If you’ve ever heard of heavy metal, the first thing you have to acknowledge is the overwhelming presentation centered around satanism and death. For some, this is a deal-breaker and their journey through heavy metal ends before it really begins.
There has always been a ruthless battle between parents, critics, and mainstream media versus the consumer. But, this is the only genre that has been misunderstood for nearly 50 years after its inception.
We’re not talking about the early stages of a new product being criticized for being made in the wrong place at the wrong time. It also isn’t to say that musicians from other genres haven’t faced backlash for being different. However, heavy metal is the one form of music that is consistently dragged through the mud on both the micro and macro level from 1970 to the present day.
The problem lies in the public’s perspective of the genre and what defines it as a whole. Oddly enough, some still think that you need to be decorated in blood and growling vocals in order to qualify as heavy metal. You’d think 5 decades after Black Sabbath introduced the world to this kind of music and nearly 20 years following the nu metal subgenre explosion, people would start to realize that heavy metal is more than trying to be edgy.
It should be looked at through the same outlook as classic rock. Because at the end of the day, metal is just a couple steps ahead of the hard rock which has no problem being accepted by mainstream audiences. So, why is it that bands like Savatage and Dokken can’t get the pop culture reputation of Led Zeppelin or AC/DC?
The fact is heavy metal is just a sound and that’s it. Thick riffs, a tight rhythm section, and a NORMAL singing style is all you need to meet the requirements.
That’s where Christianity comes in. Heavy metal has no boundaries barring any ideology from being projected through the music. Many might be confused how an aggressive genre can be the outlet for religious preaching. Consider it a rebellion against rebellion itself and as long as the songs sound good, does it really matter what the message is?
There’s plenty of Venoms and Mercyful Fates to go around, so if you’re ever burnt out on the darker side of metal, take some time through the underrated discographies of bands like Trouble and Deliverance.
Stryper are arguably the kings of Christian metal and received the most commercial success out of everyone who has been labeled as “Christian metal” or “white metal.” These terms have been rejected by many including the bands themselves. The main reason is to avoid categorization and focus on the music. Because once people get hung up on the labels, the conversation drifts towards the contradiction between Christian imagery and the negative persona of heavy metal.
In order to get past the bickering and delusion, the safest bet is to give these bands a listen and make up your own mind.
Some of the earliest Stryper records such as The Yellow And Black Attack and Soldiers Under Command are filled with heavy riffs and air raid siren screams. Michael Sweet is one of the most impressive singers from the 80’s and complete with the technical playing by Oz Fox alongside the Queen-tier rhythm section of Robert Sweet and Tim Gaines, there is nothing to complain about. This is a band where some of their best material also happens to be some of their newest. No More Hell To Pay was their return to form and the beginning of their holy trinity. It was followed up with Fallen which could arguably be their best album, filled with infectious hooks and awesome riffs. Finally, they continued their trifecta with 2018’s God Damn Evil, a consistent powerhouse of killer lead guitar and insane screams. More so than any other group labeled as Christian metal, Stryper stood the test of time and have stayed relevant to this day thanks to their consistency, talent, and the fact that they seem to get better as they get older. Longevity like this is important in any music genre, so maybe you want to use Stryper as a reference next time a major band in the metal scene starts to deteriorate with age.
Trouble is another popular band that gets brought up in the Christian/white metal discussions. Although, founding member and vocalist Eric Wagner rejected this term, he did admit that he didn’t like the satanic imagery that was popular in the early 80’s metal scene, especially in black metal. This drove the songwriting in a more biblical direction with some lyrics being direct quotes from passages of the bible. Psalm 9 was the debut album that proved you didn’t need to shove overly explicit demonic themes down people’s throats in order to be dark and evil. The songs on Trouble’s debut have a consistent message and that is the inevitable sin that is running rampant all around the world. Instead of glorifying it, Wagner simply talks about evil from a general perspective. Examples include The Tempter and Assassin, listeners can still enjoy the violence and bloodshed that comes from these tracks without blowing it out of proportion. Revelation (Life Or Death) is the perfect instance where the details even go as far as the death of Christians and has plenty of epic riffs and tempo changes. If anyone wants to say only satanic bands can make gruesome, sinister music, Trouble can easily debunk this assumption.
There is also plenty of different sounding material for every type of listener. Manic Frustration explores the more somber metal style which compliments their traditional doom metal format. The Distortion Field is their most recent album and it’s straight forward blues rock. Everything from the early and modern eras have a wide range of slow and heavy songs with a traditional metal vibe tying it together, pulling in any listener who takes the time to go through their catalog.
Vengeance Rising is easily one of the heaviest in the scene with a more death metal approach in contrast with most of the other groups. Coming right out of the gate with a relentless onslaught of brutal riffs and harsh vocals. This band was challenging the popular extreme acts including Sadus and Sodom. Human Sacrifice and Once Dead proved that Christian metal can compete with the most aggressive and fastest bands, AND with substance.
Deliverance also contributed with their accessible sound. If their self titled album is Kill Em All, Weapons Of Our Warfare is Ride The Lightning. It’s a more polished effort with the same chaotic attitude from before. What follows is a very experimental era of Deliverance, creating a wide range of different sounding material. What A Joke begins their new style of songwriting, incorporating more humor into the music. Afterwards, they had a return to form with their 90’s albums following a traditional metal style and some have argued it is some of their best work. Their most recent record, The Subversive Kind, has a modern twist to the formula and proves that they can still release new material and stay ahead of the curve.
One of the more underrated bands on this list comes from Chicago during the late 80’s. This group quickly built their legacy with some timeless classics from their debut, Rebellion. Their peak is without a doubt the amazing Master’s Command. Their reputation precedes them as the brain children of Queensryche and Iron Maiden, needless to say it’s a brilliant description of what makes them an essential band. Rey Parra’s vocals have an incredible range with the Geoff Tate attitude in full effect. Bruce Swift has a unique style, galloping through the impressive guitar work on their albums like Adrian Smith.
For a more glam metal styled brand of Christian metal, Holy Soldier has you covered. Kicking off their career in 1990 with their impressive self-titled debut, the band quickly evolved into blues and 90’s rock with their following albums for those with wider musical tastes. Nevertheless, you can expect catchy choruses and melodic anthems throughout their discography. This was a band who saw the decline of the MTV hair metal scene and still carried the torch into the new decade.
Many saw Christian metal as a fifth column within the metal community specifically against the rise of the underground subgenres like black metal. However, the more realistic way to look at it is a reactionary movement to the stereotypes of heavy metal as a whole. Similar to how thrash metal spawned in the wake of the NWOBHM scene, there was room for expansion and new ideas being introduced that weren’t present before. Trouble did a service to doom metal much in the same way Sacred Warrior made their mark on US power metal. Christian metal was a refreshing welcome to a genre that was starting to make album covers like this.
You have to expect a retaliation sooner or later.
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