un//forgiveness

With my bands new record coming out soon and it's drastic style shift from generic metalcore to technical metalcore I've been asked what, if any of the old songs will be kept in the set.  My answer is always, "If we keep any of them it will be un//forgiveness"
     You may be asking why, well the song is more than just a song to me.  Those first releases where written during a very trying time in my life. They are lessons I needed to learn and how I got through one of the worst times in my life.  The lyrics came out of a place of hurt and "un//forgiveness" is the most important one to me.  "A New Day Rising" is catchy, "It's Not a Threat, It's a Promise" is heavy, aggressive, and straight up pissed, but "un//forgiveness" has an important lesson that applies to everyone.  You see, un//forgiveness is about forgiving someone that you don't think deserves it.
     I have come to learn, the hard way, that holding onto hatred and anger is like dragging around a dead body and hoping the weight of the corps weighs down the person who has hurt you. It won't happen. In my experience, the other person was out living her life, having fun, and not caring that she hurt me or what I was going through. I was not even given a second thought. She didn't care how much I hated her, or that I didn't forgive her. 
      Being unforgiving is only going to hurt you, it'll bring you down and take a strong hold on your life.  Letting go, on the other hand, will free you. It's not easy, it took me a little over 2 years, but today I can say with a clear conscience, that I forgive this person and I love her as a human being, but I don't need or want her in my life. The song on my bands first release is an important song for me, because it was a prayer to God asking Him to take my unforgiveness.  The songs on our upcoming albums tell an entirely different story, more of a critique on the American church.  In 2 years after this album cycle is over and it comes time for us to record a new album, I'll create songs (lyrically) that will reflect the current lessons I am learning and I'll be able to look back on this album and see the lessons God taught me during this season in my life.  There will be that one song off this release that resonated with me a little more than the rest and will end up having a regular spot in our set.
       I don't want to live in the past, but I don't want to forget the good that came out of hardship, that's why the song "un//forgiveness" will remain in our set for a while.


 ~ HiMyNameIsBobby