Christian Metal!!!

OK, so these music posts are turning into a little "series".  Whatever it is, it's been a lot of fun.  For this week, we're talking about Christian metal.  You can really define it however you like.  For me it's going to be split down the metal.  The first five are "old school" and the second five are either newer or more "crossover".  So Stryper wound up in that batch.  Why, I have no idea.  When you make a list you can break it down however it suits you...

I have a special place in my heart for Christian metal.  When I first began to take my faith seriously in the early '90's, this was the kind of music they were playing on the radio.  If Mac had a higher pitched voice, it's quite probable that we would have at least dabbled in the metal.  While I'm glad we didn't for obvious reasons, it's still fun to reminisce.  Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Bride:  Snakes in the Playground is one of the best records to ever be released in any genre.  Period.  No disclaimers, no "if you like so and so, you'll love this album".  Excellent album, top to bottom.  I also really love some of the acoustic, rootsy, bluesy moments on Kinetic Faith.  We've had the chance to share the stage with them a few times and they're awesome guys.
2. King's X:  I know a whole debate could break out about whether they are a "Christian" band or not, but they were integral in my faith journey at a pretty key time, so they get a mention.  Feel free to disagree.  Great vocals, great guitars, great, well, everything.  Did I mention they're opening up for Extreme in Atlanta next month?
3. Whitecross:  I still remember riding in my old Toyota Supra wih Mac when he popped in a Whitecross tape. The buzz of somebody plugging in a guitar, then HUGE GUITARS, then Scott Wenzl singing. "The rich man lived in luxury/ He was always wanting more" BLEW MY MIND.Whitecross stood out from the pack with great guitars and musicianship.
4. Ken Tamplin/Shout/Magdalen:  Ken's one of the best vocalists out there, and he was the best in Christian music at nailing that huge stacked vocal ala Def Leppard or Aerosmith.  He always had a cool guitarist at his side, too.  Lanny Cordola comes to mind.
5. Holy Soldier:  Their first record was unbelievable.  HS managed to tap into this dark melodic thing that made their music seem larger than life.  I saw them live in Atlanta in about '92.  They had not one but TWO killer guitarists.  Blew my mind.
6. Demon Hunter:  When the dust settles, they will probably be known as one of the best two or three metal bands to ever come out of the whole "Christian" scene.  They've really transcended the whole genre.
7. POD:  These guys RULE.  Hands down.  Massively successful, and well deserved.
8. Stryper:  Speaking of massively successful, these guys were another HUGE band in their day, and for good reason.  Once again, they had the combination of killer vocals and a signature guitarist.
9. Becoming the Archetype:  Let me tell you, when you're riding in a C130 over Baghdad doing a combat landing, something about these guys seems very appropriate.  It helps the coolness factor for me that they're from Georgia...
10. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster:  There's a whole subgenre of metal called "Southern metal" that I think was coined just so a bunch of other bands could try to tap into what Maylene's done.  Get in your truck, put a dip in, and turn these guys up to 11 and you will get it*.

So many other bands could and should be on this list.  Messiah Prophet, Bloodgood, Neon Cross, Deliverance, Tourniquet, Living Sacrifice, Norma Jean, Angelica, Narnia, Novella, Barren Cross...

That's where you come in.  Who did I leave out?  What's some of your favorite Christian metal?

ADDENDUM:  I can't believe I left out Guardian!  I mean, Miracle Mile, Fire and Love?  What's not to love?  I remember seeing them play an acoustic set at AtlantaFest in '92 or '93.  Never Gonna Say Goodbye, dude! Jamie Rowe is one of my favorite all time singers, and an all around good dude. Massive, massive apologies to all parties involved for my slackness!

ADDENDUM, part deux:  There are several bands, like Pillar, Disciple, RED, Mortal, and Skillet that I left off b/c they strike me more as heavy rock bands than metal bands.  All of the aforementioned acts rule and are quite worthy of being on a list such as this one!

(Proud contributor to Watercooler Wednesday!)

* I don't actually enjoy chewing tobacco myself.  I was trying to paint a word picture for you...

Comments

[Loren Wade]

Oh wow. Those are some great bands, but there are many, many more that are just as good. I'm sure you've heard of Underoath, Norma Jean, August Burns Red, etc...

Anyway, my favorite of those is Becoming the Archetype. Great music. Great guys!

Godspeed,

-LW
lorenwade.com

[Randy]

Dude, this is awesome. You are totally taking me back. White Cross was amazing. Blew Petra's "metal" away. "One more chance to do things right!!!"

What the crap? They are coming back too too...just like Extreme! Do you want to play?

[Corrine aka Mama Gomer]

Demon Hunter was just here with recently reunited Living Sacrifice. Dan and Jordan went. I decided against it. I love Demon Hunter, but my ears are still ringing (literally) from the last time I saw Living Sacrifice. That was THE loudest concert I've ever been to. It was the very last show they played together before reuniting, Lifest, 2003. Let me put it to you this way, we were at the show with Brad Noah, guitarist for Disciple, and he had to leave because it was too loud. If it's too loud for Disciple, well, that's just too loud!

But I do like me some Maylene and The Showdown.

But I'm never sure who fits into the Metal category. What constitutes "Metal"? I asked Google that question and found this list helpful, although I don't think all of these bands are metal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_metal_bands So add to my list of fav Christian metal bands:

Blindside (metal?) - Most especially their album "Silence"
East West - No longer a band, and probably not really metal, but I did love them.
Haste the Day - Good live
Still Remains
Asher has shared with me With Blood Come Cleansing - not bad
Underoath - I love some songs, but can't stand others
Project 86 (metal?) - I like some of their stuff.
Thrice - Would you consider Thrice metal? Probably not.

I think POD is the hard band you cut your teeth on before finding harder bands you like. I guess it's because they are more accessible, more mainstream. I never thought of POD as metal, more like hard core.

What about Nodes of Ranvier? They're pretty good. The Chariot? Zao? Extol?

[Melanie]

I like Demon Hunter when it isn't screamy.. I'm just not into that part. The music is good... and Ethan is a good guy. :) But I'm a Relient K fan, and Ethan is now their drummer as well as playing in Demon Hunter.

I am not familiar with all of the bands. I like some of POD's music. I seem to recall liking Whitecross, but it's been so long I just don't remember.

--Melanie

[david]

i love demon hunter as well!
did you see them in atlanta a few weeks ago?

another band to check out is august burns red..

[Brian]

Old school = Die Happy
New = Spoken & Project 86

[adam]

king's x, even to this day, has some spiritually charged lyrics that challenge me. i love their music and it's too bad they were crapped on by the "scene".

can't wait to see them w/extreme!!! i'll be there with bells on!

[Stoney]

I've always been a Ken Tamplin fan. I think I have all his CDs even after he seemingly disappeared (after TAMPLIN). I still listen to my X-sinner CDs and have a few early Kings X, but nothing new. Novella and One Bad Pig also top my list of favorites and I have all their albums loaded on my iPod.

Was Guardian considered metal? Maybe not, but they rocked well enough.

[Derek]

Alright Mark, you left out one of my all time favorite records. Guardian's "Miracle Mile". Like Bride's "Snakes" record, this one is solid, top to bottom. I've probably bought 3-4 copies of this for me and others. From the opening where Jamie is singing "Well I've been walking..down the miracle...miiiillle" it's pedal to the floor.

I definitely agree with you on Snakes, I've worn that record out.

King's X, definitely, "Faith Hope Love" blew my mind. I remember seeing them 3x during their peak years. Once on the AC/DC tour, once in Atlanta at the Roxy with the Eric Gales Band opening, and once on the Dogman tour at the Cotton Club, when John Corabi (ex singer for the Scream and Motley Crue) came on stage to sing with them.

Whitecross's "Triumphant Return" and "In The Kingdom" were staples for me in high school. I saw them play at Mt. Paran in 1990 supporting "Triumphant Return".

A few extras, really liked X-Sinner (how close can you get to AC/DC, wow), Deliverance (finally got to see them in 94 or 95 at Inner Seeds), Novella (was too good to be understood, really more hard rock than metal).

Thanks for the fun post!

[Rick]

POD is a great mention on this list, Mark. One of my favorite bands of ANY genre in the last ten years or so.

When I was in high school, a friend and I went to see a band called Heirborn. As a band they were so-so, but I remember they had a guitar with them who could absolutely shred. Never heard much about them after that.

[Rob Lester]

Wow, I had/have so many cassettes/CDs from the bands you listed. Ken Tamplin is an amazing guitar player and vocalist. If he'd been secular, he would have been a chart-topper (like Winger!). Don't forget Guardian. Their Miracle Mile album rocks.

Other perhaps more obscure include Jet Circus, Joshua, X-Sinner, Sacred Warrior, Novella, One Bad Pig, Tourniquet, and Believer.

[Heather]

I wish my older brother read your bolgs, he would really like this one. I don't know many, myself, that's not my type of music.

[jason(jabob)]

About the time I got into Christian music was about the time I stopped listening to metal. I remember buying a Stryper cassette in high school and then trading it for a Prince cassettte. However, I still recommend The Showdown.

[adam]

Chatterbox - I'm not sure if they're still around, but they rocked!
Showbread - they are great, especially if you like the screaming. Plus, the lead singer of Five Iron Frenzy sings on one of their tracks

[Jason Sweet]

Gotta love Christian metal! Demon Hunter will definatly be in the top 5 metal bands in Christian music.

[Mattrix]

What about Disciple. I have two of their albums. They rock.