I’m even more annoyed by the large whitespace.
My favourite christian (themed) band and CD is Ram it down by Judas Priest.
Can’t get much more christianity into a group name IMO.
The song Painkiller is very very good too, impossible to equal in power IMO.
Ar… Artificial?
When I was a preacher I did a sermon based on that episode. It’s such an accurate picture of a teenager finding a social group that happened to be at church. And Hank accurately calls out how shallow that kind of social faith is.
At the end of the episode, Hank pulls out a box of crap from fads Bobby had been into and talked about how he didn’t want Bobby’s spirituality to end up in that box.
For millions of people, church is basically a club where they meet with their friends, and since the church is still the most racially segregated place in America, that’s a problem.
The “Christian Club” mentality is what allowed the rise of the religious right, when churches should be vocal about justice for the the sick, the poor, and the foreigners.
since the church is still the most racially segregated place in America
Unrelated to the rest of your comment, I find this observation perplexing. In Germany, the church I went to had close ties to several African communities. I loved their joyful, passionate style of worship-parties, more than what I learned of other churches in Germany. The Africans I knew at that church (refugees) were some of the kindest, loveliest people I’ve known. I’d credit that as being one of the good things I took from my faith: Growing up in frequent contact with different cultures and in a spirit of appreciation, I wasn’t even conscious of the concept of racism.
My mom once told me that, when she’d been babysitting a friendly couple’s son and pushing him in the stroller on a walk, she got evil looks from some people. For the longest time, I assumed that was just because it was apparent that we had come from different fathers and people thought we were both hers.
In middle or high school, when I learned about it from history class, the concept seemed so alien to me, like a relic of the past… until I realised that my primary school had one black kid, who was bullied (and a bit violent at times, which I’d now attribute to trauma from fleeing an active warzone coupled with facing racism in a fairly conservative town) while my secondary school had none, mostly upperclass “white” with a few other “white”-adjacent (Italian, Russian) ethnicities.
The idea that this childhood friend might have drawn evil looks because he was black hit me years later like a freight train of shattered childhood innocence.
(As an aside, that friend once declared that he’s dark chocolate and I’m white chocolate and if that isn’t the sweetest thing, I don’t know what is.)
Poster is probably American… Churches are generally pretty segregated… not that there aren’t less (denomination) segregated ones… But there’s often a stark difference between a Baptist and evangelical church beyond the singing.
Yeah, I figured. I just found the contrast striking when my own church was the least segregated place I knew for most of my childhood.
The objective was to try to get religion to appeal to youth. I knew some young 20’s guys in a band who were into it circa 1998.
You mean the goal wasn’t to get rock to appeal to Christians? 😲
I believe you mean “the Devil’s Music”. Getting the kiddos all swinging and gyraten their hips like demons.
some of that evil pelvic sorcery, i hear
evil pelvic sorcery
I just hate it when I find a new song that sounds like a tragic story of the loss of a loved one just to find out it’s actually about their love for god.
It just feels so cringey to me 🥴
Flyleaf All around me
That and comatose by skillet are like the perfect examples
Or you think it’s divorced dad rock and it’s actually about the devil
When I first moved to France, I was surprised by how much English-language rock/pop music was on the radio. I was also suprised that sometimes christian rock would be played between something like Nirvana’s Rape Me and Bloodhound Gang’s The Bad Touch. I mentioned it to my colleagues and they were like, “wtf is Christian rock?”
Despite we having our share of weirdos, most Europeans have no clue as to how mind bogglingly insane religion has become in the US (and how normal most US people think it is).
Europe is not ready for a Talladega caliber Floridaman
I’m originally from Canada. Barely any christian rock made it to radio. Probably because they didn’t want to be on the same station as the evil rock bands. I didn’t know it was a thing until university when my neighbour tried to get me to listen to Switchfoot after hearing me listening to Skinny Puppy or something like that.
That’s fair. Basically since the 80s America has had a counterculture of Christians explicitly rejecting the secularity of society and attempting to create an alternative media landscape that will both pull secular people into the extreme Christian movement using counterculture aesthetics and concepts (ok that actually began in the 70s when they were preaching to burnt out hippies, lots of cults began with that), as well as to prevent their young people from leaving for these things.
“You don’t need to go be a hippie, you can be a Jesus freak and talk about peace and love and hear how the hippie life of sex and drugs was bad.” And copy and paste for rock, metal, and whatever else. So long as there was something there beyond what they consider immoral they’ll do it, and it’s extended to stuff like just tv.
well so Jars of Clay was weirdly popular for a christian rock group. like i didn’t even think about them as a christian rock group until their second, maybe third album? but they got radio play on mainstream stations.
It’s a similar story with Skillet.
don’t embarrass me by talking about a band i don’t know yet i’m supposed to be the musician. what’s the good album i want to learn them
Honestly, just pull up a smattering of the top songs. I don’t think you need to do a whole album to get the vibe – 2 - 4 songs should do it.
i mean while i agree with you, i gotta do a whole album. they tell a story. even if the artist (publisher, musician, recording engineer bullshit whatever whoever) isn’t good enough to tell a story intentionally there’s a story in the album.
but like i said, i’m a musician. i’ve sat through an entire concert looking like i was watching 2001 on acid for the first time just muttering “his hands. his hands.” the entire time while the drummer did things no percussionist should and no other drummer can. there’s subtexts that we don’t even know we’re putting into our own songs sometimes.
Totally reasonable.
I’m digging up old memories, but anything released in the early 2000s should fit the bill. Skimming track lists for something I recognize, invincible or Alien Youth are jumping out at me.
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I had no idea Skillet was Christian rock until well after highschool. I think Monster is one of their more popular songs and does a pretty good job showcasing their general vibes
Are you saying AI art…It can take me higher? To a place where blind men see?
It’s already cringe when the youth pastor shows up with his acoustic guitar, and there’s really no need to also bring electricity into this.
I like those guys. Our existence is too short to waste it worrying about how cool people will think we are, and they’re ironically making the most of theirs. They’re out there having fun playing music.
…while worrying about what some imaginary war god thinks of them.
Yeah but that’s most people who don’t even leave the house and play guitar too
Nah. There are a lot of bad Christian rock/metal bands, but there are quite a few good ones too.
To name some I still come back to, even though I no longer identify as a Christian:
- Skillet is an obvious one (not my thing anymore, especially everything after Awake, but can’t call them bad)
- Silent Planet
- August Burns Red
- Underoath (well, they used to be)
- Fit For A King
- Wolves At The Gate (though their lyrics can be too much on the nose)
- Flyleaf (when Lacey Sturm was still on board)
- Love & Death
- Children 18:3
Personally I still have a soft spot for Newsboys. Mostly just Shine, and Take Me To Your Leader. Those two still feel good.
Initially I kinda liked Audio Adrenaline, but looking back with what we all know now about the impact of a car based society on the world, I gotta admit, “Chevette” didn’t have an ounce of gospel in it, and was a much worse take on crappy cars that probably leaked toxic trash everywhere they went than Adam Sandler’s “Ode to my Car”.
Underoath (well, they used to be)
used to be good or used to be christian?
Used to be a christian band
How did you literally forget Reliant K?
Cause I never listened to them for some reason
I’m just going to tack a few more on here so I can find some of yours later, but I’d like to add:
Nine Lashes, which are probably more overt than some
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, for the entirety of Don’t You Fake It, and a few other songs
Red
Demon Hunter
Switchfoot, don’t @ me Dare You To Move is a banger
Disciple
Pillar
Disciple is probably more overt than Nine Lashes though, no?
DH I’ve gotten uncomfortable with since Exile.
Probably? I’ll be honest, there’s only a few songs by Disciple that I’ve really listened to, but I liked them. Kind of the same with DH, I really like Black Stained Glass
I like Half Alive
I’m an atheist, but Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit In The Sky” is a banger.
Otherwise yeah, this meme nails it.
I also like some religious music, I think the key is that the music needs to be interesting with zero pandering.
At the risk of turning this into a “not religious, but…” music recommendation thread: I’ve enjoyed mewithoutYou for a long time now. They have a subdued art-rock sound, and I even enjoy a lot of their more overtly religious songs like “In a Sweater Poorly Knit” and “The King Beetle On A Coconut Estate.”
Mewithoutyou - “Cattail Down”Creepy though.
When I die and they lay me to rest,
I’m going to go to the place that’s the best.That’s so stupid it’s hilarious. That’s the kind of lyric I would write if I was making fun of Christian music.
I actually looked up the song after I commented. Apparently Norman is Jewish and wrote the song after watching a gospel performance and said “Hey, I could do that.” He then wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes…
That is weirdly true.
Both are corpo-sanitized.
It’s like averaging out anything- the temperature of your porridge is the average of all porridges, the new movie you’ve been waiting for just uses the most common tropes in its writing, the quality of sex you’ll have next is the average of all sex you’ve already had
Ok, I’ll take the average sex. But the other stuff needs to go.
Isn’t Skillet kinda fine?..
the key ingredient is they don’t only sing about Jesus. See also: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Mainstream audiences don’t generally mind christian themes so long as that band is being true to themselves rather than making common denominator slop.
i mean… look at all the music that came from Motown records before 1985. not all of those musicians and acts were devoutly christian, but a lot of them were
I think you nailed it. I don’t mind the Christian songs of Black Sabbath. They are just true to themselves and sing what they want to sing.
Especially when all of the Christians think that the band is Satanic lmao
You misspelled fire.
Skillet is trash, and the front man is a tool.
I have a soft spot for Creed sometimes, but it’s not exactly like they disprove this statement.
Edit: huh, apparently they aren’t a Christian rock band. Could’ve fooled me.
That’s one of those where they became so mainstream that they don’t want to name it, but they definitely make Christian rock.
Apparently, Higher is about lucid dreaming, but he’s also dreaming of biblical Heaven:
Can you take me higher
To a place where blind men see
(Isaiah 29:18-19)
Can you take me higher
To a place with golden streets
(Revelations 21:21)“My Sacrifice” is about Scott’s struggle with alcoholism, but speaks of a person who gave him love and who he implies he repeatedly reunites with “in their mind.” That’s Jesus bro.
“One Last Breath” drops a capital-H “His grace” referring to God, “With Arms Wide Open” mentions praying, “What If” references Matthew 7:16-17, etc.
It seems quite a few of their songs are “actually” about something else, but totally allegorical to Christian belief. And idk what that makes you other than a Christian rock band.
I thought My Sacrifice was about the double standard of being a supposed Christian rockstar but hanging with Kid Rock and getting bjs from the groupies.
“When you are with me, I’m free. I’m careless, I believe. Above all the others, we’ll fly. This brings tears to my eyes. My sacrifice.”
Creed is an honorary Christian rock band, which is 1000x worse than a normal one.
Alter Bridge is better
Alter bridge still has the only live album I’ll ever listen to. Wonderful life/watch over you with the parallax orchestra is genuinely a top 5 song. Probably no1 in the top 5.
The Roots - Come Alive
Sublime - Stand By Your Van
Between the Buried and Me have multiple live albums that are fantastic
Scott Stapp the vocalist and lyricist is a Christian and his solo albums are outrightly spiritual in theme.
Something you would have to grow up in the church to understand is how controversial a lot of “Christian bands” actually were in Christian circles. Like the pushback against music with scream vocals was real.
It was a genuine wedge issue because churches used professional audio/lights to attract members with polished modern rock worship music. Music became so intertwined that it led to all non christian music being labeled “secular”.
Bands like Creed didn’t fit either label but generally was considered acceptable listening material in the church circles I grew up in. Most objections were genre based.
They are.
There are definitely exceptions. But this is often true.
I liked mxpx back in the early 2000s. when I found out they were a Christan punk band I stopped listening to them.
who the fuck makes a Christan punk band?? wankers, that’s who.
For what it’s worth, MxPx used to be a Christian band, but they fully renounced that a long time ago. They are as secular a punk band as you can get these days. I must admit it was a little hilarious hearing Mike drop f-bombs to the audience in between songs lol
You’re missing out on some crazy vicar riffs bruv
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