Frank's Enemy

Item: Illumination
Author: D_Lister

Illumination

(1998)

Reviewed by D_Lister

Discogs Bandcamp

Label Cling RecordingsDead Zine1998

death metal grindcore hardcore

I left my review for last, because if anyone out there knows anything about me they know I really love Frank's Enemy. I guess the best thing for me to say straight up here is that if you like Neoblasphemies, you will like Illumination. If you don't like Neoblasphemies, you will probably hate Illumination.

The opening of this CD was probably my absolute favorite part of the entire CD. Starting off with a ska part, that lasts a full 31 seconds and with that length the band had convinced me that they had written a ska song. Horns and all, for 31 seconds including a little ska change up. I was disappointed for a full 31 seconds. (Have I mentioned my dislike in ska before?) Not surprised cause hey, these are the guys who did Loogie Soup right, and I hated that. SIGH so I was resigned...for 31 seconds...that there was a full on Frank's Enemy ska tune. . .

. . .then came second number 32.

What's the best word to use here? Obliteration? Annihilation? I'm not sure either of those words accurately describe what the boys in the band do to that lovely little ska riff. The pause between the ska intro and savage grindcore force is exactly ZERO! Codebasher rips off the cd in pulse pounding format. Yes all of those out there wondering where the Christian grindcore is, look no further. The rest of the CD contains a lot of grind, but you can read the song by song break down in Julio's column Illumination Illuminated and I won't waste your time detailing them here., but I do want to talk about a few of the 15 tracks on this CD.

Other surprise highlights of this album are of course the song Frank's Enemy Metro, the techno tune ala Frank's Enemy. With programmed music by Chris Dauphin, this song incorporates a lot of samples from Neoblasphemies. Some of them are hard to hear the first few times through but listen closely and you will hear them all over. Really a neat song, very original, but for you grind/metal heads your not going to want to hear it more than a few times.

Also the beginning of Another Liberation (probably my favorite track on this CD) is also a really fun part. It opens with a nice piano piece followed by the three members of the band doing their absolute worst imitation of the Contemporary Christian music scene. You get three guys together and have them sing in harmony but not really try, and you get something really funny. Then the whole thing goes off into this old school influenced hardcore song. Really nice. Lyrically awesome.

I can't leave out Lamento. The song that they allows Frank's Enemy pay tribute to....Lament. Yea that's a really tongue-in-cheek name for a song, but the song slays. What can I say full on spanish grindcore...killer.

The first time I listened to Friends in the SKies, I hated this track. Now I don't hate it anymore, but I still don't consider it an outstanding track. Mainly the vocals are what kill this track, cause I can live with the music. Thrash riffing that reminds of something off of a Testament album, mixed with these really weird spacey sounds that reminds of some of the cheap sound effects from the old Star Treks, and then the singing which reminds of a that hick kid from the movie Deliverance. I know he never sang, only played his banjo, but still that's the image that comes to mind.

Have you ever thought to yourself, that you'd like to hear a song go from say full on grind to some thrash riffing to some hip-hop rap and back to grind again? Me neither, but that's not gonna stop Frank's Enemy from doing a song just like that. John The Baptist Revisited delivers all genres on command almost. Look for more hip-hop influence on the last track entitled Serenity.

This album does have the signature of Frank's Enemy in that it changes from track to track. They do however seem to do more grind than death these days, and are throwing in more thrash to round things out. Less hardcore worked in and well only a small bit of ska....31 seconds worth.

Real quick a few other songs that really kicked my butt; Antigod, Face To Face Again, Straight Up/Down, Nothing Changed, and Codebasher. Not that I dislike any song on this CD, but these are the song that make want to cause bleeding!

Complaints? Well let's talk lyric sheet. THIS IS THE MOST ANNOYING LYRIC SHEET I'VE EVER SEEN! So I guess they accomplished exactly what they set out to do when they designed this lyrics sheet. See you open the four sheet insert up to make a large square and the lyrics start dead in the middle of the sheet and spiral outward in this huge conglomeration of nearly impossible to follow words. Consider the speed of the singing most of the time and it is impossible to actually read along with the songs. Although that might be impossible even if the lyrics were printed nice and neat. Anyway as a servant of the readers I've decided to put the lyrics to this album up right here on the review of this CD. They will be listed at the end of the review. The lyrics themselves are outstanding, as you can read, with the guys really pushing hard their faith, and their love of Jesus. One more thing to make this album incredible.

I love this band, and I love this album, it's fully of noisy distortion, unintelligible vocals, silliness, and mayhem from beginning to end. I can not however say that everyone needs to go out and buy this album. This album is not for everyone, and there are plenty of people out there who are going to literally hate this music. Still for those of you who were into the last album you're gonna find another 15 tracks of music you can't live without.

Lyrics so you can read them finally...

FRANKSKANEMY!

Instrumental

CODEBASHER

Two thousand years of oppression Is the view that's held today He's the cause of all wars He's the author of all pain No one will hear him out He's the last minority No one has a problem with Jesus Christ Only those who invoke His name

All others have instant forgiveness But he will have to pay For the intolerant claims of salvation Only attained in his one way Two or three catchphrases will be Enough to close most doors Muted whispers of concern For those who walk into his doors

Forever outside of the fashion culture Around which the world revolves Increasingly quaint and inscrutable Are how his standards will be regarded The cyanide laden Kool-Aid cup Will be thrust into his hand Amidst the laughter and the mockery The time to make the stand

FACE TO FACE AGAIN

I'm so sorry I hurt you And I must do it again And it hurts me too But I must do it Half the time just want to crawl And apologize The other half feeling worse From knowing I'm right

One misstep away Every day on my game I try too hard To survive each day

I have lost touch with what I was With the lie that it was They say the pottery must break again I'm not mad but I wonder when And if it's never then this is it Til the day of my grave's deliverance The line remains there to be toed Rejoice in the patience that will surely grow

I owe you so very much That I cannot repay I wish you'd see it And let me have my one more way You owe me that much Owe me to let me pay You always let me go But I wanted to stay

DYSFUNCTIONAL

Endless parade of gross perversions Like pins pushed into my brain However short-lived it may be I remember the sweeteness of the pain Is the greater sin the act I commited Or the lie later expressing disgust That doesn't exist most of the time A lack of morals or a lack of trust?

No more blood in my heart Just concrete pouring in Protection from conviction Mortared by my sin My face slowly turns to stone No one gets inside Now I have my secret place Now I can hide

The white I wore in my dreams Irrevocably blackened Anger settling over my eyes At finding myself lacking I let them into my darkest halls And I hate myself for it They never knew as they overturned things What was being destroyed

Replaying and reliving The dark passages of my life Smiling as I wreak the vengeance I can never realize My hands and eyes stay on me I have made my choice The big man I am inside Will never use my voice

I make the lame excuses I heard before And didn't tolerate I look into the mirror And what I see I surely hate Wretch that I am Who'll free me from the body of death The answer's written in my stone Waiting for my breath

FRIENDS IN THE SKIES

Everybody wants to make Friends in the skies Trying to ascend to Planes of existence on high Falling into trances And trying to float away Given up on earth and people Headed for the astral plane

Certain of their help To past civilizations Ancient earth scattered with Earth base stations The angels aren't so far They're in the mothership Theirs is the power They've been given lordship

And if there's life on other planets Then we're sure that we must know And they've been here here once already And will come back to save our souls

Friends in the skies Kidnap me today Friends in the skies See you in my dreams Friends in the skies My ears are open Friends in the skies I'll spread your prophecies

Everybody wants to make Friends in the skies With radar dish beams And interplanetary satellites Before the planet collapses Under the weight of man In search of saviors For an ultimate weapons ban

Ecstatic in the explanations For the existence of God And the sophisticated advancements Rendering Him obsolete as Lord The gods aren't so far They're in the mothership Theirs is the power They'll be given worship

And if there's life on other planets Then we're sure that we must know And they've been here here once already And will come back to save our souls

Friends in the skies Kidnap me today Friends in the skies See you in my dreams Friends in the skies My ears are open Friends in the skies I'll spread your prophecies

Everybody wants to make Friends in the skies Do they know they seek after Something already familiarized Sugar coated manifestations Designed to achieve control Of minds unsure and hungry In their unacknowledged souls

A vibrant alternative To the drab oppressive Church Obtainig maximum experiences With just a little work The gods aren't so far They're in the air all around Theirs is the power Since they were brought down

And if there's life on other planets Then we're sure that we must know And they've been here here once already And will come back to save our souls

Friends in the skies Kidnap me today Friends in the skies See you in my dreams Friends in the skies My ears are open Friends in the skies I'll spread your prophecies

JOHN THE BAPTIST REVISITED

Stone the liars with our words Faith is dead without good works You must repent, you must change You can't get to Heaven the easy way A few will pass, maybe one or two Too much sin and your salvation's not true No blood can cover up a lie Better be ready the day you die

If you doubt repent and be saved once again And after the next rash of sins Before you help your neighbor in need And say "Lord, Lord, see my deed" Be sure, be sure, remember last night Can you say your soul is pure and white? Does your life negate your supposed salvation? Too much sin repeals its validation

A blade of no return suspended somewhere over your head Go beyond and you were always dead Re-crucify yourself again and again And come back again next week for your confession May all these words burn upon you well I hope I pleased God trying to keep you from hell Hope I see you in Heaven, you know what to do Got to go now and make sure my salvation's true

MY NIGHT ALONE

That night there was no solution And even now looking from so far away I still can see no real solution Like we're still living on that day For me no day defined before and after Like that one did so decisively And every new day instead of healing Makes me look back more painfully

On my night alone I threw my life down the toilet I tore my medals off my chest I swore that this would be death On my night alone

Did my tongue wag too much before? Could a few words have sealed our fate? No forgiveness allowed or forgiveness given I said no to love and yes to hate Some attempted praises I subtly botched Outstretched hands did I ignore Wrapped in a self-made coccoon of sorrows Thinking of all that went on before

On my night alone I threw my life down the toilet I tore my medals off my chest I swore that this would be death On my night alone Satan stood by my side Took me for a hellish ride I lit candles to my pride

That day stayed with me for months Guided my every word and move Laughed inside at all the wreckage And I knew that we were doomed With washed hands I watched The events that sealed our fate Til I saw what I'd really done And then it was too late

ASHES

It's hard to admit I'm wrong sometimes But even harder to admit I'm right Compromise as the sun rises and falls Just trying to avoid the fight Thinking I'm upholding my purpose from God While my soul and spirit fall apart I smile and play along with everything As I lie to my own heart

The things I think Satan wants torn apart Maybe it's him holding them together His hand not behind the malfunctions But the tensions that ensue with others It's all a game I play along with Close your eyes and bow your head I get home and I ponder my lies And I know that I am dead

Each Christian life in the balance More important than any charade Who's purpose only delays the inevitable And ultimately sends it into the flames With foundation in place I must stand The compromise must end Or God will walk me through the ashes Of my noble accomplishments

LAMENTO

He aqui Mi lamento He aqui Lo que yo siento

Me siento que mi cabeza se me va a explotar Por las cosas que yo veo y que no puedo explicar

He aqui Mi lamento He aqui Lo que yo siento

La Verdad de eternidad que esta delante de nuestros ojos Sumamente ignorada por la mayoría de nosotros

He aqui Mi lamento He aqui Lo que yo siento

Me siento que mi cabeza se me va a explotar Por las cosas que yo veo y que no puedo explicar La Verdad de eternidad que esta delante de nuestros ojos Sumamente ignorada por la mayoría de nosotros

O Senor Ven pronto Tu justicia Sobre nosotros Igual a mi Aunque yo teme Porque asi Yo te vere

La solucion no es facil En nuestras manos esta Para ponerla en manos de Jesus La fe que El no fallara

Yo prefiero los lamentos Y las lagrimas del dia final Que se derramen en los cielos Que Dios las va a secar

FRANK'S ENEMY METRO

Instrumental

STRAIGHT UP/DOWN

I told you about the work and all that it means God came down as Jesus and fulfilled the the ultimate dream A gift wrapped in His blood and it's ours to take You will hear that the just shall live by faith

But I sing a song sung so many times before A familiar message with familiar holes You should have questions and they should be answered It will not happen while I stand up here and you sit down there

Straight up/down The time will come

There's more to the Gospel than this But everybody seems to want the Reader's Digest I too am guilty of encapsulation To a concise five-step plan of salvation

But can you blame me when we're on the Titanic On this sinking system of things satanic Like Paul walking down the gallery of the gods In a battle where it gets hard to like the odds

Straight up/down

I could be hit and run and shove it down your throat To win the argument would be my highest hope And maybe make you say the words and pray they're true Just like how everybody taught me to do

But you could grab the Book and start to read for yourself Not decide on your afterlife from the words of my mouth Matthew Mark Luke John could probably tell the story best And you can always call us: [email protected]

NOTHING CHANGED

And so I lashed out outside and in Vented my anger at every whim I kicked the dog after poisoning his food I couldn't think of anything else to do

And I was scared Oh Lord so scared And I couldn't dare To really think about it all

And today Nothing has changed Nothing changed Nothing has changed at all.

And so I sink and sink and withdraw in Looking up numbers of suicide hotlines I almost cry no specific reason why I fantasize about the day I die

And I am scared Oh Lord so scared And when will I dare To really think about it all

Because this way Nothing will change Nothing will change Nothing will change at all

ONE FOR THEM

I could never be them Though my blood is just as red And we all grieve our beloved That end up just as dead

I can feel the anger At the old atrocities But I know it's not the same Knowing it wouldn't have happened to me

And I'm no good with cheap sloganeering About making dreams come true The answer is somewhere at the foot of the cross However hard we've tried to make it untrue

I remember McDuffie and how I had to stay home Not understanding why because I also thought those cops were wrong Until later I caught myself laughing at my friends' racist jokes Me the adult white male, I finally grew up

And so the drugs enslave with the laws that imprison State sponsored plantations disguised and hidden And I don't want to fear a man anymore But then when one of them knocks at my door

ANTIGOD

Up front I say nothing is owed to me And there's no doubt about God's power and love that be I don't blame Satan if I make a wrong choice I've got the Bible if I need God's voice

To be deserving of retribution Is not religious persecution If God has to do a job that He has for me It's not a miracle it's His mercy

Would you say I'm anti-God these days?

Things I took for blessings turned out to be thorns Things I took for fiery darts turned out to bless me more I found I had to watch my prayers-they might come true To make me grow I need to be broken too Will I be happy to rejoice in His day? Regardless of whatever comes my way? After so many have run away? In the face of all the doubt and pain?

Would you say I'm anti-God these days?

Up front I say nothing is owed to me No magic prayer carpets to prosperity My highest hope is the martyr's death God in His wisdom probably won't put me to that test

Would you say I'm anti-God these days?

ANOTHER LIBERATION

He's freed me once again From the mess I got myself in How could I have ever thought That He could ever give me up? When He invested His life in me When He looked ahead to me Satan fought hard to bring me down Jesus effortlessly brings me round

I was in the pit of my own thoughts Heard the hellhounds, started feeling hot I was crawling on the floor, I couldn't pray Saw dark clouds over the rest of my days

Don't ask me how it happened, I did nothing Don't know how I got above, I have no wings When you hear "greater is He..." you'd best believe it A power greater than me and the one who oppressed me

The one who oppressed me It's another liberation Once again

Will I fall again in days or weeks? Will I fail again to run from the deceit? If I do I hope I remember this day When Jesus came and grabbed me as I ran away

Though I'm lukewarm, He'll stay the same He's stuck with me I have nothing to say Falling over and over and over again Look up from the floor and I'm pulled up again

I'm pulled up again It's another liberation One more time

He's freed me once again From the mess I got myself in How could I have ever thought That He could ever give me up?

Though I'm lukewarm, He'll stay the same He's stuck with me I have nothing to say Falling over and over and over again Look up from the floor and I'm pulled up again

SERENITY

No mother ever loved her child like mine And what I realize now makes for a difficult time We try our best with good intents but it's trial and error Now we're left digging into ourselves for our terrors

I was not the most picked on kid But I sure hate a lot of people for a lot of things they did Sometimes I think I'm still controlling the damage That could drive me into realms of thought so savage

Serenity

I must decide on my serenity

Some I love have now died I won't regain those moments replace the times I didn't try To be to them what I feel I should have been Sometimes dreams just turn out to be dreams

And some things that were done to me I know I turned around and I did to someone else Who might now be hating or forgiving me I have a Lord to follow I begin by forgiving myself

9/10