Some seriously exciting music is coming out these days, especially over the last three to four years, with not only locals here to the U.K. and throughout our European community, but also with bands across the pond. Bands like Death Therapy, Chaotic Resemblance, Death Requisite, Taking The Head Of Goliath, XIII Minutes and so many more, have given us a reason to rejoice and to be excited with what is to come.
Of Bronze and Fire is: Christian Cunningham on vocals and rhythm guitar, Sonny Gazzard on lead guitar and Jake Gazzard on bass guitar. Drums in this track are programmed by producer, Stian Vedöy, who also added the keys/synths you can hear and some backing vocals. Sonny and Jake are identical twins!
The band formed out of the little community church here in Bristol that is simply called “Metal Church”, which started almost two years ago. They initially played other Christian metal songs and adapted worship songs for gatherings together, but after a short while they began to write their own material. “Adonai” is the first of the songs that the band wrote and began to play with regularity at their meetings.
Christian Cunningham is the main songwriter, but each member of the band involved essentially wrote their own part of the delivery. Christian has been a Paradise Lost fan for a very long time (especially their Shades of God/Icon/Draconian Times albums), and I think their influence is plain to hear in their sound.
We also love the symphonic black metal sounds of bands like Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir, and, in the last section of Adonai they really sought to make an atmosphere reminiscent of their sound, usually reserved for an almost ‘Occult worship’ feel, and use it in worship of our Creator…
“In our meetings, we do just that, and have used this section for long worship times in the Metal Church gatherings, meditating on Jesus being our “Adonai”, which is, of course, Greek for “Lord”. “The song lyrics themselves were mostly me reflecting on what it means to “Be Saved”; that Jesus has changed me and my life immeasurably, and so this is an outpouring to “My Adonai” (Christian Cunningham) of what it means for me to be able to call Him “my Lord”. It’s almost a story of salvation; snippets of things I can identify have changed or that I’m resolved to do now that my life is lived for Him.”