Jesusfreakhideout.com: Valley of Salt, "Voice of One Crying In The Wilderness: The Story Of John the Baptist" Review

JFH Indie Review

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Valley of Salt
Voice of One Crying In The Wilderness: The Story Of John the Baptist

Street Date: February 3, 2025
Style: Progressive Rock
Official Site: ValleyofSaltBand.com
Buy It: Amazon Music

Rock operas covering the historical parts of the New Testament seem to be in vogue among the indie community. In the past few years, I've reviewed a couple such albums on Jesus' life, one on the early days of the church, and now a record covering John the Baptist. This latest one is the debut album from Valley of Salt, titled Voice of One Crying In The Wilderness: The Story Of John the Baptist. The passion project of Brian Stemetzki, this 10-track set captures the highlights of John's life while throwing in some personal applications along the way.

What makes this rock opera worth the price of admission is the musical side of the project. Stemetzki's guitar playing leads the way with crunchy riffs, blazing solos, and plenty of moments where the acoustic guitar can shine as well. While the guitar gets most of the spotlight, the backing band is no joke either. Every instrument contributes exactly what it needs to and does it in a tight manner. The opening track, "The Love of God is All Around Us," is the perfect showcase for everything Stemetzki and crew can do. Being prog rock, there are also plenty of moments where the timing (or even the genre) can shift. Most of the time, this is accomplished without drawing too much attention to itself (the transition midway through "What Did You See" is particularly smooth). Other times, it might be jarring to the listener. Those minor bumps aside, the music certainly helps make John the Baptist's story feel dynamic.

On the lyrical front, it's a little less glamorous. Stemetzki doesn't aim for epic poetry in his retelling. Instead, lyrics are often pulled straight out of the Bible or are derivative of phrases found there. The main challenge for an album like this is how well do the words tell the story? In a broad sense, it's easy to follow here. "Don't Be Afraid" is the announcement of John's birth; "I Wait for You" and "He Walks" cover his ministry years; and "Machaerus" his death. Occasionally, more general or personal songs are thrown in ("His Glory," "Holy Holy is the Lord"). Where things falter in this area is with the perspective on songs like "Machaerus" and "I Receive You." On the former, is it Jesus speaking? Or Herod? That answer determines whether or not the song is theologically questionable (particularly regarding the line, "I have sinned"). This confusion may be more listener-error than anything, but it's worth pointing out.

There's a surprisingly low amount of stories regarding John the Baptist in the New Testament in spite of how important he is. That immediately presents a challenge for Valley of Salt's debut project. Does Voice of One Crying... feel like it fully encompasses John's life? That may be best answered by individual listeners. For this reviewer, it felt a little lacking on the story front. However, where the story may not impress as much, the music makes up for it in spades, creating a fun prog rock opera that rock fans everywhere can appreciate.

- Review date: 2/12/25, written by John Underdown of Jesusfreakhideout.com

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JFH Staff's Second Opinion

Coming right out of the gate to debut with a rock opera / concept album is a bold choice, but it's the choice made by Valley of Salt. Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness recounts the role of John the Baptist as he proclaims the coming of the Messiah. The album honors the Scriptures, taking care not to lose anything in the translation from text to musical narrative. It also gives the glory to God instead of to man, recognizing the important role that John played while ultimately pointing back to our eternal hope in Christ ("Jesus died so I may live / a life eternally with Him / bring your worries and your cares / and have the promise of His peace"). As the story unfolds, musician and vocalist Brian Stemetzki takes the listener on a coinciding musical journey with some well-written and engaging progressive rock guiding the way. As Stemetzki isn't a particularly strong vocalist, I found myself especially drawn to the instrumentals near the beginning. "The Love of God Is All Around Us" serves as a nice overture for the album, while "Wilderness Interlude" is a dynamic and interesting bridge that really showcases his range and talent as a musician. Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness is a unique entity in the Christian music world. You likely won't hear any of it on the radio, but it has a lot to offer, especially to fans of progressive rock and concept albums. - Review date: 2/5/25, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com

Record Label: None

Album length: 10 tracks: 51 minutes, 14 seconds

Street Date: February 3, 2025

Buy It: Amazon Music

Buy It: Bandcamp

Buy It: ValleyofSaltBand.com (CD)

The Love of God is All Around Us (3:55)
Don't Be Afraid (7:28)
Wilderness Interlude (4:49)
What Did You See (4:18)
I Wait for You (4:40)
He Walks (5:51)
His Glory (4:45)
Machaerus (5:21)
Holy Holy is the Lord (4:29)
I Receive You (4:26)
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Jesus Freak Hideout (John Underdown): For those unfamiliar with your work, can you share a little bit about your background?

Brian Stemetzki: Hi, my name is Brian. I've been playing guitar since third grade. I'm also a licensed therapist in New Jersey. I played professionally for many years, but stepped back from music when I had kids. During the Covid lockdown, I found my way back to music-and that's when I wrote the album Voice of One.

JFH (John): How did you land on the stage name "Valley of Salt"?

Brian: The name Valley of Salt comes directly from the Bible. When I came across that passage, it really stood out to me. It felt meaningful and symbolic-and it just stuck.

JFH (John): You're clearly a talented guitarist. Who are some of your musical heroes?

Brian: Thanks. I've been inspired by so many guitarists across different genres. A few that have really shaped my playing are Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, and George Harrison-just to name a few.

JFH (John): How did this project (The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness) come together? Why focus on the story of John the Baptist?

Brian: This project came together during the pandemic. I started meeting regularly with Marty Willson-Piper, formerly of the Australian band The Church. We discussed songwriting, and he mentioned the idea of doing a concept album about John the Baptist. He saw something in my writing-especially for progressive rock-and encouraged me to pursue it. I created an outline and began writing songs that followed John's life from birth to death.

JFH (John): How did you decide which parts of John's story to cover? Was there anything you left out?

Brian: There isn't a ton written about John in the Bible, but I tried to stay as close as I could to what is there. The album follows his journey from birth to death, focusing on the key moments of his life and ministry.

JFH (John): Many of the songs feature long instrumental sections. What's your process when composing?

Brian: When writing this album, I spent about two hours a day just focused on the music. I didn't force anything-I let it come naturally. The long instrumental sections happened because they felt like they needed to be there. I really took my time with the compositions, and the process was a joy.

JFH (John): This is the third or fourth rock opera I've heard recently that explores stories from the Bible. Why do you think artists are drawn to this approach?

Brian: I think artists keep returning to the Bible because it's endlessly fascinating. It's God's word-and what better material is there to write about? The stories are powerful, emotional, and full of meaning.

JFH (John): What are your future plans beyond this project? A tour? More music?

Brian: I've completed another semi-concept album about the Apostle Paul. I'm hoping to release it later this year or early next year. It's also a double album, and I'm really excited to share it with the world.

JFH (John): How can people connect with you, support your work, or pray for you?

Brian: People can connect with me on all the major social media platforms. I always appreciate any prayers. And I really hope people take the time to listen to Voice of One from beginning to end-it's meant to be experienced as a full journey.