Sabbath Assembly, ‘Restored to One’ — New Album

You might need a degree in theology to fully grasp what Sabbath Assembly are doing with their album 'Restored to One,' which is due out June 22. "Sabbath Assembly is the name of the primary sacred celebration of the Process Church of the Final Judgment. We name the band as such in the same spirit of reverence," the shadowy band told Noisecreep.

"The band offers a Gnostic theology in that the music encourages devotion not to one single force in the pantheon," Sabbath Assembly said, further explaining the band's high concept, "but rather a more holistic view of 'self' as multifaceted and multivalent. The spark of the divine which resides within can be characterized allegorically in the interplay of Christ, Lucifer, Satan and Jehovah; thus the songs offer worship of all these equally."

They continued, "To feel the relevance of this theology and to experience the peace, it brings is intuitive in a gnostic sense and best experienced through the hymns of the church, rather than via a logical treatise of any sort." So what the hell does that mean? It sounds highbrow, high falutin' and full of itself, but strip it down to base parts and it's about worshiping however the hell you like.

"Sabbath Assembly's 'Restored to One' is dedicated to the quest set forth by the church to conquer fear with love, reprocessing their hymns for the current generation" was another statement provided by the band. It's heavy stuff, no?

Essentially, the band has recycled Process Church hymns and reworked them for the new millennium in a fusion of rock, psychedelic and gospel into one style. What's the Process Church, you ask? It was a creative, apocalyptic answer to the Flower Power movement of the '60s and '70s, with chapters in London, Europe and the United States. Members dressed in black cloaks and walked the streets with German Shepherds. They designed magazines and promoted a controversial, quasi-Gnostic theology that reconciled Christ and Satan through deeper awareness and love. It was like a secret cult. And we all know that the heavy metal scene loves a band like this.