Wolves at the Gate – East to West

I chose this request specifically because East to West is a heavy metal song.  While I have done a few reviews from the alternative metal band Disciple, Wolves at the Gate’s music is much heavier.

Forming in 2008 and signed with Solid State Records in 2011, Wolves at the Gate released their first EP, We Are the Ones (2011), before their debut album Captors (2012), peaking at number 7 in Billboard Christian Albums that year.

They followed up with their second EP Back to School (2013) before their second and third album releases: VxV (2014) [pronounced five by five] and Types and Shadows (2016).  Both albums also appeared in the top 10 Billboard Christian albums for their respective years.

They will release Eclipse on July 26, 2019.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Wolves-at-the-gate-east-to-west-lyrics.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

The title says it all!  Well, sort of.  Ok, there’s a lot more to it than God carrying our sins as far as the east is from the west!

Wolves at the Gate starts off with deep, thought-provoking rhetorical questions.  While not part of the lyrical review, from a musical standpoint, I like how they start off the song by speaking.  These are important questions and they take the time to communicate them with a serious tone.  They do not leave us hanging, quickly answering with the most obvious Christian response: to know and to be known by God personally, deeply, relationally.  Everything else shatters in comparison to that core truth. 

They end the introduction in awe of Christ’s selfless, loving sacrifice for us, almost to the point of disbelief, perhaps saying to themselves: “How can holy God die for a worthless sinner like me?  I am so unworthy”. I harp often on lazy repetition, but here they use it as a communication tool to evoke a truthful, emotional response, bringing some to joyful tears.  Or perhaps that was only me pretending to have something in their eye?

They then spend almost the rest of the song on Christ’s sacrificial love, His taking our sins away, and chasing Jesus.  They double-down on the second half of the intro before ending with their joining the heavenly choir, celebrating Christ’s second coming and victory.

I found their message to be clear, poetic, emotional, and beautifully written.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All of it does!

[Intro]

Lines 1 and 2: Excellent questions!

Lines 3-5: Offers two rhetorical questions that obviously do not answer the questions cited in lines 1 and 2.

Line 6: This is a great and powerful statement, rephrasing the words of Paul in Philippians 3:8.

Lines 7 and 8: The opposite of the horrid words we wish to avoid in Matthew 7:21-23, which speaks of a lack of personal relationship with God.  Also, see 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 and Galatians 4:9.

Line 9: Christ’s shed blood washes us clean from our guilt and shame of rebellion (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Line 10: Jesus is the wounded warrior that paid the penalty for our lawbreaking (Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

Lines 11-13: The last four words repeated three more times, expressing contemplation, reverence, and awe in response to Christ’s sacrifice.  Perhaps with some weeping.

[Verse 1]

Line 1: That is, on the day Jesus returns again (Matthew 24:43, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Corinthians 11:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 16:15).

Line 2: Death is rendered powerless (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Lines 3-5: Recognizes God as a mystery (Deuteronomy 29:29, Proverbs 25:2, Matthew 13:11-13, Mark 4:11, Romans 16:25, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 3:4-5, Ephesians 5:28-32, Colossians 1:25-27, Colossians 2:1-3, and 1 Timothy 3:16), the object of their seeking (Deuteronomy 4:29, 1 Kings 22:5, 2 Chronicles 30:18-20, Psalm 14:2, Psalm 63:1, Psalm 78:34, Matthew 6:33, Acts 17:27-28, and Hebrews 11:6).

[Pre-Chorus]

Lines 1-6: Succinctly captured in Romans 5:6-8, these two lines contrast our rebelliousness with God’s incredible, sacrificial love for us.  Also, see Intro, line 10.

[Chorus]

Line 1: Repeats Pre-Chorus, line 6.

Line 2: Quoted from Psalm 103:12, encompassing the entire song’s title and theme.

Lines 3-7: Derivative of lines 1 and 2.

[Verse 2]

Line 1: That is, I cannot imagine how much Christ suffered.  This is a true statement: unless we suffer as Christ did, we cannot fully comprehend it.

Line 2: There is a yes and no to this.  Yes in the sense that God does not bring up our past sins.  No in the sense that God is omniscient (1 Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 44:21, Psalm 139:4, Psalm 147:4-5, Isaiah 40:28, Matthew 10:30, John 16:30, John 21:17, Acts 1:24, Hebrews 4:13, and 1 John 3:20).  It is my belief that Wolves at the Gate communicates the first rather than the second as it ties in with the theme of east and west.

Line 3: God is in the business of easing our pain and suffering (Matthew 11:28-30).

Lines 4 and 5: Derivative of line 3.

[Verse 3]

Lines 1-5: Repeats Verse 1.

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: I get the sense that these lines come from a recent convert, with a mustard seed-sized faith (Matthew 13:31–32, Mark 4:30–32, and Luke 13:18–19).

Line 3 and 4: Wolves at the Gate connects Verse 1, line 3 with Intro, lines 6-8.  They provide the rationale for their yearning for God’s mysteries.

[Bridge 2]

Lines 1-5: Repeats Intro, lines 6-10.

[Outro]

Lines 1-3a: Refers to the second coming of Christ (Matthew 24:43, Acts 1:11, 1 Corinthians 11:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 16:15).

Line 3b-5: Though speculative, it is reasonable to think we will join the choir in Revelation 19:1-7 at the fall of “new Babylon”.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

The introduction alone makes it abundantly clear to those whose worldviews are not Christian that the song comes from Christianity.  The rest of the song only adds more clarity, with one explicit mention of Christ in the Bridge.

The only church-y word that I noticed is the word sin, which is thrown around a lot but not defined.  To the typical unbeliever, sin is making mistakes.  However, for the Christian, it goes much deeper.  It is breaking the laws and commandments of God, destroying our innocence and separating us from having a personal relationship with Him.  The latter is not communicated clearly to unbelievers simply by using the word sin.

The rest of the song communicates their message in an accessible format for the unsaved.  Perhaps the questions at the beginning will percolate within their minds and stir within their hearts the answer given in the introduction.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Wolves at the Gate abundantly bring honor and glory to God as summarized by part of their introduction.  Namely, that everything else is worthless when compared to the rich and glorious mystery that is to know, and to be known by, God.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Wolves at the Gate’s East to West is one of the most beautifully written, poetic songs I have reviewed.  It agrees with the Bible and stimulates my mind, body, and soul.  Though the word “sin” is not understood by unbelievers, they will immediately recognize it as a Christian song and can easily understand its main message, bringing glory to God.

For the one or two of you whose worship music consists of screamo (yes, they exist), consider adding this one to your set.  For the rest of us, let us be kind to the ears of our parishioners in our choice of songs.

Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: East to West (listen to the song)

Artist: Wolves at the Gate

Album: VxV

Genre: Heavy metal

Release Year: 2014

Duration: 4:54

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

03/26/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.