Essential Christian Metal

I don't have room to store CD's anymore so I have to resort to I-tunes.
Would some of you be kind enough to post a list of essential Christian
metal. I already asked Ultmetal in a PM and this is what he gave me.

ultmetal wrote:

This
would be a great thread for you to start as well bro. OK, besides the
bands you already listed, I am recommending these:

Recon - Behind Enemy Lines
Place of Skulls (any and all! / doom)
Generation - Brutal Reality (I have this one for trade on CD if you'd like)
The Crucified - Pillars of Humanity
Believer (all)
Bloodgood (all)
Seventh Angel (all)
Ashen Mortality
Narnia - Lone Live the King, The Great Fall, Enter the Gate
Rez Band/Resurrection Band
Oracle - Selah
The Moshketeers - Downward Spiral
Barren Cross (all)
Bride - Live to Die, Kinetic Faith, Snakes in the Playground
Deliverance - s/t, Weapons, Stay of Execution, Learn, Intense Live Series
Holy Soldier - s/t, Last Train
Rose - Healing
Detritus - Perpetual Defiance
Eternal Decision - s/t
Betrayal - Rennasiance by Death
Die Happy - s/t, Vol. 2, Intense Live Series
Stryper - Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With the Devil, Against the Law
Sacred Warrior (all)
Seventh Avenue (German power metal)
X-Sinner - Get It
Whitecross - s/t, Hammer & Nail, Triumphant Return
Ken Tamplin - Tamplin & Friends
Veni Domine - Fall Babylon Fall, Material Sanctuary
Tyton - Mind over Metal
Mass - Voices in the Night (very Stryper-ish)
Sardonyx - Majestic Serenity
Main Line Riders - Shot in the Dark
Titanic - Maiden Voyage
Final Axe - Axe of the Apostles
Angelica - s/t (w/ Rob Rock on vox)
Jesus Freaks - Socially Unacceptable
Fear Not - s/t (has a Skid Row sound to 'em)
Harmony (melodic Euro-metal)
Haven - Your Dying Day, Age of Darkness
Joshua - Surrender (Jeff Fenholt on vox), Intense Defense (Rob Rock on vox)
Crimson Thorn (any / old school death metal)
Metanoia (all / Australian old school death metal)
One Bad Pig (unique band mixing thrash, punk and metal)
Paramaecium (death/doom)
Eternal Ryte - Anthology (L.A. BIG HAIR metal! Anthology has all their recordings on two CDs.)
Once Dead - Return with a Vengeance (DVD! I am quite proud of this one)

Tourniquet, Rage of Angels, Sacrament

Leviticus (only the Live a Bobfest in 2003 cd is worth it... it rocks HARD)


I would suggest a quick top ten to narrow your search. Not in any particular order...

Rez Band - 20 years live
Bloodgood - Detonation
Vengeance - Human Sacrifice
Sacred Warrior - Obsessions
Believer - Extraction from Mortality
Bride - Snakes in the Playground
Stryper - Soldiers Under Command
Barren Cross - Atomic Arena
Die Happy - self titled
Whitecross - self titled

this is a loose 10 albums if I was stranded on a desert island I would consider essential.... I know I've committed an unforgiveable sin by not including Deliverance, but oh well !! I could drop Die Happy and include Deliverance.....

Happy hunting...

Rage of Angels is a good suggestion. Forgot about that one. Quality traditional heavy metal.

Also Precious Death - Southpaw! Forgot that one as well.

Saint - Times End, In the Battle, Too Late for Living, The Mark

ult

ultmetal wrote:

Rage of Angels is a good suggestion. Forgot about that one. Quality traditional heavy metal.

Also Precious Death - Southpaw! Forgot that one as well.

Saint - Times End, In the Battle, Too Late for Living, The Mark

ult

How did I forget about SAINT !!! We better add Messiah Prophet - "Master of The Metal" ... forget their 1st or 3rd disc...

Ultra-Man is so metal, that should be the new metal sign!

candlemass wrote:

Ultra-Man is so metal, that should be the new metal sign!

bro, I am the proud owner of the first season on DVD... I'm such a fan boy... or geek!!

Probably should start another thread but ULTIMATUM -- Into the Pit is one of my all time favorite albums.

Tourniquet "Stop The Bleeding"
Deliverance "Weapons Of Our Warfare"
Whitecross "s/t"
Bloodgood "Out Of The Darkness"/"Detonation"
Guardian "First Watch"
VR "Human Sacrafice"


etc..etc..too many to list.

yeah, Ult I didnt see any Ultimatum on that list. I truly think every christian metalhead has gotta have their music.

1. The Crucified - all
2. Sacrament - Haunts of Violence
3. Seventh Angel - Lament for the Weary
4. Believer - first 2
5. Tourniquet - first 3
6. Deliverance - first 3
7. Mortification - first 3

stepcousin wrote:

yeah, Ult I didnt see any Ultimatum on that list. I
truly think every christian metalhead has gotta have their
music.

I already knew that bgast had all five of our CDs, that's why I didn't list any.

ult

emerald-armed for battle
oracle-selah
cross-metal from above
seventh seal-messengers of love
lord bane-age of elegance
neon night -s/t
angelknight-rage of angels
saviour machine-demo
saviour machine I
saviour machine II
saviour machine -revelations/rarities
king's ransom- curators of the realm
sardonyx-rebel of reason
sardonyx-majestic serenity
faith of steel-metal with meaning
paradox(tx)-the wrath
apostle-hymns
final assault-first strike
final assault-messenger of god
vengeance(TX)- demo 89
innerwish-waiting for the dawn
lightmare- certain death
vigilance-demo 87
neon cross-frontline life
recon-light the fire
imperial rage-fire in the sky
seventh avenue-tales of tales
axia-ep

syrus wrote:

emerald-armed for battle
apostle-hymns

Very Solid... Especially Apostle.... Very Yngwie sounding. Much better than their first two demos...

Emerald good metal....

syrus wrote:

emerald-armed for battle
oracle-selah
cross-metal from above
seventh seal-messengers of love
neon night -s/t
angelknight-rage of angels
saviour machine-demo
saviour machine I
saviour machine II
saviour machine -revelations/rarities
king's ransom- curators of the realm
sardonyx-rebel of reason
sardonyx-majestic serenity
faith of steel-metal with meaning
paradox(tx)-the wrath
apostle-hymns
final assault-first strike
final assault-messenger of god
vengeance(TX)- demo 89
innerwish-waiting for the dawn
lightmare- certain death
vigilance-demo 87
neon cross-frontline life
recon-light the fire
imperial rage-fire in the sky
seventh avenue-tales of tales
axia-ep

Saviour Machine are a goth band. I never could understand why people call them metal when half the time there isn't even any guitars present. I personally find them boring, but I've never been a big goth fan.

Many of the titles on syrus' list are nothing more than demos. Some were quite good. I liked Apostle and Paradox. Always wondered why they never scored deals, when bands like Tempest and Torn Flesh were getting deals.

I was lucky enough to catch Paradox live a few times. Last time I saw them they were opening for Sacred Warrior. Great guitarist and awesome singer. All their demos are quite good. They've been talking about releasing them on CD for years, and have even run ads for them, but nothing has ever surfaced, as far as I am aware.

"Frontline Life" from Neon Cross are nothing more than demo versions of the songs that appeared on their first self-titled record. Never did understand why they left their best song off the album though. "Son of God" is awesome. It appeared on California Metal.

Lightmare were always just "ok" to me.

Emerald were decent. If they had stuck around long enough they might have been a force to be reckoned with. I had that album on vinyl but gave it to my friend Olaf in Germany. It wasn't a frequent player. I do have a promotional poster by them signed by their singer.

Recon's Light the Fire was a great demo. That song also appeared on California Metal. The demo and their full length were released together some years ago on CD by M8.

The Vigilance Demo is a great slab of metal.

syrus wrote:

emerald-armed for battle
oracle-selah
cross-metal from above
seventh seal-messengers of love
neon night -s/t
angelknight-rage of angels
saviour machine-demo
saviour machine I
saviour machine II
saviour machine -revelations/rarities
king's ransom- curators of the realm
sardonyx-rebel of reason
sardonyx-majestic serenity
faith of steel-metal with meaning
paradox(tx)-the wrath
apostle-hymns
final assault-first strike
final assault-messenger of god
vengeance(TX)- demo 89
innerwish-waiting for the dawn
lightmare- certain death
vigilance-demo 87
neon cross-frontline life
recon-light the fire
imperial rage-fire in the sky
seventh avenue-tales of tales
axia-ep

Why is it that obscure and hard to get is the only time music gets your seal of approval?

ultmetal wrote:

syrus wrote:

emerald-armed for battle
oracle-selah
cross-metal from above
seventh seal-messengers of love
neon night -s/t
angelknight-rage of angels
saviour machine-demo
saviour machine I
saviour machine II
saviour machine -revelations/rarities
king's ransom- curators of the realm
sardonyx-rebel of reason
sardonyx-majestic serenity
faith of steel-metal with meaning
paradox(tx)-the wrath
apostle-hymns
final assault-first strike
final assault-messenger of god
vengeance(TX)- demo 89
innerwish-waiting for the dawn
lightmare- certain death
vigilance-demo 87
neon cross-frontline life
recon-light the fire
imperial rage-fire in the sky
seventh avenue-tales of tales
axia-ep

Saviour Machine are a goth band. I never could understand why people call them metal when half the time there isn't even any guitars present. I personally find them boring, but I've never been a big goth fan.

Many of the titles on syrus' list are nothing more than demos. Some were quite good. I liked Apostle and Paradox. Always wondered why they never scored deals, when bands like Tempest and Torn Flesh were getting deals.

I was lucky enough to catch Paradox live a few times. Last time I saw them they were opening for Sacred Warrior. Great guitarist and awesome singer. All their demos are quite good. They've been talking about releasing them on CD for years, and have even run ads for them, but nothing has ever surfaced, as far as I am aware.

"Frontline Life" from Neon Cross are nothing more than demo versions of the songs that appeared on their first self-titled record. Never did understand why they left their best song off the album though. "Son of God" is awesome. It appeared on California Metal.

Lightmare were always just "ok" to me.

Emerald were decent. If they had stuck around long enough they might have been a force to be reckoned with. I had that album on vinyl but gave it to my friend Olaf in Germany. It wasn't a frequent player. I do have a promotional poster by them signed by their singer.

Recon's Light the Fire was a great demo. That song also appeared on California Metal. The demo and their full length were released together some years ago on CD by M8.

Ditto on what you wrote.... Savior Machine I've always thought were modern/goth/alternative... metal???

The guys from Pure Metal were business men, not real fans of metal music, who just wanted to cash in on 'this new fad'. I met one of their executives in 1988/89... He had come out with a rep from Lexicon distribution to the West Coast to meet with me and a friend of mine, we were publishing White Throne Magazine at the time. I was amazed at how excited they were about 'Tempest'.... "Christian Radio is jumping all over it!" was their comment to my friend Dave and I. Unbelievable.... incredibly short sighted...

If you came to them with a finished product they'd sign you and distribute it. (remember Rosanna's Raiders and Lightforce) Pure Metal made a small investment and reaped some bigger rewards. Saint 'Times End' had a budget of $10,000 and was recorded for $4,000. You'd lose your rights to the material. They controlled a majority of the publishing 70% or more If I remember correctly. Tour support? yea right...

The year Xalt won the Pure Metal Contract at Cornerstone, Paradox(tx) performed and was clearly, CLEARLY the better band. The sound was a bit off, but among a consensus of people I spoke with agreed, Paradox should've won.

Apostle should've gotten a disc out. Their 'Hymns' demo was excellent, part of it was recorded at Rez Band's Tone Zone in Chicago...

I did like Emeralds two songs on Cal Metal 2, great heavy metal. You can tell they were tamed down to fit the sound format of that record. Their EP (which came out before Cal Metal 2) was ok.

I think the reality was that a lot of the labels hosed a lot of the bands. I used to say, "If you sign with a Christian label, be prepared to keep your day job, and figure you'll play on weekends. If that is what you want to do, great. Don't expect a World Tour."

Soldier had been approached by both Frontline and Pure Metal. Soldier turned them down initially because they didn't want to lose their publishing rights. I do kinda wish they'd done a one off. At least they'd have something a bit more substantial than the old demo tracks...

stepcousin wrote:

yeah, Ult I didnt see any Ultimatum on that list. I truly think every christian metalhead has gotta have their music.

Every metalhead, christian or not should at least have into the pit

so you saw paradox live. then you should have known that they disbanded because of a tragical car accident.

sure, all the goth fans are dying for saviour machine.....too much eye liners when i saw them in their german tour with soul cages and veni domine(now i saw that i forgot them in my list)....all the goth clubs i know are playing them all the time.....the emo kids are cutting their veins while listening to them....

kmorg wrote:

syrus wrote:

emerald-armed for battle
oracle-selah
cross-metal from above
seventh seal-messengers of love
neon night -s/t
angelknight-rage of angels
saviour machine-demo
saviour machine I
saviour machine II
saviour machine -revelations/rarities
king's ransom- curators of the realm
sardonyx-rebel of reason
sardonyx-majestic serenity
faith of steel-metal with meaning
paradox(tx)-the wrath
apostle-hymns
final assault-first strike
final assault-messenger of god
vengeance(TX)- demo 89
innerwish-waiting for the dawn
lightmare- certain death
vigilance-demo 87
neon cross-frontline life
recon-light the fire
imperial rage-fire in the sky
seventh avenue-tales of tales
axia-ep

Why is it that obscure and hard to get is the only time music gets your seal of approval?

whoah...i'm dying to now what "hard to get stuff" means for a rich norwegian guy....i have more crap like both messiah's titles, cry, chalice promo lp( yeah around 50 of them were pressed, most people think that it was only a casette release), blind beggar 12", valor demo and lp, malachia ep, 4 copies of barren cross' "believe", sabotage ep, elinor, kryst the conqueror cd, dragonne ep etc etc etc...but i wanted to list what means something to my heart and not my pocket. ha, i still remember when i've got 5 copies of dragonne ep for $25. i still have 2 sealed of them. usually i get one with me everytime i go to KIT to cover my expenses. last one i sold it to a german collector for 500 euros( the same guy i sold a sealed decoy paris ep for 400 euros)....

So you actually like the Seventh Seal and Seventh Avenue CD's?

syrus wrote:

so you saw paradox live. then you should have known that they disbanded because of a tragical car accident.

If this post was refering to me, Yes I did Paradox live at the Cornerstone Festival (when it was still in Northern Illinois, near Waukegan) in either 1988 or 1989. They were playing the smaller Indoor stage. I believe at this time they were a four piece. Their second demo 'Power & Glory' I believe had come out. They were in the Pure Metal contest for a contract which went to Xalt (so it must've been 89). I actually ran into Doug Van Pelt who video taped me saying to folks in Texas that Paradox should've won.

So what exactly "should I have known"? are you suggesting that I am lying?

mr.electric39 wrote:

syrus wrote:

so you saw paradox live. then you should have known that they disbanded because of a tragical car accident.

If this post was refering to me, Yes I did Paradox live at the Cornerstone Festival (when it was still in Northern Illinois, near Waukegan) in either 1988 or 1989. They were playing the smaller Indoor stage. I believe at this time they were a four piece. Their second demo 'Power & Glory' I believe had come out. They were in the Pure Metal contest for a contract which went to Xalt (so it must've been 89). I actually ran into Doug Van Pelt who video taped me saying to folks in Texas that Paradox should've won.

So what exactly "should I have known"? are you suggesting that I am lying?

it wasn't for you. i don't suggest nothing. i don't judge people from my PC... but i thought that somebody who saw them live he could knew these tragical news(rip)....although this happened in 93 or 94 before their best demo was released...

always dug MERCY RULE' "Overruled" disc....

as well as the RANSOM cds...

but that stuff may not be "metal" enough....

mr.electric39 wrote:

I think the reality was that a lot of the labels hosed a lot of the bands. I used to say, "If you sign with a Christian label, be prepared to keep your day job, and figure you'll play on weekends. If that is what you want to do, great. Don't expect a World Tour."

I remember reading an interview with Bloodgood years back (most likely in Heaven's Metal, though it might have been White Throne?) in which Michael Bloodgood told a story about being called into his label's office, where he was informed that Bloodgood were officially "the biggest selling Christian heavy metal band on a Christian label." I guess they expected him to jump around and hoot and holler, but his reaction was (and I quote him directly), "So what? That and pepperoni will give you gas. We STILL don't have two nickels to rub together."

I always loved that "pepperoni" line, I still use that one myself to this day.