Christian metal albums worth a listen

•

I've heard countless metal albums in my life and was blessed to grow up during the best era of metal, the 90's. So here's some Christian metal albums that I would consider great even by secular standards. I'll try to include each band's secular counterpart if any. 🧵

Note: most of these bands never explicitly identified as a "Christian band" and were on secular labels. It's their lyrics and themes that makes them Christian or at least Biblical, which stands out since much of the genre consists of bands that are Satanic and/or anti-religion.

Believer - Extraction From Mortality (1989). Just an awesome thrash album through and through. Lyrics deal with topics of philosophy, theology and social issues. Incredible soloing and drumming. youtu.be/Y4cnqb727YU

Place of Skulls - Nailed (2002). Interesting backstory to this band, Victor Griffin the lead singer/guitarist was formerly in a famous Satanic doom band called Pentagram. He became a devout Christian and started Place of Skulls. youtube.com/watch?v=Zihdq1zm1Nc

Extol - Burial (1998). Norwegian band with a unique blend of progressive thrash and black metal. Honestly one of the best debut metal albums I've heard, secular metal bands included. Fans of Opeth will enjoy. youtube.com/watch?v=Fh2BHHv0hIk&list=PLbdA3LeytYZxbsa5LYol-Mk-HQsH8Z6Ue

Seventh Angel - Lament for the Weary (1992). Insanely underrated thrash album, incredible guitar work. Lots of instrumentals. For for fans of Metallica and early Slayer. youtube.com/watch?v=LGPm3uGqnJE

Tourniquet - Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (1992). One of the best 90s metal albums from any band, period. They use a lot of medical terminology as theological metaphors and have recurring classical music usage throughout their discography. youtube.com/watch?v=4-nQnI3PPw8

Tourniquet - Stop the Bleeding (1990). This album rips. Ted Kirkpatrick is one of the best metal drummers ever, he also writes all the bands lyrics, fills in some complex guitar parts. Very technical. One of my all time favorites. Similar to Mercyful Fate. youtube.com/watch?v=Sjwgq5C2NQQ&list=PLzNWEST8rPFOubqx76J8aYXBZxfp12d4D

Saviour Machine - Legend Part I (1993). An absolute masterpiece, symphonic and operatic gothic metal. From a series of concept albums based on Revelation and end times prophecy. I would also include the follow up album Legend Part II, both are epic. youtube.com/watch?v=GuqRwv6JHdw

Hesychast - Ageless (2016). I had to throw an Orthodox metal album in here since there's not many. But this is hands down the best I've heard. Not much info about this band, I believe they are Russian. Symphonic black metal with liturgical lyrics. youtu.be/aNhHlrhbgbE

Deliverance - Weapons of Our Warfare (1990). Another thrash metal classic in my book, I listened to this album regularly as a teen, majority of the lyrics are direct from Scripture. Ripping guitar solos, great vocals, catchy melodies, classic 90's thrash. youtube.com/watch?v=OGt-GXSU2rE

Sacrament - Testimony of Apocalypse (1990). This is a pretty famous Christian thrash metal album, they even gained some mainstream notoriety. Fans of Suicidal Tendencies and Testament will enjoy them. youtu.be/kYbJYKA9AH0

Living Sacrifice - s/t (1991). S tier thrash and another one of the best debut metal albums I've heard and one of my favorite metal bands of all time. They are the Slayer of Christian metal and you'll quickly hear that. youtu.be/LFSCaGP4rjg

Trouble - Psalm 9 (1984). A doom metal classic, criminally underrated. On par with any other classic metal albums. Its 10/10 start to finish. Masterful riffs, very distinct vocals (RIP Eric Wagner) and Biblical lyrics/themes. For fans of Black Sabbath youtu.be/mgGaJY_oe9A

Hopefully this list helps break the stigma of Christian metal being corny or a contradiction, although much of it can be. I like to listen to it at the gym for motivation, without having to worry if the music is Satanic. Let me know your thoughts and share your favorites.