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Textbook 
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 Topic: Anti-Religion Prog
Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:02 |
Seeing the faith based prog thread got me wondering about the other side of the coin. How many prog acts/albums are there around that come out swinging against religion? I'm a bit over it now, but as a young person it was quite a thrill for me to hear music with atheistic or anti-religion messages as I have a lifelong antipathy for the whole thing and it was good to know someone else felt the same way.
Rush and Epica are two acts known for this, Jethro Tull took a few swipes at it, even Genesis did Jesus He Knows Me. Knocking religion is a pretty standard lyrical theme of the progressive/extreme metal scene as well.
But what are the best examples of prog music taking on religion? Songs are OK but I'd be more interested in being introduced to complete albums, if there are any.
(Note I'm not asking for artists who are atheists. Of course it's possible to be a believer and still record music in this vein, as believers can be satirical or contemptuous of aspects of faith. There's quite a few musicians who are spiritual people that have problems with the behaviour of the church.)
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infocat
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:10 |
Too bad Slayer is out for not being prog. 
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--
Frank Swarbrick
Belief is not Truth.
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Textbook
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:15 |
You'll note I didn't mention them for that reason.
Non-prog straight-up metal has anti-Christian/religion stuff EVERYWHERE but I'm hoping to find some more out-and-out prog artists of this ilk.
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colorofmoney91
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:33 |
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Deathspell Omega just finished a philosophical trilogy of albums about something anti-Christian. I haven't really looked too much into the meaning because I honestly don't care, but their lyrics are written so well.
Edited by colorofmoney91 - February 27 2012 at 21:33
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Epignosis
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:37 |
The Christian Thread prompted to the Atheist Thread, the Religion Prog Thread prompted the Anti-Religion Prog Thread... I'm of a mind to start an "Original Thread" just to see what thread gets made afterward. 
There isn't an "Anti-religion" message in Rush. It's not there. Rush actually uses quite a bit of mythology and mysticism in their lyrics. The closest thing to atheism you'll find in Rush is "Roll the Bones."
"Jesus He Knows Me" isn't a swipe at religion. It's a swipe at religious commercialism and hypocrisy.
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Garden of Dreams
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:43 |
The Tangent-Follow Your Leaders Roger Waters-What God Wants parts 1,2, and 3 Dream Theater-In The Name of God and Blind Faith Beardfish-Roulette Phideaux-Candybrain(I think)
Sorry I could only find individual songs.
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Just give it all an hour by the concrete lake.
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Epignosis
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:45 |
 Garden of Dreams wrote:
The Tangent-Follow Your Leaders |
This isn't really about religion either. It's just about blind acceptance of anything.
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Garden of Dreams
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:47 |
Epignosis wrote:
There isn't an "Anti-religion" message in Rush. It's not there. Rush actually uses quite a bit of mythology and mysticism in their lyrics. The closest thing to atheism you'll find in Rush is "Roll the Bones."
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I would say Faithless is anti-religious.
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Just give it all an hour by the concrete lake.
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Garden of Dreams
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:48 |
Epignosis wrote:
Garden of Dreams wrote:
The Tangent-Follow Your Leaders |
This isn't really about religion either. It's just about blind acceptance of anything.
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True but there is a line against religion so I figured I would mention it.
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Just give it all an hour by the concrete lake.
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Slaughternalia
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:49 |
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The Dream Theaters are a bunch of Christians
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I'm so mad that you enjoy a certain combination of noises that I don't
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Epignosis
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:52 |
Garden of Dreams wrote:
Epignosis wrote:
There isn't an "Anti-religion" message in Rush. It's not there. Rush actually uses quite a bit of mythology and mysticism in their lyrics. The closest thing to atheism you'll find in Rush is "Roll the Bones."
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I would say Faithless is anti-religious. |
Perhaps- it depends on how you understand "faith." I'm a Christian and I don't have "faith" in "faith" either. 
Maybe they're just bad lyrics.
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MattGuitat
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:54 |
infocat wrote:
Too bad Slayer is out for not being prog.
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Maybe we should get them added As if they'd actually make it! 
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Slaughternalia
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:55 |
Rush writing bad lyrics? Why that's unheard of! How preposterous!
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I'm so mad that you enjoy a certain combination of noises that I don't
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Gallifrey
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 21:58 |
I know Steven Wilson's very atheist.
Blind House, Last Chance to Evacuate are both anti-religious (according to him)
Tool. Opiate. And Judith by APC.
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http://thedarkthird.bandcamp.com/
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Epignosis
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 22:12 |
Slaughternalia wrote:
Rush writing bad lyrics? Why that's unheard of! How preposterous! |
I think you're going bald.
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Triceratopsoil
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 22:14 |
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It's unclear to me, but Current 93 is either largely religious or largely anti-religious.
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ExittheLemming
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Posted: February 27 2012 at 22:42 |
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^ It's hardly surprising they give rise to such ambiguities, given that they're named after an expression coined by Aleister (the beast) Crowley, and their founder David Tibet has a life-long obsession with Christian eschatology, mysticism and the occult.
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Textbook
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Posted: February 28 2012 at 01:02 |
Opeth is fairly anti-religion I would say. Epig: There is an anti-religion theme in Rush. Sorry if you don't like that, but there is. Also, it's incredibly revealing that you think it's risible that people with a viewpoint not reflected in a certain thread want to make a thread that reflects their viewpoint. Remember, just because someone is an atheist doesn't mean their music is. Frank Zappa for example. He would be irreverent about religion in his music but I can't think of a song where he actually went at it.
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2dogs
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Posted: February 28 2012 at 01:32 |
Epignosis wrote:
The Christian Thread prompted to the Atheist Thread, the Religion Prog Thread prompted the Anti-Religion Prog Thread... |
Yes, you lose in the thread of one of the opposing belief sytems and hope to do better in the other where the numbers are on your side. 
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Sean Trane
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Posted: February 28 2012 at 03:16 |
Roger Waters and Robert Wyatt spring first to mind...
Edited by Sean Trane - February 28 2012 at 07:22
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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Anti-Religion Prog