Feature: Eternal Mystery – Releases Ranked

Eternal Mystery was once one of the most prolific acts in the heyday of Christian grindcore in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, even if they remain a very underground act. Spearheaded by guitarist and vocalist Broc Toney (who would also be involved in a whole host of other Christian grindcore projects and splits, some with Felipe Diez III of Sorrowstorm and Rehumanize fame), Eternal Mystery is an inescapable presence in the 2000’s Christian grind explosion. 

During their existence, Eternal Mystery forged a definitive sound within Christian grindcore, opting specifically for a goregrind style that utilized pitch-shifted vocals and punky, simplistic riffing all propelled by (more often than not) a very tinny drum machine. Hilariously labelled as “frogcore” by one Youtube commenter due to Toney’s bullfrog-like croaks and gurgled vocal delivery, the music can definitely border on the level of parody at times, but hey – this is grindcore, it’s not meant to be palatable. Obviously, something worked, as the band is still a big presence in Christian grindcore, with Coleosis Records re-releasing their albums and EP’s, as well as collecting all of their split tracks on to one massive compilation as well. 

Sadly, Broc would later leave his Christian faith behind and take a very opposite view to it all, much like Roger Martinez of Vengeance Rising once did. The opposite happens too; just look at guys like Fire of Fire Throne or Cullen Toner of Dawnbreaker. That said, it never makes it less tragic to see. But when you look at the lyrical content of Eternal Mystery, it’s pretty clear that Toney was frustrated and outraged by the hollowness of televangelists, the outright heresy of the “prosperity gospel” movement and its scams, and the judgmental attitudes of others. I get it. Oftentimes, I’ve read about the whole “overzealous convert” syndrome, and while I have no idea if Toney was raised Christian or a convert to a particular communion, perhaps he fell victim to disenchantment with it all. I am no reader of minds and hearts, so I have no idea. But it’s sad to see such things happen, especially when one reads such heartfelt lyrics as these:

“Pushed away by religious hypocrites I questioned the existence of the One who loved me / As I fell away I began embracing the left hand path / To live for myself Seemed very promising / Darkness Became my god / The very thoughts of Christ Brought me anger and hate / My misconceptions of the Lord Blinded me / What I didn’t know Was the love of Christ / Christ is love Not hate / Denying myself Was the way out of my pain / Following Christ Became a joy / Out of the darkness I came And gave it all to Christ” (from “Swallowed by Darkness” on Bruised For Our Transgressions) Man, can I identify with so much in these lyrics when I think back on my own journey. 

Regardless of its end, Eternal Mystery still remains a major name in Christian grindcore, despite their polarizing sound and hyper-underground production.

Here, I’ll be ranking Eternal Mystery’s non-split releases in order from worst to first, as you’ve come to expect. 

Flesh Separation

Sporting a fresh line-up with new bass player Shane Carter and new vocalist Josh Cook, Eternal Mystery’s last album saw the band dial back the goregrind extremes of their earlier material and go with a more dynamic, less gruesome approach. The problem is, at least in my view, is that their hideous minimalist approach to grind had a certain appeal to me, something which a clearer production and less crazy approach lost in the process. It’s not bad, but I do find myself preferring the old style much more. Josh Cook’s vocals lack the otherworldly approach of Kyle Gill’s alien rasps and snarls, and love ‘em or hate ‘em, Broc Toney’s bullfrog noises have somewhat of a charm after a while.

This Means War

This Means War saw somewhat of a shift from the band’s classic goregrind style towards a more conventional sound. It’s goregrind meets the punk-infused grind sounds of The Right Wing Conspiracy. The issue for me is that Eternal Mystery’s appeal lies in their sound being so ridiculously unconventional in almost every way. While This Means War still keeps to the band’s off-putting grind sound, it does introduce more punk tempos and structural elements that take away from the band’s extremity a little.

The Ultimate Death Sentence

By this point in Eternal Mystery’s career, the band had become a solo project of Broc Toney entirely, with the freakish snarls of Kyle Gill very noticeably absent. Instead, we get guest appearances by Felipe Diez III of Rehumanize/Sorrowstorm/Encryptor and Gag of Vomitous Discharge/Hell Bovine on a few tracks to give the album a little variety on the vocal front. Relative to other Eternal Mystery records, this one’s guitar production is far better. That’s not to say it’s thick, by any means, but the riffs are clearer and just a touch heavier. The issue I have with this one is that Broc’s gurgly vocals are just too ridiculous-sounding to take seriously most of the time, Usually, these kinds of vocals should have a more startling effect on the listener, but these sound like he’s simply making squelch noises into a laptop microphone. It’s a sad thing, because the riffs on here are a big step up in a big way. For what it’s worth, even the croaking vocals would be fine if they blended in with the music better instead of being so upfront and prominent over the rest of the music.

Bruised For Our Transgressions

Eternal Mystery’s second full-length was, in some ways, an improvement on their debut release, and in other ways, not. Vocally, the dualistic approach of Broc Toney’s croaks and Kyle Gill’s goblin-esque snarling remains intact, but are pushed a little more to the front and can overpower the music at times. Gill’s creepy vocals are a bit more prominent on this one too. With Bruised For Our Transgressions, you do get a similar album to their debut, but I just feel like it isn’t mixed or executed quite as well, nor is it different enough from

Behold, a Pale Horse

A little EP that saw an increase in brutality from the band, Behold, a Pale Horse is a slightly heavier EP when compared to Bruised For Our Transgressions. Featuring what could be the band’s longest track at 6 minutes and 28 seconds (the grindcore equivalent of Tolstoy’s War and Peace in terms of length), Behold, a Pale Horse is a solid EP with a bit more of a death metal feel to it that only serves to accentuate Eternal Mystery’s grind style. That, and the drum machine just sounds infinitely better.

Demo 2005

A completely different ball of wax, Eternal Mystery’s beginnings in 2005 began with a piano intro before segueing into a very different twist on what would later become their signature sound. Instead of rapid-fire grind and early Napalm Death-style riffs, Eternal Mystery’s earliest material has much more in common with a death/doom meets black metal style – imagine early Antestor and flecks of Dimmu Borgir with a little early Paramaecium, all played by a grindcore band; there’s even a riff on here at about the 20:30 mark that sounds like it was lifted from an old video game called Blackthorne. Super cool stuff that stands out from the rest of the discography in a good way. 

The Coming Armageddon Holocaust

The Coming Armageddon Holocaust, the band’s first full-length proper release, remains my favourite. Certainly, it’s production is thin, but the dual vocal attack of Broc Toney and Kyle Gill is integrated better here than on other releases. While the guitars lack the heavier tone on later releases, it’s their brittle, thin distortion, driven on by the mechanistic punch of the drum machine, that gives this all a supremely underground, DIY feel. An acquired taste, like most of their stuff really, but their best.

If you’re wanting to get copies of any of these records, check out Coleiosis Records HERE.

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