Appreciate the video and your perspective. As a fellow believer, I completely understand where you're coming from. However, my personal convictions towards music, not necessarily with Sleep Token specifically, but in general, have been quite different. As God created us in His image, we can't help but be creative as well. This goes for everyone, believers, and non-believers alike. Music is an art like any other and is completely relative. If it hinders your walk with Christ and/or inhibits your spiritual growth, then remove it from your life. If it encourages negative thoughts that could lead to negative actions, again, remove it. As we mature in our faith, I believe these red flags become easier to recognize. Sometimes, it's tough to decipher an artist's perspective. Despite his clear objectification of this girl, he's describing a very real human experience. Real enough that he felt inclined to create this song. At some point in time in one's life, the feelings expressed in this song could apply to anyone. From a Christian counseling point of view, the detail used in the lyrics to describe these feelings could be a great tool for helping someone who's struggling with these types of thoughts, but lacks the spiritual maturity to recognize them. The more I learn about Sleep Token, the more I realize that the "lore" they fabricated around their band is there to provide a layer of mystery for their audience and is most likely intended for entertainment purposes only. In conclusion, let's not forget that one of the largest and most influential producers of Christian music, Bethel, has been inundated with controversy. The enemy can attack from any angle, which is why it's on us to get in The Word and grow in Christ. Thanks again!

@MetalSharpensMetal

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the thoughtful response! A few thoughts: I think I totally agree with your first paragraph. I spoke about the concept of neutrality in art (spoiler: I don't think there is any) in my Plini video as well. I also just filmed a video today for an Opeth song off Ghost Reveries, which, if you're familiar, is a very dark album lyrically. Way worse than objectifying a girl you like haha. I don't endorse it, but I have a lot of praise for the band in some ways. Stay tuned for that. For the second point, I get that this can be a valid song when taken in isolation. I didn't open the can of worms in this video, but 90% of their songs are pretty sexualized. They have some that are way more suggestive than this, and when taken as a whole, I find it more problematic. A lot of this does come down to the Christian conscience like you said, and like Paul says, so I might not be in the same opinion as everyone here. But I do find the worship stuff about as troubling for Christians as bands that are actual satanists. As for Bethel...you'll find no pushback on that opinion from me 😂Both Bethel and Hillsong are rife with heresy and other issues like you said. They have written songs that are totally fine in themselves, but I think churches shouldn't financially support them by licensing the songs to play on Sundays. Because they're writing music specifically for the church, I'd be fine with more of a boycott for them than even Sleep Token if you can imagine it. So thanks for commenting and hopefully you're blessed by the vid! I'm biased but I think the more recent ones are even better haha.

Thank you for this video! Please keep em up. I really appreciate the Christian perspective on todays music especially Metal. As much as I enjoy the melodies and sound of Sleep Token, watching this video has reminded me to always look at the lyrics and look at what I'm feeding my spirit. Thank you for the reminder

@MetalSharpensMetal

5 ай бұрын

That's exactly why I'm making these. Thanks for checking it out!

This video deserves a like just for the intro

@MetalSharpensMetal

Ай бұрын

Lol, thanks!

You get some harsh comments from 'proud atheists' man, they're making me and other non-believers look bad lol I appreciate your videos and the lyric 'analysis' parts in particular. I thought your video on the tesseract one was very well thought out and offered a different perspective I never thought of in my 100's of full listens to the album (I love Altered State, might be my no1 prog album, tho to be honest the song you picked is not really a fan-favorite). You took it in a very religious, losing of faith type of view which, as I heard you explaining your view of the lyrical content, I could totally see fit. Altered State does a great job imo with it's lyrics in being able to connect religiously, spiritually and rationally/emotionally in many different ways. The lyrics are vague like that, in a good way. Enjoying your reaction vids so far.

@MetalSharpensMetal

8 ай бұрын

Hey thanks for taking the time to comment and think through some things you disagree with. I never expected everyone to agree with me but I find it a little...surprising when people are surprised that a Christian believes Christian things 😅 I can't believe Exile wouldn't be a top pick for most people! But that's alright, I just sing and drum along to that one so much I had to start there. I would love to get back to more Tesseract songs as they're probably my favorite band in the space, but there are so many other bands to touch on first. I'll keep churning em out, hope you enjoy!

Those office clips are $$$ 😂🤣

@MetalSharpensMetal

9 ай бұрын

😂😂

Interesting take I'm afraid I disagree with most of what you said but it is fascinating to see how someone's world views change how they interpret things such as music.

@MetalSharpensMetal

9 ай бұрын

Worldview determines everything. Thanks for checking it out!

Im bummed but I had to close the book on Sleep Token as a Christian. It was HARD because I genuinely loved their sound, but too many red flags against the fundamental beliefs of a Christian. The big one you touched on was the whole “Worship” theme.. idolizing and essentially worshiping a deity other then God (whether it just be lore or not). Another thing, and the final dagger in the heart was the recent revealing of their new costumes when the guitarist (I think it was) that now wears a pentagram on his coat. I’m fine with bands being neutral if they want to completely leave God out of their music, but satanic imagery and pseudo “worship” of a fake god got to be too much.

@MetalSharpensMetal

3 ай бұрын

You get it man. It's a bummer to miss out on some catchy music, but it's just not always worth it. I hadn't seen the pentagram thing, but even without that I don't think there's any neutrality in life. Music and art especially. That's a big reason why I'm discussing these issues.

@KAJYT6969

2 ай бұрын

You can listen to music without agreeing with their beliefs or views. Its just music.

@MetalSharpensMetal

2 ай бұрын

@@KAJYT6969 I think maseay and I probably do that every day. But since we don't ignore the lyrics there comes a point where we draw a line for ourselves.

@KAJYT6969

2 ай бұрын

@@MetalSharpensMetal that just sounds like you're closed minded. You know how its good to look into and study other religions so that you can recognize and acknowledge truth and see what other beliefs believe? Thats like with music too. Broaden your horizens because guaranteed its not the holy spirit convicting you when you're listening to sleep token.

@MetalSharpensMetal

2 ай бұрын

@@KAJYT6969 that's quite a guarantee! How do you know that?

Wow. Just wow. Knocking a band because they created a story for the band which i doubt they actually believe. Im assuming that you also suggest not to watch marvel movies because i mean they have thor whose a god and people kinda idolize him, go to conventions dressed as him, etc. They're a band, which i really honestly don't like much, that does things very similar to bands like slipknot, gwar, etc. I mean you are right that they have decided that their story is going to revolve around a god and worship, but so is every other religion in existence, including Christianity. Except their's we know is made up. The rest claim to be real and the only way to 100% figure that out and there's no coming back from that.

@MetalSharpensMetal

9 ай бұрын

Hey, good to hear from you again. I wasn't trying to "knock" them per se, but this is an important thing for Christians to be aware of. The God of the universe said not to worship any other god (or ourselves, or things we've made up, etc.), so whenever this band or Marvel or any non Christian band presents some kind of idolatry, I'm going to point that out. When they present heroism and love and virtue in godly ways, I'll bring that up too - not because it validates everything they say, but because those stories often point to the greatest story of Jesus dying for His people and conquering death itself.

@gd229

9 ай бұрын

@@MetalSharpensMetal but you do say you don't recommend listening the them religiously which maybe just means don't listen to the lyrics? But then again lots of their other songs don't agree with you either and there's that comment about the vessel god. And while again I'm not a fan of the band I can't comment on their other songs but I do feel that you're knocking them over creating some fake religion as a gimmick. Sure I mean I guess if you're reading scriptures and it's says that it's wrong then it's wrong. However it's a fake religion created for a type of entertainment. I'm worried about a view of all religions except yours is kinda wrong is bad. Whereas I'm kinda of the opinion that we're all in different roads heading to the same place. It only matters what you do on that road. Forming an opinion of something that is clearly fake and casting aside as something wrong isn't really what I hoped for. Rather what the message of the video was and the take aways are and maybe how you can better yourself or maybe overcome whatever is going on in the video. Like there's a video I saw an excellent reaction to by a pastor for wishing wells by parkway drive. I thoroughly enjoyed his insights on the song. From what I've seen from the two videos I've watched just the lyrics "cause tonight I'm killing Gods" would have that song shot down so fast on this channel rather than how you can overcome those mental feelings if the situation behind that album came to pass in you're own life. Kinda like I was saying in the pain remains. I hoped that you would finish it because it is a man who lost his everything, he's clearly religious by the other parts, but is she tormented by losing his wife appears to get a little mad at God, decides to attempt to take his own life, doesn't succeed, appears to give up on God and then lights himself on fire. Which are all bad things for Christians. So as a Christian how do you handle that crisis of faith? Both as the person having the crisis and the people around him. Rather than that's bad and here's a bible verse. Because the person I knew that killed themselves after losing his everything was really religious. I can firmly say it didn't stop him. Sorry if this was long winded but I had to get my view out

@MetalSharpensMetal

9 ай бұрын

@@gd229 I wouldn't advise anyone ignore lyrics entirely. That's the main point of this channel - to look at the main source of a band's worldview (the lyrics) and discuss my thoughts as a Christian. I don't think anyone is in sin for listening to something, but if they listen to it regularly and without thinking about those things, I think that's pretty unwise. When my kids start liking music of their own, I'll want to equip them to understand what the artist is saying and figure out if they can support that with a clear conscience. I'm sure there's a line you'd draw on certain songs too? Say if they were praising a certain terrorist or war criminal for their actions? I briefly read the lyrics to Wishing Wells and would be curious to hear a pastor say there's no issue there. Maybe I missed an interview or something, but it seems like a pretty clear message that a real Christian would have to disagree with ultimately. As a Christian, I'm not on the side of "all religions lead to the same god." Jesus and the rest of the bible paint a very clear, exclusive picture of how people can be forgiven. We have to go to the One we've offended (the triune God) and submit to what He commands (repentance and faith in Christ alone). There are many people who disagree with me and still say they're Christian. I'm just trying to be faithful to what God reveals in the bible. If you want a little more of an understanding of some of these things, the video coming out Monday might help.

@gd229

9 ай бұрын

@@MetalSharpensMetal I wish you the best with your channel but I think I'm gonna pass on future videos. The one thing I have learned in my life is you must always be willing to learn in order to grow and never follow things blindly. One road to one god isn't exactly learning to grow. Because as I see it you've just told me I'm going to hell. And also kzread.info/dash/bejne/nYiDrsuIeJWagqQ.htmlsi=Lmjj8C7DOpMvjaUY

@MetalSharpensMetal

9 ай бұрын

@@gd229 thanks for the well wishes. I realize a lot of people see what I believe as blind, but if the God of all creation writes a book about reality and His desires, it's not blindness to follow or teach about that. We are all spiritually blind and on a path to hell without finding forgiveness in the saving death of Jesus. Part of the reason I started this channel was to discuss that message. And thanks for the video, I'll check it out. Peace.

"They're so ready to accept a religion that was made up 2 years ago by this band." How condescending! Do you realise how stupid that sounds when you follow that up with mentioning the god of the bible? Denegrating someone for believing a made-up religion from 7 years ago (not 2 years ago), while holding a belief from a made-up religion from 2000 years ago is laughable. Talk about the pot and kettle!🙄😂

@MetalSharpensMetal

9 ай бұрын

Hey congrats! You're the first person on the channel who's upset with the main point of the channel. Welcome! Though my sarcasm didn't land for you, I will say you have a bit of a point. Their religion is much older than 2 or even 7 years because there is nothing new under the sun. People have been making up excuses to worship self rather than God for millennia. There are slightly different flavors, but it's all the same poison.

@brianalmeida1964

9 ай бұрын

​@MetalSharpensMetal You nearly got that final statement correct. I agree that humans have invented gods and religions since the dawn of time. This is true for ALL religions, including the Abrahamic ones. Which makes your initial assertions hypocritical. As for thinking it angered me in any way, you couldn't be further from the truth. It amused me. As I stated in my initial comment: pot calling the kettle black! 🤣🤣

@MetalSharpensMetal

9 ай бұрын

@@brianalmeida1964 OK, I'm glad you're merely here to scoff then. If you were upset by something someone online said, that would be a bummer. Either way, welcome to the channel and enjoy!