Christian metal is amongst the worst of the metal subgenres — preachy garbage that turns its nose at the genre while also using it as a commodity. But some Christian bands truly embraced the brutality and chaos of metal.
These bands knew how to make killer albums that just happened to have Christian themes, whether it be death metal, black metal, thrash or classic heavy metal. Check ’em out!
If you’re gonna make a Christian metal album, make it about the goddamn apocalypse. Sacrament’s Testimony of Apocalypse has everything you want in a classic ‘90s thrash album — ripping guitars, massive vocals, phenomenal drumming. It’s one of the meanest sounding thrash albums of the era… it just happens to have Christian themes.
You’d never expect a Christian death metal album to sound… well… so much like a death metal album. Almost a Christian version of Morbid Angel, Mortification’s Scrolls of the Megilloth is genuinely great early-era death metal that doesn’t skimp on brutality for the sake of its message.
Where the fuck did this vocalist come from? Dale Thompson, you’ve got one of the best heavy metal shrieks ever! Seriously, if you’re into ball-clenching heavy metal highs, you need to feel the power of Bride. The band’s instrumental section brilliantly keeps up with Thompson’s vocals as well, making each track feel big in that classic ‘80s way.
A melodic black metal album from a Christian band, Crimson Moonlight’s Veil of Remembrance puts the music before any religious grandiosity. The 2004 album takes a little from the Dimmu Borgir playbook while not aping any band’s style, just delivering a record that’s both solid and palatable.
Christian crossover thrash? How the fuck does this exist? And why are they giving Suicidal Tendencies a run for their money? The guitar and drums sound absolutely perfect on The Crucified’s The Pillars of Humanity, crunching and cracking through every wild tempo change.
Here it is… a boundary-pushing metalcore classic that’s both a Christian album and a critique of the church’s hypocrisy. This album helped establish the metalcore genre as much as Poison the Well’s The Opposite of December or Botch’s We Are the Romans. Give Zao the respect they’ve earned.
The makers of DOOM knew great metal when they heard it. The classic video game ripped songs from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and many others… including Christian thrash act Believer. Sanity Obscure is brutal, highly technical and so fucking groovy. Underrated for sure.
Nope, that’s not Tom Araya and Layne Staley teaming up for an alt thrash album, it’s the dudes from Tourniquet. You can hear the zeitgeist changing on Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance, as it blends the lines between thrash and grunge. An awesome piece of metal that also happens to be a Christian album.
Extol’s 1998 debut, Burial, has long been a go-to for Christians who wanted some of that pure Norwegian death metal. Burial is packed with big, melodic riffs and atmospheric soundscapes. It’ll keep surprising you as well, peppering the listener with short bursts of Necrophagist, Death and straight-up Nordic folk.
Someone buy that album cover artist all the beers. Bloodgood is almost Dio-esque in its larger-than-life sound, but with some West Coast heavy metal cockiness thrown in. Bloodgood’s Detonation is very earthbound in its lyrical content, making it relatable for secular folks just trying to get through problems of the heart.
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