{"id":2599,"date":"2020-04-10T20:05:15","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T20:05:15","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-11-21T17:18:24","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T17:18:24","slug":"siloam-sweet-destiny-limited-run-vinylgold-disc-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/10\/siloam-sweet-destiny-limited-run-vinylgold-disc-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"SILOAM: Sweet Destiny (Limited Run Vinyl\/Gold Disc Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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1991. Ok, so Siloam may not be the first band name that pops into memory during that year of stellar releases. Afterall, below is just a brief list of titles that might quickly surface from the recesses of your cerebral cortex from that eventful 360-day cycle.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Angelica \u2013 Rock, Stock & Barrel <\/span>(more on this one soon), Betrayal \u2013 Renaissance By Death<\/span> (recently reviewed <\/span><\/span>HERE<\/span><\/span><\/a>), Bloodgood \u2013 All Stand Together<\/span>, Bride \u2013 Kinetic Faith<\/span>, Deliverance \u2013 What A Joke<\/span>, Haven \u2013 Age Of Darkness<\/span>, Love Life \u2013 Goodbye Lady Jane<\/span> (reviewed <\/span><\/span>HERE<\/span><\/span><\/a>), Mortification \u2013 Mortification<\/span>, Randy Rose \u2013 Sacrificium<\/span>, Sacred Warrior \u2013 Obsessions<\/span> (recently reviewed <\/span><\/span>HERE<\/span><\/span><\/a>), Seventh Angel \u2013 Lament For The Weary<\/span> (reviewed <\/span><\/span>HERE<\/span><\/span><\/a>), The Crucified \u2013 The Pillars Of Humanity<\/span>, Tourniquet \u2013 Psychosurgery<\/span>, Whitecross \u2013 In The Kingdom<\/span>. Oh yeah, and then on the secular side there was the Galactic Cowboys debut, Ozzy\u2019s No More Tears<\/span>, Savatage \u2013 Streets<\/span>, Tesla \u2013 Psychotic Supper<\/span>, Rush \u2013 Roll The Bones<\/span> and of course, Metallica\u2019s black album (just to name a few).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This list, of course, is by no means all-inclusive, yet is presented here in order to set the stage and context for the debut album from Canadian melodic hard rockers Siloam. As can be appreciated from the above list, Sweet Destiny<\/span> could easily have been lost amidst the many brilliant works of its time. I, for one, had not thought of the album for years (maybe even decades, yikes!) until news of the reissues. And I don\u2019t think it helped that the album was released on the smaller Image 7 label \u2013 one that didn\u2019t exactly push out a lot of harder or more metal-tinged bands. In fact, I would say Sweet Destiny<\/span> was probably the heaviest output in their catalog during the late \u201880s and early \u201890s. All this to say, despite the competition at the time, and despite the label limitations, Siloam\u2019s debut is an album which clearly deserves to see the light of day again and to be appreciated not only for its greatness within the context of the world into which it was born, but also for the music\u2019s endearing qualities, message and impact which remain relevant to this day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Band<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In essence, Siloam was a hard rock\/melodic metal band created by Brian Lutes \u2013 an ex-drug abuser turned street wise Christ-following musician with a heart for the down-trodden, suffering and abused souls in his community and abroad. (See label head Matt Hunt\u2019s blurb on the back tray of the Gold Disc Edition\/rear vinyl jacket for more details). In order to gain as much musical credibility as could be mustered to carry out the works of his ministry, he recruited a very talented bunch of musicians from all over North America. To say that it was successful is a bit of an understatement because Siloam was able to score big name sponsors for their shows from the likes of Pepsi, McDonald\u2019s and even the Canadian government! Check out the blurb below (from the Metal Tracks section of Heaven\u2019s Metal <\/span>#32) for a detailed account of these amazing events along with vivid descriptions of the types of ministry in which these guys were engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heaven’s Metal<\/em> #32<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Reflecting back on that era of Christian heavy music, I can\u2019t help but recall how excited the artists were to change lives, to be able to reach out to their audiences and not only entertain but make an impact on their lives. And a band with that kind of passion for mankind will almost always have great lyrics whereby they can powerfully connect with their fans in a visceral, provoking and exhorting manner. In this regard, not only was Lutes a gifted songwriter and musician\/drummer, but his words got down n\u2019 dirty to the heart of the matter \u2013 unfettered discussions about spiritual bondage, addictions, temptations, waywardness, wars and living in the end times \u2013 many times through the eyes of real-life characters. In doing so, not only did the music stay \u201creal\u201d in an era where music\u2019s lyrics were plagued with pretentiousness and escapist hedonism, but it has remained relevant to living in our fallen and increasingly nasty world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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