The War on Heavy Metal: is it really Satanic?
Delaney Blackburn, Editor-in-Chief
“With my art being radical and music being extreme, I need metaphors to express my disgust and frustration.” – Adam Darski, frontman of Behemoth.
Heavy metal music has often been associated with violence, pessimism, gore and even satanism – particularly with concerned religious groups. From death growls to distorted electric guitars and blast beats, many assume the aggressiveness of the genre must indicate its inherent “evilness.”
This assumption, however, doesn’t line up with the goal of modern Christian heavy metal bands: to spread the word about Jesus Christ. This prompts the question: is heavy metal music truly evil? If not, why does it have such a bad reputation with the church?
To answer these questions, one must first delve into a brief history of the controversial genre. Although the true origins of heavy metal are murky, it’s thought to have originated in Birmingham, England – particularly with Black Sabbath.
When Black Sabbath released their first self-titled album on Feb. 13, 1970, they exposed listeners to a new genre of heavy, bleak rock ‘n roll seared with dark lyrics. The distorted guitar riffs and cinderblock drumming snuffed out the “peace and love” era of the 1960’s with the spawn of heavy metal.
Christopher Davis, an associate professor of music at North Greenville University said, “Music in general is very cyclical. In the development of rock ‘n roll, heavy metal is pretty close to the end of that cycle.”
Black Sabbath’s music style evolved from different genres, such as the blues and punk. Specifically, Black Sabbath’s use of the tritone – the splitting of an octave directly in half, creating a dissonant chord – implemented a more aggressive style directly into their music.
Even prior to Black Sabbath’s use of the tritone, it was already referred to as “diabolus in musica,” or “the devil’s music” for centuries in Europe because it was between two notes that were considered “pure” or harmonious.
Davis said, “I believe a tritone is what England police cars are tuned at, but it gets your attention a lot more than something pure-sounding. It’s part of a train whistle also.”
Combined with their heavy sound and darker lyrics, it wasn’t long before concerned parents and religious leaders began criticizing Black Sabbath, some even calling them blatantly satanic. However, much of the criticism they received was due to song lyrics being taken out of context.
For example, their song “After Forever” from the album “Master of Reality” was often taken out of context by critics who claimed the song was evil. The second line of the second verse in the song says, “Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope? Do you think he’s a fool?” The song itself, however, is written from the perspective of a believer speaking to a nonbeliever.
Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath’s bassist, responded to the backlash in an interview with Louder magazine when he said, “People always like to find the evil in the music, so they’d quote the ‘pope on a rope’ part out of context, as usual.”
Additionally, lead singer Ozzy Osbourne said in an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune, “I’m not a guy that worships the devil. When Black Sabbath started, we got invited to a graveyard at midnight. We told them: ‘Our [dark] image is a joke.’”
Black Sabbath was only the first heavy metal band to be labeled as “satanic.” Bands like Pentagram, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest would later receive just as much backlash. Eventually, rumors of band members selling their souls to the devil and practicing occultic rituals circulated even non-metal bands like Kiss and Mötley Crüe.
Meanwhile, outside of the United States, Norwegian black metal bands like Mayhem and Gorgoroth were taking the genre to the extreme during the black metal wave of the 1990’s. The early Norwegian black metal scene was smeared with church burnings, murder, and blatantly offensive imagery.
A typical Gorgoroth concert during this time displayed real, severed pig and sheep heads, nude models in crucified poses on crosses, gallons of real animal blood and self-harm practices on stage. If you were a big Gorgoroth fan, you might’ve felt lucky to leave the show dripping in crimson, sticky animal blood after standing in the splash zone near the stage.
The black-and-white corpse paint smeared across the faces of the band members certainly didn’t make them less intimidating. The band faced criminal charges in Poland for blasphemy and animal cruelty, but ultimately avoided prosecution. However, despite the intense controversies surrounding black metal, the subgenre doesn’t evoke notable outcry from concerned parents and religious figures. In Norway, black metal is not an obscure genre.
In the United States, black metal is not as prevalent; however, its tamer counterparts such as thrash metal, power metal and death metal receive the most backlash. Although many heavy metal band members describe their dark imagery as a “joke” or “symbolism,” some still hear heavy metal as a soulless cry for Satan.
Despite the dark associations with black metal, Christian black metal bands (also called “unblack metal” or “white metal”) such as A Hill to Die Upon and Antestor have adopted the distinct, agonizing howls and impossibly fast riffs to spread the Gospel. These bands are certainly not alone in their endeavors, nor are Christian metal bands limited to the subgenre of black metal. Christian heavy metal bands like Impending Doom or Demon Hunter are also seeking to reach people through the guttural howls and clashing symbols.
Brook Reeves, lead singer for Impending Doom, said in an interview with YouTube content creator Tom Dunn, “We try to reach a metal scene that doesn’t give a lot of attention to Jesus in any sort of way…I know it’s full of so many broken kids. I just really want to say, ‘hey, my God loves you.’”
With album titles such as “Baptized in Filth,” “There Will Be Violence” and “The Serpent Servant” – some Christians may assume Impending Doom’s style of music isn’t appropriate for Christian listeners because they may assume heavy metal bands cannot be Christian at all.
For example, Davis said when he was in high school, he used to wonder how a band could scream about God or to God. He said he eventually realized the message is more important than the medium regarding music – especially when trying to reach someone dealing with negative thoughts or emotions.
Davis said, “You’re reaching a whole crowd of people who aren’t hearing as many positive messages.”
Miranda Kemp, a sophomore accounting major at North Greenville University, is a petite-framed, laid-back girl with an infectious smile. Her presence often makes people feel at ease, but she turns heads as she drives through town – speakers blaring heart-racing blast beats and brutal growls that aren’t for the faint-hearted.
Kemp said she started listening to heavy metal around the time she was in middle school because she loved the energy and the style of drumming. She said she plans to attend Furnace Fest, a Christian metal music festival in Alabama, in September 2022.
Kemp said that although sometimes she’s judged by others for her taste in music, she doesn’t see the darker themes in metal as something exclusive to that genre.
Kemp added, “There are dark styles in lots of different genres. Most people our age listen to rap that’s about drugs, sex, guns, gangs…most of the metal bands I listen to aren’t the kind that portray satanic values.”
Similar to Kemp’s insight, Davis said a person could listen to anything that has negative connotations. He added, “There’s Christian country, metal, rap…you’re using your medium, or what you’re used to. I think you need to be open to anything new artistically.”
