I. Those who favored THE GODLESS, THE GOD FORSAKEN AND THE GOD DAMNED with positive reviews...

Angelic Warlord (click to read)

Metal Bite (click to read)

DangerDog Music Reviews (click to read)

Metal Psalter (click to read)

Metal Revolution (click to read)

Metal Crypt (click to read)

Lords of Metal (click to read)

Sea of Tranquility (click to read)

Wildy's World (click to read)

Metalcore

BABYLON MYSTERY ORCHESTRA: The Godless, The Godforsaken, and The God Damned (Self Released) This was some haunting stuff I must say. The singer sounds like WWE wrestler The Undertaker at times. This is very moody, haunting heavy metal with a twist of rock n roll thrown in. This is more classic metal than any of that nu metal crap. The production is right on the money and I like the guitar sound on this and the vocals also fit the music. This was some wicked, cool and different stuff and I liked it.

Gothtronic (currently unavailable)

White Metal (click to read in Italian)

Babylon Mystery Orchestra and Sidney Allen Johnson continues to struggle with themes he defines as politically incorrect such as abortion, ufology, Islamic terrorism, crime and the policy of President Barack Obama, just to name a few. All topics are addressed in a booklet of thirty pages (we all know that Mr. Johnson does not mind spending) and often accompanied by biblical quotations as to give a theological response to these problems which he thinks are infesting his country.

This fifth effort, "The Godless The Godforsaken God And The Damned" is still stoner / heavy, sometimes with a touch of gothic. It starts with Catspaw, a catchy heavy metal song, but showcasing the improvements of our multi-instrumentalist on guitar. A slowdown in the pace is decided to Apollo, really dark thanks to the vocals, once weak point in the early releases and now feature nice improvements achieved over the years. Gothic sounds appear in Viva Cristo Rey! and Benai Elohim (Semjaza's Return), which are still found in A Constitutional right? (I, Lucifer Pt. V), a spoken intro to Jesus Save... (I, Lucifer Pt. VI) which together form an anti-abortion suite with obviously strong lyrics: "Saline injection / And life burns in a womb of acid / Unborn hands feverishly claw for escape / Their tiny fingers reach to heaven / As silent lips cry for mercy." Very particular postings of acoustic guitar in Hate Crime, which compared to the electric guitar has never disappointed, even in earlier works ... should use it more often! Ruin continues with, well-paced hard rock, but perhaps too slowly set to become in effect engaging. A return catchy riffs with We" is Killin' Me, but this does little to grip the listener. Opposite is Godless, a good stoner arrangement, especially when the keyboards take over. To confirm what I wrote a few lines above, when Sidney embraces the acoustic guitar his songs take on a different thickness. This is the case with You're On Your Own This Time, the highlight of this full-length CD. A ballad that is pompous and at the same time delicate. And it is precisely the contrast between acoustic and distortion that makes it so special. The theme of the ballad is a strong criticism of the politics of Barack Obama, where the artist does not hesitate to call him a fool. The conclusion of the album is assigned to The Twelfth Imam, another sound stoner composition.

Step by step Sidney Allen Johnson is honing his performing and composition skills, just listen to old records to see that. Sure, they are not masterpieces, but we appreciate this progression continues and we can only expect more and better in the future. Fantastic as always the passion that it takes to produce his CDs, each time more and more professional.  74/100

Concrete Web

The solo musical vehicle of Greenville, Alabama’s Sidney Allen Johnson, BMO tackles a specific socio-political topic with each of his albums [2002’s Divine Right Of Kings started off proceedings (title speaks for itself), and was followed by 2004’s On Earth As It Is In Heaven (in which he defends the thesis that music comes from the devil himself), 2006’s The Great Apostasy: A Conspiracy Of Satanic Christianity (a detailed study of Satanic involvement withing the Christian church), and 2008’s Axis Of Evil (took on the Illuminati, Socialism, The Mark Of The Beast, and Islam), which was reviewed by former colleague Guido Claes, review posted 26/04/2008 and still available for your needs).

Now, installment N°5 is here, and this time Johnson drops the overall conceptual approach, allowing him to tackle different issues in one and the same album: N.A.S.A., abortion, hate crimes, Che Guevara, the hypocrite stance of musicians towards their success as opposed to bringing over their views on a variety of subjects, the general (sorry) state of the USA at this moment, and of course again religion! As mentioned in my former colleague’s review, Johnson is not really a singer. In stead he brings his lyrics in a somewhat unilateral semi sung, semi spoken word-ish grave voice…which makes his songs overall hard to follow, and may cause some listeners to get “bored” after a while! Musically, Johnson refers to a combination of Gothic and Doom, which is occasionally brought with a minimalist approach, then filled up with organ/ keyboards to a somewhat more bombastic effect! Personally, I can get into this and actually listened to it a couple of times in a row before grabbing the 32-page booklet (each song is accompanied by several citations, further elucidating Johnson’s at times controversial views on things) to enjoy the album all over again!

If Doom Metal is your thing, you may find a nice new addition to your collection with the BMO material in general, and the new album specifically. 90/100

The Metal Resource (currently unavailable)

Silent Scream Magazine

For obvious reasons, I am prejudiced in favor of any offer music that is not immediately definable and schematic. The one-man project of Babylon Mystery Orchestra has exposed the outset of these peculiar characteristics, not only music: which sonically confronts us with a sort of slow and smoky heavy metal , the apparent doom and reminiscences dark and curious touch southern spoken - rather than sung - with decidedly histrionic nature. Going to seem appropriate to span two references, one of Black Sabbath and the other Danzig, the first up in the best parts rhythmic, the second in their time of most inconclusive. Lyrically the mind of the project, Sidney Allen Johnson engages in a kind of proselytizing with very little political correctness, where the theory of evolution, the religious diatribes, anti American, anti-abortion and other assorted political situations are passed under the meat grinder of a critical artist . This second aspect of course involves more the American public, while the rest of the world population will concentrate on a musical proposal that has its limits, but is also of value, literation and repetition in the background. -Dario Adile 6.5/8 aka 8/10

Pavillon 666 (click to read in French)

Sidney Allen Johnson is back on his white horse with his shield and red cross to promote his new album The Godless, The Godforsaken and the God Damned. For those who don't yet know this artist, an engaging musical prophet, he is a man not at all satisfied with the human condition and its freedom. His last album, Axis of Evil, was an aggressive and ambiguous album considering the lyrics but musically was very interesting. This album is in the same vein. One does not change what works.

On this record, the lyrics and the texts are even more involved as you will see. The booklet mixes quotations within the lyrics from Mother Teresa, Obama, Marx, Jesus Christ, Che Guevara and Leonardo Di Caprio. The songs themselves speak about NASA, Celebrities and UFO's from hell. The protagonist denounces with a little less force than before and perhaps more subtlety. A question of taste?

As far as the music, and that's the main thing for us, we are treated to really good songs in a particular and personal register. A mixture between Doom/Dark and heavy rock and roll. The tempo is always slow, and the vocals thrashy and give the melody impulse. The songs are very catchy and particularly in the choruses. With this kind of music the mood is not merry and is somewhat monotonous. For some people this will cause them to grow weary as the disc progresses. However the sound and the atmosphere will draw you into this disconcerting voyage and for me it is successful as a whole.

Surely this is better than the preceding album and is a good return for the white knight who this time is less about being a weapon and more about quality music. It's up to you if you want to join him on his crusades which are somewhat confusing to me. An album to be discovered! (8/10)

Disagreement Online (click to read)

My Beloved Darkness

"A man can't be free if he is chained to his brother ..."

Sidney Allen Johnson

Already there are several releases that you can hear this U.S. act, and all released independently under the leadership of its sole member, Mr Sidney Allen Johnson, who always uses his music to express freely and clearly his controversial political, or politically incorrect, views. Always with a philosophical basis and directly targeting religious hypocrisy, collectivism, communism and the current American society, even lashing out against Mr. Obama. No doubt the ideological aspect is more interesting than his music even if one is not in accord to his proclamations. So give yourself a lot of time and check out the thick booklet that accompanies this work.

On the musical side not much is different with its predecessor "Axis of Evil" (2008). Now the music flows almost entirely by the old sound of stoner metal, but also are found slight traces of Gothic metal, maybe some references are Black Sabbath and the first records of Type O Negative. The songs are generally medium tempo with heavy guitars and drums but sometimes are accompanied by acoustic guitars and by keyboards. The clearly identifiable feature here is the hollow voice of Johnson, this is profound and sometimes only spoken, as if proclaiming slogans.

In short, it is a work hard to digest musically, and lyrically I'm sure it will clash with the ideas of many, and apparently that is the goal of Sidney Allen Johnson, cause controversy! 6/10

II. Not everyone sees things the same. Here is a selection of negative reviews...

Metalteam UK (currently unavailable)

Jesusfreak Hideout (click to read)

Metalzone (Greece):

Well what we have here is not a release for those who are into Heavy metal but for those who are seeking salvation, those who want to save their souls from eternal hell. You might be wondering why I am saying all these, the answer is very clear. The man responsible for my delirium is Mr. Sidney Allen Johnson, the only member behind Babylon Mystery Orchestra, a man that came to preach rather than making music. Well Mr. Johnson I don’t think that you are any good on preaching sermons or making music and I am sorry to say that you have failed in both. We all here are simple people who are into Heavy Metal and guess what? This is NOT Heavy Metal. This is NOT even decent music! If we wanted to save our souls here I think that we could do that without any help, we don’t’ need parsons or preachers or whatever you call yourselves. As for “Jesus Saves” well we have already been informed by other bands (far better than yours!), thanx for the tip though.

Well I don’t think I am strict with this release, I am just protecting my ears. I am sick of listening to all these doomsayers over and over again screaming about the end of the world, the fall of mankind and all these crap. I listen to music in order to have fun and escape from all these so I won’t tolerate some TV priests invading my “holy ground”! Enough’s enough!

To cut the long story short, “The Godless, the Godforsaken and the God Damned” is not even a music release, it’s a god damn joke! There is NO place for such releases on Metalzone (I really feel like I wasted my time on this one). I don’t know why they’ve sent it to us for a review but I know exactly what they’re gonna get. -Anellos Andreas 35/100

Sidney Speaks: So Anellos is listening to Heavy Metal to escape all the doomsayers screaming about the end of the world and the fall of mankind? It seems to me that Heavy Metal has thrived on that very subject for its entire history. I think what he really doesn't like is the assertion that the end of the world and the fall of mankind is in fact a just reward for the lives that have been lived. In any event it is evident he didn't actually listen to the record for if he had he would be aware that "Jesus Save..." is not a tip for his salvation but, in fact, a song about the evil of abortion. Perhaps Anellos should apply for the position of Attorney General in his native country. After all, the one we have in America is fond of criticizing laws he hasn't read. Apparently Anellos is well qualified...and that's no joke!