Ronin’s latest track ‘In The Beginning’ has shocked me for a couple of reasons. Firstly because it’s ridiculously rare that I receive anything that can be described as ‘Christian Rock’, and secondly because (as far as I can tell) Ronin don’t appear to be a Christian Rock band.

So, understandably, I’m perplexed when I listen to ‘In The Beginning’ and find numerous biblical quotations and an aramaic chorus. Ronin say they wrote this song to “[depict] the last 24 hours of Jesus Christ“, so we can take it all as unusual artistry. But atheists and those of little faith, don’t run away yet.

The song itself is a standard heavy alt-rock track with blistering solos and brutal drum beats that carry everything along. If you’re a fan of any type of hard-hitting rock act, this’ll be right up your street. And even in spite of a lyrical theme set in the confines of Christian belief, the lyrical content itself avoids being weighted too heavily in that belief.

Take it on face value, and this is just an enjoyable rock track. If I didn’t read too much into the biblical quotations in the verses and didn’t know that the chorus was Aramaic, I would have no indication that this was anything more than a good rock track. Lyrical abilities are key in creating universally enjoyable music that are set in a specific religion – music is something that exists entirely seperate to culture and religion and is a very universal thing. And nowhere in ‘In The Beginning’ is there any specific references to Jesus Christ or anything specifically Christian. To the uninformed ear, this is a musically tight track of passionate loyalty.

Of course, anybody reading this review now knows that the track is more than that and is set within Christianity. Should that change your feelings towards this track at all? Of course, because you’ll now be able to respect the artistic abilities of Ronin for being able to create a great rock track that transcends its thematical roots.