Christian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal, or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian-themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band-members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by professed Christians, principally for Christians and is often produced and distributed alongside various other genres of Christian music.
Christian metal bands exist in most of 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 with an alternative religious expression and Christian identity, and that the music serves the purpose of offering a positive message through lyrical content. This may not necessarily show a direct connection or reference to the Christian faith, although it often does.
Christian metal emerged in the late 1970s as a means of evangelization to the wider heavy metal music scene. The genre was pioneered by the American Resurrection Band and Barnabas, the Swedish Jerusalem, and Canadian Daniel Band. In the mid to late 1980s, extreme metal genres were popularized by bands such as Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Believer, and Tourniquet. Another Christian metal band that was successful during the '80s was American band Stryper, whose album To Hell with the Devil sold over two million copies.
In the early 1990s, the Australian death metal band Mortification rose to prominence within its country's underground metal scene. At the turn of the 21st century, having released two platinum-selling albums, P.O.D. achieved a mainstream commercial success rivaling that of Stryper. The metalcore groups Underoath, Demon Hunter, As I Lay Dying, and Norma Jean also brought some mainstream attention to the movement in the first decade of the 2000s, achieving ranks in the Billboard 200.
Characteristics
Christian metal is not a solitary style of music but rather an ideological umbrella term that comprises every subgenre of heavy metal music, from hard rock to black metal. What sets the style apart is that Christian metal bands typically base their lyrics on Judeo-Christian traditions. AllMusic writes that Christian metal is "gospel music's hard rock" - while not as hard as most heavy metal, "it still has many of its trademarks, particularly loud guitars, bombastic riffs, long solos, and pseudo-operatic vocals." According to the website, most bands fall somewhere between arena rock and pop metal, although occasionally there are bands that are heavier. Author Michael Heatley notes, however, that Christian metal exists within most of the musical subgenres of metal, and Jussi Lahtonen of the Finnish punk and metal zine Sue similarly writes how Christian metal encompasses every metal subgenre. The lyrics can be either explicitly Christian theological topics or else approaching other social or cultural issues from a Christian perspective. Some emphasize the positive aspects of faith matters while others iterate the teachings of Christ. Some bands keep their message hidden in metaphors. A minority take an aggressive attitude towards those who speak against Christianity, preaching "fire and brimstone" and "Old Testament Wrath of God" 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; this is because evangelism has been more typical among American bands. Christian bands never deny their conviction but typically avoid preaching; sometimes, the matter is left unexpressed, leaving religion as a private issue of the listener. Certain bands choose to deal with everyday 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.
History
Background: Heavy metal music and Christianity
The term 'heavy metal', as it was used by Lester Bangs and Dave Marsh at Creem, referred to a sound best exemplified by albums such as Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin II, Deep Purple's Deep Purple in Rock, and Black Sabbath's Paranoid. An examination of some of the lyrics from bands such as these show a lack of any explicitly negative themes. Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" could just as well be a conversation between husband and wife, as not. Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" exactly parallels the blood red moon of the Book of Revelation by John of Patmos, while their "Hand of Doom" describes the ravages of drug abuse. Ozzy Osbourne could be heard preaching to his audience in the earlier song, "Children of the Grave": "Tell the world that love is still alive you must be brave; or the children of today are children of the grave." Later, in the song "In My Time of Dying", Robert Plant even pleaded to Jesus: "Meet me Jesus, meet me; Meet me in the middle of the air; if my wings should fail me Lord, please meet me with another pair." Perhaps not overtly Christian, but songs such as these exhibited similar themes. Early heavy metal fans were viewed by the populace as a counterculture, just as the fans of rock and roll, in general, were. Early heavy metal lyrics and themes were often accused of challenging Christian values, and as the genre grew, some bands actually did.Among the early bands who were accused of adding negative connotations to the term was Black Sabbath. Their and other early bands' profligate use and combination of dark, occult themes, tattoos and piercings, and other features in stage- and album-styling; repeated musical features like distorted guitar-filters, open/power chords, riffs ; and moody explorations of diverse spiritual themes led to a range of responses, from intense fandom and identification, widespread patronage for at least the most well-known albums and bands, and polarizing criticism.
Those uncomfortable with the musical and fan scene features of heavy metal, especially those on the religious right became more vocal through the 1970s and '80s, at worst casting the makers and fans of such music as "followers of Satan". Despite such accusations, more serious examinations of Black Sabbath lyrics find several songs actually advocate Christianity and specifically warn audiences about the Devil. Rolling Stone reviewer Lester Bangs noted the Christian theme of their song "After Forever" when it was released. Further, as Deena Weinstein and others have established, the vast majority of metal fans are male, white, and blue-collar-identified. Although there are now metal fans of more-advanced ages, from its origins through the 1980s their age centered on teen years.
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 the 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 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."
Some metal songs criticize religion, such as "Death Church" by Machine Head, which "critici the hypocrisy of the Christian church." Metal groups "…seek out every…avenue to assault religion", including "religious hypocrisy", specifically Christianity. Metal songs use themes from the Book of Revelation which focus on apocalypse. The metal subgenre with the most emphasis on apocalyptic themes is thrash metal. Anti-patriarchal themes are common in metal. Black metal song lyrics usually attack Christianity using apocalyptic language and Satanic elements.
Origins
Christian metal has its origins in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Jesus movement, 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, ex. Los Angeles 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 . 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.