Every year at Christmastime I try to choose a selection for the Song of the Day that is both seasonally appropriate and also relevant to our scene. Sure, it’s the day after Christmas, but since Christmas historically is a 12-day feast, we’re still in Christmas!
August Burns Red has been making engaging and sometimes complicated metalcore since 2003. They are known as one of the more progressive and technical bands in the genre, regardless of faith affiliation. They are also known more for being “Christians in a band” than being a “Christian band.” For my own part, the debate gets tiring. Christians make art. Period. And ABR do a great job of that whether they are making explicit faith statements or not.
This Christmas track is, in many ways, a great expression of that tension. The longing for the Messiah expressed in the sacred Christmas hymn, yet done in an instrumental way so that again the faith-art lines are blurred. This track was initially released in 2009 as a single (along with “Carol of the Bells”), and later included on the holiday album, Sleddin’ Hill in 2012.
I hope you have had, and are continuing to have a wonderful Christmas. As we look to the past, let us also remember to look to the future–O come, O come, Emmanuel.
