Christian Heavy Metal Music from the 80s
Contents
Looking for some great Christian heavy metal music from the 80s? Look no further than this blog post! We’ve rounded up some of the best tunes from the era for your listening pleasure.
The Beginnings
It all started with bands like Stryper and Whitecross in the early 80s. They were the first ones to really bring Christian messages through heavy metal music. They were quickly followed by other bands like Barren Cross, Deliverance, and Believer. These bands were not only great musically, but they also had a message that was appealing to many people.
Where did it all start?
Christian heavy metal music began in the 1980s with a handful of bands who were influenced by the hard rock and metal sounds of the time. These bands took the sounds and energy of metal and added Christian lyrics, creating a new genre of music.
One of the earliest and most influential Christian heavy metal bands was Stryper, who formed in Orange County, California in 1983. Stryper combined elements of hard rock, heavy metal, and pop music to create their sound, and their positive message and catchy melodies helped them to become one of the most successful Christian bands of all time. They released their debut album in 1984, and it quickly became a hit with Christian and non-Christian fans alike.
Other influential early Christian heavy metal bands include Sacred Warrior, Deliverance, Tourniquet, Mortification, Barren Cross, Bloodgood, Whitecross, and Believer. These bands helped to pioneer the genre and laid the foundation for the future of Christian metal.
The first bands
There are various opinions on which band was the first Christian metal band. One of the earliest bands to incorporate overt Christian themes in their music was Jerusalem (not to be confused with the Canadian hard rock band of the same name formed in 1979), who formed in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States in 1975. They began as a sketch on a sermon given by their founding member, Mark Spangler. The sermon outlined the message that “Christian love could reach out across denominational lines and unite believers”. They released their self-titled LP in 1977 on Skycross Records, a sub-label of Patmos Records set up for Christian metal releases. The album was produced by psychedelic rock musician Curt Boettcher and featured Michael Quatro on bass.
Other pioneering bands who would help lay the groundwork for the genre include Biblical Sense, from Milwaukee; Bloodgood from Seattle; Deliverance from Sacramento, California; Jerusalem (USA) from Virginia; Leviticus from Indiana; Sacred Warrior from Florida; Tourniquet from Los Angeles County, California; Whitecross from Chicago and Zio from England. Chicago’s Resurrection Band was an important early influence initially active between 1976 and 1994, and again since 2007.
The Middle Years
In the middle years of the genre’s development, many bands began to emerge from all over the world, and the style of Christian heavy metal music began to solidify. Bands such as Stryper from the US, Refuge from Sweden, and Whitecross from the UK were some of the most popular bands of this era. Christian heavy metal music from the 80s was marked by its use of strong guitars and vocals, as well as its positive and uplifting lyrics.
The explosion of the genre
In the early 1980s, two musical styles converged to create a new genre of music: Christian Heavy Metal. This new style blended the hard-driving, distorted guitars of Heavy Metal with the positive, uplifting lyrics of Contemporary Christian Music. The result was a powerful new sound that spoke to a generation of young people searching for something to believe in.
Christian Heavy Metal bands like Stryper, Whitecross, and Leviticus took the world by storm in the 1980s, releasing chart-topping albums and selling out stadiums around the globe. With their positive message and infectious energy, these bands gave hope to a generation of lost souls and helped spearhead a worldwide movement of Christian Heavy Metal music.
The biggest bands of the 80s
The middle years of the Christian metal scene were marked by the rise of a number of influential bands who would go on to define the sound and style of the genre for decades to come. Among these were Stryper, Saviour Machine, Whitecross, and Deliverance.
Stryper was one of the first Christian metal bands to gain widespread success, thanks in part to their impressive musicianship and commercial appeal. Formed in Orange County, California in 1983, the band quickly gained a following amongmetal fans with their blend of hard rock and pop sensibilities. They would go on to release a string of successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including To Hell with the Devil (1986)and In God We Trust (1988).
Saviour Machine was another groundbreaking Christian metal band of the 1980s. Formed in Los Angeles in 1989, the band blended elements of gothic rock and industrial metal to create a unique sound that was both dark and atmospheric. They released two albums in the early 1990s, Legend III:I (1991) and Legend II:II (1993), both of which are considered classics of the genre.
Whitecross was another popular Christian metal band of the 1980s, formed in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1985. The band combined influences from traditional heavy metal and hardcore punk to create a sound that was both aggressive and melodic. They released a series of successful albums throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, including In The Kingdom Come (1989)and Unveiled (1991).
Deliverance was arguably the most influential Christian metal band of the 1980s. Formed in San Jose, California in 1986, Deliverance helped pioneer the subgenre of thrash metal with their debut album,, Wakes from Dead Dreams(1986). They would go on to release a number of other landmark albums throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, cementing their reputation as one ofthe most important bands in Christian metal history.
The End of an Era
The 80s was the decade of Christian Heavy Metal. It was a time when Christian values and messages were communicated through the use of distorted guitars, double bass drums, and screaming vocals. This style of music was created by a small group of Christian musicians who were rebels in the music industry. They were determined to spread the message of Christ through their music, and they were successful.
The decline of the genre
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Christian metal was posed for a possible breakout. But it didn’t happen. The movement lost ground commercially and was overshadowed artistically by grunge, rap metal, industrial metal, and other heavy styles that seemed more vital and relevant. A number of fans and musicians left the fold; many who remained scaled back their ambitions, concentrating on making music for a niche market rather than aiming for the mainstream.
The legacy of 80s Christian heavy metal
The 1980s was a groundbreaking decade for music, and Christian Heavy Metal was no exception. With its origins in the British Heavy Metal scene, Christian Heavy Metal found a place for itself among other genres of music that were gaining popularity at the time. Bands like Stryper, Whitecross, and Barren Cross helped to pioneer the sound of Christian Heavy Metal and influenced many of the bands that would come after them.
While the genre is not as popular as it once was, the impact that it had on music and culture is still felt today. The legacy of 80s Christian Heavy Metal is one of passion, intensity, and faith. For those who were part of it, the memories of headbanging to tunes about Jesus are sure to last a lifetime.
