Favorite Christian thrash metal bands?

I'll have to give that a spin. Have not really heard Betrayer.

Sounds pretty good mlotek.I would say they have a power thrash sound.Need to check out more from them.I have an album by Betrayer but it's the thrash band from Israel.Good stuff as well.

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Painkiller wrote:

I'm really not into religious metal -- not because of what people believe, but usually either because bands tend to get TOO preachy or otherwise pump out forgettable noise.

With that said, I do dig early stuff from Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Tourniquet, Believer, and a couple of others.

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever. Not to mention Exodus, who have released nothing but anti-Christian preachy rhetoric for their past few albums.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

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ultmetal wrote:

Painkiller wrote:

I'm really not into religious metal -- not because of what people believe, but usually either because bands tend to get TOO preachy or otherwise pump out forgettable noise.

With that said, I do dig early stuff from Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Tourniquet, Believer, and a couple of others.

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever. Not to mention Exodus, who have released nothing but anti-Christian preachy rhetoric for their past few albums.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

I wouldn't call those bands "preachy" as they were mainly just joking with those lyrics.

I like some Christian bands, but I prefer the ones like Ransom that have more subtle lyrics, bands like Bride come across as a bit too "forceful" for my liking, I just find their lyrics rather off-putting for the most part.

Exodus not so much because I actually find myself agreeing with their lyrics quite a bit.

Stryper..soldiers under command is my best metal tune ever.

Not a unique answer, but Vengeance Rising has been my favorite Christian Thrash band since I was first introduced to the genre.

There's a lot of interesting bands mentioned in this thread though! Many more than I was aware of.

Currently listening to:

Ultimatum qualify as Christian, no?

Painkiller wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

Mercyful Fate's lyrics come off as sounding too tongue-in-cheek. I would say King Diamond's solo band is more satanic (albeit subtle). Many of the concepts were borrowed from LaVeyan philosophies. If you're curious, I can pass along a link to support my words.

Vexer6 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Painkiller wrote:

I'm really not into religious metal -- not because of what people believe, but usually either because bands tend to get TOO preachy or otherwise pump out forgettable noise.

With that said, I do dig early stuff from Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Tourniquet, Believer, and a couple of others.

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever. Not to mention Exodus, who have released nothing but anti-Christian preachy rhetoric for their past few albums.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

I wouldn't call those bands "preachy" as they were mainly just joking with those lyrics.

I like some Christian bands, but I prefer the ones like Ransom that have more subtle lyrics, bands like Bride come across as a bit too "forceful" for my liking, I just find their lyrics rather off-putting for the most part.

Exodus not so much because I actually find myself agreeing with their lyrics quite a bit.

You guys think that King Diamond and Exodus were "joking"? A song like "Shroud of Urine" wasn't written as a joke. They are preaching a message just like any band is. Everyone has a message to preach.

How about Entombed's "Out of Hand". This song preaches pure hate at anyone who dares call themselves a Christian. "Out of Hand." "Jesus Christ, lord of flies, in disguise...it's f*cked to hear one idiot's words, but worse to see others believe it. f*cked up minds in f*cked up times...it's all built on lies, out of hand is this a f*cking joke, out of mind and it makes me f*cking chock, F*ck!"

I sang in a Christian metal band for over 20 years and I always tried to make my lyrics as interesting as possible. I put a lot of time and thought into them, trying to make the lyrics thought provoking rather than "preachy". I just always find it amusing when people say Christian bands are "too preachy" yet they can't see the preachy-ness of just about every band. Kiss was preaching a "live for yourself-have a good time" lifestyle in their lyrics. That type of lyric might not offend most people, but it was still preaching a message. Mercyful Fate were definitely preaching a message about the dark side, and King Diamond wasn't kidding or joking, it's what he believes. Venom might have been the most tongue-in-cheek band ever, but they still were preaching a message.

Gilbert wrote:

Ultimatum qualify as Christian,  no?

Absolutely.   

Anyone into Final Prophecy's 1990/91 releases? The vocals remind me a bit of Vengeance Rising. The recordings are a little rough but still good stuff!

I know very little about Christian metal. I found this site due to Scott introducing me to Ultimatum. Prior to that, the deepest that I went with Christian metal was Vengeance Rising, Believer and Living Sacrifice. Just not something I was ever exposed to.

That said, I don't look too deep into any lyrics. If I like the music, I'll listen to it. I love Mercyful Fate but have never taken the lyrics and subject matter seriously. If a band is preachy one way or the other, but the music is good, I'm not going to not listen because of the message.

ultmetal wrote:

Painkiller wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

Mercyful Fate's lyrics come off as sounding too tongue-in-cheek. I would say King Diamond's solo band is more satanic (albeit subtle). Many of the concepts were borrowed from LaVeyan philosophies. If you're curious, I can pass along a link to support my words.

Vexer6 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Painkiller wrote:

I'm really not into religious metal -- not because of what people believe, but usually either because bands tend to get TOO preachy or otherwise pump out forgettable noise.

With that said, I do dig early stuff from Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Tourniquet, Believer, and a couple of others.

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever. Not to mention Exodus, who have released nothing but anti-Christian preachy rhetoric for their past few albums.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

I wouldn't call those bands "preachy" as they were mainly just joking with those lyrics.

I like some Christian bands, but I prefer the ones like Ransom that have more subtle lyrics, bands like Bride come across as a bit too "forceful" for my liking, I just find their lyrics rather off-putting for the most part.

Exodus not so much because I actually find myself agreeing with their lyrics quite a bit.

You guys think that King Diamond and Exodus were "joking"? A song like "Shroud of Urine" wasn't written as a joke. They are preaching a message just like any band is. Everyone has a message to preach.

How about Entombed's "Out of Hand". This song preaches pure hate at anyone who dares call themselves a Christian. "Out of Hand." "Jesus Christ, lord of flies, in disguise...it's f*cked to hear one idiot's words, but worse to see others believe it. f*cked up minds in f*cked up times...it's all built on lies, out of hand is this a f*cking joke, out of mind and it makes me f*cking chock, F*ck!"

I sang in a Christian metal band for over 20 years and I always tried to make my lyrics as interesting as possible. I put a lot of time and thought into them, trying to make the lyrics thought provoking rather than "preachy". I just always find it amusing when people say Christian bands are "too preachy" yet they can't see the preachy-ness of just about every band. Kiss was preaching a "live for yourself-have a good time" lifestyle in their lyrics. That type of lyric might not offend most people, but it was still preaching a message. Mercyful Fate were definitely preaching a message about the dark side, and King Diamond wasn't kidding or joking, it's what he believes. Venom might have been the most tongue-in-cheek band ever, but they still were preaching a message.

It's called art when a non christian band espouses a view. It's only preaching when a Christian does it. Duh ult!!

ultmetal wrote:

Painkiller wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

Mercyful Fate's lyrics come off as sounding too tongue-in-cheek. I would say King Diamond's solo band is more satanic (albeit subtle). Many of the concepts were borrowed from LaVeyan philosophies. If you're curious, I can pass along a link to support my words.

Vexer6 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Painkiller wrote:

I'm really not into religious metal -- not because of what people believe, but usually either because bands tend to get TOO preachy or otherwise pump out forgettable noise.

With that said, I do dig early stuff from Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Tourniquet, Believer, and a couple of others.

So you don't like Mercyful Fate then I assume? Preachiest band ever. Not to mention Exodus, who have released nothing but anti-Christian preachy rhetoric for their past few albums.

There are tons of great Christian bands.

I wouldn't call those bands "preachy" as they were mainly just joking with those lyrics.

I like some Christian bands, but I prefer the ones like Ransom that have more subtle lyrics, bands like Bride come across as a bit too "forceful" for my liking, I just find their lyrics rather off-putting for the most part.

Exodus not so much because I actually find myself agreeing with their lyrics quite a bit.

You guys think that King Diamond and Exodus were "joking"? A song like "Shroud of Urine" wasn't written as a joke. They are preaching a message just like any band is. Everyone has a message to preach.

How about Entombed's "Out of Hand". This song preaches pure hate at anyone who dares call themselves a Christian. "Out of Hand." "Jesus Christ, lord of flies, in disguise...it's f*cked to hear one idiot's words, but worse to see others believe it. f*cked up minds in f*cked up times...it's all built on lies, out of hand is this a f*cking joke, out of mind and it makes me f*cking chock, F*ck!"

I sang in a Christian metal band for over 20 years and I always tried to make my lyrics as interesting as possible. I put a lot of time and thought into them, trying to make the lyrics thought provoking rather than "preachy". I just always find it amusing when people say Christian bands are "too preachy" yet they can't see the preachy-ness of just about every band. Kiss was preaching a "live for yourself-have a good time" lifestyle in their lyrics. That type of lyric might not offend most people, but it was still preaching a message. Mercyful Fate were definitely preaching a message about the dark side, and King Diamond wasn't kidding or joking, it's what he believes. Venom might have been the most tongue-in-cheek band ever, but they still were preaching a message.

Exodus maybe not, but Mercyful Fate's lyrics don't sound too serious, you said as much in your review of "Don't Break The Oath".

I've never even heard of Entombed before so I can't really comment on their lyrics.

KISS "preachy"?  Yeah I just don't see that at all, I guess I have a different definition of what "preachy" is then you do.

It's not the "preachiness" of these bands that annoys me, it's the heavy-handed and off-putting nature of the lyrics that I find to be a turn-off(Ultimatum's lyrics not so much, there's a few I don't agree with like "Gutterbox" and "Never", but other then that I don't have any real problems there) Bride in particular I find hard to listen to for that reason(and I don't think they're that great musically either)

exact33 wrote:

It's called art when a non christian band espouses a view. It's only preaching when a Christian does it. Duh ult!!

This.

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Gutterbox is a song about blindly following and believing everything you hear/see on TV. It's not really a song based on Christianity or the Bible. More of a social observation song.

Never is about not selling out your music and artistic integrity to trends just to sell records. That song was written in the 1990s when all these bands were abandoning their heavy metal sound and going for the grunge sound in order to "stay relevant." (Heavy metal had become a dirty word in the press.) The song was inspired by comments I read from interviews of Holy Soldier and Def Leppard. It too isn't really a song based on Christianity. Another social observation.

I never liked that "Christian" tag to any style of music. Not sure if it was a secular tag to exclude it from being accepted, or a Christian thing to let their flock know it was an acceptable choice. Probably both. I'm the same way with "National Socialist" tagged material.

To me, one political or religious view doesn't sound much different from another when put to music. I do admit though that I ignore lyrics 99% of the time, so that makes it easy for me, I guess.

mc666 wrote:

I do admit though that I ignore lyrics 99% of the time, so that makes it easy for me, I guess.

Exactly how I am. Listening to metal isn't like listening to Dylan. My interest is solely in the music.

ultmetal wrote:

Gutterbox is a song about blindly following and believing everything you hear/see on TV. It's not really a song based on Christianity or the Bible. More of a social observation song.

Never is about not selling out your music and artistic integrity to trends just to sell records. That song was written in the 1990s when all these bands were abandoning their heavy metal sound and going for the grunge sound in order to "stay relevant." (Heavy metal had become a dirty word in the press.) The song was inspired by comments I read from interviews of Holy Soldier and Def Leppard. It too isn't really a song based on Christianity. Another social observation.

Ah OK then, that's interesting.

Speaking of Holy Soldier they're another Christian band I like.

Another reason some Christian bands don't appeal to me is because they're lyrics are much too corny for my tastes, Stryper being one example, while they do have stuff I enjoy(mostly on "Against The Law" as they toned down the cheesiness there) some of their songs just made me groan out loud at how silly the lyrics were("Honestly" especially, normally I love cheesy ballads like Warrant's "Sometimes She Cries" and "Heaven", but that song was too sickeningly sweet even for my tastes).

Painkiller wrote:

There is a clear difference between "God/Jesus is great and purifies the world of all the evils" and "YOU NEED TO ACCEPT GOD/JESUS INTO YOUR LIFE OR ELSE YOU WILL BURN IN HELL ZOMG!!!111" in music.

The former is what I'm cool with, but the overly Christian shit is annoying and reminds me exactly why I stopped believing.

Mercyful Fate's music never once came off as preachy. King Diamond isn't directly telling you how to live your life, so I fail to see the logic in that.

Agreed, the definition of the word "Preach" is someone who gives sermons, so since it's predominately a religious term, it makes sense that people call some christian bands "preachy".

Mercyful Fate and Exodus do not come across as "preachy" to me at all, the former's lyrics were just silly B-grade horror(as you mentioned in your review) while the latter's were merely the band(or at least Gary Holt) stating an opinion, at least that's how I personally see it.  Personally I don't really get the disdain for Exodus's lyrics(anti-religious lyrics aside), I think they've written some pretty smart songs.

I think Kiss is pretty clear what they preach - shack up with some girl and enjoy yourself until the next one comes along.

I also think its pretty clear what the myriads of thrash and black metal bands preach - religion is evil and people who follow it are sheep. To be sure there are some who are different but in general the sermon is mostly the same.

Ironically, one of the biggest "hellfire and brimstone" messages ive heard came from Hammerfall's The Unforgiving Blade. Anyway back on track, would Lust Control count? A lot of their stuff was on the edge between punk and metal. Also, someone else mentioned Tempest. I doubt they mean the one from the 80s (though The Coming Storm was heavier than the second album, it sure wasnt thrash), so is there another Christian band with that name that plays thrash?

glassprison wrote:

Anyone into Final Prophecy's 1990/91 releases? The vocals remind me a bit of Vengeance Rising. The recordings are a little rough but still good stuff!

i like em.

Some Christian thrash bands i like:

Heirborne
Mortal Enemy
Rude Awakening
Threshing Sledge
Preacher
Wickeds End
Immortal
Metal Messiah