Posted on: October 19, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

In the entire history of the thrash metal genre, there was never a band as unique as Believer. While their music showcased thrash influences from the rawest sort, delivering fast and violent sounds, the message they incorporated into their songs was the exact opposite of the typical thrash metal attitude. Through their music Believer preached the word of God – each lyric is a testimony of faith and commitment to the Christian community. The band made sure that their message was properly introduced by supporting it with a heavy dose of brilliantly arranged melodies and thrashing riffs.
And today Metal Mind Productions presents remastered versions of Believer’s three albums: “Extraction From Mortality”, “Sanity Obscure” and “Dimensions”.
Their debut album, “Extraction From Mortality”, easily shows the most brutal side of Christian metal, musically being comparable to thrash giants such as Slayer and Obituary. Includes 9 tracks filled with furious riffs and catchy melodies, sewn together with religiously inspiring lyrics. “Sanity Obscure” is Believer’s second album on which the band takes on a more technical approach. Thrash metal origins progress into a more sophisticated and spiritualized form, conjoining both an aggressive sound and a meaningful message. It features catchy and expressive songs, with some impressive highlights as “Stop the Madness”, “Non-Point” and the breathtaking symphonic/orchestral masterpiece – “Dies Irae”. New edition includes liner notes written by the band.
Their third and most impressive album, “Dimensions”, presents a band fully aware of its possibilities, able to create a one-time masterpiece, which this LP undoubtedly is. The 20-minute long track “Trilogy of Knowledge” is one of the most extraordinary songs ever created by a metal band. New edition includes liner notes written by the band.

Believer’s re-releases will be available on 5th November 2007 in a new digipak edition, limited to numerated 2000 copies. Digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on golden discs.

Believer
“Extraction From Mortality” (remastered)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1075 DG
Barcode: 5907785030916
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: thrash metal
Release date: 05.11.2007

Tracklist:

1. Unite
2. Vile Hypocrisy
3. D. O. S. (Desolation of Sodom)
4. Tormented
5. Shadow of Death
6. Blemished Sacrifices
7. Not Even One
8. Extraction from Mortality
9. Stress

Believer
“Sanity Obscure” (remastered)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1073 DG
Barcode: 5907785030879
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: thrash metal
Release date: 05.11.2007

Tracklist:

1. Sanity Obscure
2. Wisdom’s Call
3. Nonpoint
4. Idols of Ignorance
5. Stop the Madness
6. Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)
7. Dust to Dust
8. Like a Song

Believer
“Dimensions” (remastered)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1074 DG
Barcode: 5907785030886
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: thrash metal
Release date: 05.11.2007

Tracklist:
1. Gone
2. Future Mind
3. Dimentia
4. What Is But Cannot Be
5. Singularity
6. No Apology
7. Trilogy of Knowledge: The Birth
8. Trilogy of Knowledge: The Lie
9. Trilogy of Knowledge: The Truth
10. Trilogy of Knowledge: The Key
11. Outro

Bio
Believer was formed in early 1986 by two friends – guitarist/vocalist Kurt Bachman and drummer Joey Daub. They started off by composing more melodic material, which was released on a demo cassette called “The Return”. Soon after that, however, they switched to composing thrash metal songs, as Bachman himself admitted: “We realized that we could write thrash better than we could write anything else”. The band’s debut album – “Extraction From Mortality”- was released in 1989 by a popular Christian label, R.E.X. Music. The LP contained nine tracks filled with furious riffs and catchy melodies, sewn together with religiously inspiring lyrics. After the release the band begun touring alongside other Christian and secular (non-Christian) groups, gaining fans all over the world. The great reception they acquired cleared their way into the mainstream and soon Believer sign a deal with the acclaimed Roadrunner Records label. In 1990 the band releases their follow-up, “Sanity Obscure”. On this record, with the help of producers Doug Mann and Paul Krueger, Believer takes on a more technical approach, improving their sound as well as their compositions. The album features a handful of catchy and expressive songs, with some impressive highlights – “Stop the Madness” (released later as a single), “Non-Point” and the breathtaking symphonic/orchestral masterpiece – “Dies Irae”, which was the first sign of the upcoming evolution fully witnessed on the band’s next album. A quite surprising addition to the record was the track “Like a Song”, originally performed by U2. Believer’s version introduced some really impressive vocal lines, backed by the band’s rough musical style. Also the lyrics improved, apart from Biblical and religious themes describing such issues as drug addiction and pollution. Believer’s third and last album, “Dimensions”, was released in 1993 and continued to amaze with original ideas and a thought-provoking lyrical content. Its highlight was definitely the 20-minute long composition called “Trilogy of Knowledge”, incorporating various progressive motives into the basic thrash metal structure. This resulted in one of the most extraordinary songs ever created by a metal band. Believer never officially disbanded, however in the mid 90’s several circumstances caused the band’s retreat from the metal scene. After realizing there was nothing more to return to, the members of Believer mutually decided to call it quits. For some time Bachman and Daub, who had their own studio in Pennsylvania, acted as producers for acts such as Turmoil and Living Sacrifice. Bachman eventually left the music business, while Daub joined a progressive/gothic act Fountain of Tears and recently established a side project called Year of Plenty. Although 14 years passed from Believer’s last album, the band is still considered one of the most talented thrash metal groups ever to emerge, not only by fans of Christian music. This exclusive reissue of Believer’s second album delivers a heavy dose of solid, intelligent music for all thrash metal connoisseurs.

1 people reacted on this

  1. Believer was great…and I hate Christians! They were definitely original and experimental but calling them the most creative band in thrash metal history is an overstatement to say the least. They were influenced by Euro thrash bands like Kreator, Destruction and Celtic Frost but they updated the sound with more complex arrangements and took the experimentation with classical/operatic nuances one step further than CF ever did. I would recommend “Sanity Obscure” most. The lyrics were most blatantly Christian on “Extraction…”; after that, they were thankfully more subtle and evolved to include more secular lyrics about environmental collapse and heavy drug abuse, for example.

Leave a Comment