Unblack metal
Encyclopedia
Unblack 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. It is also suggested that Christianity contradicts black metal's dark nature and the individualistic
and misanthropic
ideals of many bands.
The exact beginning of the Christian black metal movement is disputed. The Australian band Horde
's 1994 album Hellig Usvart
brought the concept and the term holy unblack metal (a word play on Darkthrone
's slogan "unholy black metal" used on the albums A Blaze in the Northern Sky
and Under a Funeral Moon
) to media attention, while the Norwegian band Antestor
was already formed in 1990 as a death/doom act and released its demo The Defeat of Satan
in 1991, before they began shifting towards black metal on their 1994 album Martyrium
.
, double-kick drumming, and unconventional song structure. Garry Sharpe-Young's 2001 encyclopedia A-Z of Black Metal states that "Topping the lot are Christian 'Unblack' acts who for all intents and purposes look like, sound like and employ the imagery of Black Metal whilst hidden in the unpenetrable vocal growls and distortions are the proclamations of Jesus Christ."
Some unblack metal artists write lyrics that explicitly attack Satanism
; for example Horde. This was a dominant theme during most of the 1990s. Beginning in the late 1990s, groups began to write philosophical and ideological lyrics. These often include stories of conversion
, salvation
, struggles with faith
, and Bible
quotes. Christian black metal bands may justify their playing of black metal with reasons ranging from genuine appreciation of black metal as a music style to evangelization among the black metal scene i.e. "bringing light into darkness".
, Mercyful Fate
and Bathory
. During the mid-1980s, heavy metal music divided into many subgenres, and black metal was one of them, named after a Venom album of the same title
. In 1980s, the term was broad musicwise, referring to all satanic metal bands. Although "Christian metal bands" had existed since the late 1970s, a clear contrast with black metal occurred in 1984 with the doom metal band Trouble
who released the Bible
-based album Psalm 9
. Metal Blade Records
marketed them as "white metal" as opposed to black metal. Singer Eric Wagner has explained that "back in the early 1980s, all the metal was kind of satanic," and he has implied that Metal Blade (or the owner Brian Slagel
) actually invented the term in the first place: "I think it was more like Metal Blade trying to be cute or something, with everything being called black metal, so why not call us white metal, which is a bunch of crap." While there were Christian extreme metal bands in late 1980s and early 1990s, "Christian black metal" did not exist until 1994.
's debut album Hellig Usvart
, released through Nuclear Blast Records, is often credited for being the first Christian black metal album, although the sole member, Anonymous, has stated that "there were similar [unblack] bands prior to Horde, even in Norway," referring to Antestor who formed in 1990. While prior to 1993 they were a death/doom
band called Crush Evil, Antestor's debut album Martyrium
was also released in 1994. Euronymous
of Mayhem
planned to force Crush Evil to disband, but was murdered by Varg Vikernes
in 1993.
Hellig Usvart caused great controversy in the black metal scene, and death threats were sent to Nuclear Blast Records headquarters demanding them to release the members' names. The only actual member was the Australian former Mortification
/Paramaecium
drummer Jayson Sherlock
. The term "unblack metal" was derived from "holy unblack metal", which was a wordplay on Darkthrone
's "unholy black metal" term. Media became interested in this controversy. On 6 June 1995, the Norwegian weekly newspaper Morgenbladet
published an article about the phenomenon of Christian black metal, describing Horde's album as "an abrupt satire of the Norwegian black metal movement". Antestor was also interviewed, with vocalist Kjetil Molnes stating "We identify ourselves as black metal as a music style, not black metal as an ideology or belief."
The Swedish band Admonish
was formed around 1994 or 1995, and was the first unblack metal band in Sweden. They gained notoriety for calling their style "Christian black metal" on their website. This caused some debate in the metal underground and soon an anti-Admonish website was started. While the band did not release anything until 2005, the magazine Metal Hammer
called Admonish "One of the leading Christian black metal bands" in a 1990s issue which focused on black metal.
and Beliah soon became associated with the movement. Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic wrote that "Kekal are one of the first heavy metal bands from Jakarta, Indonesia, to make international inroads, and they may just be the first to profess Christian beliefs while performing black metal." However, Kekal has resisted being labeled as Christian, insisting that they as an institution they do not lean toward any religion or ideology.
Antestor's 1998 release The Return of the Black Death
proved highly influential for the Christian black metal movement. The album was released on the British Cacophonous Records, which has released records by such successful black metal groups as Cradle of Filth
and Dimmu Borgir
. According to Matt Morrow, it became the only Christian black metal album besides Horde's Hellig Usvart to be released on a secular label in the 1990s, although Kekal released Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams
on a secular label in the same year. The established British magazines Kerrang!
and Terrorizer both gave The Return of the Black Death 4 points out of 5.
Vaakevandring's selftitled EP
(recorded in 1998) was produced by Stian Aarstad
, the keyboard player of Dimmu Borgir. The release achieved worldwide attention and later became recognized a "classic" in the Christian black metal scene. In 1998, the metalcore
group Underoath
was founded, and played hardcore
and metalcore mixed with black and death metal
. The band subsequently moved away from this early black metal sound to a more mainstream post-hardcore
style.
During the early 2000s, according to Screams of Abel magazine, there was an "international explosion of Christian black metal bands," and black metal "seemed to be the fastest growing genre in the Christian metal scene." In 2000, Lengsel
's debut album Solace
was critically acclaimed, Sanctifica released Spirit of Purity
, Crimson Moonlight released its debut album The Covenant Progress
, while Drottnar
released its demos on an album titled Spiritual Battle
, gaining them popularity among the Scandinavian underground. In 2001, Norwegian folk metal band Arvinger
formed and released its debut album Helgards Fall in 2003.
Next to Scandinavia, Christian black metal has developed regional scenes in the USA, South America, and Central Europe. The Kansas City-based Frost Like Ashes
is an acclaimed band in the USA. Currently in the USA there is an unblack movement consisting of groups that focus on raw and non-polished sound production; including Light Shall Prevail, Flaskavsae, and several others.
The South American unblack scene is known for its radical anti-Satanic attitude. Groups such as Exousia and Deborah (hailing from Mexico) have performed concerts in Europe. Sorrowstorm was an acclaimed band from Panama, and they were nominated for the Panamarock hard music Grammys of 2003. Poems of Shadows is an example of a typical South American unblack metal band that has taken the anti-Satanic concept of Horde and the radical imagery of black metal to the extreme, blurring the distinction between the styles. The Brazilian group Cerimonial Sacred has achieved some attention also in the US and European scenes.
In Poland
, the notable groups include Abdijah, Fire Throne, and Elgibbor. The latter was featured on a short Polish-based documentary that focused on unblack metal. The Netherlands
has groups such as Dormant and Slechtvalk
. Although the latter does not currently consider themselves as a "Christian band," their early material was openly Christian. Holy Blood, a folk/unblack group from Ukraine
, has earned minor success.
While black and unblack metal bands rarely achieve mainstream success in the music world, some bands, including Antestor
and Crimson Moonlight
, have played at Cornerstone Festival
, one of the largest Christian musical festivals in the world.
In 2006 Admonish
achieved wider notice when twins Emil (guitar) and Jonas Karlsson (bass) both appeared on the MTV Europe show Pimp My Ride International
. On that show, in which their car was modified, the twins advertised their band and Admonish's music was played. Horde also played its first live show ever in Nordic Fest, Oslo, Norway in November 2006. Sherlock wore a hood during the show and played both drums and sang vocals.
In 2007, the Norwegian band Frosthardr
appeared on the documentary feature film Murder Music: A History of Black Metal
(2007). They were interviewed for a minute and represented the Christian point of view in black metal music, with vocalist Daniel Ravn Fufjord saying "It is difficult to find musicians that are interested in this kind of music and share our point of view."
A documentary specifically exploring Christian black metal titled Light in Darkness - Nemesis Divina was filmed in 2008, shown at music and film festivals the same year, and officially released on YouTube in May 2010. The documentary focuses on Christian black metal musicians' point of view and experiences as well as some academic analysis on the matter.
Many current Christian black metal bands feel that black metal has changed from an ideological movement to a purely musical genre, and that is why they also call their music black metal. The Swedish group Crimson Moonlight's vocalist Simon Rosén, for example, says in an interview with WhiteMetal.it site that "First of all, we don't want to call our music unblack metal or white metal, we play black metal." In an interview with Ultimate Metal, Rosén further explains this view:
On the other side, many in the black metal scene see "Christian black metal" as an oxymoron. On the British black metal documentary Murder Music: A History of Black Metal
(2007), all interviewed musicians stated when asked about the matter that black metal cannot be Christian. The term "Christian black metal" drew confused replies from the black metal musicians, for example Martin Walkyier
of the English metal band Sabbat
commented: "'Christian black metal?' What do they do? Do they build churches? Do they repair them? (laughs)" Jonathan Selzer, editor of the British metal magazine Terrorizer discussed his experiences and thoughts in the documentary:
In a 2007 Beat the Blizzard webzine's article, the writer Jan Lindsø states that "Many metal fans are of the opinion that Christians should 'not be allowed' to use the black metal aesthetics musically since they do not inherit this evil and perhaps misantropic trait that many people say is necessary in order to be convincing as black metal musicians." Kittil Kittilsen, who left Mayhem in 1988 after becoming a born-again Christian, expressed his concern for the Christian black metal musicians: "I think they’re completely off the mark. I cannot seriously understand how they even manage to do it. They have missed the target completely. I mean, if you want to be a Christian, be it with all you’ve got, and if you want to be metal, be it with all you’ve got. If those people really took their faith seriously, and followed the instructions of the One they profess to believe in, they would never be found in a context like that. They are on collision course with Christian life and teaching. I say this because of my own experience, and because of what is written in the Bible; rock music, metal music has nothing at all to do in a Christian setting!" In an interview with Screams of Abel webzine, former Antestor member Morten Mageroy reacted with caution to the proliferation of unblack bands: "I really hope that people (who play christian black metal) know what they are doing. I know this sounds very rough, but I have seen people being pulled into something they do not know. I am not saying that I know that these musicians are going to mess their lives up, but I have seen it happen to some people and it frightens me very much." Mageroy, however, defends the Christian black metal bands' intentions: "A lot of Christian bands have done amazing things being led by God. I know that God is using many types of communication, and it is important that Christians is [sic] present in every field, in every genre, privately and in work. God might just as well use heavy metal to bring salvation to people."
Some of the original Norwegian black metal musicians believe that black metal does not need to hold any ideologies. For example, Jan Axel Blomberg of Mayhem has said in an interview with Metal Library: "In my opinion, black metal today is just music. I will tell you that neither I nor other [current] members of Mayhem never really were against religion or something else. We are primarily interested in music." Although rejecting the idea of "Christian black metal", Satyricon
's vocalist Sigurd Wongraven
stated in the Murder Music documentary that black metal "doesn't necessarily have to be all satanic as long as it's dark."
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
sounding artists whose lyrics and imagery promote Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Such artists are controversial, mainly because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, intended to encourage hostility towards Christianity. It is also suggested that Christianity contradicts black metal's dark nature and the individualistic
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...
and misanthropic
Misanthropy
Misanthropy is generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt or hatred of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings...
ideals of many bands.
The exact beginning of the Christian black metal movement is disputed. The Australian band 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...
's 1994 album 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...
brought the concept and the term holy unblack metal (a word play on Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...
's slogan "unholy black metal" used on the albums A Blaze in the Northern Sky
A Blaze in the Northern Sky
A Blaze in the Northern Sky is the second album by the Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It contains the band's first black metal recordings. The album was recorded in August 1991 and released in February 1992.-Recording and release:...
and Under a Funeral Moon
Under a Funeral Moon
Under a Funeral Moon is the third album by the Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It was recorded in June 1992 and released in June 1993 by Peaceville Records. Bandmember Fenriz described it as an attempt to create an album that was "100% black metal"....
) to media attention, while the Norwegian band 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,...
was already formed in 1990 as a death/doom act and released its demo The Defeat of Satan
The Defeat of Satan
The Defeat of Satan is an album by the Norwegian band Antestor. The album comprises their first two demos Despair and The Defeat of Satan . The songs were remastered and remixed in 2003 and was published by the Norwegian label Momentum Scandinavia...
in 1991, before they began shifting towards black metal on their 1994 album Martyrium
Martyrium (album)
Martyrium is the debut album of the unblack metal band Antestor. It is one of the earliest Christian extreme metal albums released in Norway...
.
Characteristics
Unblack metal is viewed as an ideological group within black metal that depicts Christianity positively. There is no method to play black metal in a Christian way. Hence, unblack metal incorporates black metal's fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo pickingTremolo picking
Tremolo picking, also known as alternate picking or double picking, describes the musical technique of picking on a guitar or other string instrument in which a single note is played repeatedly in quick succession. It can be achieved either with the fingers or with a pick...
, double-kick drumming, and unconventional song structure. Garry Sharpe-Young's 2001 encyclopedia A-Z of Black Metal states that "Topping the lot are Christian 'Unblack' acts who for all intents and purposes look like, sound like and employ the imagery of Black Metal whilst hidden in the unpenetrable vocal growls and distortions are the proclamations of Jesus Christ."
Some unblack metal artists write lyrics that explicitly attack Satanism
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
; for example Horde. This was a dominant theme during most of the 1990s. Beginning in the late 1990s, groups began to write philosophical and ideological lyrics. These often include stories of conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
, salvation
Salvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
, struggles with faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
, and Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
quotes. Christian black metal bands may justify their playing of black metal with reasons ranging from genuine appreciation of black metal as a music style to evangelization among the black metal scene i.e. "bringing light into darkness".
Background: Christian answer to black metal
The 1970s occult boom influenced many early heavy metal bands lyricwise. In the early 1980s, several bands dealt such themes in a more extreme manner, including VenomVenom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
, 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...
and Bathory
Bathory (band)
Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by Quorthon in 1983. They are regarded as pioneers of both black metal and viking metal. Quorthon remained the main songwriter and member of Bathory for more than two decades. Bathory was permanently ended after Quorthon's death in 2004...
. During the mid-1980s, heavy metal music divided into many subgenres, and black metal was one of them, named after a Venom album of the same title
Black Metal (album)
Black Metal is the second album by the English band Venom. It was released in November 1982 and is considered a major influence on the thrash metal, death metal and black metal scenes that emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s. Although lending its name to the latter genre, today the album is often...
. In 1980s, the term was broad musicwise, referring to all satanic metal bands. Although "Christian metal bands" had existed since the late 1970s, a clear contrast with black metal occurred in 1984 with the doom metal band 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...
who released the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
-based album Psalm 9
Psalm 9
Psalm 9 is the debut album by the American doom metal band Trouble, released in 1984. The album was originally released eponymously and was renamed to Psalm 9 after the release of their fourth album, which was their 1990 self-titled release...
. 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...
marketed them as "white metal" as opposed to black metal. Singer Eric Wagner has explained that "back in the early 1980s, all the metal was kind of satanic," and he has implied that Metal Blade (or the owner Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel is the owner and founder of Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for giving Metallica their first break in 1982, with an appearance on Metal Massacre, a compilation album on Metal Blade, and has since released seminal albums by Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning,...
) actually invented the term in the first place: "I think it was more like Metal Blade trying to be cute or something, with everything being called black metal, so why not call us white metal, which is a bunch of crap." While there were Christian extreme metal bands in late 1980s and early 1990s, "Christian black metal" did not exist until 1994.
Early 1990s
The Australian band 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...
's debut album 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...
, released through Nuclear Blast Records, is often credited for being the first Christian black metal album, although the sole member, Anonymous, has stated that "there were similar [unblack] bands prior to Horde, even in Norway," referring to Antestor who formed in 1990. While prior to 1993 they were a 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...
band called Crush Evil, Antestor's debut album Martyrium
Martyrium (album)
Martyrium is the debut album of the unblack metal band Antestor. It is one of the earliest Christian extreme metal albums released in Norway...
was also released in 1994. Euronymous
Euronymous
Øystein Aarseth , who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist and co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem...
of 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...
planned to force Crush Evil to disband, but was murdered by Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes is a Norwegian black metal musician, writer, philosopher, religious and political activist, arsonist and convicted murderer.Vikernes was born near Bergen, Norway. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal...
in 1993.
Hellig Usvart caused great controversy in the black metal scene, and death threats were sent to Nuclear Blast Records headquarters demanding them to release the members' names. The only actual member was the Australian former 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...
/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...
drummer Jayson Sherlock
Jayson Sherlock
Jayson Sherlock was the drummer for the Australian death metal band Mortification, which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre.Sherlock was the founder of the one-man project Unblack metal band Horde, in which he played every instrument...
. The term "unblack metal" was derived from "holy unblack metal", which was a wordplay on Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...
's "unholy black metal" term. Media became interested in this controversy. On 6 June 1995, the Norwegian weekly newspaper Morgenbladet
Morgenbladet
Morgenbladet is a Norwegian weekly newspaper. It was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg, and was the country's first daily newspaper. For a long time, it was also the country's biggest newspaper. It was closed down by the German Wehrmacht during World War II...
published an article about the phenomenon of Christian black metal, describing Horde's album as "an abrupt satire of the Norwegian black metal movement". Antestor was also interviewed, with vocalist Kjetil Molnes stating "We identify ourselves as black metal as a music style, not black metal as an ideology or belief."
The Swedish band Admonish
Admonish (band)
Admonish is a Swedish black metal band formed in 1994. They were one of the first bands in the Christian black metal movement and the first Christian black metal group in Sweden. While the band did not release anything until 2005, the magazine Metal Hammer called Admonish "One of the leading...
was formed around 1994 or 1995, and was the first unblack metal band in Sweden. They gained notoriety for calling their style "Christian black metal" on their website. This caused some debate in the metal underground and soon an anti-Admonish website was started. While the band did not release anything until 2005, the magazine Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
called Admonish "One of the leading Christian black metal bands" in a 1990s issue which focused on black metal.
Late 1990s
After 1995, influenced by Horde, other Christian black metal bands started releasing their first demos. The Indonesian groups KekalKekal
Kekal is a heavy metal band formed in 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. According to Allmusic, Kekal was one of the first heavy metal bands from Indonesia to make international inroads, and according to Keith Kahn Harris was one of the few extreme metal bands from Southeast Asia to ever make more than a...
and Beliah soon became associated with the movement. Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic wrote that "Kekal are one of the first heavy metal bands from Jakarta, Indonesia, to make international inroads, and they may just be the first to profess Christian beliefs while performing black metal." However, Kekal has resisted being labeled as Christian, insisting that they as an institution they do not lean toward any religion or ideology.
Antestor's 1998 release 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....
proved highly influential for the Christian black metal movement. The album was released on the British Cacophonous Records, which has released records by such successful black metal groups as Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
and 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...
. According to Matt Morrow, it became the only Christian black metal album besides Horde's Hellig Usvart to be released on a secular label in the 1990s, although Kekal released Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams
Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams
Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams is the debut album by the Indonesian black metal band Kekal released in 1998. Vocalist Harry left the band after the album's release.-Recording:...
on a secular label in the same year. The established British magazines Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and Terrorizer both gave The Return of the Black Death 4 points out of 5.
Vaakevandring's selftitled 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....
(recorded in 1998) was produced by 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...
, the keyboard player of Dimmu Borgir. The release achieved worldwide attention and later became recognized a "classic" in the Christian black metal scene. In 1998, 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...
group 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...
was founded, and played hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and metalcore mixed with black and 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....
. The band subsequently moved away from this early black metal sound to a more mainstream post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
style.
2000s
Lengsel
Lengsel is a progressive black metal band that formed in 1995 in Norway. They released one album, called Solace, on Endtime Productions in 2000, which was subsequently licensed to Solid State Records for an American release. The second album The Kiss, The Hope was released on 2007...
's debut album Solace
Solace (Lengsel album)
Solace is the first full length album by the Norwegian metal band Lengsel. An renowned and acclaimed album, Solace initially released on Endtime Productions as a digipak edition in 2000...
was critically acclaimed, Sanctifica released Spirit of Purity
Spirit of Purity
Spirit of Purity is the debut album by the Swedish Christian black metal band Sanctifica, released on Little Rose Productions and Rivel Records in March 2000. With this album the band established itself as one of the leading Christian black metal bands of the early 2000s, representing technical...
, Crimson Moonlight released its debut album 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...
, while Drottnar
Drottnar
Drottnar is a Christian extreme metal band from Fredrikstad, Norway. They formed in 1996. Drottnar has played at notable festivals such as Sweden's Endtime Fest, Norway's Nordic Fest, Switzerland's Elements of Rock, Finland's Immortal Metal Fest and United Kingdom's Destruction Fest and they...
released its demos on an album titled Spiritual Battle
Spiritual Battle
Spiritual Battle is the first album by the Norwegian band Drottnar, released in 2000 on the British label Plankton Records. Spiritual Battle is a compilation album of the band's first two demos, both of which were recorded at X-Ray Sudios.-Overview:...
, gaining them popularity among the Scandinavian underground. In 2001, Norwegian folk metal band Arvinger
Arvinger
Arvinger is a Christian Viking metal band from of Telemark, Norway. Arvinger has worked with a number of session musicians since the band was founded in 2001. Initially the band released a home studio record consisting of six songs at MP3.Com, and received significant possitive feedback from fans...
formed and released its debut album Helgards Fall in 2003.
Frost Like Ashes
Frost Like Ashes is a Christian blackened death/thrash band that formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 2001. The band has released two EP's and a full-length CD titled Tophet, and their songs have appeared on 2 compilations titled A Brutal Christmas and A Treasury of Sorrows...
is an acclaimed band in the USA. Currently in the USA there is an unblack movement consisting of groups that focus on raw and non-polished sound production; including Light Shall Prevail, Flaskavsae, and several others.
The South American unblack scene is known for its radical anti-Satanic attitude. Groups such as Exousia and Deborah (hailing from Mexico) have performed concerts in Europe. Sorrowstorm was an acclaimed band from Panama, and they were nominated for the Panamarock hard music Grammys of 2003. Poems of Shadows is an example of a typical South American unblack metal band that has taken the anti-Satanic concept of Horde and the radical imagery of black metal to the extreme, blurring the distinction between the styles. The Brazilian group Cerimonial Sacred has achieved some attention also in the US and European scenes.
In Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the notable groups include Abdijah, Fire Throne, and Elgibbor. The latter was featured on a short Polish-based documentary that focused on unblack metal. The 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...
has groups such as Dormant and Slechtvalk
Slechtvalk
Slechtvalk is an extreme metal band from The Netherlands, formed in 1999. Previously signed to Fear Dark Record and currently to Whirlwind Records, the group has released four albums, a split-CD with Kekal, a single and a DVD...
. Although the latter does not currently consider themselves as a "Christian band," their early material was openly Christian. Holy Blood, a folk/unblack group from Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, has earned minor success.
Media attention
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,...
and 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...
, have played at Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
, one of the largest Christian musical festivals in the world.
In 2006 Admonish
Admonish (band)
Admonish is a Swedish black metal band formed in 1994. They were one of the first bands in the Christian black metal movement and the first Christian black metal group in Sweden. While the band did not release anything until 2005, the magazine Metal Hammer called Admonish "One of the leading...
achieved wider notice when twins Emil (guitar) and Jonas Karlsson (bass) both appeared on the MTV Europe show Pimp My Ride International
Pimp My Ride
Pimp My Ride is a TV show produced by MTV. Each episode consists of taking one car in poor condition and restoring it and customizing it.The original United States version was hosted by rapper Xzibit...
. On that show, in which their car was modified, the twins advertised their band and Admonish's music was played. Horde also played its first live show ever in Nordic Fest, Oslo, Norway in November 2006. Sherlock wore a hood during the show and played both drums and sang vocals.
In 2007, the Norwegian band Frosthardr
Frosthardr
Frosthardr is a Norwegian Christian unblack metal band, formed in 1997. The band plays a rawer type of black metal music with occasional punk influences and lyrics from Christian point of view...
appeared on the documentary feature film Murder Music: A History of Black Metal
Murder Music: A History of Black Metal
Murder Music: A History of Black Metal is a heavy metal music documentary aired on British pay-per-view channel Rockworld TV. Murder Music centers around the controversial black metal subgenre...
(2007). They were interviewed for a minute and represented the Christian point of view in black metal music, with vocalist Daniel Ravn Fufjord saying "It is difficult to find musicians that are interested in this kind of music and share our point of view."
A documentary specifically exploring Christian black metal titled Light in Darkness - Nemesis Divina was filmed in 2008, shown at music and film festivals the same year, and officially released on YouTube in May 2010. The documentary focuses on Christian black metal musicians' point of view and experiences as well as some academic analysis on the matter.
Controversy
Certain critics, such as Jussi Lahtonen of the Finnish indie-rock magazine Sue, have argued that separating Christian from non-Christian black metal artists "feels rather pointless". However, early groups such as Horde and Antestor refused to call their music "black metal" because they felt that the style was strongly associated with Satanism. Horde called its music "holy unblack metal," and Antestor preferred to call their music "sorrow metal" instead. Stefan Rydehed, director of the Light in Darkness – Nemesis Divina documentary, says about the Christian black metal musicians based on his interviews:Many current Christian black metal bands feel that black metal has changed from an ideological movement to a purely musical genre, and that is why they also call their music black metal. The Swedish group Crimson Moonlight's vocalist Simon Rosén, for example, says in an interview with WhiteMetal.it site that "First of all, we don't want to call our music unblack metal or white metal, we play black metal." In an interview with Ultimate Metal, Rosén further explains this view:
On the other side, many in the black metal scene see "Christian black metal" as an oxymoron. On the British black metal documentary Murder Music: A History of Black Metal
Murder Music: A History of Black Metal
Murder Music: A History of Black Metal is a heavy metal music documentary aired on British pay-per-view channel Rockworld TV. Murder Music centers around the controversial black metal subgenre...
(2007), all interviewed musicians stated when asked about the matter that black metal cannot be Christian. The term "Christian black metal" drew confused replies from the black metal musicians, for example Martin Walkyier
Martin Walkyier
Martin Walkyier is an English singer who began his career with thrash metal band Sabbat in the late 1980s, releasing two albums. After leaving Sabbat in 1990 due to differences with other band members, Walkyier teamed up with guitarist Steve Ramsey to form a heavy metal band with strong folk...
of the English metal band Sabbat
Sabbat (band)
Sabbat are a thrash metal band from Nottingham, England, currently consisting of Martin Walkyier , Andy Sneap , Simon Jones , Gizz Butt and Simon Negus . Over the years Sabbat have released three studio albums, four demos, two split singles/compilation albums, two singles and a live VHS...
commented: "'Christian black metal?' What do they do? Do they build churches? Do they repair them? (laughs)" Jonathan Selzer, editor of the British metal magazine Terrorizer discussed his experiences and thoughts in the documentary:
In a 2007 Beat the Blizzard webzine's article, the writer Jan Lindsø states that "Many metal fans are of the opinion that Christians should 'not be allowed' to use the black metal aesthetics musically since they do not inherit this evil and perhaps misantropic trait that many people say is necessary in order to be convincing as black metal musicians." Kittil Kittilsen, who left Mayhem in 1988 after becoming a born-again Christian, expressed his concern for the Christian black metal musicians: "I think they’re completely off the mark. I cannot seriously understand how they even manage to do it. They have missed the target completely. I mean, if you want to be a Christian, be it with all you’ve got, and if you want to be metal, be it with all you’ve got. If those people really took their faith seriously, and followed the instructions of the One they profess to believe in, they would never be found in a context like that. They are on collision course with Christian life and teaching. I say this because of my own experience, and because of what is written in the Bible; rock music, metal music has nothing at all to do in a Christian setting!" In an interview with Screams of Abel webzine, former Antestor member Morten Mageroy reacted with caution to the proliferation of unblack bands: "I really hope that people (who play christian black metal) know what they are doing. I know this sounds very rough, but I have seen people being pulled into something they do not know. I am not saying that I know that these musicians are going to mess their lives up, but I have seen it happen to some people and it frightens me very much." Mageroy, however, defends the Christian black metal bands' intentions: "A lot of Christian bands have done amazing things being led by God. I know that God is using many types of communication, and it is important that Christians is [sic] present in every field, in every genre, privately and in work. God might just as well use heavy metal to bring salvation to people."
Some of the original Norwegian black metal musicians believe that black metal does not need to hold any ideologies. For example, Jan Axel Blomberg of Mayhem has said in an interview with Metal Library: "In my opinion, black metal today is just music. I will tell you that neither I nor other [current] members of Mayhem never really were against religion or something else. We are primarily interested in music." Although rejecting the idea of "Christian black metal", Satyricon
Satyricon (band)
Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
's vocalist Sigurd Wongraven
Sigurd Wongraven
Satyr is the vocalist, lead and rhythm guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon. He was a founding member of Satyricon and have so far released 7 albums, 2 demos and a live DVD...
stated in the Murder Music documentary that black metal "doesn't necessarily have to be all satanic as long as it's dark."
List of notable unblack metal bands
| Band | Country | Formed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admonish Admonish (band) Admonish is a Swedish black metal band formed in 1994. They were one of the first bands in the Christian black metal movement and the first Christian black metal group in Sweden. While the band did not release anything until 2005, the magazine Metal Hammer called Admonish "One of the leading... |
Sweden | 1994 | |
| 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,... |
Norway | 1991 | |
| Drottnar Drottnar Drottnar is a Christian extreme metal band from Fredrikstad, Norway. They formed in 1996. Drottnar has played at notable festivals such as Sweden's Endtime Fest, Norway's Nordic Fest, Switzerland's Elements of Rock, Finland's Immortal Metal Fest and United Kingdom's Destruction Fest and they... |
Norway | 1996 | |
| 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... |
Norway | 1994 | |
| Frost Like Ashes Frost Like Ashes Frost Like Ashes is a Christian blackened death/thrash band that formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 2001. The band has released two EP's and a full-length CD titled Tophet, and their songs have appeared on 2 compilations titled A Brutal Christmas and A Treasury of Sorrows... |
USA | 2001 | |
| Holy Blood | Ukraine | 1999 | |
| 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... |
Australia | 1994 | |
| Kekal Kekal Kekal is a heavy metal band formed in 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. According to Allmusic, Kekal was one of the first heavy metal bands from Indonesia to make international inroads, and according to Keith Kahn Harris was one of the few extreme metal bands from Southeast Asia to ever make more than a... |
Indonesia | 1995 | |
| Lengsel Lengsel Lengsel is a progressive black metal band that formed in 1995 in Norway. They released one album, called Solace, on Endtime Productions in 2000, which was subsequently licensed to Solid State Records for an American release. The second album The Kiss, The Hope was released on 2007... |
Norway | 1995 | |
| Sanctifica Sanctifica Sanctifica was a Swedish unblack metal band, formed in 1996, disbanded in 2003. After releasing their EP, In the Bleak Midwinter, in 1997, they were considered to be one of the leading modern Christian black metal bands in the early 2000s with their album Spirit of Purity... |
Sweden | 1996 | |
| Slechtvalk Slechtvalk Slechtvalk is an extreme metal band from The Netherlands, formed in 1999. Previously signed to Fear Dark Record and currently to Whirlwind Records, the group has released four albums, a split-CD with Kekal, a single and a DVD... |
Netherlands | 1997 | |
| 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... |
Norway | 1999 |
External links
- The Unblackening of Metal: A Look At The Role Religion Plays In Anti-Religious Music, article at Metal Underground