Kim Kelly of Terrorizer recently conducted an interview with Sabbath Assembly, and it features questions focusing on The Process Church of the Final Judgment and much more.

KK: Sabbath Assembly are a thoroughly unique project, one that straddles the worlds of metal and those of psychedelia, rock, gospel, and 70?s nostalgia. Did it surprise you when so many straight-up metal publications and fans welcomed Restored to One with open arms?

Jex: I wasn’t sure what the metal world would make of “Restored to One”, but going in I thought the origin of the tunes might intrigue the metal community and that the theology might resonate with some.

Xtian: Praise songs to Satan and Lucifer — that?s the realm of metal.

KK: How did you come across the story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment? What about it most caught your interest, and what made you decide to pursue this project? Have Sabbath Assembly had any contact with the Church?s members/ex-members?

Xtian: Sabbath Assembly initially formed in response to the book LOVE SEX FEAR DEATH by Timothy Wyllie, who was a higher-up in the Church. We toured with Timothy in support of his book prior to the release of our album, which came about very much with his blessing. We did encounter other former Process members on the book tour, and in general what we heard from them was mixed.

Jex: Some of them responded very well to what we had done with the hymns, while others were surprised and made sure to let us know that our renditions were a real departure from the originals. From what they said, the Process versions were more in the style of traditional hymnody and sung in unison. We only spoke to a select few and I imagine that the sound varied slightly from chapter to chapter the same way two western churches of the same faith might do slightly different versions of the same hymn.

Xtian: The Process hymns were originally created for a sort of ecstatic ritual purpose in the context of the Process-ian Mass, and Sabbath Assembly turned them into rock songs to be listened to on an album.

Continue reading: TERRORIZER: FROM THE VAULT: Sabbath Assembly.