Christian metal Portal

Christian metal is a form of heavy metal music which, as well as its many subgenres, contains Christian lyrics and themes.^[1] Jesus music, also 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 as part of the Jesus movement before the Christian music industry had begun to take... Heavy metal redirects here. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. ... Blues Rock or Blues-rock is a fusion genre of music which combines elements of the blues with rock and roll. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... Christian rock (occasionally abbreviated CR) is a form of rock music played by bands whose members are Christian and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. ... For the first century movement surrounding Jesus of Nazareth, see Early Christianity The Jesus movement was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture, or, conversely, the major hippie element within the Christian Church. ... Two different electric guitars. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For other uses, see Drum (disambiguation). ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal) is the Christian variant of black metal. ... Christian hardcore is a form of hardcore punk music and a subgenre of punk rock played by bands where the musicians are openly Christian. ... This list omits some bands of disputed status as a Christian band. This list features bands who have been determined to be Christian and play heavy metal music or one of its subgenres. ... Christian music (sometimes marketed as Inspirational music, Praise music, Worship music, or Contemporary Christian Music/CCM) is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular... Jesus music, also 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 as part of the Jesus movement before the Christian music industry had begun to take... Two different electric guitars. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ... List of notable Christian Music artists, organized by music genre. ... Christian alternative music is a form of alternative rock music lyrically grounded in a Christian worldview. ... Christian hardcore is a form of hardcore and metalcore music and a subgenre of punk rock played by bands where the musicians promote Christian beliefs. ... Christian hip hop (originally Gospel rap, also known as holy hip hop or Christ hop) is a form of hip hop music which uses Christian themes to express the songwriters faith. ... Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal) is the Christian variant of black metal. ... Christian punk is a form of Christian alternative music and a subgenre of punk rock with some degree of Christian lyrical content. ... Christian rock (occasionally abbreviated CR) is a form of rock music played by bands whose members are Christian and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. ... Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM; also by its religious neutral term inspirational music) is a genre of popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith. ... Image File history File links Portal. ... Heavy metal redirects here. ... A number of overlapping heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal (often shortened to metal) in the late 1960s. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ...

Christian metal came to existence in the late 1970s Jesus movement, and was pioneered by the American Resurrection Band and Swedish Jerusalem. Los Angeles' Stryper brought the genre into media spotlight during the mid 1980s. The term ”Christian metal” itself was born in 1984,^[2] around the time when heavy metal music divided into numerous subgenres. At the same time the secular label Metal Blade Records came up with the term "white metal" in contrast to the rising black metal movement to market the doom metal band Trouble, known for its Biblical lyrics.^[3] As a result, "white metal" was used interchangeably with "Christian metal" until the early 1990s when the mainstream popularity of the scene ended and the movement went underground. After that, English-speaking countries (North America, Australia, United Kingdom etc.) and Central and Northern European scenes adopted the "Christian metal" term, while "white metal" remained in use in South America and southwestern Europe.^[4] California's Tourniquet and Australia's Mortification lead the movement in the 1990s. The metalcore groups Underoath, As I Lay Dying and Norma Jean pioneered the genre's revival in the 2000s. For the first century movement surrounding Jesus of Nazareth, see Early Christianity The Jesus movement was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture, or, conversely, the major hippie element within the Christian Church. ... Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, is one of the most well-known and respected Christian rock bands in the history of Contemporary Christian music. ... Jerusalem is a Christian rock band, based in Sweden that was founded around 1975 by Ulf Christiansson. ... Stryper is a Christian metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, they are pioneers in the mainstream popularization of Christian rock music. ... Metal Blade redirects here. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Doom metal is a form of heavy metal music that emerged as a recognized sub-genre during the first half of the 1980s. ... Trouble is an American (proto) Doom Metal band noted for their slow (by 80s standards), heavy albums such as their 1984 debut Trouble (later Psalm 9) The Skull (1985) and others. ... North American redirects here. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Northern Europe Northern Europe is the northern part of the European continent. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tourniquet (disambiguation). ... Mortification is a Christian extreme metal band from Australia, founded in 1990 from the 1980s metal band LightForce by Steve Rowe, Cameron Hall and Jayson Sherlock. ... Underoath (sometimes stylized as underOATH, Underøath, UNDEROATH or UnderOATH) is a Grammy-nominated Metalcore band from Ocala, Florida formed in 1998. ... For The novel by William Faulkner, see As I Lay Dying (novel). ... Norma Jean is a band from Douglasville, Georgia, USA, a suburb of Atlanta. ...

Although the term ”Christian metal” is used for the musical movement, it has established itself as a cross-genre term. Christian metal bands exist even in the more extreme subgenres, which is contrary to the general belief that Christian metal represents softer styles of heavy metal music. For example, All Music Guide defines Christian metal as "between arena rock and pop metal, though there are the occasional bands that are heavier."^[1] However, the only common link between most Christian metal bands are the lyrics, and often the Christian themes are melded with the subjects of the genre the band is rooted in, regularly providing a Christian take on the subject matter. The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Arena rock, also called stadium rock or anthem rock, is a loosely-defined term describing a rock era. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Characteristics

The Christian metal musical genre has all of the characteristics of heavy metal music, particularly loud guitars, declamatory riffs, long solos, and pseudo-operatic vocals.^[1] Christian metal is not a solitary style of music, but rather is comprised of almost every subgenre of heavy metal music. Therefore the only notable difference lies in the lyrics. 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 covered in metaphors. Only a minority take an aggressive attitude towards those who speak against Christianity, such as Vengeance Rising.^[5] Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Riff is also an alternate spelling of Rif, a region of Morocco. ... Guitar solos are a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Jacob wrestling an angel, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883), a shared Judeo-Christian story. ... Icon of Christ in a Greek Orthodox church This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... Vengeance Rising was a Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, CA.[1] 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 Holland. ...

The lyrical style varies depending on culture, denomination, and country. For example, in Northern Europe the bands usually prefer a personal lyrical approach, which is seldom meant to "convert" in an aggressive manner. Christian bands almost never deny their conviction, but typically avoid preaching since they want their music to be entertaining while still containing their message. Some Christian metal bands do not declare their conviction at all and only concentrate on the entertainment aspect of music.^[5] Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. ...

History

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 when hippie street musicians converted to Christianity. These musicians continued playing the same styles of music they had played before converting, though they infused their lyrics with a Christian message. Possibly the very first documented appearance of a rock band playing in church is Mind Garage in 1967, whose music was called "electric liturgy", and it was finally recorded for RCA in 1969 and released in 1970 on an album titled The Liturgy.^[6] Larry Norman was another early Christian rock musician who released his first album titled Upon This Rock in 1969 which is arguably the first Christian rock album produced.^[7] After joining the band People!, he began to draw attention writing songs such as "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?", opposing the growing beliefs that the devil is the father of rock and roll music.^[8] For the first century movement surrounding Jesus of Nazareth, see Early Christianity The Jesus movement was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture, or, conversely, the major hippie element within the Christian Church. ... For the British TV show, see Hippies (TV series). ... The Jesus Movement was the Christian component of the Hippie Movement, composed of the Jesus People or Jesus Freaks. ... Jesus music, also 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 as part of the Jesus movement before the Christian music industry had begun to take... Mind Garage at Mother Witherspoon 1967. ... This article is about the former RCA Corporation. ... Larry David Norman (born April 8, 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter considered the forefather of Contemporary Christian Music, an attribution which he denies. ... Upon This Rock is the title of an album recorded by Larry Norman in 1970. ...

Resurrection Band, one of first Christian hard rock bands, live in concert, August 1988.

Following Larry Norman in early 1970s, there appeared other musicians and ensembles within the Christian hippie movement that played folk rock and released their first recordings: Randy Matthews, The Archers, Dallas Holm, Benny Hester, Petra, Mylon LeFevre, Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, and The Way. However, although these groups were more part with the Contemporary Christian Music scene rather than what would become known as Christian metal, amongst them there began appearing bands that played the emerging musical styles of the 1970s such as psychedelic rock, progressive rock, hard rock, and heavy metal.^[8] Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, is one of the most well-known and respected Christian rock bands in the history of Contemporary Christian music. ... Bob Dylans folk-rock album, Blonde on Blonde Folk-rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ... Randy Matthews (1951- ) is a Christian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pioneer of Jesus music. ... The Archers were an American contemporary Christian music group of the 1970s. ... Dallas Holm is a singer-songwriter of Christian music, whose musical ministry has spanned almost four decades. ... Benny Hester is a CCM singer and songwriter, best known for the chart-topping song, When God Ran. ... Petra, which means rock, massive in Greek, is a Christian Rock band formed in the 1970s. ... Mylon LeFevre (born on October 6, 1944 in Gulfport, Mississippi) was born into a Southern Gospel family, The Singing LeFevres, but stopped attending church when he left home. ... Philip Tyler Keaggy (born March 23, 1951 in Youngstown, Ohio[1]) is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets. ... Randy Stonehill (born March 12, 1952) is an American singer/songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called fathers of contemporary Christian music. ... We dont have an article called The Way (band) Start this article Search for The Way (band) in. ... Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM; also by its religious neutral term inspirational music) is a genre of popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ...

 Music samples:

"Lightshine"

Sample of "Lightshine" by Resurrection Band, from Awaiting Your Reply (1978). Presenting the band's hard rock style, the song is considered the highlight of the acclaimed album and has been a concert favorite of the band for as long as the group has been around.^[9]

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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.^[10] 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.^[7] 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.^[2] During that time, heavy metal was a new style of music for the Christian industry, and many Christian labels did not expect it to sell well. However, Awaiting Your Reply hit big in the Christian market, and reached #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.^[11] Later, Jerusalem released the album Dancing on the Head of the Serpent, regarded as their greatest work by fans and critics.^[12] Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, is one of the most well-known and respected Christian rock bands in the history of Contemporary Christian music. ... Awaiting Your Reply is a 1978 album by the Resurrection Band hard rock music group from Chicago. ... Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, is one of the most well-known and respected Christian rock bands in the history of Contemporary Christian music. ... Music to Raise the Dead is the first independent cassette from American Christian rock band Resurrection Band, released in 1974. ... Jerusalem is a Swedish Christian rock band, founded in 1975 by Ulf Christiansson. ... Awaiting Your Reply is a 1978 album by the Resurrection Band hard rock music group from Chicago. ... Jerusalem is the debut album from Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem. ... Alternate cover US cover Dancing on the Head of the Serpent is the fifth studio album, and sixth album overall, from Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem. ...

The Canadian progressive hard rock group Daniel Band was formed in 1979 and is cited as one of the first together with Resurrection Band and Jerusalem.^[7][2] Daniel Band released the albums On Rock and Straight Ahead on the following years. A female-fronted hard rock band called Barnabas was formed in 1977, but the band was more active in the 1980s.^[13] The Daniel Band was a Canadian music group. ... Barnabas was a Christian rock band that performed during the 1980s. ...

1980s

Breakthrough

Stryper's stage set during To Hell with the Devil tour, 1986

In the early 1980s there were four notable Christian heavy metal groups: Messiah Prophet, Leviticus, Saint, and Stryper.^[7] The Swedish band Leviticus was formed by Bjorn Stiggson in 1982. The band's early releases were glam metal typical of the 1980s style.^[14] Their second 1985 album The Strongest Power was put as one of the best records of that year in overviews by magazines such as Kerrang!.^[15] This was the worldwide-breakthrough for the band.^[15] Saint was compared to the British heavy metal band Judas Priest mostly due to the Rob Halford sounding style vocals of lead singer Josh Kramer.^[16][17] Saint are best known for the negativity reflected in their lyrics. Common themes of their early releases include hell, evil, and apocalyptic themes such as the End times.^[16] Their most successful album was Time's End (1986).^[16] Although it is debatable as to which band was formed first, the Orange County native glam metal group Stryper was the most popular out of the two. Although Saint was way heavier than Stryper. Stryper was also the first band to identify as Christian metal. Stryper gained attention with their way of throwing Bibles with the band logo stickers on the covers at the end of their concerts.^[7] In the beginning mostly Christians went to Stryper's concerts but soon they reached secular audience.^[18] In the 1980s, Christian metal bands closely followed the trends of more mainstream bands.^[7] Stryper is a Christian metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, they are pioneers in the mainstream popularization of Christian rock music. ... To Hell with the Devil is the fourth release, and third full-length album, from the Christian metal band Stryper, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). ... Leviticus was a white metal band from Sweden. ... You can find info and mp3 samples on Saint at http://www. ... Stryper is a Christian metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, they are pioneers in the mainstream popularization of Christian rock music. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... For other uses, see Judas priest (curse). ... Robert John Arthur Halford (born August 25, 1951) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. ... Negativity is the name given in philosophy to the negative element determinative or definitive of things and all ideas of things, whereby a thing is this because it is not that, and is seen to be this because it is seen not to be that, an antagonism essential to all... This article is about the theological or philosophical afterlife. ... For other uses, see Evil (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Apocalypse (disambiguation). ... // In the three Abrahamic Religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), the End Times are depicted as a time of tribulation that precede the predicted coming of a Messiah figure. ... -1... Glam metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that arose in the late 1970s - early 1980s in the United States. ... Stryper is a Christian metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, they are pioneers in the mainstream popularization of Christian rock music. ...

During the mid 1980s, heavy metal music divided into numerous subgenres and the term "Christian metal" was officially born in 1984.^[2] The 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, at the time when Christian beliefs were almost unheard of in the metal world.^[19] The term was born outside the Christian circles; it was the secular label Metal Blade Records that came up with and arose the term "white metal" in contrast to the rising black metal movement which was led by the bands such as Venom and Sodom.^[8] However, while the vocalist Eric Wagner wrote all of the Trouble's lyrics, the guitarist Bruce Franklin has said about the Christian themes: "I guess it came from Eric's early interest in Biblical subjects, not from his interest in being a Christian, but from searching for something that was interesting."^[20] Later, HM magazine wrote about the band: "While certainly not what one would call a Christian band, many Christian headbangers have enjoyed Troubles's upfront lyrics about the Lord on its first two albums (when they were commonly called the "white metal" band)."^[21] Eric Wagner himself has commented on marketing the band as white metal: Trouble is an American (proto) Doom Metal band noted for their slow (by 80s standards), heavy albums such as their 1984 debut Trouble (later Psalm 9) The Skull (1985) and others. ... Psalm 9 was the debut album by the American doom metal band Trouble, released in 1984. ... The Skull was the second album by the American doom metal band Trouble, released in 1985. ... Metal Blade redirects here. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Venom are an English heavy metal band, formed in late 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. ... Sodom is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. ... Eric Wagner is an American heavy metal singer who is best known for his work with doom metal band Trouble. ... HM Magazine is an American bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. ...

It was Metal Blade. Back then they called all of it ´Black Metal´, y´know, Slayer, Danzig, etc., all those bands, they are ´Black Metal´, so I didn't grow up believing in all that crap and I think that people didn't believe in it either. It was a question about marketing your band in some way, so I had to do it. So I did this. Metal Blade called us as a “White Metal band” and I just wished they didn't.^[3]

Stryper's To Hell with the Devil (1986) is the best selling Christian metal album to date.

It took a year for the metal music subculture to realize that the members of these groups were Christians who actually claimed to believe in Christ. Stryper, for instance, although a commercial success at that time, received a hostile reception when they played at a Dutch metal festival in 1985.^[22] Regardless of this, Stryper helped to popularize the genre,^[23] being the first Christian metal band to reach platinum status on an album. Christian metal made its breakthrough in 1984 when Stryper released The Yellow and Black Attack EP.^[5] 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 number 1 position for 12 weeks. Following Stryper's success, Christian metal music became popular and was brought to media spotlight.^[24][25] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... To Hell with the Devil is the fourth release, and third full-length album, from the Christian metal band Stryper, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). ... The Yellow and Black Attack EP was the first release of the Christian metal band Stryper, out on July 10, 1984. ... To Hell with the Devil is the fourth release, and third full-length album, from the Christian metal band Stryper, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Honesty, the quality of being honest, is a value which can be defined in multiple ways. ... The MTV logotype, often used in different, less stylized, forms. ...

 Music samples:

"To Hell with the Devil"

Sample of "To Hell with the Devil" by Stryper, from To Hell with the Devil (1986). Representing Stryper's glam metal style, this is one of the most popular songs from the album that greatly bolstered the popularity of Christian metal.

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Not only was Christian metal criticized by secular metal fans, but soon the movement was also criticized by fundamentalists.^[26] For example, the televangelist Jimmy Swaggart wrote a book triggering off Stryper titled Religious Rock n' Roll – A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing in 1987 and criticized the scene for using heavy metal music to preach the gospel of Christianity. This drew the attention of the secular media to the Christian metal movement, which allowed the genre to gain fans worldwide. Many new bands began to arise, eventually drawing the attention of record labels that specialized in Christian music.^[8][27] Stryper is a Christian metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, they are pioneers in the mainstream popularization of Christian rock music. ... To Hell with the Devil is the fourth release, and third full-length album, from the Christian metal band Stryper, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). ... Jimmy Lee Swaggart (born March 15, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana) is a Pentecostal preacher and pioneer of televangelism who reached the height of his popularity in the 1980s. ...

Stryper and Barnabas were the main targets for criticism in the 1980s. While Barnabas went on to record some of the more notable Christian metal achievements of the early to mid 1980s, they were controversial and took some of heat and criticism from several "Christian leaders". However, Barnabas broke a lot of ice for the heavy Christian music scene in terms of sound, appearance, and lyrical content. Their best known albums were Approaching Light Speed, Feel The Fire, and the lyrically controversial Little Foxes.^[28]

The scene develops

Christian metal soon developed into its own music industry. The first Christian metal label was Pure Metal Records, a sublabel of Refuge Records. Soon there appeared other labels such as R.E.X. Records and Intense Records.^[27] Refuge Records was a Christian record label founded in the 1982 by Bob MacKenzie and Ray Nenow. ... R.E.X. Records was in independent record label that operated from the late 1980s until running into financial difficulty in 1995. ... Intense Records was a sublabel of Frontline Records. ...

The regular music magazines did not cover the phenomena of Christian metal music industry very often. In 1985, Doug Van Pelt answered to this and published the first issue of Heaven's Metal fanzine. 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, with five full-time journalists working for the magazine. Heaven's Metal achieved a dedicated flock of 15,000 readers, and Van Pelt became a well-known and respected music author. Bands' sales usually rose when the ensembles were covered on the magazine.^[29][2] HM Magazine is an American bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. ... A fanzine (see also: zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest. ...

Following Heaven's Metal, there were began appearing other less-known fanzines such as White Throne. It started in the mid-late 1980s and continued into the early 1990s. However, as time went on the fanzine's focus shifted to include other music styles, including hip hop. Other American fanzines included Wreathe of Thorns, Turn Or Burn, Narrowpath, Screams of Abel, White Metal Review (USA), and White Metal Alternatives (USA). In Europe and South America, the emerging fanzines included Adonai Metal Rock (France), White Rock (Sweden), Blood Sacrifice (Germany), White Metal Crusades (Brazil 1987–1988), and White Metal Detonation (Brazil 1991–1992). Like these titles imply, the term "white metal" was also used alongside with "Christian metal" in the early Christian metal underground press in some parts of the world. However, the use of "white metal" was mainly limited to compilation album titles, such as White Metal Invasion and White Metal Warriors Last Ship Home, since it was a common term among secular metal fans. 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.^[27]

Sanctuary International

Many rock and metal fans were rejected from churches in 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.^[2] 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 significant impact on the Christian metal movement: groups that would later become notable such as P.O.D. performed their first concerts in Sanctuary. It also reached many born again rock and metal musicians. For example, when Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier) became a Christian, the Sanctuary personnel advised Cooper not to make "Christian music" since they felt that the Christian industry would turn off Cooper's fans and then he could not influence them carefully.^[30] Michael Sweet Singing Michael Harrison Sweet (born 4 July 1963) is a Christian rock singer from the United States. ... Barren Cross is a Christian Rock and Heavy Metal band that was formed in California in 1984. ... This article is about the band. ...

However, by late 1990s the parish's workers felt that regular churches' attitudes towards metalheads, rockers and punks had became more permissive, and therefore did not feel the need to keep Sanctuary going on any longer. All the parishes of Sanctuary were closed, apart from San Diego's Sanctuary, where pastor Dave Hart kept his parish that was aimed at reborn Christian goths. 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.^[30]

Late 1980s metal groups

There were also other notable hard rock, heavy metal and glam metal groups active from the late 1980s. Whitecross was formed 1986 in Chicago, releasing their first recording Whitecross the following year. Their early albums, which often invite comparisons to Ratt, are laced with fast, technical guitar work of Rex Carroll, who became well-known as a talented guitar virtuoso.^[31] Sacred Warrior, formed in 1988 was also from Chicago and their music is often compared to that of Queensrÿche or Metal Church. Of all their albums, their first release, Rebellion, is considered to be their best.^[32] The California native group Barren Cross was formed in 1983. Musically, the band is often compared to Iron Maiden, mainly due to the similarity of the vocals between Mike Lee and Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson.^[33] Their most notable album, Atomic Arena was distributed to both secular and Christian markets and a music video was made for "Imaginary Music", which received some MTV airplay. The Washington group Bloodgood was formed in 1985. Their first major United States tour was in 1987, and was protested by groups on the Christian right.^[34] The band was more popular in Europe than in the United States,^[35] and they toured the United Kingdom in 1988. This tour featured lead vocalist Les Carlsen portraying Pontius Pilate during the song "Crucify," as well as a graphic, live-action portrayal of Christ being crucified.^[36] Bloodgood opened ways for Christian speed and thrash metal styles.^[37] Whitecross circa 1988. ... Ratt is an American sleaze metal and semi glam metal band that formed in San Diego and enjoyed significant commercial success during the 1980s. ... Rex Carroll is a Christian metal guitarist and was well known for his work in the band Whitecross. ... Sacred Warrior was a Christian glam metal band formed in 1988 and based in Chicago, Illinois. ... Barren Cross is a Christian Rock and Heavy Metal band that was formed in California in 1984. ... Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in the East End of London. ... For the record producer in the Saturday Night Live skit, see More Cowbell. ... Atomic Arena is a 1988 heavy metal album released by the Christian metal band Barren Cross. ... Bloodgood is a Christian Metal band from Seattle, Washington. ...

 Music samples:

"Hell No"

Sample of "Hell No" by Bride, from Live to Die (1988). A popular song from the album that showcases the band's speed metal era at its finest, "Hell No" has become a Christian metal anthem.^[9]

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The Kentucky based band Bride, formed in 1983, started out playing speed metal and released the albums Show No Mercy (1986) Live to Die (1988) Silence is Madness (1989). Bride's early albums did not sell well. It was not until they changed to hard rock style that Bride began reaching wider audience on the 1993 album Snakes in the Playground. Despite being criticized for their abrupt changes in style in favor of what's "hot",^[38] Bride have gained a large following,^[39] and are still considered "a primeval force at the centre of Christian heavy metal."^[40] The band X-Sinner was formed in 1988 and is known for having a very similar sound to that of AC/DC,^[41] and released the popular albums Get It (1989) and Peace Treaty (1991) on Pakaderm Records. X-Sinner was named the favorite new band of 1989 by the readers of HM Magazine.^[41] The California speed metal band Recon, formed in late 1980s, released only one yet popular album, Behind Enemy Lines on Intense Records in 1990. The Connecticut glam metal group Rage of Angels was cited as "one of the most promising bands in Christian metal" and were often compared to the likes of Mötley Crüe. However, the band split up before they even released their only album Rage of Angels in 1989, and several members went to play in the secular band Steelheart.^[42] Bride in a recent interview Bride is a Christian metal/rock band formed in the 80s, by brothers Dale and Troy Thompson. ... Live To Die is the third album by the band Bride. ... Bride in a recent interview Bride is a Christian metal/rock band formed in the 80s, by brothers Dale and Troy Thompson. ... Show No Mercy is the second album by the band Bride. ... Live To Die is the third album by the band Bride. ... Silence is Madness is the fourth album by the band Bride. ... Snakes in the Playground is the sixth album by the band Bride. ... X-Sinner is an American Christian heavy metal band formed in the late 1988 by guitarist Greg Bishop. ... This article is about the band. ... HM Magazine is a bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. ...

The band Neon Cross was formed in California in 1983. Neon Cross started playing clubs in Hollywood during the 80s and attracted the attention of record company Regency Records in 1987 and was asked to record two songs for their upcoming compilation album. After the release of that CD, Neon Cross was signed to Regency to record their self titled album. In 1993 the band got back together and was signed by Rugged Records to record their second full length CD, Torn.^[43] Another Californian glam metal group, Holy Soldier, formed in early 1985, 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. The commercial success of Last Train, however, did not live up to its critical acclaim, and after their 60 city world tour, lead vocalist Steven Patrick abruptly left the group. The band Guardian, formed in 1982, released their notable second album Fire and Love in 1991 under the Pakaderm label. The response to the album was overwhelming and one of the videos was included in the MTV's Headbangers Ball rotation.^[44] The heavy metal band Angelica introduced vocalist Rob Rock, who would later gain notice for his soloproject. Rob Rock also sang in the band Joshua, formed in early 1980s in California, which released the albums The Hand is Quicker Than the Eye (1983) Surrender (1985), and Intense Defense (1988). The group Shout was compared to Stryper as their glam metal styles were similar.^[45] The band Crystavox was compared to Skid Row and released two albums, Crystavox (1990) and The Bottom Line (1992). The band Mastedon played glam metal and released the album It's a Jungle Out There (1989) and Lofcaudio (1990). NEON CROSS is a Christian Rock and Heavy Metal band that was formed in California in 1983. ... Holy Soldier is a Christian metal band from Los Angeles, California. ... Guardian is a Contemporary Christian Music hard-rock band formed in the 80s. ... Fire and Love is the second album of Christian rock band Guardian. ... Rob Rock in a performance at Orlando, FL Robert Rock is a Christian metal singer and songwriter. ... Shout was a Christian pop metal band formed in 1987 by Ken Tamplin. ...

1990s

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.^[46] Heavy metal musicians began to seek musical limits, therefore Christian metal musicians began to play extreme music as well. Soon death metal replaced thrash metal in popularity. For the time being it was typical that Christian bands took it seriously how secular bands affected their audience. Death metal and black metal styles had grown more and more dominant in the metal underground. Themes such violence, evil, and occult had become growing subjects in the lyrics of secular bands, such as Deicide and Morbid Angel. As a counteraction to this, there was a significant phenomenon in which Christian bands wrote lyrics that encouraged to go to idealistic war against evil.^[47] The mainstream was no longer interested in the Christian metal movement, and the metal audiences in many underground metal scenes began favoring more extreme sounds and disparaging the popular styles, including Christian metal.^[48] This affected the more traditional Christian heavy metal bands such as Saint, Bloodgood, and Leviticus, who split up in the 1990s. Even Stryper's popularity went through a regression. The band could not return its success even though they tried to change their style from pop metal to classic metal on the 1990 album Against the Law, and eventually, Stryper split up in 1993.^[49] Grunge redirects here. ... Deicide is an American death metal band. ... Morbid Angel is a Florida-based death metal band assembled in 1983. ... Against the Law was a short-lived American one hour television show which played on the Fox. ...

Several changes happened: the metal scene in the United States focused more on the alternative styles. This caused the regional change that the center of heavy metal music moved to Middle and Northern Europe.^[50] Even Heaven's Metal changed to HM: The Hard Music Magazine in 1995, and focused more on the mainstream Christian hard music rather than underground metal music. With the lead of Heaven's Metal magazine, the term "white metal" was abandoned by the Christian metal scenes in English-speaking countries as well as the Central and Northern European countries. They adopted the "Christian metal" term, and "white metal" remained in use in South America and southwestern Europe, although several groups in those scenes began rejecting the "white metal" tag as well. During the 1990s, Christian metal was almost forgotten in the eyes of the mainstream, with very few bands gaining mainstream success. However, bands such as Tourniquet remained popular despite their drastic stylistical changes. Bride, for example, survived by changing its style to post-grunge by mid-1990s, rapcore by late 1990s, and back to traditional heavy metal in 2000s.^[27] HM Magazine is an American bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. ... For other uses, see Tourniquet (disambiguation). ... Bride Bride in formal dress North America. ... Post-grunge is a subgenre of Alternative rock that emerged in the early 1990s as a derivative of grunge music. ... Rapcore is a musical genre that fuses the techniques of hip hop, gangsta rap, hard rock, heavy metal, alternative rock, hardcore punk and sometimes funk. ...

Christian underground metal benefited remarkably from the major German secular metal label, Nuclear Blast Records, which had an active distribution and sudden interest in 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."^[51] Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. ... Flagellants mortifying the flesh, at the time of the Black Death Mortification of the flesh literally means putting the flesh to death. The term is primarily used in religious contexts, and is practiced in a variety of ways. ... Look up Horde in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

2000s: Revival

Return to mainstream

As I Lay Dying has been at the forefront of metalcore along with Killswitch Engage and Unearth since 2002.^[52]

The movement's revival began in the 2000s as the media began to show interest towards the scene again, with some groups reaching mainstream popularity. There are Christian metal bands that perform virtually every sub-genre of metal. Extol has a mixed (and often changing) style, and is popular among both Christian and Non-Christian metal fans.^[53] Extol has toured with secular bands such as Mastodon, Opeth and God Forbid, their 2005 album The Blueprint Dives was nominated for Norway's Grammy, Spellemannsprisen, and it was voted for the top 5 metal albums of the year list by the readers of the biggest newspaper in Norway called Dagbladet.^[54][55] Rob Rock 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.^[56] He also performed guest vocals for the heavy metal band Warrior. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1067 pixel, file size: 239 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) As I Lay Dying, With Full Force 2007. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1067 pixel, file size: 239 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) As I Lay Dying, With Full Force 2007. ... For The novel by William Faulkner, see As I Lay Dying (novel). ... Metalcore is a fusion of extreme metal and hardcore punk that began in the United States. ... Extol is a Christian metal band from Oslo in Norway. ... For the prehistoric animal, see Mastadon. ... Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band that formed in 1990 in Stockholm. ... God Forbid is a heavy metal quintet from East Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1998. ... The Blueprint Dives is the second sixth studio release by Christian metal band Extol. ... Chris Impellitteri (2002) Chris Impellitteri (born 1964) is a guitar virtuoso who is frequently compared to Yngwie Malmsteen. ... Impellitteri (2002) Impellitteri is a heavy metal band from USA formed and led by guitar virtuoso Chris Impellitteri in 1987. ... European Cover Rage of Creation is a heavy metal album by Rob Rock. ... Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ... Warrior is a American Heavy Metal band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1983 [1]. // Marc Storace - Vocals Joe Floyd - Guitars Mick Perez - Guitars, Keyboards Simon Oliver - Bass Dave DuCey - Drums Parramore McCarty - Vocals Tommy Asakawa - Guitar Liam Jason - Drums Rick Bennett - Bass Sam - Bass, Backing Vocals Rob Rock - Vocals...

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.^[57][58] In October 2004, Doug Van Pelt brought Heaven's Metal back as its own fanzine.^[59] 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.

Underoath, one of the more prominent metalcore groups.

For the first time since Stryper's success in the 1980s, certain Christian metal artists have found mainstream acceptance selling millions of albums to both Christian and non-Christian fans, including Underoath and P.O.D.. P.O.D. became the most successful Christian metal band when their 2001 album Satellite went multi-platinum.^[60] Metalcore's popularity is especially based on Christian bands, including such crossover successes as UnderOath, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, Norma Jean, Haste The Day, and Demon Hunter. As I Lay Dying have entered the Billboard's Top 200 charts (#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.^[61] The album made its debut on Metal Blade Records,' charting at #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 #39 in both the United States and Canada. Other Top 200 debuts around the world include a #117 in the United Kingdom and #154 in Japan.^[62] Image File history File links Underoath. ... Image File history File links Underoath. ... Underoath (sometimes stylized as underOATH, Underøath, UNDEROATH or UnderOATH) is a Grammy-nominated Metalcore band from Ocala, Florida formed in 1998. ... Stryper is a Christian metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, they are pioneers in the mainstream popularization of Christian rock music. ... Underoath (sometimes stylized as underOATH, Underøath, UNDEROATH or UnderOATH) is a Grammy-nominated Metalcore band from Ocala, Florida formed in 1998. ... This article is about the band. ... Satellite is the second album by P.O.D., released on September 11, 2001 (see 2001 in music). ... Metalcore is a fusion of extreme metal and hardcore punk that began in the United States. ... Underoath (sometime