Immolation (band)

"We did kind of leave the religious themes alone, because we were very passionate about that for the first number of records. And once Unholy Cult came out, that was where we branched off. That's where the shift happened, 'cause that was right after 9/11, as you know! I saw it, I went down there, I had family that got killed in the towers, and it was a life-changing event in a lot of ways. And I knew at that point that things would never be the same, in our country or in the world. And that's where the shift happened, and we started to focus more on the darker side of humanity. Which we did already with the religious themes, of course, because that was a very dark part of our history. I mean not to knock anybody who's very passionate about their religion, but in my personal point of view, I've always thought of it as a very controlling and negative force. It serves as a division in our world, it divides people, just like so many other things! So that's where we are, and that's where that shift started, away from religion and into something more socially relevant and looking more deeply at ourselves."

"When we touch on religion with this record [...] I think it’s done in a new and fresh way [...] religion is still a big force in the world, it’s not something I care for, but I see how it impacts people. It’s something we are always fond of exploring, that mindset and how it affects people, and also the institutions themselves and the corruption within and the horrible things done in the name of religion [...] I have a lot of friends and we know a lot of people and fans we’ve met over the years who are pretty blunt and say “Hey, I’m not down with the anti-religious thing, but I get it” – I think they appreciate our take on it because we don’t attack so much the individual spiritualism that people find – we attack more the institutions [...] I respect anybody’s right to believe and feel and listen to and follow or do whatever they want. My only problem is when that creeps into my world and religion becomes a thorn in my side when I’m not a religious person at all. When religion works into how laws are passed and how it dictates certain things in our society – that should have zero place in my world and any who chooses not to believe’s world."