Babylon Mystery Orchestra - On Earth As it is in Heaven

The man behind Babylon Mystery Orchestra, Sidney Allen Johnson, is one of the most ambitious musicians around these days. While no one can touch Brian Voth (Fireaxe); especially not since he released a triple c.d. with nearly four hours of music last year, but Johnson is of the same prolific nature. Last year Babylon Mystery Orchestra debuted with Divine Right of Kings. Johnson comes from a Christian persepective, but is more open minded and thought provoking than your typical Stryper or Redemption type of bands.

With his second release, On Earth as it is in Heaven, Johnson tackles the influence and existence of music, the origins if you will. Whether or not you buy into his theory is irrelevant in terms of enjoying this disc. Much like Divine Right of Kings, Babylon Mystery Orchestra delve into gothic metal territory and excel. The quintessential goth doom here can be found in songs like "Receive Trust and Believe" and "Rainbows End." Sure, those Tiamat and Type O Negative comparisons are still relevant but Johnson is vertainly coming into his own. His use of bass and percussion interaction on "Semjaza's Song" is creative, while "Violation" is probably his heaviest song yet. Johnson is a very talented acoustic guitarist and his skills are best displayed on "A Celestial Kiss" and the catchy instrumental "And the Waters Prevailed." "Bleed" seems to be an ode to Kiss' "God of Thunder" and "One Man" shows great song dynamics as it proceeds to build in intensity. Very professional, intelligent, and interesting release.