Have You Heard - Heliocentric

This episode features the Tale of Two Jared's. The young one, our Jared, talks to the one-man band Jared Smith that is, Heliocentric. The young one discusses Jared’s sophomore album “Ishmael,” which provides a look into the sometimes-tumultuous relationship between the three Abrahamic religions.  The episode opens with Jared (not ours) on how he submitted his proposal to a bunch of old, Christian professors for his application to be approved for his undergraduate in Interdisciplinary Studies at Wheaton in Chicago. He summed it up as “turning in a metal album to get his degree.” Jared went to Wheaton to study ancient languages even though he claims to have the intelligence of an under-baked potato. A few years in, he felt a little pigeonholed himself and decided to switch gears and go for interdisciplinary studies which. Jared spent time overseas in a study abroad program with about 20 people based out of Jordan and traveled to various locations. This episode takes a deep look into Jared's experience into the teachings of religion and what he took away from his time there. Heliocentric’s second full-length album, “Ishmael,” presents the band’s most intense soundscape yet. Tackling issues regarding the religious conflicts in the Middle East, the psychology of religion, and the three Abrahamic faiths, the intensity of the album mirrors the gravity of its subject matter, delivering many of the band’s heaviest riffs to date.