Back in the late 1970s and early '80s, after the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWBHM) invaded American shores, a new breed of music started to appear. Christian artists who preferred the genres of rock and metal started to create bands based around those that were seen within the mainstream. Inevitably, churches were split in promoting this type of music, even if the younger generation really appreciated it. Some felt that it was the ultimate worship oxymoron, as metal used a very aggressive, fast-paced style to promote what the artist felt that they needed to say. Nevertheless, the first seeds were being planted and as the years went on, covers were made of traditional songs and restyled, and in the mid-80s it followed the same direction as 'normal' metal, in that groups were categorized into many different types of sub-genre, not just 'white metal'.
Resurrect the Metal Into Something White
Although Resurrection Band (or REZ) was the first popular group to try to do something different with Christian music, it wasn't until Sweden's Jerusalem started touring that it was pushed to that louder, heavier style. Few churches condoned their music and fewer still actually let them in to play. Their debut album, the self-titled Jerusalem (1978), was signed to a label without too much expectation of success, but they ended up dazzled by the roar of enthusiasm of Sweden's Christian populace, and within six months the album had sold over 20,000 copies, an unprecedented amount for one of the smallest genres in modern music, Christian metal. This paved the way for more albums to be released, with the next one Volym 2 dubbed into several languages.
Meanwhile, over the pond, REZ was spearheading Christian Metal for their contemporaries, incorporating blister-inducing guitar solos on their early 80s albums. The popular band Petra was also a forerunner in creating the so-called Jesus Music, combining rock sounds with an evangelical message. In the mid-80s, Stryper burst onto the scene, the first Western openly Christian metal band within a mainstream market. Their albums sold by the bucket-loads, until they decided to reinvent their image in the early 90s, whereby they received a cooler reception from Christian audiences due to their refusal to make a direct link to God in their lyrics. However, Stryper still left a legacy in that Christian bands were able to use a style of unrelenting music, but still able to share the Gospel to the unchurched. Stryper was unique in that it was found to be one of the most successful bands in the mainstream as well as within Christian circles because their music was as strong or as important as their faith or theology.
It's All Part of the Plan
By the mid-80s, churches and businessmen had eventually caught on by this time, as they launched magazines, fanzines, newsletters and the like to promote rock/metal bands throughout the world. But, people who had turned to the Christian faith simply due to Christian metal and were still being turned away at churches, who had decided that the music they were into was too aggressive or even 'demonic'. In 1984 a pastor in California, Bob Beeman, started his own ministry entitled The Sanctuary - The Rock And Roll Refuge to combat these effects from the more conservative church, and to show love to these new converts. The result was extraordinary, as a lot of new Christian metal bands started forming within the ministry and went out into the big wide world with high expectations, and a lot of them would be proven right. As churches became more accepting, the ministry changed to The Sanctuary International, and its direction moved to teachings.
As Christian Metal reached the 1990s, a newer type of music hit the scene in the form of grunge, otherwise known as the 'Seattle sound', coming from the likes of Nirvana, Alice in Chains and the like. Alternative rock was permeating the radio on every station, filled with teenage angst and rebellion. Even mainstream metal artists such as Metallica had to change their type of music, gearing towards a blues-y hard rock sound more than anything. Groups within the Christian Metal genre either changed to suit, or they developed even more to put them into a niche, such as death or extreme metal. Stryper felt that it had nowhere else to go with its glam metal approach, so it split up, but other, newer bands such as Horde pushed on.
Christianity Today (Metal Version)
Now, in the 21st Century, there are a lot of Christian metal bands out there that directly and indirectly assert their faith into their lyrics. Their music can be progressive and heavy, can be more classic metal in nature, or just be a cover of a hymn that has since gained recent popularity. RED is seen as one of the more popular bands today, along with Skillet, P.O.D and Underoath within the metal community.
Culturally, white metal tends to stick with the countries that metal music is most popular in, such as the US, Finland and the Netherlands, and churches there will also incorporate a slightly harder theme that isn't used in other countries, and the use of electrics are still prevalent amongst contemporary groups. In all, the individualistic nature of metal still melds Christians together into a community, bringing forth the idea that although each person has their own problems and troubles in this life, the church as a body can help accommodate that, with groups grown from and dedicated to their own natural way of presenting themselves, not only through their love of God, but also in the shared interest of that same genre of music.
James Clapham - After winning his Creative Writing Diploma, James Clapham moved to Slovakia. He currently works as an English teacher there, and is also ...
