On the Psychology and Theology of Silent Planet: "You Built Your Father's House Over My Mother's Grave"

 

Silent Planet.  Photo credit: Rod Cooley

While Silent Planet may remain under the radar within the broader heavy music scene, they've gained a substantive respect within progressive metalcore circles.  This band is truly one of a kind.  Conceptual lyrics are no anomaly for music dominated by technical riffs and crushing breakdowns, yet this Californian band's songwriting approach remains a unique one (though the riffs of their brilliant guitarist Mitchell Stark are definitely a selling point as well). Silent Planet's lyrics have a tremendous depth and sincerity that resonates with their listeners. 

Frontman and lyricist Garrett Russell has referenced indie rock bands mewithoutYou and Death Cab For Cutie as major influences on his songwriting.  While sonically dissimilar, Silent Planet's music reflects both Ben Gibbard's earnest conceptual storytelling on Transatlanticism and Aaron Weiss' theopoetic spoken word on Catch For Us the Foxes.  In an interview with theologian Mason Mennenga, Garrett cited hardcore band The Chariot as another inspiration.  He noted the gospel focus of Josh Scogin's lyrics, centered around, in his words, "a narrative of Jesus being poured out".  Silent Planet's lyrics frequently tell stories of people and subject matter on the margins of society, themes Garrett saw a lack of within metalcore during the band's early days.  A key part of this approach is observation of trauma and empathy.  Garrett Russell has experience as a college mental health counselor and a master's degree in psychology.  From the beginning, he has been very open about both his Christian faith and personal struggles with mental health.  While Silent Planet doesn't self-label as a Christian band, the influence of that faith is impossible not to miss.  

Above all else, Silent Planet's thoughtful and deeply spiritual lyrics emphasize humanizing the conversation.  This holds true whether the band is discussing historical, psychological, personal or theological topics.  One single off their debut album actually addresses all four.  Titled "Native Blood", the song discusses western expansion and colonialism told from the perspective of a young Native American girl.  The girl is one of the "Seven Sisters" referenced throughout the band's discography.   The Seven Sisters are the women whose stories are told from a first-person viewpoint on the album The Night God Slept.  Beyond the historical lens of a storyteller is a more personal meaning.  Garrett Russell is of white and Native American ancestry, and was inspired to write the song after attending a conference at restoration psychology.  When asked by a fan about the background of the song in a Reddit AMA thread, he said, "I was at this conference on restoration psychology and a Native American speaker was talking about generational wounds.  This really stuck with me and led me to think about my heritage, going back to my grandmother and how there are marks of this cultural genocide all across the USA."  The concept of generational trauma and displacement is reflected within the music video, filmed at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park near San Diego, California.  This site lies within the traditional lands of the Kumeyaay people.   Regarding the video, Garrett said, "Our videographer was brilliant and found lands that were Native lands and now used as state parks - which sort of fits our theme of Native people being removed from their lands and how history is always written by the 'victor'."  Throughout the video, images of Native Americans are shown among the trees and scenery, acknowledging them as the original caretakers of the land. 

Central to "Native Blood" is how America's legacy of expansionist persecution of indigenous people and the theft of their land was committed in the name of God.  Writing from the perspective of the Native American girl, one powerful line proclaims, "You built your Father's house over my mother's grave." This song is a lament, much like the psalms of grief written by the exiled Israelites in the Bible.  "Native Blood" contrasts Garrett’s theology of Jesus Christ as a revolutionary suffering servant with the Manifest Destiny worldview of empire, conquest, domination, and entitlement.  United States government policy not only encouraged but mandated the systematic destruction and displacement of the land’s native cultures, as well as the near eradication of wildlife sacred to them, such as bison and wolves. The Dawes Act is referenced in the lyrics, “Our race is a bloodstain spattered on a profane political campaign - manifest your destiny. Stars and Stripes comprise my prison bars - the cost of liberty.” 

Garrett Russell also alludes to the Christus victor atonement model in the footnotes that accompany each song.  Through the lyric, "The suffering cross that overcame/the name of love made concurrent with shame" he sharply juxtaposes the self-sacrifical love professed by Christ with the violence, imperialism and injustice committed in the name of western Christianity.  "Firstwake", another song on the same album, expands on this further.  "Firstwake" is written as a dialogue between Jesus and Mary at Calvary, and references Jesus' words from Luke's account of the Passion.  Throughout the song, Garrett addresses the disconnect between how Christianity is largely perceived (due to the ways it has been politically co-opted and used for persecution) with the subversive and revolutionary power of the Gospel, which at its initial founding emphasized closeness with God as well as compassion and hope for the marginalized in society.  

The closing lyrics are especially moving.  When Garrett screams these words you can hear the pain in his voice and the full weight of what he's singing about.   As a lament, this song speaks of a great tragedy and does not have an easy resolution. 

"This melody - I thought it familiar

It sounds like your heartbeat keeping time,

Then you turn and remind me that this pain has a purpose

And maybe we'll fall asleep tonight."

Silent Planet's first three albums each have a central concept, as well as larger, overarching themes that connect all of their discography together.  The Night God Slept dealt with women throughout history who had to make difficult decisions under oppressive ruling forces.  Everything Is Sound addresses various mental illnesses, while When the End Began is dark and apocalyptic in nature.  Throughout this series, I'll discuss different Silent Planet songs and how Garrett Russell's approach to psychology and theology informs the lyrics.  In an upcoming post, I'll delve into the band's latest album Iridescent, which is much more personal in nature, and talk about how it addresses recent trauma and recovery.