Christian metal is amongst the worst of the metal subgenres \u2014 preachy garbage that turns its nose at the genre while also using it as a commodity. But some Christian bands truly embraced the brutality and chaos of metal.<\/p>\n
These bands knew how to make killer albums that just happened to have Christian themes, whether it be death metal, black metal, thrash or classic heavy metal. Check ’em out!<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re gonna make a Christian metal album, make it about the goddamn apocalypse. Sacrament<\/a>\u2019s Testimony of Apocalypse has everything you want in a classic \u201890s thrash album \u2014 ripping guitars, massive vocals, phenomenal drumming. It\u2019s one of the meanest sounding thrash albums of the era\u2026 it just happens to have Christian themes.<\/p>\n You\u2019d never expect a Christian death metal album to sound\u2026 well\u2026 so much like a death metal album. Almost a Christian version of Morbid Angel, Mortification<\/a>\u2019s Scrolls of the Megilloth is genuinely great early-era death metal that doesn\u2019t skimp on brutality for the sake of its message.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where the fuck did this vocalist come from? Dale Thompson, you\u2019ve got one of the best heavy metal shrieks ever! Seriously, if you\u2019re into ball-clenching heavy metal highs, you need to feel the power of Bride. The band\u2019s instrumental section brilliantly keeps up with Thompson\u2019s vocals as well, making each track feel big in that classic \u201880s way.\u00a0<\/p>\n A melodic black metal album from a Christian band, Crimson Moonlight<\/a>\u2019s Veil of Remembrance puts the music before any religious grandiosity. The 2004 album takes a little from the Dimmu Borgir playbook while not aping any band\u2019s style, just delivering a record that\u2019s both solid and palatable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christian crossover thrash? How the fuck does this exist? And why are they giving Suicidal Tendencies a run for their money? The guitar and drums sound absolutely perfect on The Crucified\u2019s The Pillars of Humanity, crunching and cracking through every wild tempo change.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here it is\u2026 a boundary-pushing metalcore classic that\u2019s both a Christian album and a critique of the church\u2019s hypocrisy. This album helped establish the metalcore genre as much as Poison the Well\u2019s The Opposite of December or Botch\u2019s We Are the Romans. Give Zao<\/a> the respect they\u2019ve earned.<\/p>\n The makers of DOOM knew great metal when they heard it. The classic video game ripped songs from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and many others\u2026 including Christian thrash act Believer<\/a>. Sanity Obscure is brutal, highly technical and so fucking groovy. Underrated for sure.<\/p>\n Nope, that\u2019s not Tom Araya and Layne Staley teaming up for an alt thrash album, it\u2019s the dudes from Tourniquet. You can hear the zeitgeist changing on Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance, as it blends the lines between thrash and grunge. An awesome piece of metal that also happens to be a Christian album.\u00a0<\/p>\n