(TMR) Hello to to you from The Metal Resource Holland, how are things going there in Alabama/USA ?

(BMO) I would call it normal. We had a nice, mild summer. A complete contradiction to all the global warming propaganda. It really hasn't been too bad in several years. But that won't stop the extortionists from continuing to try to redistribute American wealth. I guess that was a rather political way to answer a simple question wasn't it?

(TMR) For the people who never heard of  'Babylon Mystery Orchestra'  before, will you please Introduce yourself and the other bandmembers  ! (name and instrument)

(BMO) Well, that is the beauty of Babylon Mystery Orchestra. There is but one member...me. I do it all. Although I do, from time to time, find a way to include my cat on the records.

(TMR) Can you tell us something about the origin of  'Babylon Mystery Orchestra' ?

(BMO) In many ways I have always been working toward this. Whenever I have played in bands I have always been too willing to go along with the consensus even though I knew it would lead nowhere. In this part of the country you pretty much have nothing but cover bands. Musicians, being cravers of attention, will do whatever they have to do to get attention, so they easily compromise. There pretty much is just one band around here with a rotating lineup.

They may have different names but they all look and sound alike and play the same songs. So if you want to actually pursue original material, you pretty much have to forego playing anywhere. I have always admired people who could do everything themselves but never really considered myself to be among those people who could pull it off. I slowly amassed all the equipment needed to try it and once I got going I found that I actually liked what I was creating. It is a fully uncompromised vision. I really wish a lot of this technology had been around in the early 80's. I feel like I missed out on a lot of possibilities.

(TMR) Is this your first band, what other bands have you been in ?

(BMO) This is the first recording band and the only one you could ever have heard of. I did make the pilgrimage to Hollywood in 1987 and tried my hand at that scene for a couple of months. It really turned me off to playing music for a long time. Until the KISS reunion in 1995. At that time I bought the reissue of Paul Stanley's PS-10 Iceman guitar and slowly regained interest. It led to me deciding that if I was going to pursue anything in music, that I wanted to do my own recording. I wasn't going to allow anyone else to poison my attitude toward music again...and I haven't.

(TMR) Does the name 'Babylon Mystery Orchestra' means something, or is it just a name ? Is there a story behind that name ?

(BMO) Well, there is something of a story behind it. I was writing and recording the first CD without having decided if I would use a band name or just record under my own name. I was toying with ideas like naming the band "Orkestra" or some other obnoxious mis-spelling. I had been highly impressed by the music of Therion and initially thought I might incorporate a lot of orchestral parts into my music. I have somewhat, but overall BMO has evolved in a more guitar dominant fashion.

The material I was writing centered around the Biblical book of Revelation. Particularly, I was identifying the United States as the likely true identity of Mystery Babylon. So two of the words in the name were already on my mind. I came up with Mystery Babylon Orchestra, which a lot of people still mistakenly call it. But that didn't sound all that impressive to me. But when I re-arranged the words to "Babylon Mystery Orchestra" I immediately loved it and knew it was perfect. Not only was I sure that it had never been thought of before, but I liked the preposterousness of a one man orchestra.

(TMR) Who writes the music/lyrics in 'Babylon Mystery Orchestra' ? .. how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?

(BMO) I write everything myself. I don't know that I have to be "in the mood" for writing. I just have to constantly struggle to make time for it. I have plenty of things I want to say in my songs so it isn't hard to be motivated to write lyrics. In fact, I write a lot of essays because I have more things to say than I can put into songs. But I view songwriting as simply something that requires effort. I believe anyone can write songs if they are willing to put forth the effort. I do not believe that musicians or artists are "gifted" people. This is something within all of us...most just never try.

(TMR) How do you describe the music of  'Ancient Prophecy' ?

(BMO) Music that sounds as though it was written thousands of years ago even if it is made with modern instruments. I don't like all these trendy bands that look and sound the same. I read too many band interviews where these current musicians make fun of the way bands looked and sounded in the 80's. Do they really think their heavily tattooed, pierced and unwashed fat asses are going to be any less reviled in twenty years? And don't get me started on that croak and gurgle sound coming out of the singers mouths these days. What happened to all the majesty and power that metal used to represent? Modern metal, all too often, sounds a lot like the whining of insignificant little demons.

(TMR) How does 'Babylon Mystery Orchestra'  stands in life till events in the world, religion and politics and in which proportion stands that till your music and lyrics ?

(BMO) I am not sure what you mean here. If you are asking my positions about events, religion and politics I am unashamedly coming down on the side of Christianity, capitalism and conservatism. I am sure that puts me in the minority of musicians but since when has the majority ever been right? Especially when you consider what an uneducated lot most musicians are. Since so much music is made to ridicule and revile my belief system, I take particular satisfaction in delivering my point of view with just as much indignity for the foolishness of the godless, socialists and moral relativists...and what a foolish lot they are!

(TMR) For a lot of bands the lyrics are just a accidental circumstance, but for some bands they use them to communicate ! ..can you tell us how that is for 'Babylon Mystery Orchestra' ?

(BMO) I have themes I want to explore and I generally try to make the music fit the theme. Like all of us, I do like heavy Metal music. And I am particularly partial to the more Gothic sounding kind...although I do love "hair metal" most of all. Since I write most of my songs around religious themes or religious interpretations of them, I think this type of sound melds perfectly with the words. But make no mistake, the words are the centerpiece of every Babylon Mystery Orchestra song...except, of course, the couple of instrumentals scattered on various CDs. I am probably one of the few, if not the only person who writes this way these days. You are right that most bands pay no attention to their lyrics. It shows. Perhaps it is then a good thing that this unintelligible "croak and gurgle" singing style is so common. But I want my words clear and understood. There is, to me, no reason to write a song unless you have something to say. Does the world really need another collection of drumbeats and guitar noodling?

(TMR) What is the message you want to bring with  'Babylon Mystery Orchestra' ?

(BMO) Babylon Mystery Orchestra is truly nothing more than a vehicle for presenting the world as I see it. I can't say that there is any one over-riding message that I am trying to convey. There are, in fact many, messages! I do write everything from a Christian perspective, however, in doing so I often write songs that would never be accused of being Christian if they were heard separated from their context on the records. "Diabolus Apocalypse" shocked a lot of people. There are those who think a Christian should not write a song like that. Yet, does it not convey the Christian idea of who and what Satan really is? When I play "devil's advocate" I take it seriously and I think it propels the ideas explored on these recordings to levels not done anywhere else. Of course, in the metal world, most people don't care too much about any messages anyway. It's a good thing too since most metal musicians are too young to have anything to say anyway.

(TMR) Is there a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of  'Babylon Mystery Orchestra'  ?

(BMO) I consider the completion of each recording to be a highlight. I am often overwhelmed to look at the final packaging and realize that I am actually creating these things. It is also particularly gratifying to know that people who I don't know, and will never meet, are actually liking them. Strangely, I actually find some of the criticism to be enjoyable as well. I write things that should provoke a reaction...how can I not love some of the extreme criticism I have received? 

(BMO) The only problem for me is that I have so many things I want to write about and I just don't have the time. If I could pursue nothing but music I might could do it, but as it stands now I will never be able to get to things I really think ought to be dealt with.

(TMR) How is the metal scene in your area ? Can you tell us about that please ?

(BMO) There is no metal scene to speak of. Isolated bands do exist, and they find ways of playing the odd show, but there isn't much you could call a sustained scene. We are here...we just don't really have a scene. Did you really expect Alabama to be a hot bed for metal?

(TMR) Are you visiting many gigs by yourself and what do you listen to these days? (for everyone personal)

(BMO) I just went to see Queensryche. Last week Alice Cooper came to Montgomery for one of the best shows I have ever seen. Everyone should catch Alice on this tour. Next week I will ride to Birmingham to see KISS again. So there is suddenly a lot going on, although there had been a long drought. I have, of course, been listening to the new KISS and Ace Frehley records and have been going through something of a Blue Oyster Cult phase. I have been listening to a lot of their records again lately. Great band.

(TMR) What is your all-time album top 5 ? 

(BMO)

(TMR) What can you tell us about the last  'BMO' album  'Axis of Evil' ?

(BMO) As with all previous BMO releases, it is a conceptual work. The theme operates around three separate entities competing for world domination...openly. Those three being Islam, Socialism and the often misunderstood Illuminati. The record has taken a lot of heat for its portrayal of Islam. I rightly regard it as a purely Satanic institution. I look at it from several perspectives which included writing a song called "God Given Right" in which I used the actual words of Islamic terrorists as the main lyrics in the song.

As with all BMO CD's I do not make such statements without giving the sources, and the "Axis of Evil" booklet is something to behold. I truly look upon the entire package as being part of the musical experience and therefore I take great pains to make BMO recordings as much a visual and intellectual experience as an emotional and musical one. I should say that although I have taken a lot of criticism for the anti-Islamic and anti-Socialist nature of the work, I have received just as much, or more, praise for it on those same grounds. In fact, if you remove all the German reviews it is a tremendously approved of sentiment. However, Germany I have found to be a very uniform and conformist country. They take their socialism and anti-Christianity way too seriously.

As a result, a politically incorrect record like "Axis Of Evil" caused too many of them to have indignant seizures of spitting and sputtering out all sorts of "all religions are equal" nonsense. It appears that the mythology of "equality" is the dominant religion there. Its a shame because I see that mythology spreading here in America too. Too many young people want to "conform" and buy into a forced equality that suppresses the spirit of the individual.

There appears to be a lot of people in Germany who like the CD, but I get the impression they don't say such things out loud. Probably out of fear that someone will accuse them of "racism" and "intolerance" as has happened to me. Its Ok though, the real world will bring them all my way whether they like it or not.There is no freedom in socialism...and "Axis Of Evil" pointed that out too!

(TMR) What more can we expect in the future from 'Babylon Mystery Orchestra' ?

(BMO) The new CD is finished. I am doing some remixing and working on the booklet right now. I am trying to decide whether or not to include a song called "You're On Your Own...This Time." I really like it, but it doesn't seem to fit with the flow of the recording. I have pretty much decided to drop it largely due to the fact that it is 6:30 in length. I love the sentiments though, so maybe it will turn up later. The record itself will be called "The Godless, The Godforsaken and the God Damned." Sure to be a controversial title.

This record really isn't a conceptual one, however, when I put that title over it, it starts to feel like one. There are songs about UFO's, conspiracies and, thanks to our recent election of a socialist president, there are quite a few political statements as well. I assure you it is a continuation of the fine art of "political incorrectness" that Babylon Mystery Orchestra has mastered. I can't wait to see the reaction to a track called "Hate Crimes." I promise you no one will hear that song and not have a reaction, one way or another. It is a diverse group of themes that somehow all fits nicely under the record's title. I am going to make sure the booklet lives up to it.

(TMR) Name some of your favorite bands to play with live (past and future) and tell us why ?

(BMO) I have never played with anyone that matters so I can't really give you much of an answer to that question. Babylon Mystery Orchestra is probably going to be the only thing I am ever associated with. I can live with that. Too many musicians play in too many bands nowadays anyway.

(TMR)  Thanx for your time and the interview !! we wish 'Babylon Mystery Orchestra' all the best !!......is there anything you wanna say at last ? (any final statement ?)

(BMO) I am looking forward to everyone's reaction to the next record. I expect to release it early next year. Lets help stop the march of socialism in the world. All people are created equal...but they do not stay that way, nor should they. It is not natural. No two things on this earth are equal.

To force equality on everyone, only brings everyone down lowest levels of productive, creative, moral and intellectual depravity. Equality is a myth. If someone can spend their lives justifying their right to take the wealth of someone else, they just as easily could have dedicated themselves to creating something of value for themselves. Socialists are predatory parasites. They will destroy us all. Do not fall prey to their pseudo-intellectual schemes to redistribute wealth in the name of "social justice," or extortionist poppycock like "global warming." They are thieves, and nothing more. Babylon Mystery Orchestra is prepared to fight them, any day and everyday.

Sidney Allen Johnson

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Related articles:

Axis of Evil (cd review)