Track By Tracks: Broken Trinity - Challenges Of Gods And Mortals (2026)

01. Replicating Rebellion/Satanic Propaganda:

'Replicating Rebellion' is simply the name of our original, first "stage intro." The piano part and synth were all written by Sean Morrissey and Ray Adriano. The name was attached after we were ready to record the album.

Despite the title, 'Satanic Propaganda' is NOT, as many think, a song about Satanism. In the lyrics, I let a lot of my "duality" out in the lyrics, making them seem probably more contradictory and adverse than they really are. I am a Gemini born, and I have come to reflect on the two sides that we all contain within ourselves. But the biggest message is the ever-growing and menacing threat Christianity brings to the masses. As it did in the earliest days before our European forefathers came to this land. (The U.S., in case it wasn't clear. It's a sort of "battle cry" if you will to ALL the left-handed path religions, whether they be Atheist, Satanist, Church Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster, or other form of paganism, to become a strong buffer against a plague of evil that will decimate this land of ours. You can already see the seeds being planted. However, being the Odinist that I am, there is wisdom in realizing that we are not to RULE the land, like the song says, "We don't come to wear the crown, shall not brandish the scepter." 'Push the pendulum back towards the center' refers to tipping the balance in the opposite direction JUST enough to balance things.

One of the most cryptic lines of the song (well, there are a few actually) is 'Tied to the black side, never to drown in mythical light.' Of course, I deliberately put the comma where it is and made sure to start with 'to drown' on the next line. This gives the impression that one doesn't really know where I am; do I NEVER drown in mythical light, or am I tied to the black side NEVER? Once again, it's duality. Just like 'Blasphemy against Babylon.' This sort of duality really implies on a deeper level that nothing of what we know is ultimately assured, and only death will bring the final revelation. The last line of the song, being 'let wisdom be your guide,' is also my way of saying think for yourself and let your internal compass reveal what you already know deep inside to be YOUR truth.

'Robes Of Purple And Gold.' Geez, I'm afraid you're gonna need a few pages for these.. Ha. Anyway, this stems from the official historical document from the Council of Nicea, where Emperor Constantine presided over. This is a hugely important document for Christianity, as it sets the table for everything the religion believes, and chooses to believe, to this day. It's odd that such an important document starts with what's basically an internet fashion show: "And the emperor wore robes of purple and gold..."

Like, who fucking cares what an emperor wore?

BUT... When you piece together pieces of his life... Constantine was a worshipper of the sun god. A pagan, if you will. Purple and gold were the colors of the sun worshippers of that day. Constantine didn't fully convert to Christianity until he was about to die, leading to the line in the song 'Why wait until your deathbed for your conversional baptism.' History hid the clues in plain sight, for as you know, if the document writers had said Constantine was a pagan still, they would have suffered a torturous death, as would any who defied the church. Constantine did many things to strengthen the empire, and those who take a "devil's advocate" approach could say that Constantine had to do things that the church would not have given their blessing on. But a ruler does what he must. Of course, the first lines and last lines all rhyme; I'm not one to have to make sentences "rhyme," but to me the first and last stanzas rhyme because I wanted to imitate the rather cult-like "ritual" the catholic church goes through. You know, "Sit, Stand, Kneel, Pray, drink the wine, eat the bread, sing the songs, sit, stand, kneel, pray again, and in half an hour you are home! The final line, of course, "leaving the faithless praying to the sun." It's interesting how God's SON and the sun god Constantine, whom they originally worshipped, are kinda one and the same.

And of course, 'Nails or thorns, there's no peace in sight.' That was a somewhat reworking of a theme Samael embraced on their "Ceremony Of Opposites" album, where he says "a crown of thorns is still a crown," yet the album cover depicts Jesus' head adorned with nails. Basically, saying it doesn't matter what FACE the central figure of Christianity is wearing, it's all sculpted under false pretenses. Like how Christianity has always mixed pagan beliefs and ceremonies with its own.

'Oblivious To Decay.' This one wasn't really supposed to be an album track, believe it or not. Unbeknownst to most people, there is actually an ALTERNATE version of this song that we are going to rework, which is actually MUCH doomier and a bit more in our earlier vein ('Robes...' and 'Culled...' being the first two songs we wrote.)

'Oblivious...' was written by us for the comic book series we appeared in (twice, I might add) called "Death Metal Kid." This song is a bit more brutal and straightforward, but lyrically, this came about after I kinda studied what this was about from the comic book's perspective, and my take on it. The video for this song was done masterfully by Lou Zeffer, who has done a few other videos for us. It's basically a zombie-like apocalypse with just about every plague and evil being spewed upon the landscape. And of course, if you read the comic, the kid in the story is just kinda wandering around a blasted landscape with headphones on. Nothing really more to add here; we probably wandered a bit off lyrically more than we should have. Writer's interpretation. We wanted a full-length but didn't think 'Diamond Hands, Diamond Blades' would fit (plus our bass player didn't like that song, for some personal reasons), so this song it is. It's still a brutal banger. Like many doom bands, we didn't want to be pigeonholed, so we said, Fuck it, we're a metal band, we can do what we want. Funny enough, there's definitely more black metal vocals and instrumentation than death metal. Maybe he shoulda called it black metal kid!

Oddly enough, our very first show we ever played as a band didn't have this song in the lineup. It was written much later.

'Offspring Forged From Deathless Souls.' This song is currently one of my favorites (alongside 'Satanic Propaganda') to perform live. Usually I have to wait until the music (which ALWAYS takes shape FIRST) is written before I try and figure out how to shape it lyrically and thematically. I studied a lot of spiritual material from Bob Proctor and Mary Morrissey, and one of the lines that really stood out for me was 'Offspring born of a deathless soul.' James Alan wrote this in his book "As A Man Thinketh," and it really got to me. I was always like, "I need to use that in a song someday." Of course, the other guys thought 'Forged' sounded better than 'Born,' and when I think about the mere force of human will, it made more sense.

Once the first part of the song was written, something flashed in my mind immediately, like the universe was putting sparks into my head, and I KNEW this was the song to have this title, despite not knowing how the rest would turn out. I remember old Danzig songs, kinda bluesy like where he's bragging on himself like 'I can make a man, fall to his death.' I think the song was 'Heart Of The Devil,' and Danzig told the story of how a lot of blues songs were tough, macho swagger and bragging... So I thought to take this idea, but ran into a theme of all mankind doing the bragging. Like the lyrics are a sort of "forcefulness" for our afterlife, saying stuff like "This night the gods stand ready, we're racing for beyond." "We're astral ready now, and we are primed!" It kinda goes alongside an ideology I picked up from watching that Robin Williams movie "What Dreams May Come."

Many of us are TERRIFIED of death, and hoping and praying there is an afterlife. This is my anthem, if you will, to the resiliency of man and me screaming to the gods that we all have somewhere to go. The thought of eradication with no further existence is truly more terrifying. Even torture in hell, as scary as it sounds, is still an existence... But no one can fathom this. So from that movie I saw, where most of a man's afterlife is crafted by their thoughts. And if thought is the central seed of creation, then surely we can WILL into existence where we want to end up. I could talk even more about the video we made, but you kinda get the general idea. It's almost like we're forcing the gods to allow us passage into the next life. And there seems to be a rather violent, explosive discharge of energy that happens when we pass physical form, at least by most of what I've read. And if not, that's the way it SHOULD be. Go out in a blaze of sparks and explosions of light and color.

Oddly enough, once everything was written, I thought it needed something, I dunno why. So I suggested, 'Why not put an 80's metal part in there?' and lo and behold, we had it written. There's SO much going on in this song. Funny too, if you watch the very first time we performed this song live, it's all me doing vocals, but Sean adds a higher register to this song that's almost power metal-like.' His highs are sometimes better than mine, though we do have similar vocal styles singing-wise. This song evolved MASSIVELY from when we first played it live to how we ultimately ended up recording it. You can literally HEAR the progression six years on!

'Straw Boss' - This song is probably more death metal-like than I would have liked. It's an interesting song, where we utilize the dual Viking chant styled vocals to great effect, but it was never where I wanted to go stylistically. I am very clear about this: we are BLACKENED DOOM... The death metal is there, but it was never supposed to be apparent. I perform black metal vocals and do higher-toned cleans. But I digress. The other reason I have an issue with this song is because of my frustrations at a job I am no longer with. I had a production manager that I clashed with almost DAILY, sometimes almost coming to blows. Two stubborn people opposing each other for almost 6 years. 'The screaming, the bleeding,' that all happened. I had ulcers that ruptured and bled. Stomach issues that still plague me to this day, but have since settled. I should have quit the job a lot sooner than I did. But the spiritual wisdom I acquired? Nowadays, I can go back to that job, sit in the chair opposite that production manager, and have a calm, enjoyable conversation. Somehow, in the midst of wanting to fight each other, we figured shit out and forged a decent, respectable, pleasantness, if you will. 'The law of non-resistance' is a powerful thing.

'Culled By Odin's Hand' - There's so much to the Sagas about the gods. This one is a story of my own creation, mirrored in the golden halls of Valhalla. There is a Viking warrior on his last day of battle, hoping to get to Valhalla. And of course, the warrior is embodied with my own thoughts and ideologies. Most warriors slay their enemies and move on, but the chosen respect that their battles are not just hardships, but obstacles, challenges to overcome. Were I that warrior, I would have respect for the deceased and offer up prayers to his god on his behalf, 'Or praise your prowess to my gods up high.' This is probably less a Norse Viking trait and more something that rings out in me. Those who offer a worthy challenge are due respect. I even have to admit the story I told above was a learning experience, and I learned that you can change cities, jobs, even situations, but if you do not master the lessons life puts in front of you, they will run into you again and again. And when you DO master them, they still have a way of coming back, kinda like the test after the homework. And you recognize it because it is not as difficult and straining as it once was; mastery sees the challenge in a smaller detail than it was in your past.

But I digress. On the day he falls, he expects to be with Odin in Valhalla. He doesn't really recognize WHERE he is, and of course, he's screaming out to Odin to take him home. He obviously is in a null place, not Hel, not Niflheim, or Jotunheim, or any place that's known to the Nordic mythos; he is in an unnamed place. 'Valhalla, the golden halls await. By Odin's might won't you set me free.' He asks if he has proven himself in war. And of course, he wants to know where he went wrong, asking Heimdall to open the gates. In true doom metal fashion, it's a bleak tale, but UNLIKE most doom tales, there's a slim sliver of light at the end (like there was in 'Straw Boss' and even 'Satanic Propaganda'). 'Ragnarök is coming; now I must make haste.' To me, this represents the final test; he must figure out how to leave this place. He is not defeated; it is Odin's final challenge to him that he must master before he can stand beside Odin as his 'Most High' (a title which will be visited again in the future) and face his villains and the world's demise at Ragnarök.

Finally, 'Muninn's Descent.' A masterful instrumental written by Ray Adriano weeks before the album's final release. If you know anything about Odin, he has two ravens: Hugin and Muninn. These ravens tell of past and future events, reporting to Odin daily. Muninn here is most important to the story, because Muninn comes from the old Norse word munr, which, though difficult to grasp in an English sense, encompasses the ideologies of 'thought,' 'desire,' and 'emotion.' The warrior in 'Culled By Odin's Hand' is most definitely enraptured in desire and emotion, though his story is not complete. Maybe at some time in the future, we will see if this warrior made it to his afterlife.

Support independent metal journalism — Visit the official BTC store