked by Roadrunner Records to appear on their compilation, "At Death’s Door," which comprised mostly, as the name suggests, of death metal bands, though Believer’s music was considered heavy enough to be on the record and their popularity of their track led to Roadrunner signing them to their label, though R.E.X. were granted permission to distribute future release to the Christian market. Believer’s sophomore album, "Sanity Obscure" was released in 1990 and displayed a much greater technicality than their first full length. The lyrics not only dealt with spiritual matters, such as, "Wisdom Call," but more social matters like pollution and drug abuse on "Nonpoint" and "Stop the Madness" respectively. In addition, the record contained one of their most popular songs, "Dies Irae (Day of Wrath,)" which was strongly praised for its perfect blend of metal and classical music.

To promote the album, the band took to the road with fellow thrashers Sacrifice and British death metal favourites, Bolt Thrower, before Roadrunner decided to push the band as one of their three best technical metal bands, along with death metal groups Pestilence and Cynic, which were dubbed, "The Breed Beyond." Believer certainly laid claim to this tag with their next album, "Dimensions," which was released in 1993 and was the first to feature new member Jim Winters, who handled both bass and some guitar parts on the record.

It was hailed as their most technical album up to that point and dealt with, as well as challenged, the writings of Sigmund Freud and Jean-Paul Sartre amongst others. It was perhaps most notable for the twenty minute, four part epic, "Trilogy of Knowledge," which contained operatic vocals courtesy of Julianne Laird Hoge and string sections from Scott Laird, who had previously worked with the band on their debut. Despite the album’s praise, Believer decided to call it a day the year after the record’s release.

During their time away, Daub continued to work in the music industry, working with many bands including fellow Christian favourites, Living Sacrifice, while Bachman continued his medical studies. Twelve years after their disbandment, Bachman and Daub began jamming together again and found that the chemistry was still intact and so decided to bring Believer back, much to the delight of fans of intelligent metal music. After some live shows and a re-release of their back catalogue through Polish record label, Metal Mind Productions, Believer began recording their new album, which eventually surfaced in 2009 under the title, "Gabriel." It was released through Cesspool Recordings, a Roadrunner sub-label owned by former Killswitch Engage vocalist, Howard Jones and featured guest appearances from Rocky Gray of Living Sacrifice, CKY’s Deron Miller and Howard Jones himself.

The return was met with positive reviews from both critics and fans alike and inspired them to continue the band, with the announcement coming in 2010 that they had started work on a new album. The record, "Transhuman," turned out to be their most experimental and challenging work yet, but the risk seemed to pay off as it was greeted with almost unanimously positive reviews. As the title suggests, most of the album dealt with the subject of transhumanism, a movement which seeks to transform the components of human existence through available technology. Since then, the band has continued to perform live and last year revealed that they were working on their sixth studio album, which will most likely appear next year. Until such time as this new record is released, we wish you all a happy Christmas!

Believer - "Extraction From Mortality"

Believer - "Desolation of Sodom"

Believer - "Sanity Obscure"

Believer - "Dies Irae"

Believer - "Gone"

Believer - "What Is But Cannot Be"

Believer - "The Brave"

Believer - "G.U.T."