Christianity in mainstream metal

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This article is about Christianity in mainstream metal, for more about the movement, see Christian metal.

Christianity in mainstream metal refers to notable mainstream acts that feature or have featured Christian members.

Blind Guardian's Hansi Kürsch is openly Christian although critical of the Church as an institution.
Blind Guardian's Hansi Kürsch is openly Christian although critical of the Church as an institution.

[edit] History

Anthrax's lead guitarist Dan Spitz is a Messianic Jew (seen as Christian to Jewish and Christian groups)[1] and Accept's former bassist Peter Baltes left to start a Christian solo project.[2]

Some of the most well-known groups in heavy metal music have dealt with Christian themes in their songs. Black Sabbath, referred to as heavy metal pioneers, wrote the song ”After Forever” (from Master of Reality, 1971), which talks about life after death from Christian point of view. Taking it a step further, Ozzy Osbourne, heavy metal singer and ex-Black Sabbath member, shows God in a positive light through his lyrics (despite his controversial past and his false reputation as a Satanist), and on a radio interview in 1983 stated that he was a member of the Anglican Church of England. Ozzy's current guitarist, Zakk Wylde, however, has identified himself as an Irish Catholic. Iron Maiden, whose drummer Nicko McBrain is a Christian,[3] has portrayed God in positive light on its recent song "For the Greater Good of God", and an earlier song "The Name of the Rose". James Hetfield of Metallica was raised in a Christian Science home and reflects this background on songs like "The Four Horsemen" (from Kill 'Em All, 1983) and "Creeping Death" (from Ride the Lightning, 1984) which make references to the Bible scriptures of Revelations and Exodus. Finland's Stratovarius with a strong focus on melody has written uplifting, positive (religion, life and nature) themes on songs like "Against the Wind," "Phoenix," "Learning to Fly," and "I'm Still Alive." Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci is a practicing Catholic and the lyrics on songs such as "Scarred" and ”Lines in the Sand” are reflective of that. John Myung and James Labrie have also claimed to hold Christian beliefs.[4] Nick van Dyk, guitarist and songwriter for the band Redemption, is a practicing Catholic and although the band is not a religious band, there are undercurrents of spirituality in their music. Blind Guardian's vocalist Hansi Kürsch, who has said in an interview that he's a faithful but very critical Christian,[5] has incorporated Christian themes on songs such as ”Precious Jerusalem”, ”Another Holy War” and ”Sadly Sings Destiny.” The Spanish band Tierra Santa has many lyrics related to Christian topics. Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier) became a Christian in the 1980s but he avoided becoming a "celebrity Christian" for a long time, until his interview with Heaven's Metal Magazine about his faith was noted world wide.[6] Cooper has kept his trademark shock rock image but has also written some Christian references on the album Brutal Planet. Megadeth's former bassist David Ellefson is a Christian,[7] and frontman Dave Mustaine became a Christian in 2002, at a time when he was recovering from a wrist injury.[8][9] Megadeth's 2004 album The System Has Failed contains Christian lyrics and Bible references on songs such as "Shadow Of Death" and "My Kingdom Come". The thrash metal group Testament's song "Sins of Omission" (from Practice What You Preach, 1989) is known to have Christian vibe and was recently covered by the Christian metal band Ultimatum. Jorn Lande, Singer of his solo project and former Rising Force vocalist, has never claimed openly to be a Christian (but does believe in God), but includes many pro-Christian and pro-God messages in his lyrics.

Type O Negative's Peter Steele returned to his Roman Catholic roots in 2006.
Type O Negative's Peter Steele returned to his Roman Catholic roots in 2006.

Michael Weikath has said that most of the members of Helloween are Christians, apart from former member Uli Kusch, and that their lyrics tend to have a spiritual feeling. Weikath also states that bands should take the responsibility for what kind of lyrics they write for their fans.[10] In 2006, Peter Steele, the vocalist of Type O Negative, announced in an interview that he is no longer a "foxhole atheist" and has become a devout Roman Catholic.[11] Steele has written Christian based lyrics on the 2007 album Dead Again, though he has kept his twisted sense of humor and colourful lanquage as a part of his lyrics and personality. Tuomas Holopainen has also incorporated Christian themes in almost every Nightwish album but he has stated in one interview from Nightwish's website that he has his own views respecting Christianity. Killswitch Engage and Linkin Park have members who were raised in Christian homes, and occasionally use spiritual themes.[12][13]

The Italian and German dark metal group Graveworm has caused controversy since its lyrics on the early albums When Daylight's Gone (1997) and As the Angels Reach the Beauty (1999) contain Christian themes that are uncommon in the style. In an interview, the vocalist Stefan Fiori has said that he "believes in religion" but underlines that he does not like the Church as an institution.[14]

Some Asian bands have also dealt with Christian topics. The Taiwanese power metal band Seraphim talks about God in a positive light in some of its songs. The Japanese hard rock artist Hyde (of L'Arc-en-Ciel) has written strong Christian references on his solo album Faith (2006), most notably on the song "Jesus Christ". Hyde describes that he tried to capture the power he felt when he visited some churches in Europe on the album.[15]

Few musicians of well-known secular groups have left their bands after announcing their Christian faith. Kittil Kittilsen was a guitarist in the Norwegian black metal pioneer group Mayhem for a short while, during 1987, and left the band shortly after becoming a Christian.[16] Ron Rinehart used to sing in the thrash metal group Dark Angel but after discovering faith he left and formed a Christian metal band called Oil.[17]

Certain artists, however, are controversial in that they claim Christianity while playing in bands with overt anti-Christian lyrics or themes. Tom Araya, Slayer's lead vocalist, claims to be a Roman Catholic despite singing overtly anti-Christian lyrics.[18] Deicide, known for their Satanic and anti-Christian themes, included guitarist Ralph Santolla, another professing Roman Catholic.[19]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Thrash Metal Rock Star Returns to Music to Share New Faith. Godscare (2005). Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  2. ^ Warden, Rick, E. (2005). Christian Rock News. Christian Rock Report (PDF) 14. Open Publishing. Retrieved on 2007-09-27. “Peter Baltes is currently writing his first Christian CD. Peter Baltes is former bassist for German metal band Accept. Baltes is now a hard core Christian and fighting the good fight. Send him some love and encouragement at myspace.com/peterbaltes.”
  3. ^ Drummer Nicko McBrain loves God. Godscare (2005). Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  4. ^ Are the band members religious?. Official Dream Theater FAQ. Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  5. ^ Blind Guardin Interviews. Blind-guardian.ch. Open Publishing (2005). Retrieved on 2007-09-27. “I am a faithful but very critical Christian (Kürsch)”
  6. ^ Alice Cooper goes with God. Godscare. Open Publishing (2005). Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  7. ^ Hallila, Tim (2005). F5. HM Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-09-27. “While I don’t consider myself to be a Christian artist, I am an artist who’s Christian and have been my whole life. (Ellefson)”
  8. ^ Megadeth's Dave Mustaine: 'I Got Saved In 2002' -. Blabbermouth.net (May 10, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
  9. ^ Megadeth. Godscare. Open Publishing (2005). Retrieved on 2007-09-27. “I believed in God my whole life, but I was never really ready to serve Him until I said these six simple words: 'What have I got to lose?(Mustaine)”
  10. ^ Journalist of Unrestrained! magazine (2002). Helloween Better than ever. Chaotic Critiques. Retrieved on 2007-09-24. “Well most of the guys in the band are Christian, apart from Uli who cannot say that he has decided to accept the existence of a God. Our lyrics tend to have a spiritual feeling, as Uli does not mind that kind of lyrics because they express no bad or wrong thinking. (Weikath)”
  11. ^ Bennett, J (April, 2007). Type O Negative. Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-09-24. ““I’m a devout Roman Catholic, actually. There are no atheists in foxholes, they say, and I was a foxhole atheist for a long time. But after going through a midlife crisis and having many things change very quickly, it made me realize my mortality. And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what’s after it. And then you start hoping there is a god. For me, it’s a frightening thought to go nowhere. (Steele)”
  12. ^ Holtz, Adam R.. Lights in a Loud Place. Plugged in Online.
  13. ^ McKeon, Therese. Linkin Park: One Step Closer. ShoutWeb.com.
  14. ^ Deadfall (2004-10-12). Graveworm (German). Deadfallzine. Retrieved on 2007-09-24. “Sagen wir es so: Ich glaub an die Religion, aber ich finde die Kirche scheisse! Die Institution Kirche ist meiner Meinung nach nicht das was sie sein sollte, es ist einfach zuviel Geld dahinter. (Stefan Fiori)”
  15. ^ "Hyde: Giving Faith" (December/January 2006). Orkus (4): 108. ISSN 1863-5350. “O:"What can we hear from your latest release?" Hyde:"The religious expressions and aspects. I am not a member of a special religion but when I was in Europe and visited some churches there, I felt this enormous power and I felt like my soul was being purged. And I wanted to create this atmosphere on my album."” 
  16. ^ Lindsø, Jan F. (2007). Kittil Kittilsen. Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
  17. ^ Powell 2002, "oil", p. 637
  18. ^ Feniak, Jenny. Slayer likes bad-boy image. Jam.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
  19. ^ Smit, Jackie (2006-08.07). CoC chats with Ralph Santolla of Deicide. Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.