Showbread- The Fear of God

After putting out Anorexia and Nevosa last year, Showbread decided to make the purest form of raw rock imaginable by mixing the styles from each of their previous albums. The Fear of God has the chaotic screaming found on their Solid State debut, the more electrified and organized effort that was Age of Reptiles, and the dark hardcore style of last year's dual release. Keeping the witty, scarcastic lyricism found throughout, The Fear of God is a release that no Showbread fan should overlook.

The album opens with an odd and funny intro at the beginning of the track "I'm Lost," similar to the one found on No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical. The rest of the track continues creepily, but nonetheless has some very honest lyrics. The album picks up with "Nothing Matters Anymore," a track that holds the same hardcore screaming from the band's most recent releases and the singing more prevelent in earlier albums. Lead singer/screamer Josh Dies' lyrics shine masterfully as he sings, "No fear, no doubt, I've bottomed out, I've lost myself I'm letting go. No pride, no me, I've set them free, I've lost my mind and now I know no pain, no death, they're put to rest, we leave them here, we close the door. No earth, no man, now take my hand, 'cause nothing matters anymore."

The theme of this album sticks closely with "the fear of God." Mainly what Dies wrote about was how those who are not believers view Christians. It must look crazy, right? Believing that nothing on earth matters--only what comes after. Serving others instead of yourself. Believing in something you can't see. So when Showbread wrote The Fear of God, they wrote about "losing your mind" for God--the truest form of fearing Him.

One of the album's catchiest songs follows, building on the theme set in the first two tracks, again using sometimes comical lyrics to get the point across. Musically, this track uses synths more heavily, reminiscent of Age of Reptiles' more pronounced electronic sound. It's still heavy in a lot of places, something only Showbread could pull off--having an electronic hardcore flavor: "Regret Consumes Me" opens with a fun dance beat and contains other electronic noises throughout; "The Great Emasculation" opens with a synth piece similar to Showbread's sophomore "Pachycephalosaurus" and progresses into the newer hardcore style; "Let There Be Raw"--a tribute to Showbread's style of raw rock--uses a lot of synths while screaming "RAW ROCK!" again and again. So overall, The Fear of God has quite a range of different styles mixed together, which will probably make it appealing to a larger audience.

The album's light dims for a moment in "Out of My Mind," a song written for Dies' wife. It suffers musically with a short and bland chorus, and not much to make it memorable. A guitar solo close to the end makes it a little more enjoyable, but not much otherwise does. Things get better with "Vehement," which talks about overcoming pride so that we can be able to tell someone they're doing something they shouldn't be. Dies says over and over that "I've got to get myself to forget myself" and afterwards asks "Lord, I hate the sin so much, and I love the sinner, I certainly do. But how will they know how to purge the evil if I don't tell them what to do?"

"Shepherd, No Sheep" is one of the most musically and lyrically interesting songs on the album. Dies speaks to those who dislike Showbread because of a certain way things were put or what style was used. He sarcastically asks for forgiveness for not finding out what they wanted before putting out the music. In the end he says, "At Your feet I admit defeat, my work is now in your hands. If they want to hear stupid music, then so very bad, they can start themselves a band." For Showbread--and most other Christian bands--writing music is not just something they do to please people. It's to do what God wants, and anyone who questions that is just dead wrong.

"I Think I'm Going To See You" is one of the most fun songs on the album, again going back to the theme of losing your mind, saying, "The more the world puts in my mouth, the less I feel like chewing it. I found the way to madness and I'm opening the door. The more I say what's on my mind, the more I feel I'm losing it. They tell me what to care about and I don't care anymore." The following song, "Precursor," is another heavy track, slowing down enough at the end to say that, "Believing in nothing is scary. Believing in something is scarier still." From there the album slows down for good, with the title track and a song written to a deceased friend wrapping things up. They're both very melodic songs that might not entirely appeal to Showbread fans, but are actually some of the best songs on the album. The latter might be a bit emotional for some people, "Once sick and frail, once weak and pale, now made perfect and new. No more aching and crying, no more breaking and dying, finally home in the arms of Who loves you."

The Fear of God manages to satisfy those of us who may have been looking for some more fun music this year. It's also very deep and well written--something that is always a plus. Showbread's mish-mash of previous styles was a genius move that I very much appreciate. But of course, you just know something crazy is coming next, as Showbread never likes to stay in the same place, musically, for very long. And hopefully the time between albums doesn't differ much, so that we can have something to look forward to next year. Have fun losing your mind while waiting!