Harpazo’s The Crucible isn’t just a Christian Metal album, it’s a complete experience. A concept album with a Rock Opera flare, it tells the story of Michael and Jude Solomon. It is set in 2142, and Jude is the CEO of Ichor, an advanced prosthetics corporation, who plans to use a serum that will create super humans that will merge with machinery and become immortal. His goal is to rule the world and establish the new Babylon.
The premise is the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation, and it is an artists interpretation of how these events could play out. I would not call it an authoritative interpretation, but, more of an interpretation of possibilities. The end times is not a completely clear topic, and there is room for interpretation. The most brilliant aspect of this album is the artist leaves nearly every key end times event open to the listeners interpretation.
I don’t want to spoil the story before the release of the album on July 28th internationally and July 5th in the US, but I will say, Michael and another character Relena, become a power couple for Jude who is ultimately by track 3, “I am God” revealed as the antichrist. Their evil and destructive agenda is deadly for any Christians in their path.
Harpazo means to be “caught up” and seems to be a nod for the rapture of the church. When, or how the rapture occurred is left up to the listener. This project is musically brilliant, with well known and top notch Christian Metal singers and musicians, while also being theatrically engaging. I was listening to each track closely, following the lyric sheet to see how it ended. It is a story of evil appearing to triumph, of cost of allying with evil forces, and ultimately redemption.
The Prog Metal style is perfect for this type of story. One thing to keep in mind is in concept albums each song is part of a larger story, so while they can be enjoyed and listened to on their own; they are much better understood in their broader context. I’ll be making a video on this as well, very soon! God bless and Keep Calm, Jesus On!
harpazomusic.com