Christian metal
Encyclopedia
Christian metal, also known as white metal, is a form of heavy metal music
usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by professed Christians
sometimes principally for Christians who listen to heavy metal music and many times produced and distributed through various Christian networks.
Christian metal bands exist in all the subgenres of heavy metal music, and the only common link among most Christian metal bands are the lyrics. The Christian themes are often melded with the subjects of the genre the band is rooted in, regularly providing a Christian take on the subject matter. It has been argued that the marginal yet transnational Christian metal subculture
provides its core members an alternative religious expression and Christian identity, and that the music serves the purpose of offering a positive alternative or counterbalance to secular metal music which is known for its generally dark and negative message.
Christian metal emerged in the late 1970s as a means of evangelism
to the wider heavy metal music scene, and was pioneered by the American
Resurrection Band
and Swedish
Jerusalem. Los Angeles' Stryper
achieved wide success in the 1980s, otherwise the genre was mostly ignored by the mainstream. California's Tourniquet
and Australia's Mortification
led the movement in the 1990s. The metalcore
groups Underoath
, Demon Hunter
, As I Lay Dying
, and Norma Jean
(dubbed by Revolver Magazine as "The Holy Alliance") brought some mainstream attention to the movement in the first decade of the 21st century, achieving ranks in the Billboard 200
.
that comprises almost every subgenre of heavy metal music. The musicians within Christian metal bands typically base their lyrics on Judeo-Christian
traditions. The lyrical approach of Christian metal bands is somewhat varied, as some emphasize the positive aspects of faith matters while others iterate the teachings of Christ
. Some bands keep their message hidden in metaphor
s. Only a minority take an aggressive attitude towards those who speak against Christianity, "preaching full-on fire and brimstone
and Old Testament style God's wrath
back at extreme satanists". References to eschatology
and apocalyptic themes, particularly the ongoing spiritual warfare
between good and evil as well as the Last Judgment
and fall from grace are typical.
The lyrical style varies depending on culture, denomination, and country. For example, in Northern Europe the bands with Lutheran members usually prefer a personal lyrical approach, which is seldom meant to "convert
" in an aggressive manner, since evangelism
has been more typical among American bands. Christian bands never deny their conviction but typically avoid preaching, and sometimes the matter is left unexpressed, leaving religion as a private issue of the listener. Certain bands choose to deal with every day life experiences from a Christian perspective in order to draw both Christian and non-Christian listeners. In such cases, identifying a "Christian band" can be difficult. Secular bands that occasionally deal with Christian topics are a different matter altogether. Defining a Christian band is a much debated issue on Christian metal forums. A Christian band is expected to have either professed Christian members or a Christian message, preferably both.
, combining heavy metal music with "occult symbols and odes to the Devil". The early bands' use of tritonus, a "dissonant sound of the medieval ‘Devil’s chord’", led to heavy metal being "cast as dumb, crass, and, on occasions, satanic; music hardly fit for intelligent debate, let alone theological reflection."
Bands such as Mötley Crüe
, Ratt
, and Twisted Sister
took "themes of generalized rage, sexual abandon, drug abuse, violence, and despair into the homes of millions of young record buyers." In 1980s, with the growing appeal of metal, the National Coalition on Television Violence "called attention to the destructive potential of music videos, many of which graphically depict violence and rebellion." A British cleric and metal fan analysed that because of distorted guitar sounds, “intense” beats and “muscular” vocals, heavy metal music songs are “unafraid to deal with death, violence and destruction” and that “much of metal’s fascination with Satan or evil is play-acting, driven by a desire to shock." The Italian Capuchin friar and former metal vocalist Cesare Bonizzi
("Fratello Metallo") stated that there are "maybe" some satanic metal bands "but I think it's an act so that they sell more," and went to add that "metal is the most energetic, vital, deep and true musical language that I know."
, a hippie movement
with Christian ideology consisting of hippies that converted to Christianity. The Christian hippies within this movement, known as "Jesus People", developed a musical movement called Jesus music
, which primarily began in southern California when hippie street musicians converted to Christianity. These musicians continued playing the same styles of music they had played before converting, among them heavy metal music, though they infused their lyrics with a Christian message. Larry Norman
was one of the earliest Christian rock musicians who released his first album titled Upon This Rock in 1969 which is arguably the first Christian rock album produced. Norman's song "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?" summarised the ideas of these musicians.
The first Christian hard rock group was possibly the California based band Agape, formed in the late 1960s. Known for their psychedelic rock and blues influences, the band released an album titled Gospel Hard Rock in 1971, followed by Victims of Tradition in 1972. After Agape, the Resurrection Band
was formed in 1972 in Milwaukee's Jesus People community and released the hard rock album Music to Raise the Dead
in 1974. The Swedish group Jerusalem was formed in 1975 and is cited as another early Christian hard rock group. In 1978 Resurrection Band Released its album Awaiting Your Reply
and Jerusalem released Jerusalem (Volume 1)
. Both albums had a notable impact on Christian music culture. During that time, heavy metal was a new style of music for the Christian music industry
, and many Christian labels did not expect it to sell well. However, Awaiting Your Reply
hit big in the Christian market, and reached No. 6 on the Gospel album sales charts. Jerusalem also became an instant hit among listeners, and within the first six months the record sold 20,000 copies, unheard of within the genre of Christian rock in Europe. The Canadian Daniel Band
is cited among the first bands, as is Barnabas
.
In the early 1980s there were four notable Christian heavy metal groups: Messiah Prophet, Leviticus
, Saint, and Stryper
. Although it is debatable as to which band was formed first, the Orange County
native glam metal
group Stryper was the most popular one. Stryper was also the first band to identify as Christian metal. Stryper gained attention with their way of throwing Bibles to the audience at their concerts. In the beginning mostly Christians went to Stryper's concerts but soon they reached secular audience. In the 1980s, Christian metal bands closely followed the trends of mainstream metal bands.
During the mid 1980s, heavy metal music divided into autonomous subgenres. Weinstein (2000) described the thematic diversity that cross-cuts musical styles: "In the 1980s, white metal and black metal emerged. Their lyrical themes are at polar opposites to each other, one of them bringing the 'good news' and the other the 'bad news.' Both include bands whose sounds span the full spectrum of metal. White metal is commonly called Christian metal. In part a response to the popularity of the heavy metal genre, it transforms the code of heavy metal to serve purposes of Evangelical Christian sects and other denominations. In part, also, Christian metal is a well-crafted missionary effort to recruit members and save souls. [...] Black metal stands in the thematic opposition to Christianity, not looking upward to heaven but setting its sights on the underworld. Satanic symbols and imagery have been a staple of heavy metal since its beginnings with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. In the West there is no better symbol for rebellion. But groups such as Mercyful Fate
claimed that they were not playing. Their claims to be true believers, followers of the lord of the underworld, were seen by many to be a commercial ploy." Chicago doom metal group Trouble
was known to be the first band that was publicly marketed as "white metal" since their early albums Psalm 9 and The Skull
feature Biblical references. The origin of the "white metal" term remains unclear; it is merely known that the secular label Metal Blade Records
used "white metal" as a marketing term, in contrast to black metal.
Soon the Christian metal bands became controversial for their beliefs and often evangelistic goals in the metal music scene, which typically holds individualism
in particularly high esteem. Stryper, for instance, although a commercial success at that time, received a hostile reception when they played at a Dutch metal festival in 1985. Regardless of this, Stryper helped to popularize the genre. They were the first Christian band to reach platinum status on an album. The 1986 album To Hell with the Devil
sold 2 million copies and achieved a Grammy nomination
. The music videos for "Free", "Calling on You", and the power ballad "Honestly
" all spent many weeks on Music Television
's Top 10, and "Free" was in the No. 1 position for 12 weeks (60 days), May 4-July 24, 1987.
Not only was Christian metal criticized by secular metal fans, but soon the movement was also criticized by fundamentalists; Allmusic wrote that "when church leaders were accusing heavy metal of encouraging Satanism, Stryper set out to prove that metal and hard rock could be used to promote Christianity. The southern California band was viewed with suspicion by both ministers (who refused to believe that Christianity and metal were compatible) and fellow headbangers—and yet, Stryper managed to sell millions of albums to both Christian and secular audiences." For example, the televangelist Jimmy Swaggart
wrote a book titled Religious Rock n' Roll – A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing in 1987 and criticized the scene, particularly Stryper, for using heavy metal music to preach the gospel of Christianity. Many new bands began to arise, eventually drawing the attention of record labels that specialized in Christian music.
. Soon there appeared other labels such as R.E.X. Records
and Intense Records
.
The regular music magazines did not cover the phenomena of Christian metal music industry very often. Fanzine
s were published in several countries, with Heaven's Metal as the first one in the US in 1985. During that time almost every Christian record label became interested in Christian metal, and they advertised the newly signed metal bands on their roster on Heaven's Metal since it was the only publication exclusively covering the movement. Soon Heaven's Metal achieved more popularity and became an official, professional publication. Heaven's Metal achieved a dedicated flock of 15,000 readers. Bands' sales usually rose when the ensembles were covered on the magazine. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the more underground Christian metal releases were typically distributed in Christian bookstores, and those as well as the fanzines also traded Christian metal cassette copies with the music fans.
Many rock and metal fans that became Christians through the ministry of Christian metal bands were rejected from churches in the 1980s. In 1984, California, pastor Bob Beeman saw this problem and soon started the ministry called Sanctuary - The Rock and Roll Refuge. This fellowship brought many musicians together and formed groups such as Tourniquet, Deliverance, Vengeance and Mortal
that would soon become ground breaking acts in Christian music culture. Sanctuary's first worship leader was Stryper's vocalist Michael Sweet
and later Barren Cross
' bass player Jim LaVerde. Sanctuary sponsored the first Christian metal festival, The Metal Mardi Gras, held in 1987 in Los Angeles. This proved influential and soon Christian metal festivals were organized elsewhere as well. Sanctuary's activities began spreading, and it had 36 parishes all over the United States at its peak by 1990s. The Sanctuary parishes had a significant impact on the Christian metal movement: groups that would later become notable such as P.O.D.
performed their first concerts in Sanctuary.
By late 1990s, the parish's workers felt that regular churches' attitudes towards metalheads, rockers and punks had become more permissive, and therefore did not feel the need to keep Sanctuary going on any longer, hence, most of the parishes of Sanctuary were closed. Sanctuary became Sanctuary International, and it currently gives international studies and lessons on Christianity. Sanctuary also runs an internet radio station called "Intense Radio" which, in 2003, reached approximately 150,000 listeners.
, Barren Cross
, Whitecross
, and Leviticus
. The Kentucky based band Bride
initially played speed metal, particularly on Live to Die
, and reached wider audience on when they released Snakes in the Playground
(1992). Despite being criticized for their abrupt changes in style in favor of what's "hot", are still considered "a primeval force at the centre of Christian heavy metal."
In 1989, the Orange County
group X-Sinner
released its debut album Get It, and was one of the most talked about bands within the white metal scene at the time. Noted for a classic metal
sound similar to AC/DC
, X-Sinner has managed to stay at the head of the Christian classic metal scene.
Glam metal band Holy Soldier
, another group hailing from California, released its self-titled debut on Word and A&M Records (Myrrh imprint) in 1990 to critical and commercial acclaim. Two years later, the band followed up their debut with Last Train, another critical success, leading to 60 city world tour. The band Guardian
achieved some mainstream attention for its album Fire and Love
, and one of the videos was included in the MTV's Headbangers Ball rotation. The heavy metal band Angelica introduced vocalist Rob Rock
, who also achieved initial fame as the vocalist for guitar virtuoso Chris Impellitteri
's band Impellitteri
during the 1980s and 1990s and then went solo with his Rage of Creation
album.
In the early 1990s, the rising musical styles, especially grunge
, began to take their places as the dominant styles in the mainstream, which resulted in heavy metal music losing popularity and going underground for a decade. Heavy metal musicians began to seek musical limits, therefore Christian metal musicians began to play extreme metal
as well. Soon death metal
replaced thrash metal in popularity. Audiences in many underground metal scenes began favoring more extreme sounds and disparaging the popular styles. As with other glam metal acts of the time, Stryper lost popularity and split up in 1993.
Bruce Moore writes in the e-book Metal Missionaries that during mid-1990s Christian metal "ceased to play catch up (replicating secular bands) and began to assimilate into its rightful place in the Extreme music scene and the artists who played became influential in helping to define this relatively new, but growing genre." With risen musical quality and more street-credibility, Christian metal and hardcore bands were signed to record labels such as Tooth and Nail
, Solid State
, Facedown Records
as well as secular labels Metal Blade and Victory Records
. Christian metal was available through secular outlets; "For the first time Extreme Christian music moved from the dusty back bin of the Christian book stores to the front racks at super retailers like Best Buy
, Circuit City, FYE
and even giant retailers like Wal-Mart
, Target
and Hot Topic
." The German secular metal label Nuclear Blast Records also released Christian metal. Torodd Fuglesteg of Norway's Arctic Serenades Records has claimed: "The owner of Nuclear Blast was a committed Christian and he was pushing everything with that religious agenda through Nuclear Blast. Mortification
and Horde
were pushed like mad by Nuclear Blast when other labels were pushing pure satanic stuff."
In the first decade of the 21st century some groups reached mainstream popularity. There are Christian metal bands that perform virtually every sub-genre of metal. The Christian metal movement has spread worldwide since it emerged in the early 1980s, and there are now hundreds of active Christian metal bands. Inspired by the metal revival, many 1980s bands have made comebacks including Saint, Bloodgood and Stryper. In October 2004, Doug Van Pelt brought Heaven's Metal back as its own fanzine. The Internet has had a significant role on the revival of Christian metal as well. Many websites and online communities are dedicated to discussions about Christian metal's music, events, and bands.
For the first time since Stryper
's success in the 1980s, certain Christian metal artists found mainstream acceptance selling millions of albums to both Christian and non-Christian fans, including Underoath
and P.O.D.
The latter became the most successful Christian metal band when their 2001 album Satellite went multi-platinum. Metalcore
's popularity is especially based on Christian bands, including such crossover band such as Underoath
, As I Lay Dying
, August Burns Red
, Norma Jean
, Haste the Day
, The Devil Wears Prada
, Disciple
, and Demon Hunter
. As I Lay Dying have entered the Billboard 200
charts (No. 8) for its record sales and were nominated for the "Best Metal Performance" Grammy for the single "Nothing Left
" from the 2007 album An Ocean Between Us
. The album made its debut on Metal Blade Records,' charting at No. 19 in Canada. In the United States, nearly 40,000 units were sold in its first week. The second week after it was released, it charted at No. 39 in both the United States and Canada. Other Top 200 debuts around the world include a No. 117 in the United Kingdom and No. 154 in Japan.
In its 2006 In Review issue (February 2007), Revolver Magazine
dubbed Christian metal the phenomenon of the year. Editor in Chief Tom Beaujour interviewed the lead vocalists of As I Lay Dying, Demon Hunter, Norma Jean
, and Underoath (Tim Lambesis
, Ryan Clark
, Cory Brandan Putman, and Spencer Chamberlain
, respectively) as the front-page article for the issue. Tooth and Nail Records, P.O.D.
, Zao, War of Ages
, Still Remains
, and He Is Legend
were also mentioned.
and Tourniquet
. Allmusic states that Vengeance Rising's first two albums "were huge successes in the world of Christian music, making them one of the few bands in the genre to cross over into the secular music scene." Tourniquet was called "arguably the greatest Christian metal band in history" by Cross Rhythms in 1996. Tourniquet's Psycho Surgery
was ranked as the second most influential Christian metal album of all time by the HM Magazine. Deliverance's 1990 music video for the title track of Weapons of Our Warfare
album received some airplay on MTV. Allmusic wrote about Believer's Sanity Obscure
album: "Before 1990, the Christian heavy metal genre rarely strayed from generic riffing and poor lyrics. Bands like Petra and Sacred Warrior never broke through to the mainstream for this very reason. With low expectations, Believer released this massive slab of molten metal. Although it never really became popular, several mainstream magazines praised the album."
The British bands Seventh Angel
and Detritus introduced Christian thrash metal to Europe. Seventh Angel were considered to be thrash metal pioneers, and their albums achieved mainstream distribution through Music for Nations
label. Cross Rhythms
states that for a long time Seventh Angel were considered to be the best metal act in the UK. In 1990s, New Mexico based Ultimatum and Oklahoman group called Eternal Decision
gained some attention, the latter with its thrash and groove metal style. The 1997 album Eternal Decision
hit the record stores in the U.S. and 16 other countries, achieving considerable acclaim and providing the band with even more notice.
became the first widely recognized Christian death metal band. Their 1992 album Scrolls of the Megilloth
garnered the band some attention from the heavy metal underground, according to Allmusic.
At roughly the same time the band Living Sacrifice
was creating thrash and death metal, particularly on the albums Nonexistent
(1992) and Inhabit
(1994), with Allmusic commenting that "the term Christian death metal seems like one of music's most comical oxymorons." Later they "evolved from their early death metal-inspired rumblings into a crushing, staccato-driven, heavily percussive metallic behemoth that pummels listeners with intense riffage and a decidedly personal, though nevertheless, often evangelical lyrical viewpoint." The Minneapolis based Crimson Thorn
is described by Allmusic as "one of the world's most extreme-sounding Christian metal bands." Norwegian band Extol
's 1998 album Burial
was called "Revolutionary. This release may have single-handedly been responsible for the revival of the Christ-centered extreme metal." The band was popular among both Christian and general metal fans, mostly touring with well-known secular bands.
is widely considered to be the first Christian black metal band. As a one man band with only one release (in 1994), Horde initiated controversy within the extreme metal community, opposing the more common lyrical themes of Satanism and evil. The title of Horde's only release — Hellig Usvart
— means "Holy Unblack", which is now often used by Christians to refer to Christian black metal, in order to avoid the negative connotations of the term "black metal".
Antestor
(then called Crush Evil) existed prior to the release of Hellig Usvart but their music was a death/doom style, and was not yet musically considered black metal. During the early 1990s when the band was known as Crush Evil, Euronymous, guitarist for the seminal black metal band Mayhem
, was planning to stop Crush Evil from continuing. However, this never took place.
The release of Antestor's The Return of the Black Death
on the British secular black metal label Cacophonous Records in 1998 "set the standard for Christian black metal." Swedish Crimson Moonlight
's The Covenant Progress
, HM magazine stated, "rivals the best any other band (Christian or secular) in this subgenre can offer." While the unblack scene is not part of the secular black metal scene, several musicians from both have co-operated: Stian Aarstad
of Dimmu Borgir
produced Vaakevandring
's eponymous EP
, and Jan Axel Blomberg
of Mayhem played drums for Antestor's The Forsaken
(2005) album.
Sacred Warrior
preceded Christian power metal
in the United States. The German group Seventh Avenue
, formed in 1989, was one of more notable Christian power metal
bands in the 1990s. They released Rainbowland in 1995, and after that the band was signed to Treasure Hunt Records. Their first release on this label, Tales of Tales, topped at 18 on the Japanese Heavy Metal Charts.
Later in the 1990s, the Swedish group Narnia made contributions to Christian power metal history, having signed with Nuclear Blast Records, Germany, and Pony Canyon Records, Japan. Later there appeared more notable European groups such as the German bands Chrystyne and Lightmare, and the Swedish groups XT
, Divinefire
, Harmony
, and Heartcry.
Among the progressive metal representatives were Balance of Power, whose album When the World Falls Down
was picked by Japanese label Pony Canyon. Jacobs Dream
was signed to Metal Blade Records. HM wrote of the Athens, Georgia
based Theocracy
's self-titled debut album
that "Not only did this release gain [the then-sole member] Matt a lot of notoriety in the small Christian power/prog scene but the much larger secular power/prog secene embraced this as well." Later turned to a full band, their sophomore 2008 album Mirror of Souls
, "defines excellence in current Christian metal."
started playing progressive and symphonic doom metal
and released its first album Fall Babylon Fall
in 1992, ranked as the 38th most influential Christian metal album of all time by HM. HM magazine wrote that Paramaecium
, with its 1993 album Exhumed of the Earth
, "essentially delivered the most powerful and moving death/doom
recording in the history of Christian metal." Saviour Machine
's Saviour Machine I
was called "amazing accomplishment" by HM and that "Their gothic-tinged, progressive metal was quite unique to the scene when it was released in 1993."
The alternative metal
style's leading groups included the nu metal
bands P.O.D.
, Thousand Foot Krutch
, Disciple
, and Pillar
. Zao was a pioneer of metalcore, paving way for bands such as Underoath
and Norma Jean
. The California based group Mortal
is cited as one of the first Christian bands that represented the industrial metal style. Cross Rhythms
wrote that when Mortal's second album Fathom hit the scene in 1993 "there was nothing else quite like it" and that it is "truly a musical milestone."
Another 1990s reputive Christian industrial metal band was Circle of Dust
. The band received MTV exposure with music video for ”Telltale Crime”, and a part of the song ”Deviate” was used as the intro-song for a long time in the now defunct MTV Sports show.
Argyle Park
, an underground supergroup of Christian industrial metal, received some success with the album Misguided
(1995) as did, to some extent, LVL
and Klank
with Still Suffering in 1997. Klank's second album Numb was somewhat successful because the song ”Blind” became a hit single. The Australian industrial metal band called Screams of Chaos was known for its bizarre style that combined several extreme metal influences with industrial. The late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century popular American shock rock group Rackets & Drapes was known to have elements of industrial metal, and received a following.
of Slayer
. Others, such as Killswitch Engage
and Linkin Park
also have members who are Christian and frequently use spiritual themes.
), hence, beginning as a means of evangelism
among secular metal scene. Over the years the focus changed because of the increased secularization of Christianity in the West during 1990s. Moberg (2008) notes that the current scene seems to have very little interest in evangelism, especially in Northern Europe. Instead, it is argued that the current Christian metal music scene ultimately provides its core members with important resources for the shaping of an alternative and complementary form of religious expression and practice and an alternative Christian identity. Thus, Moberg states that Christian metal serves four main purposes: an alternative form of religious expression and identity; as a legitimate form of religious expression; as an effective means of evangelism and fighting and standing up for the Christian faith; as a positive alternative to secular metal.
In a 2006 interview with HM Magazine Steve Rowe
of Mortification
, one of the best known figures in the scene, implies that evangelism is of secondary importance and that Christian metal should first and foremost bring "spiritual encouragement" for its Christian listeners. Moberg (2006) suspects that Christian metal music may suggest dissatisfaction with traditional forms of worship among today's young Christians: "They may not feel comfortable with just going to church and singing hymns, they need an alternative means to express the same faith." Apart from evangelism, Christian metal may also provide a means "to get away from the image of Christianity as something rigid and boring".
Luhr (2009) states that Christian metal expresses feeling of isolation and rebellion just like secular metal - but in a completely different way. Christian metal's rebellion is about "Christian opposition to the perceived sinfulness and immorality of a late modern society and culture in which traditional family values
have been eroded through such things as the legalization and increasing acceptability of abortion
and pornography
and the rise of gay rights and feminist movement
s." Causes for the feeling of isolation can be explained with the fundamental Christian struggle of being in the world but not of it. Bloodgood
and Barren Cross
inverted the meaning of rebellion by declaring that in western society and culture the Christian faith is true rebellion. As in secular metal, fans are encouraged to stand up for their faith, think for themselves and not blindly follow authorities, including religious ones.
According to Moberg (2008), Christian metal has developed scenes in countries with long-standing metal subcultures: United States
, Brazil
, Mexico
, Germany
, Netherlands
, Norway
, Sweden
and Finland
. Despite its seemingly marginal niche audience, as Christian metal fans are counted in the thousands and the secular metal fans in the millions, the Christian metal scene is one of the few transnational Christian communities that do not have any leaders or creed - only music connects its attendees. Just like secular metal, the Christian metal scene has developed its own infrastructure of record labels, promotion and distribution channels, specialized media, discussion forums, attitude, rhetorics, slogans such as "Turn or Burn!", "Faster for the Master!" and "Support the War against Satan!", webstores and festivals. Brazil and Mexico have tiny parishes of Christian metal fans. Finland in particular, with metal being more mainstream there than anywhere in the world, has held popular Metal Mass
es picked up by the Lutheran former state church since 2006.
Most Christian metalheads also listen to secular metal; Christian metal merely offers counterbalance for the dark message of secular metal, and most Christian metalheads only avoid the most satanic bands if even them since some ignore the issue altogether. Some differences in concert gestures have been noticed: Los Angeles Times reported in 1985 that in Stryper shows the audience were seen "poking stubby 'one way' fingers heavenward—a refutation of the double-fingered 'devil horns' salute of many metal groups".
Certain Christian groups, most notably those in some King James Only
denominations, consider all types of rock and metal music to be opposition to their faith, regardless of lyrical content or the lifestyles of the band members. However, fans and artists see metal as another genre of music, parallel to such genres as blues
, classical
, jazz
, punk
, and hip-hop. Bands such as Showbread
and Antestor
believe that the instrumentation of the music is simply a medium of art, while the person creating the music as well as the lyrics being presented provide the message. Therefore, Christian metal is created when Christians compose metal music in a way that reflects their faith in Christ.
Keith Kahn-Harris states in the book Extreme Metal that sometimes fans of metal consider Christian faith and adherence in Church a membership of an established authority, and therefore Christian metal bands are seen as "posers" and the use of Christian lyrics to be opposed to the "true" purpose of metal. If any ideology can be linked to metal music, it is individualism
. Their attitudes range from ignoring the opinions or rejection of religion, though some will admit that Christian metal can contain enjoyable bands like secular metal. Kerry King
of Slayer
was asked in New York magazine, March 2009, "What’s popular in metal right now that you wish would die?" and King replied Christian metal: "There seems to be a plentiful amount of metal bands that are like, religious, so to speak. Personally, for me, it’s an odd thing … bands that are doing metal, but they’re singing, like, Jesus metal. And I don’t mean Stryper. When I hear them I’m like, “Oh they’re one of them Jesus bands.” It’s enough of a distaste to me that I don’t even want to hear it." King thinks God is "force-fed upon people, especially in America and especially in certain parts of America, where it’s just a way of life. People just accept it without questioning it. I think anybody’s entitled to whatever opinion on anything, but I also think you need to suss out these opinions and why you believe what you believe. Just don’t believe blindly."
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Christian metal movement was criticized for lack of originality by both Christian and secular groups. In an interview with Mean Magazine, Kris Klingesmith of Barnabas stated that "If you want to know what Christian music will be doing tomorrow, all you need to do is see what the secular guys are doing today." Michael Sweet of Stryper discussed in Christianity Today
magazine in 1985 why the band succeeded to sell albums to the unchurched unlike previous Christian rock and metal bands, and he implied that Christian rock and metal musicians' problem is that their theology is stronger than their music: "If you're out there in the secular world and you don't have Christ, you're not going to see a group because they talk about Christ. You're going to go hear a band because they're good, and because they have a good stage show." Pastor Bob Beeman of Sanctuary International stated in a 2000 interview that while the issue of Christian bands copying mainstream bands may be seen as ripping off, it can also be seen as a compliment for the secular bands: "This allowed the Christian bands to cross over. People would be able to listen to the Christian bands and not feel like they were giving up the style of music they loved. Then after you listen to the Christian bands more closely, you realize they are not just alike. But I think it is ultimately a good thing." Secular audiences tend to accept Christian bands that are particularly musically creative, in spite of being widely known as Christian bands.
Some groups within the Christian metal movement have criticized bands within the industry for isolating the genre from general industry too avidly. For example, Christer Espevoll of Extol
stated in 2003: "I wish the scenes were more together. For a long time there has been a huge — and still growing — distance between Christian and secular music industries. This is the situation peculiarly in the US but also in Scandinavia. In my opinion this kind of polarization
is not a good thing. Music is first and foremost about music so why should every band or artist that represents a religion or lack of it have its own industry? Music has no religious borders." However, most Christian bands today oppose to being isolated in the Christian music industry
and have become mainstream successes, such as Virgin Black
.
of the Christian music scene, it has never had any major corporate radio outlets, as opposed to the more accepted CCM
-associated Christian music formats. Nevertheless, it has remained culturally significant in the genre, primarily enduring the test of time through word of mouth and through the help of pioneering Christian rock and metal broadcasters. Despite the lack of commercial radio
support, Christian metal broadcasters have managed to hit the airwaves on public radio
, campus radio
, Internet radio
, and in recent years through podcasting
via the Internet
. As digital broadcasting technology becomes more accessible, the number of Christian metal broadcasters has steadily increased. Some of today's largest non-commercial
Christian alternative radio stations such as RadioU, Call FM
and Effect Radio
have some Christian metal programing late nights and on weekends. However, as a whole these larger stations generally maintain a GMA
-prescribed format. Other stations such as Almighty Metal Radio, Savage Rock Radio, Reign Radio, Metal Blessing Radio, The Cross Stream, The Refinery Rock Radio and FuelRadio.fm have been able to maintain twenty-four-hour Christian metal formats through internet radio
. Some notable Christian metal radio DJs, shows and podcasts include: "Jesus Solid Rock" Show ('74 - '80) hosted by Pastor Bob Beeman, "Intense Radio" ('95 - present) founded by Pastor Bob Beeman and Sanctuary International, "HM Podcast" with HM Magazine founder & publisher Doug Van Pelt, "The Full Armor of God Broadcast
" ('97 - present) hosted by Bro Scotland Kubinski (A.K.A. Kuba "The Demon Slayer"), "Radio U Hardcore" ('02 - present) hosted by Jaddeus Dempsey (A.K.A. "Jad"), and "The Nation of Rockwell
" ('03 - present) hosted by Quenton Rockwell (A.K.A. "Q Rock").
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by professed Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
sometimes principally for Christians who listen to heavy metal music and many times produced and distributed through various Christian networks.
Christian metal bands exist in all the subgenres of heavy metal music, and the only common link among most Christian metal bands are the lyrics. The Christian themes are often melded with the subjects of the genre the band is rooted in, regularly providing a Christian take on the subject matter. It has been argued that the marginal yet transnational Christian metal subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
provides its core members an alternative religious expression and Christian identity, and that the music serves the purpose of offering a positive alternative or counterbalance to secular metal music which is known for its generally dark and negative message.
Christian metal emerged in the late 1970s as a means of evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
to the wider heavy metal music scene, and was pioneered by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Resurrection Band
Resurrection Band
Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for their blend of blues-rock and hard rock, Resurrection...
and Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Jerusalem. Los Angeles' Stryper
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...
achieved wide success in the 1980s, otherwise the genre was mostly ignored by the mainstream. California's Tourniquet
Tourniquet (band)
Tourniquet is a Christian thrash / heavy metal band that was formed in 1989 by Ted Kirkpatrick, Guy Ritter and Gary Lenaire in Los Angeles, California, USA. They are known for incorporating elements of thrash, neo-classical and progressive metal into their music...
and Australia's Mortification
Mortification (band)
Mortification is an Australian Christian extreme metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on...
led the movement in the 1990s. The metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
groups Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...
, Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. All of Demon Hunter's members are Christians and express their love for Jesus in many of their songs. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, Don Clark...
, As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying (band)
As I Lay Dying is an American metalcore band from San Diego, California. Founded in 2000 by Tim Lambesis and having completed their first Line-up in 2001, the band consists of vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, lead guitarist Nick Hipa, rhythm guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and bassist Josh...
, and Norma Jean
Norma Jean (band)
Norma Jean is an American metalcore band from Douglasville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Since their inception in 1997 and replacement of members throughout the years, the band's only original member is the guitarist, Chris Day...
(dubbed by Revolver Magazine as "The Holy Alliance") brought some mainstream attention to the movement in the first decade of the 21st century, achieving ranks in the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Characteristics
Christian metal is not a solitary style of music, but rather an ideological umbrella termUmbrella term
An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...
that comprises almost every subgenre of heavy metal music. The musicians within Christian metal bands typically base their lyrics on Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
traditions. The lyrical approach of Christian metal bands is somewhat varied, as some emphasize the positive aspects of faith matters while others iterate the teachings of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. Some bands keep their message hidden in metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s. Only a minority take an aggressive attitude towards those who speak against Christianity, "preaching full-on fire and brimstone
Fire and brimstone
Fire and brimstone is an idiomatic expression of signs of God's wrath in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. In the Bible, they often appear in reference to the fate of the unfaithful. "Brimstone," possibly the ancient name for sulfur, evokes the acrid odor of volcanic activity...
and Old Testament style God's wrath
Divine retribution
Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity in response to some human action.Many cultures have a story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.An example of divine retribution is the...
back at extreme satanists". References to eschatology
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
and apocalyptic themes, particularly the ongoing spiritual warfare
Spiritual warfare
Spiritual warfare is a range of activity by various Christian groups whereby Satanic demons are combatted, using a variety of methods depending on the group, but typically through prayer.-Range of practice, history, and methodology:...
between good and evil as well as the Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
and fall from grace are typical.
The lyrical style varies depending on culture, denomination, and country. For example, in Northern Europe the bands with Lutheran members usually prefer a personal lyrical approach, which is seldom meant to "convert
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
" in an aggressive manner, since evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
has been more typical among American bands. Christian bands never deny their conviction but typically avoid preaching, and sometimes the matter is left unexpressed, leaving religion as a private issue of the listener. Certain bands choose to deal with every day life experiences from a Christian perspective in order to draw both Christian and non-Christian listeners. In such cases, identifying a "Christian band" can be difficult. Secular bands that occasionally deal with Christian topics are a different matter altogether. Defining a Christian band is a much debated issue on Christian metal forums. A Christian band is expected to have either professed Christian members or a Christian message, preferably both.
Background: Heavy metal music and Christianity
When heavy metal music popularized in the late 1960s it became associated with negative, rebellious themes. Heavy metal lyrics and themes often challenged Christian values. Among the early bands to add negative connotations to the term was Black SabbathBlack Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, combining heavy metal music with "occult symbols and odes to the Devil". The early bands' use of tritonus, a "dissonant sound of the medieval ‘Devil’s chord’", led to heavy metal being "cast as dumb, crass, and, on occasions, satanic; music hardly fit for intelligent debate, let alone theological reflection."
Bands such as Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
, Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
, and Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
took "themes of generalized rage, sexual abandon, drug abuse, violence, and despair into the homes of millions of young record buyers." In 1980s, with the growing appeal of metal, the National Coalition on Television Violence "called attention to the destructive potential of music videos, many of which graphically depict violence and rebellion." A British cleric and metal fan analysed that because of distorted guitar sounds, “intense” beats and “muscular” vocals, heavy metal music songs are “unafraid to deal with death, violence and destruction” and that “much of metal’s fascination with Satan or evil is play-acting, driven by a desire to shock." The Italian Capuchin friar and former metal vocalist Cesare Bonizzi
Cesare Bonizzi
Brother Cesare Bonizzi , also known as Frate Cesare and Fratello Metallo - which was also the name of his band, is a Capuchin friar belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, who was known as a heavy metal singer....
("Fratello Metallo") stated that there are "maybe" some satanic metal bands "but I think it's an act so that they sell more," and went to add that "metal is the most energetic, vital, deep and true musical language that I know."
Origins
Christian metal has its origins in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Jesus movementJesus movement
The Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
, a hippie movement
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
with Christian ideology consisting of hippies that converted to Christianity. The Christian hippies within this movement, known as "Jesus People", developed a musical movement called Jesus music
Jesus music
Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music which originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement...
, which primarily began in southern California when hippie street musicians converted to Christianity. These musicians continued playing the same styles of music they had played before converting, among them heavy metal music, though they infused their lyrics with a Christian message. Larry Norman
Larry Norman
Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
was one of the earliest Christian rock musicians who released his first album titled Upon This Rock in 1969 which is arguably the first Christian rock album produced. Norman's song "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?" summarised the ideas of these musicians.
The first Christian hard rock group was possibly the California based band Agape, formed in the late 1960s. Known for their psychedelic rock and blues influences, the band released an album titled Gospel Hard Rock in 1971, followed by Victims of Tradition in 1972. After Agape, the Resurrection Band
Resurrection Band
Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for their blend of blues-rock and hard rock, Resurrection...
was formed in 1972 in Milwaukee's Jesus People community and released the hard rock album Music to Raise the Dead
Music to Raise the Dead
Music to Raise the Dead is the first independent cassette from American Christian rock band Resurrection Band, released in 1974. Although technically the band's first release, the album Awaiting Your Reply four years later is considered by most to be the band's official debut.- Recording history...
in 1974. The Swedish group Jerusalem was formed in 1975 and is cited as another early Christian hard rock group. In 1978 Resurrection Band Released its album Awaiting Your Reply
Awaiting Your Reply
Awaiting Your Reply is the debut album by American Christian rock band Resurrection Band, released in 1978.- Recording history :The album was recorded for only $8000 US over a period of two weeks in marathon all-night sessions ending on Easter Sunday morning...
and Jerusalem released Jerusalem (Volume 1)
Jerusalem (Volume 1)
Jerusalem is the debut album from Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem. The eponymous Swedish version was released in 1978 on Prim Records. The English version was released in 1980 on Lamb & Lion Records in the US and on Word Records in the UK.-Track listing:All songs by Ulf Christiansson, except...
. Both albums had a notable impact on Christian music culture. During that time, heavy metal was a new style of music for the Christian music industry
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern Gospel music, Contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the gospel music industry, although this designation is not a limitation...
, and many Christian labels did not expect it to sell well. However, Awaiting Your Reply
Awaiting Your Reply
Awaiting Your Reply is the debut album by American Christian rock band Resurrection Band, released in 1978.- Recording history :The album was recorded for only $8000 US over a period of two weeks in marathon all-night sessions ending on Easter Sunday morning...
hit big in the Christian market, and reached No. 6 on the Gospel album sales charts. Jerusalem also became an instant hit among listeners, and within the first six months the record sold 20,000 copies, unheard of within the genre of Christian rock in Europe. The Canadian Daniel Band
Daniel Band
The Daniel Band is a Canadian hard rock group. They were pioneers in Contemporary Christian Music for their sound that ranged from rock to heavy metal...
is cited among the first bands, as is Barnabas
Barnabas (band)
Barnabas was a Christian hard rock band that was active from 1977 through 1986. The name of the band was in honor of the New Testament disciple Barnabas...
.
1980s
Leviticus (band)
Leviticus was a Christian metal band from Sweden. The band formed in 1981 and was led by Bjorn Stigsson. They released four albums before breaking up in 1990.- Background :...
, Saint, and Stryper
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...
. Although it is debatable as to which band was formed first, the Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
native glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
group Stryper was the most popular one. Stryper was also the first band to identify as Christian metal. Stryper gained attention with their way of throwing Bibles to the audience at their concerts. In the beginning mostly Christians went to Stryper's concerts but soon they reached secular audience. In the 1980s, Christian metal bands closely followed the trends of mainstream metal bands.
During the mid 1980s, heavy metal music divided into autonomous subgenres. Weinstein (2000) described the thematic diversity that cross-cuts musical styles: "In the 1980s, white metal and black metal emerged. Their lyrical themes are at polar opposites to each other, one of them bringing the 'good news' and the other the 'bad news.' Both include bands whose sounds span the full spectrum of metal. White metal is commonly called Christian metal. In part a response to the popularity of the heavy metal genre, it transforms the code of heavy metal to serve purposes of Evangelical Christian sects and other denominations. In part, also, Christian metal is a well-crafted missionary effort to recruit members and save souls. [...] Black metal stands in the thematic opposition to Christianity, not looking upward to heaven but setting its sights on the underworld. Satanic symbols and imagery have been a staple of heavy metal since its beginnings with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. In the West there is no better symbol for rebellion. But groups such as Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate was a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen. Initially active from 1981 to 1985, they reunited in 1992. The band went on hiatus again in 2000, when frontman King Diamond decided to continue his solo career...
claimed that they were not playing. Their claims to be true believers, followers of the lord of the underworld, were seen by many to be a commercial ploy." Chicago doom metal group Trouble
Trouble (band)
Trouble is an American doom metal band noted as one of the pioneers of their genre, alongside bands such as Candlemass and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s...
was known to be the first band that was publicly marketed as "white metal" since their early albums Psalm 9 and The Skull
The Skull (album)
The Skull is the second album by the American doom metal band Trouble, released in 1985. It was the follow-up to their 1984 classic debut Psalm 9....
feature Biblical references. The origin of the "white metal" term remains unclear; it is merely known that the secular label Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
used "white metal" as a marketing term, in contrast to black metal.
Soon the Christian metal bands became controversial for their beliefs and often evangelistic goals in the metal music scene, which typically holds individualism
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
in particularly high esteem. Stryper, for instance, although a commercial success at that time, received a hostile reception when they played at a Dutch metal festival in 1985. Regardless of this, Stryper helped to popularize the genre. They were the first Christian band to reach platinum status on an album. The 1986 album To Hell with the Devil
To Hell with the Devil
To Hell with the Devil is the Grammy Award nominated third release, and second full-length album, by the Christian metal and glam metal band Stryper, released in 1986 . It was both the first Contemporary Christian and Christian metal album to achieve Platinum status, selling over one million copies...
sold 2 million copies and achieved a Grammy nomination
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. The music videos for "Free", "Calling on You", and the power ballad "Honestly
Honestly
"Honestly" is the American Christian metal band Stryper's fifth single and their highest charting on the Billboard Hot 100. "Honestly" became one of the most requested songs on MTV. "Honestly" is one of Stryper's best-known songs, peaking at #23 on the Hot 100...
" all spent many weeks on Music Television
Music television
Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite or cable. Music TVs may host their own shows charts, award prizes. Examples are VIVA, Scuzz, MTV, JBTV, MuchMusic,...
's Top 10, and "Free" was in the No. 1 position for 12 weeks (60 days), May 4-July 24, 1987.
Not only was Christian metal criticized by secular metal fans, but soon the movement was also criticized by fundamentalists; Allmusic wrote that "when church leaders were accusing heavy metal of encouraging Satanism, Stryper set out to prove that metal and hard rock could be used to promote Christianity. The southern California band was viewed with suspicion by both ministers (who refused to believe that Christianity and metal were compatible) and fellow headbangers—and yet, Stryper managed to sell millions of albums to both Christian and secular audiences." For example, the televangelist Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast...
wrote a book titled Religious Rock n' Roll – A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing in 1987 and criticized the scene, particularly Stryper, for using heavy metal music to preach the gospel of Christianity. Many new bands began to arise, eventually drawing the attention of record labels that specialized in Christian music.
Emergence of fanzines, record labels, and Sanctuary International
Christian metal soon developed into its own independent record labels and networks. The first Christian metal label was Pure Metal Records, a sublabel of Refuge RecordsRefuge Records
Refuge Records was a Christian record label founded in 1980 by Greg Nelson and Ray Nenow.Refuge Records became an important label in the development of the West Coast Christian alternative music scene...
. Soon there appeared other labels such as R.E.X. Records
R.E.X. Records
R.E.X. Records was an independent record label founded by Doug Mann and Gavin Morkel, which operated from 1987 until running into financial difficulty in 1995. Operations were based in Chicago until 1990 when the company moved to Nashville...
and Intense Records
Intense Records
Intense Records was an independent record label whose releases were mostly in the metal genre. Intense was bought out in 1989 by Frontline Records and became an imprint of that company...
.
The regular music magazines did not cover the phenomena of Christian metal music industry very often. Fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s were published in several countries, with Heaven's Metal as the first one in the US in 1985. During that time almost every Christian record label became interested in Christian metal, and they advertised the newly signed metal bands on their roster on Heaven's Metal since it was the only publication exclusively covering the movement. Soon Heaven's Metal achieved more popularity and became an official, professional publication. Heaven's Metal achieved a dedicated flock of 15,000 readers. Bands' sales usually rose when the ensembles were covered on the magazine. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the more underground Christian metal releases were typically distributed in Christian bookstores, and those as well as the fanzines also traded Christian metal cassette copies with the music fans.
Many rock and metal fans that became Christians through the ministry of Christian metal bands were rejected from churches in the 1980s. In 1984, California, pastor Bob Beeman saw this problem and soon started the ministry called Sanctuary - The Rock and Roll Refuge. This fellowship brought many musicians together and formed groups such as Tourniquet, Deliverance, Vengeance and Mortal
Mortal (band)
Mortal was a Christian industrial/dance band fronted by Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan. Both members went on to found the alternative rock group Fold Zandura, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously...
that would soon become ground breaking acts in Christian music culture. Sanctuary's first worship leader was Stryper's vocalist Michael Sweet
Michael Sweet
Michael Sweet is a singer from Whittier, California, United States. Sweet is best known as co-founder, writer and frontman of the Christian glam metal band Stryper. He was also one of the two lead vocalists and one of three guitarists for Boston until August 2011.-Youth:He began his musical career...
and later Barren Cross
Barren Cross
Barren Cross is a Christian metal band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983 by highschool friends Ray Parris and Steve Whitaker . The band released six albums from 1986 to 1994...
' bass player Jim LaVerde. Sanctuary sponsored the first Christian metal festival, The Metal Mardi Gras, held in 1987 in Los Angeles. This proved influential and soon Christian metal festivals were organized elsewhere as well. Sanctuary's activities began spreading, and it had 36 parishes all over the United States at its peak by 1990s. The Sanctuary parishes had a significant impact on the Christian metal movement: groups that would later become notable such as P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
performed their first concerts in Sanctuary.
By late 1990s, the parish's workers felt that regular churches' attitudes towards metalheads, rockers and punks had become more permissive, and therefore did not feel the need to keep Sanctuary going on any longer, hence, most of the parishes of Sanctuary were closed. Sanctuary became Sanctuary International, and it currently gives international studies and lessons on Christianity. Sanctuary also runs an internet radio station called "Intense Radio" which, in 2003, reached approximately 150,000 listeners.
Late 1980s and 1990s
Doug Van Pelt of HM Magazine stated that Christian metal had its "heyday" in the late 1980s and early 1990s. By 1987 there were more than a hundred Christian metal bands, and their records were sold at both Christian bookstores and secular retails. By 1988 the four largest Christian metal bands (excluding the mainstream success Stryper) were BloodgoodBloodgood
Bloodgood is a Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington. Originally formed in 1984 and by 1988 represented one of the four largest Christian metal bands alongside Barren Cross, Whitecross, and Leviticus....
, Barren Cross
Barren Cross
Barren Cross is a Christian metal band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983 by highschool friends Ray Parris and Steve Whitaker . The band released six albums from 1986 to 1994...
, Whitecross
Whitecross
Whitecross is a Christian metal band that formed in 1985 in Waukegan, IL releasing their first recording in the year 1987. Their early albums, which often invite comparisons to Ratt, are laced with fast, technical guitar work. In 1994, bandleader, primary songwriter and producer Rex Carroll split...
, and Leviticus
Leviticus (band)
Leviticus was a Christian metal band from Sweden. The band formed in 1981 and was led by Bjorn Stigsson. They released four albums before breaking up in 1990.- Background :...
. The Kentucky based band Bride
Bride (band)
Bride is a Christian heavy metal/hard rock band formed in the 80s, by brothers Dale and Troy Thompson. During the band's peak years it was known for covering a wide range of musical styles and remains popular in places like Brazil...
initially played speed metal, particularly on Live to Die
Live to Die (Bride album)
Live to Die is the second album by the American heavy metal band Bride. It is the band's second album to be released on the label Pure Metal Records in 1988. Live to Die is considered by critics to be the band's finest release in its metal era...
, and reached wider audience on when they released Snakes in the Playground
Snakes in the Playground
The album contains unlisted instrumental pieces in between select tracks, like an untitled track before "Dont Use Me" and a piano piece before "Goodbye."-Personnel:*Dale Thompson - Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, Tambourine, Shakers...
(1992). Despite being criticized for their abrupt changes in style in favor of what's "hot", are still considered "a primeval force at the centre of Christian heavy metal."
In 1989, the Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
group X-Sinner
X-Sinner
X-Sinner is an American hard rock band formed in late-1988 by guitarist Greg Bishop. The band is known for having a very similar sound to that of AC/DC and Def Leppard, and has managed to stay at the top of the Christian metal scene...
released its debut album Get It, and was one of the most talked about bands within the white metal scene at the time. Noted for a classic metal
Classic metal
Traditional heavy metal, also known as classic metal or simply heavy metal, is the seminal genre of heavy metal music before the genre "evolved and splintered into many different styles and subgenres."- Terminology:...
sound similar to AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, X-Sinner has managed to stay at the head of the Christian classic metal scene.
Glam metal band Holy Soldier
Holy Soldier
-Background:The band was originally formed in early 1985 by bassist Andy Robbins and guitarist Jamie Cramer. The band gained a strong local following before signing. Holy Soldier was initially noted for their strong evangelical focus, although they regularly played to secular audiences. For a time...
, another group hailing from California, released its self-titled debut on Word and A&M Records (Myrrh imprint) in 1990 to critical and commercial acclaim. Two years later, the band followed up their debut with Last Train, another critical success, leading to 60 city world tour. The band Guardian
Guardian (band)
Guardian is an American Christian hard rock/metal band. The band released six studio albums, three additional albums in Spanish—and toured extensively worldwide...
achieved some mainstream attention for its album Fire and Love
Fire and Love
Fire and Love is the second album of Christian metal band Guardian. It was released in 1990 and featured an arena rock sound, described by Cornerstone as "Bon Jovi to the bone"....
, and one of the videos was included in the MTV's Headbangers Ball rotation. The heavy metal band Angelica introduced vocalist Rob Rock
Rob Rock
Robert Rock is a heavy metal singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead singer of the band Impellitteri from 1992 to 2000, and now in 2008. He has also released four albums as a solo artist.-Biography:...
, who also achieved initial fame as the vocalist for guitar virtuoso Chris Impellitteri
Chris Impellitteri
Chris Impellitteri is the lead guitarist and founder of the heavy metal band Impellitteri. In 2008 Guitarworld Magazine officially named Chris Impellitteri as one of the Fastest Guitarists of all time...
's band Impellitteri
Impellitteri
Impellitteri is a heavy metal band from USA formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri. Since inception, the band has released numerous albums to critical praise, mainly due to Chris Impellitteri's speed/shred style of playing....
during the 1980s and 1990s and then went solo with his Rage of Creation
Rage of Creation
Rage of Creation is a heavy metal album by Rob Rock. It is his first album as a solo artist and was released on July 26, 2000 in Japan with 12 tracks. It was not released outside of Japan until four months later on November 27, 2000 however with a missing track...
album.
In the early 1990s, the rising musical styles, especially grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
, began to take their places as the dominant styles in the mainstream, which resulted in heavy metal music losing popularity and going underground for a decade. Heavy metal musicians began to seek musical limits, therefore Christian metal musicians began to play extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
as well. Soon death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
replaced thrash metal in popularity. Audiences in many underground metal scenes began favoring more extreme sounds and disparaging the popular styles. As with other glam metal acts of the time, Stryper lost popularity and split up in 1993.
Bruce Moore writes in the e-book Metal Missionaries that during mid-1990s Christian metal "ceased to play catch up (replicating secular bands) and began to assimilate into its rightful place in the Extreme music scene and the artists who played became influential in helping to define this relatively new, but growing genre." With risen musical quality and more street-credibility, Christian metal and hardcore bands were signed to record labels such as Tooth and Nail
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
, Solid State
Solid State Records
Solid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore and metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, they have signed several bands that don't label themselves as Christian,...
, Facedown Records
Facedown Records
Facedown Records is a Christian record label based in Fallbrook, California, devoted mostly to hardcore punk and metalcore bands . Founded by No Innocent Victim drummer Jason Dunn, the label started off small with a number of 7" record releases by bands such as Overcome, Dodgin Bullets, and Born...
as well as secular labels Metal Blade and Victory Records
Victory Records
Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It is a privately held corporation. It also operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several smaller independent record labels....
. Christian metal was available through secular outlets; "For the first time Extreme Christian music moved from the dusty back bin of the Christian book stores to the front racks at super retailers like Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Circuit City, FYE
Fyé
Fyé is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
and even giant retailers like Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
and Hot Topic
Hot Topic
Hot Topic is an American retail chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000...
." The German secular metal label Nuclear Blast Records also released Christian metal. Torodd Fuglesteg of Norway's Arctic Serenades Records has claimed: "The owner of Nuclear Blast was a committed Christian and he was pushing everything with that religious agenda through Nuclear Blast. Mortification
Mortification (band)
Mortification is an Australian Christian extreme metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on...
and Horde
Horde (band)
Horde is the single-album unblack metal project of Australian musician Jayson Sherlock, formerly of Mortification and Paramaecium. In 1994 the only album Hellig Usvart was released on Nuclear Blast. With a session line-up, Horde played live-shows in 2006, Norway, and in 2010 in Finland and Germany...
were pushed like mad by Nuclear Blast when other labels were pushing pure satanic stuff."
2000s
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...
's success in the 1980s, certain Christian metal artists found mainstream acceptance selling millions of albums to both Christian and non-Christian fans, including Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...
and P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
The latter became the most successful Christian metal band when their 2001 album Satellite went multi-platinum. Metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
's popularity is especially based on Christian bands, including such crossover band such as Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...
, As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying (band)
As I Lay Dying is an American metalcore band from San Diego, California. Founded in 2000 by Tim Lambesis and having completed their first Line-up in 2001, the band consists of vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, lead guitarist Nick Hipa, rhythm guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and bassist Josh...
, August Burns Red
August Burns Red
August Burns Red is an American metal band, from Manheim, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2003, the group began their first performances while a majority of the members were attending their senior year of high school, and soon began playing shows around Lancaster, before being signed to CI Records, and...
, Norma Jean
Norma Jean (band)
Norma Jean is an American metalcore band from Douglasville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Since their inception in 1997 and replacement of members throughout the years, the band's only original member is the guitarist, Chris Day...
, Haste the Day
Haste the Day
Haste the Day was an American Christian metalcore band signed with Solid State Records that was formed in Carmel, Indiana 2001. Their band is named after a lyric in the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul." The band released their debut release, an extended play titled That They May Know You, in 2002,...
, The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada (band)
The Devil Wears Prada is an American metalcore band from Dayton, Ohio. Formed in 2005, they are currently signed to Warner Music Group...
, Disciple
Disciple (band)
Disciple is a Christian metal / rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee, formed in 1992.-History:Disciple was formed in 1992 by high school friends Kevin Young, Brad Noah, and Tim Barrett. The band released their first CD, What Was I Thinking in 1995...
, and Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. All of Demon Hunter's members are Christians and express their love for Jesus in many of their songs. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, Don Clark...
. As I Lay Dying have entered the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
charts (No. 8) for its record sales and were nominated for the "Best Metal Performance" Grammy for the single "Nothing Left
Nothing Left
"Nothing Left" is a song by American metal band As I Lay Dying, the song is from their fourth studio album An Ocean Between Us. The song received a Grammy Award nomination in "Best Metal Performance" category in 2008. It is featured in the video games Midnight Club: Los Angeles and Saints Row 2 by...
" from the 2007 album An Ocean Between Us
An Ocean Between Us
-Reception:The record was released on August 21, 2007 to generally positive acclaim.-Personnel:As I Lay Dying* Tim Lambesis – lead vocals* Nick Hipa – lead guitar* Phil Sgrosso – rhythm guitar, piano* Josh Gilbert – bass guitar, clean vocals...
. The album made its debut on Metal Blade Records,' charting at No. 19 in Canada. In the United States, nearly 40,000 units were sold in its first week. The second week after it was released, it charted at No. 39 in both the United States and Canada. Other Top 200 debuts around the world include a No. 117 in the United Kingdom and No. 154 in Japan.
In its 2006 In Review issue (February 2007), Revolver Magazine
Revolver (magazine)
Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
dubbed Christian metal the phenomenon of the year. Editor in Chief Tom Beaujour interviewed the lead vocalists of As I Lay Dying, Demon Hunter, Norma Jean
Norma Jean (band)
Norma Jean is an American metalcore band from Douglasville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Since their inception in 1997 and replacement of members throughout the years, the band's only original member is the guitarist, Chris Day...
, and Underoath (Tim Lambesis
Tim Lambesis
Tim Lambesis is an American musician, best known as the founding member, lead vocalist of American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. He also has a solo/side project in tribute to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian Death Machine, in which he performs all the required instruments...
, Ryan Clark
Ryan Clark (musician)
Ryan Clark is an American graphic designer and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Demon Hunter, which he co-founded with his brother, guitarist Don Clark.-Early life and career:...
, Cory Brandan Putman, and Spencer Chamberlain
Spencer Chamberlain
Spencer Chamberlain is an American musician, best known as lead vocalist for the metalcore band Underoath. Before fronting Underoath, Chamberlain was also the vocalist for the band This Runs Through in which his brother, Phil Chamberlain, was the drummer.-Background:Spencer Chamberlain was born in...
, respectively) as the front-page article for the issue. Tooth and Nail Records, P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
, Zao, War of Ages
War of Ages
War of Ages is a Christian metalcore band formed during the summer of 2002 in Erie, Pennsylvania. They have five music videos: "All Consuming Fire", "Stand Your Ground", "Through the Flames", "Strength Within", and "Collapse". Aaron Harkness aka Aaron Martyr made an appearance in Stand your Ground...
, Still Remains
Still Remains
Still Remains is a metalcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They formed out of previous local bands Shades of Amber and Unition. They released two studio albums, Of Love and Lunacy and The Serpent, both to positive reviews, and had minor UK chart success with the single "Dancing with the Enemy"....
, and He Is Legend
He Is Legend
He Is Legend is a hard rock band formed in Wilmington, North Carolina who signed to Tragic Hero Records in 2009. The band consists of vocalist front man Schuylar Croom, guitarist Adam Tanbouz, drummer Steven Bache, bassist Matt Williams....
were also mentioned.
Thrash metal
Some notable American Christian thrash metal groups include Deliverance, Believer, VengeanceVengeance Rising
Vengeance Rising is an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, CA. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they originally formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with another band from the Netherlands...
and Tourniquet
Tourniquet (band)
Tourniquet is a Christian thrash / heavy metal band that was formed in 1989 by Ted Kirkpatrick, Guy Ritter and Gary Lenaire in Los Angeles, California, USA. They are known for incorporating elements of thrash, neo-classical and progressive metal into their music...
. Allmusic states that Vengeance Rising's first two albums "were huge successes in the world of Christian music, making them one of the few bands in the genre to cross over into the secular music scene." Tourniquet was called "arguably the greatest Christian metal band in history" by Cross Rhythms in 1996. Tourniquet's Psycho Surgery
Psycho Surgery
As a result for Metal Blade Records' distribution, Psycho Surgery made the band more well-known and popular. Following the album's release, the songs "Psycho Surgery," "Spineless," and "Viento Borrascoso" all achieved number 1 positions on several charts. The album was voted as "Favorite Album of...
was ranked as the second most influential Christian metal album of all time by the HM Magazine. Deliverance's 1990 music video for the title track of Weapons of Our Warfare
Weapons of Our Warfare
Weapons of Our Warfare is an album released by the Christian speed/thrash metal band Deliverance and is considered by many to be the band's magnum opus. The album was originally released in 1990 on Intense Records and printings from that release are very rare and considered collector's items. The...
album received some airplay on MTV. Allmusic wrote about Believer's Sanity Obscure
Sanity Obscure
Sanity Obscure is the second album by the Christian thrash metal band Believer, published in 1990 by R.E.X. Records and a year later by Roadrunner Records. Several mainstream magazines praised the album.-Recording history:...
album: "Before 1990, the Christian heavy metal genre rarely strayed from generic riffing and poor lyrics. Bands like Petra and Sacred Warrior never broke through to the mainstream for this very reason. With low expectations, Believer released this massive slab of molten metal. Although it never really became popular, several mainstream magazines praised the album."
The British bands Seventh Angel
Seventh Angel
Seventh Angel are a British Christian heavy metal band that formed in 1987. According to Cross Rhythms magazine, they were considered to be thrash metal pioneers, and they released the albums The Torment and Lament for the Weary...
and Detritus introduced Christian thrash metal to Europe. Seventh Angel were considered to be thrash metal pioneers, and their albums achieved mainstream distribution through Music for Nations
Music For Nations
Music For Nations was a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. They were a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records who in turn is owned by BMG....
label. Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:The roots of what was to become Cross Rhythms go back to two separate sources which merged in 1991. In 1983, broadcaster Chris Cole started a 30-minute weekly Christian music radio show on Plymouth Sound FM, a...
states that for a long time Seventh Angel were considered to be the best metal act in the UK. In 1990s, New Mexico based Ultimatum and Oklahoman group called Eternal Decision
Eternal Decision
Eternal Decision is an American Christian thrash metal band. Musically the band blends Pantera influenced riffs, with a mix of James Hetfield styled vocals. In 1997 the band released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut throughout the United States and 16 other different countries...
gained some attention, the latter with its thrash and groove metal style. The 1997 album Eternal Decision
Eternal Decision (album)
Eternal Decision is the self-titled first album of the American Christian heavy metal band Eternal Decision. It was released by Godfather Records in 1997, and was sold in the U.S...
hit the record stores in the U.S. and 16 other countries, achieving considerable acclaim and providing the band with even more notice.
Death metal
In 1990, the Australian group MortificationMortification (band)
Mortification is an Australian Christian extreme metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on...
became the first widely recognized Christian death metal band. Their 1992 album Scrolls of the Megilloth
Scrolls of the Megilloth
Scrolls of the Megilloth is the Christian extreme metal band Mortification's third release and second full length recording, released in 1992. The band's most famous release, this album is full-on death metal, with the thrash metal roots barely showing, and possibly their most extreme album to date...
garnered the band some attention from the heavy metal underground, according to Allmusic.
At roughly the same time the band Living Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice is a Christian heavy metal band that formed in September 1989 in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. The band has released seven studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnson as a more thrash metal and death metal...
was creating thrash and death metal, particularly on the albums Nonexistent
Nonexistent (album)
Nonexistent is the second album by the Christian metal band, Living Sacrifice. The band had only 9 days to make the album.-Track listing:# Emerge - 1:20# Enthroned - 3:30# Non-Existent - 4:47# Haven Of Blasphemy - 2:54# ...To Nothing - 3:17...
(1992) and Inhabit
Inhabit (album)
Inhabit is the third album by the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice and the last album in which DJ record with Living Sacrifice. The album was recorded at Believer's Trauma Studios. Kurt Bachman and Joey Daub of Believer also produced and engineered this album. It was the final album the...
(1994), with Allmusic commenting that "the term Christian death metal seems like one of music's most comical oxymorons." Later they "evolved from their early death metal-inspired rumblings into a crushing, staccato-driven, heavily percussive metallic behemoth that pummels listeners with intense riffage and a decidedly personal, though nevertheless, often evangelical lyrical viewpoint." The Minneapolis based Crimson Thorn
Crimson Thorn
Crimson Thorn is an American Christian death metal band. According to Allmusic, they are "surely one of the world's most extreme-sounding Christian metal bands". Crimson Thorn has performed at notable events such as Cornerstone Festival and Sonshine Festival...
is described by Allmusic as "one of the world's most extreme-sounding Christian metal bands." Norwegian band Extol
Extol
Extol is a Christian progressive extreme metal band from Bekkestua, Norway, that was formed in 1993. In 2007, they announced they were splitting up to work on separate projects. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive death metal, melodic death...
's 1998 album Burial
Burial (Extol album)
Burial is the first album by the Norwegian Christian metal band Extol. It was released on Endtime Productions and then Solid State Records the following year. According to Allmusic, Burial was "a breath of fresh air among a genre that relies on satanic gimmicks", and marked a renewal in the...
was called "Revolutionary. This release may have single-handedly been responsible for the revival of the Christ-centered extreme metal." The band was popular among both Christian and general metal fans, mostly touring with well-known secular bands.
Unblack metal
HordeHorde (band)
Horde is the single-album unblack metal project of Australian musician Jayson Sherlock, formerly of Mortification and Paramaecium. In 1994 the only album Hellig Usvart was released on Nuclear Blast. With a session line-up, Horde played live-shows in 2006, Norway, and in 2010 in Finland and Germany...
is widely considered to be the first Christian black metal band. As a one man band with only one release (in 1994), Horde initiated controversy within the extreme metal community, opposing the more common lyrical themes of Satanism and evil. The title of Horde's only release — Hellig Usvart
Hellig Usvart
Hellig Usvart is the debut album by Australian unblack metal band Horde, released in 1994 on Nuclear Blast Records. Upon its release in 1994, the album created a controversy among the black metal fans; death threats were sent to Nuclear Blast demanding the label to drop the album from its catalogue...
— means "Holy Unblack", which is now often used by Christians to refer to Christian black metal, in order to avoid the negative connotations of the term "black metal".
Antestor
Antestor
Antestor is an extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim, Norway. Credited for starting the whole northern European Christian extreme metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir,...
(then called Crush Evil) existed prior to the release of Hellig Usvart but their music was a death/doom style, and was not yet musically considered black metal. During the early 1990s when the band was known as Crush Evil, Euronymous, guitarist for the seminal black metal band Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
, was planning to stop Crush Evil from continuing. However, this never took place.
The release of Antestor's The Return of the Black Death
The Return of the Black Death
The Return of the Black Death is the second studio album by the Norwegian unblack metal band Antestor, released in 1998. It is the band's only release on the British Cacophonous Records label. This album's working title was Kongsblod....
on the British secular black metal label Cacophonous Records in 1998 "set the standard for Christian black metal." Swedish Crimson Moonlight
Crimson Moonlight
Crimson Moonlight is a Swedish Christian black metal band which was formed in the summer of 1997 with the mere intention of recording a primitive old school black metal demo and playing one show before breaking up. However, the breakup never happened, and they have since recorded two EPs and two...
's The Covenant Progress
The Covenant Progress
The Covenant Progress is the first full-length album by the Swedish group Crimson Moonlight. The album was released in 2003 on Rivel Records...
, HM magazine stated, "rivals the best any other band (Christian or secular) in this subgenre can offer." While the unblack scene is not part of the secular black metal scene, several musicians from both have co-operated: Stian Aarstad
Stian Aarstad
Stian Aarstad is a Norwegian pianist and keyboard player best known for his five-year stint with the black metal band Dimmu Borgir during which he played keyboards and synthesizers while engendering criticism and controversy for appearing onstage and performing in a top-hat-and-cape outfit...
of Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
produced Vaakevandring
Vaakevandring
Vaakevandring is a Norwegian unblack metal band that was active from 1996 to 2001. The name in Norwegian is a reference to the resurrection of Jesus. Vaakevandring played atmospheric, epic unblack metal with keyboards and folk melodies. Their self-titled EP was produced by Stian Aarstad of Dimmu...
's eponymous EP
Vaakevandring (EP)
Vaakevandring is the first EP by Vaakevandring, it contains the original songs from their demo plus one bonus track entitled "To Find The Eternal Peace".Vaakevandring was produced by Stian Aarstad of Dimmu Borgir....
, and Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg is a three time Spellemannprisen award-winning heavy metal drummer. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem, with which he began his career...
of Mayhem played drums for Antestor's The Forsaken
The Forsaken (album)
The Forsaken is the third studio album by the Christian black metal band Antestor released in 2005 on Endtime Productions. The album features guest appearances of the established metal musicians Jan Axel Blomberg and Ann-Mari Edvardsen....
(2005) album.
Power metal and progressive metal
Sacred Warrior
Sacred Warrior is a Christian Heavy metal band formed in 1988 and based in Chicago, Illinois. Their music is often compared to that of Queensrÿche or Iron Maiden.-Background:...
preceded Christian power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
in the United States. The German group Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue (band)
Seventh Avenue is a Christian metal band from Wolfsburg, Germany, formed in 1989. Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Herbie Langhans, guitarist Florian Gottsleben, bassist Markus Beck, and drummer Mike Pflüger, Seventh Avenue plays a hybrid style of speed and power metal with the focus on melodies...
, formed in 1989, was one of more notable Christian power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
bands in the 1990s. They released Rainbowland in 1995, and after that the band was signed to Treasure Hunt Records. Their first release on this label, Tales of Tales, topped at 18 on the Japanese Heavy Metal Charts.
Later in the 1990s, the Swedish group Narnia made contributions to Christian power metal history, having signed with Nuclear Blast Records, Germany, and Pony Canyon Records, Japan. Later there appeared more notable European groups such as the German bands Chrystyne and Lightmare, and the Swedish groups XT
XT (band)
XT was a metal band from Sweden. It was formed by Bjorn Stiggson and Sonny Larson in 1991, following the breakup of Stiggson's earlier band Leviticus.The band, whose name means "Christ" released three albums before their breakup in 1995...
, Divinefire
Divinefire
Divinefire is a Christian Symphonic Power metal group founded in the spring of 2004 by Finnish guitarist Jani Stefanovic, and Swedish singer Christian Liljegren. Liljegren is the former frontman of the band Narnia....
, Harmony
Harmony (band)
Harmony is a Swedish Christian progressive power metal band. The group formed in 2000 and released their debut album Dreaming Awake in 2003. Bassist Andreas Olsson who is also a member of Narnia, Divinefire, and Rob Rock joined the group after receiving a recommendation from Narnia and Divinefire...
, and Heartcry.
Among the progressive metal representatives were Balance of Power, whose album When the World Falls Down
When the World Falls Down
When The World Falls Down is the first album from British progressive rock band Balance of Power. It was released in 1997 and is the only album of the band to feature Tony Ritchie as lead vocalist.-Production and recording:...
was picked by Japanese label Pony Canyon. Jacobs Dream
Jacobs Dream
Jacob's Dream is an American Christian power metal band originally based in Columbus, Ohio, that formed in the mid-1990s under the name of Iron Angel. Their first three full-length releases were released on the Metal Blade Records label.-Biography:...
was signed to Metal Blade Records. HM wrote of the Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
based Theocracy
Theocracy (band)
Theocracy is a Christian progressive power metal band founded in 2002 by Matt Smith of Athens, Georgia. The group originally started out as a one man project and all the instruments and vocals done on the debut album Theocracy were performed by Smith. The current lineup includes Smith along with...
's self-titled debut album
Theocracy (album)
Theocracy is the self-titled debut album by the Christian Progressive Power metal band Theocracy. It was released in 2003 on MetalAges Records...
that "Not only did this release gain [the then-sole member] Matt a lot of notoriety in the small Christian power/prog scene but the much larger secular power/prog secene embraced this as well." Later turned to a full band, their sophomore 2008 album Mirror of Souls
Mirror of Souls
Mirror of Souls is the second album by Christian progressive power metal band Theocracy. It was released by Ulterium Records on November 21, 2008 in Europe, November 26 in Japan, and December 9 in North America. It is Theocracy's first album as a full band, as their self-titled debut album was a...
, "defines excellence in current Christian metal."
Other
In 1987, the Swedish group Veni DomineVeni Domine
Veni Domine is a Christian progressive doom metal band. The band was founded in 1987 in Sollentuna, Sweden.Veni Domine combines down-tempo melodic heavy metal, symphonic metal and doom metal with occasional touches of gothic. Originally, the vocalist Fredrik Ohlsson represented operatic,...
started playing progressive and symphonic doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
and released its first album Fall Babylon Fall
Fall Babylon Fall
Fall Babylon Fall is the debut album of the Swedish progressive doom metal band Veni Domine, released in 1992. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it #38 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list.-Recording history:...
in 1992, ranked as the 38th most influential Christian metal album of all time by HM. HM magazine wrote that Paramaecium
Paramaecium
Paramaecium was an Australian death/doom metal band formed in 1991. There is use of instrumentation like flutes, cellos and violins on some albums. Paramaecium is one of the few doom metal bands that focus on Christian lyrical themes and Christian concepts...
, with its 1993 album Exhumed of the Earth
Exhumed of the Earth
Exhumed of the Earth is the debut album by Paramaecium. It was released in 1993. Exhumed of the Earth is considered to be one of the landmarks of both doom metal and Christian metal movements.-Recording history:...
, "essentially delivered the most powerful and moving death/doom
Death/doom
Death/doom, sometimes writes as death-doom or deathdoom, is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal...
recording in the history of Christian metal." Saviour Machine
Saviour Machine
Saviour Machine is an American Christian metal band that formed in 1989. They have released five studio albums and two live albums on Frontline and subsequently on MCM Music, distributed through Massacre Records...
's Saviour Machine I
Saviour Machine I
Saviour Machine I is the 1993 debut album of the American metal band Saviour Machine. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it #72 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list.-Recording history:...
was called "amazing accomplishment" by HM and that "Their gothic-tinged, progressive metal was quite unique to the scene when it was released in 1993."
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
style's leading groups included the nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
bands P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
, Thousand Foot Krutch
Thousand Foot Krutch
Thousand Foot Krutch is a Canadian Christian rock band formed in 1995. They have released five major studio albums: Set It Off , Phenomenon , The Art of Breaking , The Flame In All of Us , and Welcome to the Masquerade . They also have one live album, Live at the Masquerade...
, Disciple
Disciple (band)
Disciple is a Christian metal / rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee, formed in 1992.-History:Disciple was formed in 1992 by high school friends Kevin Young, Brad Noah, and Tim Barrett. The band released their first CD, What Was I Thinking in 1995...
, and Pillar
Pillar (band)
Pillar is a Christian rock band currently located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their sixth studio album, Confessions, was released in 2009.- Formation and independent albums :...
. Zao was a pioneer of metalcore, paving way for bands such as Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...
and Norma Jean
Norma Jean (band)
Norma Jean is an American metalcore band from Douglasville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Since their inception in 1997 and replacement of members throughout the years, the band's only original member is the guitarist, Chris Day...
. The California based group Mortal
Mortal (band)
Mortal was a Christian industrial/dance band fronted by Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan. Both members went on to found the alternative rock group Fold Zandura, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously...
is cited as one of the first Christian bands that represented the industrial metal style. Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:The roots of what was to become Cross Rhythms go back to two separate sources which merged in 1991. In 1983, broadcaster Chris Cole started a 30-minute weekly Christian music radio show on Plymouth Sound FM, a...
wrote that when Mortal's second album Fathom hit the scene in 1993 "there was nothing else quite like it" and that it is "truly a musical milestone."
Another 1990s reputive Christian industrial metal band was Circle of Dust
Circle of Dust
Circle of Dust were a 1990s Industrial rock band created and run by Klayton who is now more widely known for his solo band Celldweller. Circle of Dust was, along with contemporaries Mortal and Deitiphobia, instrumental in bringing industrial metal to the Christian alternative metal scene...
. The band received MTV exposure with music video for ”Telltale Crime”, and a part of the song ”Deviate” was used as the intro-song for a long time in the now defunct MTV Sports show.
Argyle Park
Argyle Park
For the park of the same name in Babylon, NY, see Argyle Lake ParkArgyle Park was an underground industrial rock supergroup founded in New York City in 1994 and active until 1996. Members of the group reformed under the name AP2 in 1998, and were active under that name until winter 2000...
, an underground supergroup of Christian industrial metal, received some success with the album Misguided
Misguided
Misguided is Argyle Park's first and only album under that name. The album was released by R.E.X. Records into the Christian rock market, and sits alongside other early 90s work by Circle of Dust and Mortal as being instrumental in introducing industrial music to the Christian music scene.Misguided...
(1995) as did, to some extent, LVL
LVL (band)
lvl is both the solo music project and personal moniker for New York City musician Dan Levler. lvl was formerly called Level but changed the name to avoid confusion with a handful of other bands with the same name. lvl's musical output ranges from fast-paced industrial metal to mellow electronica...
and Klank
Klank
Klank is the nickname for New York City-based musician Daren Diolosa and the name of Diolosa's band. Diolosa formed Klank in the mid 90's when he was a member of industrial metal band Circle of Dust, for whom Klank was a guitarist...
with Still Suffering in 1997. Klank's second album Numb was somewhat successful because the song ”Blind” became a hit single. The Australian industrial metal band called Screams of Chaos was known for its bizarre style that combined several extreme metal influences with industrial. The late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century popular American shock rock group Rackets & Drapes was known to have elements of industrial metal, and received a following.
Christianity in mainstream metal
There are notable mainstream acts that feature or have featured Christian members. While these bands may or may not have had lyrics using Christian themes or symbolism, some have caused controversy in their claims to Christianity, such as Tom ArayaTom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
of Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
. Others, such as Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...
and Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
also have members who are Christian and frequently use spiritual themes.
Evangelistic goals, sociology and subculture
While not uncommon in predominantly Catholic countries, Christian metal is firmly rooted in evangelical Protestantism (evangelicalismEvangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
), hence, beginning as a means of evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
among secular metal scene. Over the years the focus changed because of the increased secularization of Christianity in the West during 1990s. Moberg (2008) notes that the current scene seems to have very little interest in evangelism, especially in Northern Europe. Instead, it is argued that the current Christian metal music scene ultimately provides its core members with important resources for the shaping of an alternative and complementary form of religious expression and practice and an alternative Christian identity. Thus, Moberg states that Christian metal serves four main purposes: an alternative form of religious expression and identity; as a legitimate form of religious expression; as an effective means of evangelism and fighting and standing up for the Christian faith; as a positive alternative to secular metal.
In a 2006 interview with HM Magazine Steve Rowe
Steve Rowe
Steve Rowe is the founder, bass guitarist, and vocalist of the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre. Prior to forming Mortification he was in a traditional heavy metal styled Christian band known as LightForce...
of Mortification
Mortification (band)
Mortification is an Australian Christian extreme metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on...
, one of the best known figures in the scene, implies that evangelism is of secondary importance and that Christian metal should first and foremost bring "spiritual encouragement" for its Christian listeners. Moberg (2006) suspects that Christian metal music may suggest dissatisfaction with traditional forms of worship among today's young Christians: "They may not feel comfortable with just going to church and singing hymns, they need an alternative means to express the same faith." Apart from evangelism, Christian metal may also provide a means "to get away from the image of Christianity as something rigid and boring".
Luhr (2009) states that Christian metal expresses feeling of isolation and rebellion just like secular metal - but in a completely different way. Christian metal's rebellion is about "Christian opposition to the perceived sinfulness and immorality of a late modern society and culture in which traditional family values
Family values
Family values are political and social beliefs that hold the nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society. Familialism is the ideology that promotes the family and its values as an institution....
have been eroded through such things as the legalization and increasing acceptability of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and the rise of gay rights and feminist movement
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
s." Causes for the feeling of isolation can be explained with the fundamental Christian struggle of being in the world but not of it. Bloodgood
Bloodgood
Bloodgood is a Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington. Originally formed in 1984 and by 1988 represented one of the four largest Christian metal bands alongside Barren Cross, Whitecross, and Leviticus....
and Barren Cross
Barren Cross
Barren Cross is a Christian metal band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983 by highschool friends Ray Parris and Steve Whitaker . The band released six albums from 1986 to 1994...
inverted the meaning of rebellion by declaring that in western society and culture the Christian faith is true rebellion. As in secular metal, fans are encouraged to stand up for their faith, think for themselves and not blindly follow authorities, including religious ones.
According to Moberg (2008), Christian metal has developed scenes in countries with long-standing metal subcultures: United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Despite its seemingly marginal niche audience, as Christian metal fans are counted in the thousands and the secular metal fans in the millions, the Christian metal scene is one of the few transnational Christian communities that do not have any leaders or creed - only music connects its attendees. Just like secular metal, the Christian metal scene has developed its own infrastructure of record labels, promotion and distribution channels, specialized media, discussion forums, attitude, rhetorics, slogans such as "Turn or Burn!", "Faster for the Master!" and "Support the War against Satan!", webstores and festivals. Brazil and Mexico have tiny parishes of Christian metal fans. Finland in particular, with metal being more mainstream there than anywhere in the world, has held popular Metal Mass
Metal Mass
Metal Mass is a heavy metal music service of worship. In it the traditional hymns are adapted to heavy metal style, following a Lutheran service pattern. As reported by The Washington Times and AFP, it has become a popular phenomenon in Finland, drawing hundreds of people, especially youth, to...
es picked up by the Lutheran former state church since 2006.
Most Christian metalheads also listen to secular metal; Christian metal merely offers counterbalance for the dark message of secular metal, and most Christian metalheads only avoid the most satanic bands if even them since some ignore the issue altogether. Some differences in concert gestures have been noticed: Los Angeles Times reported in 1985 that in Stryper shows the audience were seen "poking stubby 'one way' fingers heavenward—a refutation of the double-fingered 'devil horns' salute of many metal groups".
Controversies
King-James-Only Movement
The "King James Only movement" advocates the superiority of the Authorized King James Version of the Protestant Bible. The topic increased in newsworthiness in 2011, the 400th anniversary of the translation's 1611 initial publication....
denominations, consider all types of rock and metal music to be opposition to their faith, regardless of lyrical content or the lifestyles of the band members. However, fans and artists see metal as another genre of music, parallel to such genres as blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and hip-hop. Bands such as Showbread
Showbread (band)
Showbread is an American Christian rock band originating in Guyton, Georgia. More specifically, the band lives in a small community within Guyton called Marlow. They formed in 1997. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes since its formation but maintains its two founding members, Josh...
and Antestor
Antestor
Antestor is an extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim, Norway. Credited for starting the whole northern European Christian extreme metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir,...
believe that the instrumentation of the music is simply a medium of art, while the person creating the music as well as the lyrics being presented provide the message. Therefore, Christian metal is created when Christians compose metal music in a way that reflects their faith in Christ.
Keith Kahn-Harris states in the book Extreme Metal that sometimes fans of metal consider Christian faith and adherence in Church a membership of an established authority, and therefore Christian metal bands are seen as "posers" and the use of Christian lyrics to be opposed to the "true" purpose of metal. If any ideology can be linked to metal music, it is individualism
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
. Their attitudes range from ignoring the opinions or rejection of religion, though some will admit that Christian metal can contain enjoyable bands like secular metal. Kerry King
Kerry King
Kerry King is an American lead and rhythm guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and cofounder of American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since...
of Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
was asked in New York magazine, March 2009, "What’s popular in metal right now that you wish would die?" and King replied Christian metal: "There seems to be a plentiful amount of metal bands that are like, religious, so to speak. Personally, for me, it’s an odd thing … bands that are doing metal, but they’re singing, like, Jesus metal. And I don’t mean Stryper. When I hear them I’m like, “Oh they’re one of them Jesus bands.” It’s enough of a distaste to me that I don’t even want to hear it." King thinks God is "force-fed upon people, especially in America and especially in certain parts of America, where it’s just a way of life. People just accept it without questioning it. I think anybody’s entitled to whatever opinion on anything, but I also think you need to suss out these opinions and why you believe what you believe. Just don’t believe blindly."
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Christian metal movement was criticized for lack of originality by both Christian and secular groups. In an interview with Mean Magazine, Kris Klingesmith of Barnabas stated that "If you want to know what Christian music will be doing tomorrow, all you need to do is see what the secular guys are doing today." Michael Sweet of Stryper discussed in Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
magazine in 1985 why the band succeeded to sell albums to the unchurched unlike previous Christian rock and metal bands, and he implied that Christian rock and metal musicians' problem is that their theology is stronger than their music: "If you're out there in the secular world and you don't have Christ, you're not going to see a group because they talk about Christ. You're going to go hear a band because they're good, and because they have a good stage show." Pastor Bob Beeman of Sanctuary International stated in a 2000 interview that while the issue of Christian bands copying mainstream bands may be seen as ripping off, it can also be seen as a compliment for the secular bands: "This allowed the Christian bands to cross over. People would be able to listen to the Christian bands and not feel like they were giving up the style of music they loved. Then after you listen to the Christian bands more closely, you realize they are not just alike. But I think it is ultimately a good thing." Secular audiences tend to accept Christian bands that are particularly musically creative, in spite of being widely known as Christian bands.
Some groups within the Christian metal movement have criticized bands within the industry for isolating the genre from general industry too avidly. For example, Christer Espevoll of Extol
Extol
Extol is a Christian progressive extreme metal band from Bekkestua, Norway, that was formed in 1993. In 2007, they announced they were splitting up to work on separate projects. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive death metal, melodic death...
stated in 2003: "I wish the scenes were more together. For a long time there has been a huge — and still growing — distance between Christian and secular music industries. This is the situation peculiarly in the US but also in Scandinavia. In my opinion this kind of polarization
Social polarization
Social polarization is associated with the segregation within a society that may emerge from income inequality, real-estate fluctuations, economic displacements etc. and result in such differentiation that would consist of various social groups, from high-income to low-income.One of the earlier...
is not a good thing. Music is first and foremost about music so why should every band or artist that represents a religion or lack of it have its own industry? Music has no religious borders." However, most Christian bands today oppose to being isolated in the Christian music industry
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern Gospel music, Contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the gospel music industry, although this designation is not a limitation...
and have become mainstream successes, such as Virgin Black
Virgin Black
Virgin Black is an Australian band that combines gothic-doom and symphonic metal influences. Signed to The End Records and Germany's Massacre Records , the band has released 4 albums and 1 EP...
.
Christian metal radio
Since Christian metal is very much a countercultureCounterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
of the Christian music scene, it has never had any major corporate radio outlets, as opposed to the more accepted CCM
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
-associated Christian music formats. Nevertheless, it has remained culturally significant in the genre, primarily enduring the test of time through word of mouth and through the help of pioneering Christian rock and metal broadcasters. Despite the lack of commercial radio
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
support, Christian metal broadcasters have managed to hit the airwaves on public radio
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
, campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
, Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
, and in recent years through podcasting
Podcasting
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. As digital broadcasting technology becomes more accessible, the number of Christian metal broadcasters has steadily increased. Some of today's largest non-commercial
Non-commercial
Non-commercial refers to an activity or entity that does not in some sense involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis...
Christian alternative radio stations such as RadioU, Call FM
WMLK
WMLK is a radio station in Bethel, Pennsylvania owned by the Assemblies of Yahweh. WMLK takes its name from MLK, representing three of the four consonants of the Hebrew word "malakh" meaning a “messenger” or angel.-History:...
and Effect Radio
Effect Radio
-External links:*...
have some Christian metal programing late nights and on weekends. However, as a whole these larger stations generally maintain a GMA
Gospel Music Association
The Gospel Music Association was founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of Gospel music. There are currently about 4,000 members worldwide...
-prescribed format. Other stations such as Almighty Metal Radio, Savage Rock Radio, Reign Radio, Metal Blessing Radio, The Cross Stream, The Refinery Rock Radio and FuelRadio.fm have been able to maintain twenty-four-hour Christian metal formats through internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
. Some notable Christian metal radio DJs, shows and podcasts include: "Jesus Solid Rock" Show ('74 - '80) hosted by Pastor Bob Beeman, "Intense Radio" ('95 - present) founded by Pastor Bob Beeman and Sanctuary International, "HM Podcast" with HM Magazine founder & publisher Doug Van Pelt, "The Full Armor of God Broadcast
WLRY
WLRY is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Rushville, Ohio, USA. The station, established in 1999, is owned by the Arcangel Broadcasting Foundation, a 501 non-profit organization...
" ('97 - present) hosted by Bro Scotland Kubinski (A.K.A. Kuba "The Demon Slayer"), "Radio U Hardcore" ('02 - present) hosted by Jaddeus Dempsey (A.K.A. "Jad"), and "The Nation of Rockwell
WMKL
WMKL is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian format. The station is owned by Call Communications Group, Inc.....
" ('03 - present) hosted by Quenton Rockwell (A.K.A. "Q Rock").
Record labels
- Facedown RecordsFacedown RecordsFacedown Records is a Christian record label based in Fallbrook, California, devoted mostly to hardcore punk and metalcore bands . Founded by No Innocent Victim drummer Jason Dunn, the label started off small with a number of 7" record releases by bands such as Overcome, Dodgin Bullets, and Born...
- Flicker RecordsFlicker RecordsFlicker Records is a Christian record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was founded by members of Christian rock group Audio Adrenaline. The label mainly focuses on rock/hard rock artists, though it also created a subsidiary, Big House Kids, for Christian children's music.The label was...
- Intense RecordsIntense RecordsIntense Records was an independent record label whose releases were mostly in the metal genre. Intense was bought out in 1989 by Frontline Records and became an imprint of that company...
- Nightmare Records
- R.E.X. RecordsR.E.X. RecordsR.E.X. Records was an independent record label founded by Doug Mann and Gavin Morkel, which operated from 1987 until running into financial difficulty in 1995. Operations were based in Chicago until 1990 when the company moved to Nashville...
- Rivel RecordsRivel RecordsLiljegren Records / CMSweden is a Swedish heavy metal music record label founded by Christian Liljegren in 1997. The label was originally titled C.L. Music and Distribution but was changed later...
- Rowe ProductionsRowe ProductionsRowe Productions is a Christian record label. It was founded by Mortification vocalist Steve Rowe. The label mainly focuses on thrash/unblack metal artists.-Former Artists:*16 Stitch *Fearscape...
- Solid State RecordsSolid State RecordsSolid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore and metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, they have signed several bands that don't label themselves as Christian,...
- Tooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
See also
- Christian rockChristian rockChristian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
- Heavy metal musicHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
- Jesus MovementJesus movementThe Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
- List of Christian metal bands
- Unblack metalUnblack metalUnblack metal is a term used to describe musically black metal sounding artists whose lyrics and imagery promote Christianity. Such artists are controversial, mainly because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, intended to encourage hostility towards Christianity...
- Hell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock 'N' RollHell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock 'N' RollHell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock 'N' Roll is a Christian documentary film released in 1989. Eric Holmberg produced and directed the film, as well as its successor: Hell's Bells 2 - The Power and Spirit of Popular Music -Overview:...