The Band Name

The name of our band is a trick, but not a cheap one, by any means. There are reasons for it that go far beyond what I've ever explained publically, largely because I feel no need to turn a rock interview into a theology lecture. The downside is that, by not explaining, we leave ourselves open to be defined by every McSatanist who ever saw that Polanski film or read an article on Anton LaVey. Comes With The Fall are not satanists. Nothing we could do would be more stupid and cliche than to paint ourselves into such a narrow, tired, boring corner. I'm an interested and voracious student of ALL religions and beliefs. I'm all about getting to the origins of human spiritual practices and tracing their evolution (or de-evolution, depending on one's point of view) throughout the millenia - from the Vodun in West Africa, to the priests of ancient KMT (Egypt), to Greece and Rome, to the pre-Christian fertility cults in Europe, to Judaism, Christianity, Krishna, Buddha, Islam, et al. In fact, my degree is in philosophy with a specialization in religion but, of course, like most serious students, I've done the majority of my learning outside the classroom.

It's all so fascinating to me how one religion derives from another, sometimes with nearly all of the same beliefs and rituals intact. The only thing that changes is the names of the deities and the people in power at the time to enforce those changes. For example, several years ago, I journeyed to Egypt on an intense study tour with a group of professors who I believe to be on the cutting edge of re-evaluating the anthropological origin of that incredible civilization (KMT) and the meaning behind the ruins they left behind for us to analyze (the Pyramids, the Sphynx, etc.). In one particular tomb we visited, I saw written on the wall the "42 Declarations Of Virtue." These are the principles by which one must have lived in order to successfully pass into the after-life upon death. Ten of those "42 Declarations" are what would later be known as the Ten Commandments. There they were on the wall of that tomb, practically verbatim (along with 32 other declarations that were even more stringent). Only this tomb was built nearly 3000 years before the time of Moses. That's merely one example of many.

What's really incredible is how we wage such vicious wars over all this stuff. Human nature, one might say. But what is "human"? What is "divine"? Is there a line between the two? If so, where does it lie? That's more what I'm trying to get at overall. In terms of our band, the use of phrases like "Comes With The Fall" and "The Year Is One" is just good old fashioned poetic license. It's us having fun with the conventional beliefs and fears (with which we were all raised) after having just seen a movie, "Rosemary's Baby," that exploits and sensationalizes those fears to such great effect. I mean, it's all there. Good, Evil, God, the Devil (the Boogey Man), sex, manipulation, conspiracy, greed, and the insatiable desire for success at any cost. It's all laid bare. Human nature. As a writer trying to dream up an album, not to mention a band name, I found the film irresistible at the time. I still love it. And, speaking of irresistible, two words. Mia. Farrow.

W.