LAING
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt
“It’s not just music…it’s war.”
Life has been more than a journey. It’s been a hard fought war. Haunted by nightmares and a spiritual descent into inner personal hell, Laing is no stranger to the darkness. “It’s always been a part of me. I never understood the frustrations in my life, but now it’s beginning to make sense.” Raised in a Christian home, Laing was baptized into Christ at 13. “I was a good kid in high school, but I felt like I had no sense of who I was, like my true identity was something to be grasped.” But grasping his identity would cost him nearly everything.
While at Abilene Christian University, Laing began seeking music with ever-growing intensity. But then something went wrong. “I don’t really know what happened. I slipped off the rails and sunk to the very bottom of my soul.” Lost in depression, masochism, and alcohol abuse inside a blackened heart, there was no light to be seen down the bottom of this well. “I call it a journey because my fall wasn’t circumstantial. I willingly walked off the edge of a cliff and fell as far from grace as I could.” The loneliness was unbearable. “No one, not even my family or best friends had any idea how to approach me or how to rescue me. I realized that there was only one way out.” Laing slowly began to understand that hope still remained. “You don’t just wake up one day after turning your soul over to darkness. You crawl, inch by inch and pray you make it through whatever battle you’re in next. And maybe, if you crawl far enough, you might begin to see a flicker in the long miles ahead.”
Several years later, Laing finally knelt before God and asked for forgiveness. “Looking back, I know I should’ve just asked him to forgive me in the beginning and spared myself the torture. But when you’re sold to hell, you’ll never let go of the nightmare so you can hold the dream. I had to let go of my life in order to accept God’s forgiveness.” But the journey doesn’t end here.
Music came back into his life. After searching deep inside, Laing found his opus: Hammer Down. It is no wonder that this song singularly defined Laing’s art and self. “Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection is the focus of my life. I’ve sinned and he’s forgiven me through the cross.” Other songs were born in darkness, “Agony was my scream from the pit of hell. It still ministers greatly to me today.” Songs like Save Me echo similar feelings of anguish and the need for God’s righteousness. “I’m not out of the woods yet. I often find myself down in the mud, just reaching for God.” But Laing has found his redemption and hope in Jesus Christ. “I know I’m gonna’ fall. But I WILL get back up!”
“This work is my declaration of war…the time has come for me to choose sides…and I choose Christ.” Laing has poured out his life to bring the complete release of these songs and Ashes is available at CDbaby.com now!