VNV Nation's new album, Matter + Form, has really grown on me... at first I didn't like the idea that it would!

It's a comprehensively mature, well-rounded album. It's hardly EBM though, it's mature electric dance, IDM, not EBM! It feels as if, however, some of the dancey bits only fit in unnaturally. Anyway, VNV Nation have always had inspiring lyrics, depth through a mixture of obscurity and concept-dropping, combined with a worldly emotional commentary... but this album is less pretentious, more down to Earth yet than Airships and Carbon from their last album, but musically not so high or melodramatic as those eipc dramas. It's a little chilled out, beside angst, not above it and certainly not revelling in it, goth style.

It's music for goth parents, not for neophytes. I couldn't for the life of me identify what demographics albums like this attract... it's like the 80s would have been if things were happy and deep more than shallow, hopefull and desperate.

Tags: music, vnv nation
Current Mood: happy
Listening To: "Arena" by VNV Nation

"Satanism is not Christian or part of Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree

The bulk of the text reads:

"Satanism is a different religion to Christianity. It has almost entirely different beliefs, difference sources and a different history. It's usage of words is different to that of Christianity. Satanism is not the worship of the Christian Satan, because then Satanism would be part of Christianity. In order to believe in the Christian Satan, you have to be a Christian. Satanists are not Christians, their beliefs are different. The "Satan" of Satanism is different to the Satan of Christianity. Just like when the Christians say "prophet", they do not mean the Muhammad or Zarathustra, they mean a Christian prophet because the others are not from their own religion. When Satanists say "Satan" they do not mean the Christian Devil. Satanists do not believe that Satan fell from heaven, because that is a Christian belief. There is no heaven to fall from, no God to do battle with, no hell to fall to. These are all ideas made up and used by Christians, and are not shared by Satanism."

Tags: christianity, comparative religion, religion, satanic, satanism
Current Mood: accomplished
Listening To: "Coming From the Future" by Baphomet Method