Christians Oppose Heavy Metal Music in Early Eighties

In the early eighties, Christians were up in arms about the rise of heavy metal music. They saw it as a threat to their values and way of life. They argued that the music was evil and promoted violence, drugs, and sex. They lobbied against it and tried to get it banned.

Today, heavy metal is more mainstream and accepted by society. However, there are still some Christians who oppose it. They argue that it is a form of demonic worship and that it

Introduction

In the early 1980s, many Christian groups in the United States began to oppose heavy metal music. They believed that the music was a bad influence on young people and that it promoted drug use, violence, and Satan worship.

Some Christians even went so far as to try to get heavy metal concerts banned. They also pressured record companies not to release albums by heavy metal bands.

As a result of these efforts, some heavy metal bands stopped performing in the United States. However, many other bands continued to perform, and today heavy metal music is more popular than ever.

What is Heavy Metal Music?

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. The genre’s lyrics and performance styles are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.

In 1970, four self-proclaimed “heavy metal” bands were formed: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Nazareth. That same year, the United States Air Force began using heavy metal as indoctrination music to train pilots how to deal with G-forces while flying at high speeds. By 1971, Judas Priest had released their debut album Rocka Rolla which was one of the first albums considered to be within the heavy metal genre. In October 1971, British magazine Melody Maker published an article Calling all Heavy Metal Troops which included information about upcoming releases from Black Sabbath as well as from less well known bands such as Iron Claw andprojected sales figures for these records. In January 1972 issue of Sounds published another article with new bands such as Captain Beyond, Cue (later changed their name to Meteor), Buffalo (later changed their name to Wild Turkey), hard rock band Naked Truth featuring Trevor Bolder on bass who would later join Uriah Heep in 1976.

The term “heavy metal” is often used interchangeably with “hard rock”, but the two genres are distinct. Heavy metal emphasizes amplified distortion and extended guitar solos while hard rock focuses on verse/chorus song structuresand tighter instrumentation. Both genres have a base in blues-rock; however heavy metal’s use of amplified distortion gives it a greater focus on instrumentalism over Song craft which sets it apart from its hard rock counterpart.

Christians’ Opposition to Heavy Metal Music in the Early Eighties

In the early eighties, American Christians took a stand against what they saw as the corrupting influence of heavy metal music. They argued that the music was a tool of the devil, and that it led young people into a life of sex, drugs, and violence. Christians staged protests at concerts, and burned records in public. They also pressured retailers to stop selling metal records, and pressured radio stations to stop playing metal music.

Christians Believe That Heavy Metal Music is from the Devil

One of the most controversial and revealing aspects of the Moral Majority’s social conservatism was their vocal opposition to what they saw as the dangers of rock music, particularly heavy metal. To Christians in the early 1980s, it wasn’t just that heavy metal bands made noises that were too loud, or that their lyrics were sometimes suggestive. They believed that the music itself was from the devil, and that it had a corrupting influence on young people.

In their campaign against heavy metal, Christians relied heavily on testimonies from former fans of the music who had seen the error of their ways and renounced their love of Satan-worshipping bands like Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe. These young people spoke out against the music in churches, schools, and on TV and radio shows, warning other teenagers about the dangers of listening to bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

The campaign against heavy metal met with some success: a number of Christian groups organized boycotts of albums by bands like AC/DC, Kiss, and Ozzy Osbourne, and a number of radio stations stopped playing their music. However, it also backfired in some ways, as many young people became interested in heavy metal precisely because it was seen as rebellious and dangerous by their parents’ generation.

Christians Believe That Heavy Metal Music is a Bad Influence

In the early eighties, many Christians believed that heavy metal music was a bad influence on society. They felt that the music was promoting Satanism and violence, and they feared that it would lead young people astray. Christians staged protests at concerts, and some even went so far as to burn copies of records by Metallica and other bands.

Heavy metal music has always been controversial, but in recent years it has become more accepted by mainstream society. While there are still some Christians who oppose it, most people have come to see it as simply another genre of music, with no more moral implications than any other kind of music.

Conclusion

Since the early eighties, Christians have been fighting against the growing influence of heavy metal music. They argue that the music is a bad influence on young people, and that it promotes Satanism and other evil things. However, many metal fans argue that the music is not evil, and that it can actually be a positive force in people’s lives.