Heavy Metal Music

  • Thread starter Thread starter Valtiel
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
40.png
Valtiel:
listen to a lot of metal…

Opeth
Amon Amarth
Iced Earth
Mastodon
In Flames

I was wondering, after listening to a nun, Is heavy metal a sin or wrong to listen to, does it ever become a mortal sin?..
What if the lyrics are less then godly in certain songs, is it still a sin to listen to it yet ignore the lyrics(I do only mean one or two songs)?
Can some one explain the whole view???
Click to expand...
Singing is like praying twice. If you are listening to and singing less than godly lyrics it almost like reciting a creed against God. When I was younger I graduated HS in 1993, so my future husband and I were heavily into alternative) I listened to all kinds of sordid music and as an art major was tolerant of all sorts of sordid art, I was Catholic, prayed believed in God, etc. I thought I could separate the good from the bad an still be ok. I too listened to Classical, opera and Gregorian chant ( I had a gregorian chant cd)

Now that I have been away from that environment (Im a stay at home mommy now) I have become much deeper in my catholic Faith, much more devout and understand much better the teachigs of the Church, I have a deeper relationship with Christ and want the Holy Spirit to dwell in me. Now when I start to listen to the music I once did, (everything from NIN “I wanna 8888you like an animal” to a love song on the radio) I can’t stand to listen to it, it offends me to my core. I can’t explain it but to say that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within me so I must be offended when the HSpirit is offended. The angels are all around you, you want them near, right? Would these lyrics offend them?

Even if you try to ignore the lyrics, the music is made by groups of people who have made their succes by singing lyrics that offend God. Choosing them over God is like making an idol of them.

When I was younger I thought Christian music was so cheesy, my protestant mother in law (then my boyfriend’s mom) used to listen to it whenever we were in a car and it rattled my brain. Now I am the same way with secular music that has offensive lyrics. I wasn’t expecting this to ever happen, I guess it is the price to pay for being a person who wants the Holy Spirit to dwell in them, the music I used to listen to now makes we wanna hurl. It has become teh same with art and films. My only explanation is that Christ transformed me.

How much money did I spend on offensive CDs that I could have used to feed the hungry?
 
40.png
Valtiel:
listen to a lot of metal…

Opeth
Amon Amarth
Iced Earth
Mastodon
In Flames

I was wondering, after listening to a nun, Is heavy metal a sin or wrong to listen to, does it ever become a mortal sin?..
What if the lyrics are less then godly in certain songs, is it still a sin to listen to it yet ignore the lyrics(I do only mean one or two songs)?
Can some one explain the whole view???
Click to expand...
i like your list of music. as for if it is sin or not i figure it this way. i don’t let the lyrics take any affect on my life, or change my beliefs in anyway. therefore i do not see it as a sin to listen to bands like that.
even bands like cradle of filth i don’t think are that sinful. why? cause bands like that are a bunch of scardy cats trying to be cool hiding behind anti-christian lyrics. all it does is make me laugh hysterically. (i mean come on does dani filth really expect us to think that’s the way he thinks. the man can’t even talk in his normal voice on stage, he’s all about an image.)
although i do listen to a lot of metal, i try to keep it more towards the melodic side. while i do listen to amon amarth, in flames, mudvayne, slipknot, etc. i listen to a lot more to bands like sentenced, within temptation, stone sour, to my surprise, HIM, evanesence, lacuna coil, v shaped mind, and even a lot of the industrial/electronic stuff like deadsy, orgy (nothing perverted here, name has to do with the fact that they have so many musical influences that their music is an orgy of sound), zeromancer, deadstar assembly. because basically i’m more of a fan of the stuff that i can sing to, and i rather sing something nice.
so basically i feel that it is all in the way you take the lyrics. if it has no effect on you i can’t see how it’s a sin.
and i don’t buy into the whole subliminal message ****, since i’m an audio engineer and record a lot of music and never seen it done. besides there’s some website on the net that claims every song when played backwards has “hail satan” as a subliminal message. i would worry more about childrens programming as it is perfectly legal to but subliminal messages into that.
 
40.png
Exarch:
My favourite type of metal is Power Metal, which is upbeat, happy music with fast guitar playing and soaring solos and melodies. The lyrics are about positive things, and the music makes you feel good.
Click to expand...
Exarch, it’s good to see another power metal fan here! And everything that you said about the genre is true. I have a friend who is about the biggest power metal fan on Earth and he has been getting me into it. So far, I’ve fallen in love with Sonata Arctica and Rhapsody. I’m actually road-tripping 15 hours to Cleveland to see Rhapsody on June 2.

You HAVE to check out Theocracy. They are my favorite band hands-down. An incredible Christian power metal band. Check out the thread I started about them:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=5311
 
I’m going to tiptoe into this topic, and hope I don’t come off looking like an idiot. After all the pounding my preceptor gives me week after week at the hospital, hopefully here I won’t look like I have a STUPID sign tacked to my forehead. :banghead:

I’ve been listening to rock music since the 70’s (showing my age here), and I love metal. Maybe not death metal, but pretty much all the rest. The very sound of it gets my blood pumping and makes me want to move around very fast. Which, considering that I’m a middle-aged mom of 4, is a scary thought. :bigyikes:

Anyway, I had evangelicals tell me that my taste in music was not from God, implying that it was from Satan, of course. And I refused to accept even the tiniest possibility of that. I still do not believe that all metal is inherently evil, but I do now believe that some of it is. The lyrics, rather than the beat, are the real culprit. Except, maybe, the beat to NIN’s infamous song - you know which one I mean. :yup:

I have always loved chant, choral music, a cappella, classical, other sacred, and folk musics. Count out country & western, which really is the debbil. But my first love has always been metal. So imagine my horror when I discovered that listening to certain songs made me feel a certain way, which my sacred music did not. Now I listen almost exclusively to chant, classical and contemporary hymns, and Catholic rock groups like Critical Mass and Backyard Galaxy.

My suggestion is to try listening to Christian or classical music for a while, and see how it makes you feel. Then listen to the metal, and see if it makes you feel differently. If it does, and that different feeling takes you away from God, then it’s not something you should spend a lot of time listening to. I’m not saying cut out the metal entirely, especially if the lyrics are harmless, but be discriminating in your choice of bands and songs.
 
I am a rabid metal head. I tend to listen to the more Christian bands though (ZAO, Living Sacrifice, Norma Jean, and others) but I do listen to others that are not so Christian (i.e. Fear Before the March of Flames, Converge, and Dream Theater.) I had a very charismatic priest, who apparently had some gifts of the spirit, he looked at my Opeth cds and threw them out the window. Yes, he literally opened the window and threw them out.

There are ALOT of metal bands that are very bad to listen to and should be avoided altogether (i.e. Opeth, Old Mans Child, Slayer, Demigod…I could go on and on.)

The music itself is not sinful, what they say is sinful…I think thats been reiterated though.
 
40.png
Wampa:
Exarch, it’s good to see another power metal fan here! And everything that you said about the genre is true. I have a friend who is about the biggest power metal fan on Earth and he has been getting me into it. So far, I’ve fallen in love with Sonata Arctica and Rhapsody. I’m actually road-tripping 15 hours to Cleveland to see Rhapsody on June 2.

You HAVE to check out Theocracy. They are my favorite band hands-down. An incredible Christian power metal band. Check out the thread I started about them:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=5311
Click to expand...
I’ve been meaning to check out Theocracy for awhile now, I really should get around to it :). My favourite power metal band is Blind Guardian, and I like Gamma Ray alot too. Stratovarius is very good also, they are coming to my city in the fall, its gonna be a great show. If you want to hear power metal at a million miles an hour, check out Dragonforce, if you haven’t already. Rhapsody is great, it’s so over-the-top but that’s what makes it so good. I’ve never really gotten into Sonata Arctica, but I have one of their albums, I think it’s called Winterhearts Guild. Anyways, its great to see another power metal fan!
 
My favorites vary with my mood and circumstances.

For example, my lovely, intelligent 14-year-old daughter is committed to chastity. She knows very well what is going on in the world around her, and does not wish to participate.

Being a novice at the relationship game, of course, she is prone to sending mixed signals to the seemingly nice boy she is dating. This morning I was just thinking of how I should convey to her that yesterday I think she was leading him on a little too much, and probably should have known it based on the “male mind” education I’ve given her.

Then it hit me. Meatloaf. She needs to hear the “Bat out of Hell” album.

Alan
 
40.png
TeriGator:
Anyway, I had evangelicals tell me that my taste in music was not from God, implying that it was from Satan, of course. And I refused to accept even the tiniest possibility of that. I still do not believe that all metal is inherently evil, but I do now believe that some of it is. The lyrics, rather than the beat, are the real culprit. Except, maybe, the beat to NIN’s infamous song - you know which one I mean. :yup:

I have always loved chant, choral music, a cappella, classical, other sacred, and folk musics. Count out country & western, which really is the debbil. But my first love has always been metal. So imagine my horror when I discovered that listening to certain songs made me feel a certain way, which my sacred music did not. Now I listen almost exclusively to chant, classical and contemporary hymns, and Catholic rock groups like Critical Mass and Backyard Galaxy.

My suggestion is to try listening to Christian or classical music for a while, and see how it makes you feel. Then listen to the metal, and see if it makes you feel differently. If it does, and that different feeling takes you away from God, then it’s not something you should spend a lot of time listening to. I’m not saying cut out the metal entirely, especially if the lyrics are harmless, but be discriminating in your choice of bands and songs.
Click to expand...
The same thing happened to me, I was an art student, thought I was open-minded, but didn’t let it change my morals, but I realize so much more now. My husband has become the exact same way. He was even a bit of a punk skater boy, but we always listened to a wide variety of music, yes even country. I agree with her, find metal that isn’t offensive to God.

The first time I was ever offended by a song was “Bow down to the one you serve, youre gonna get what you deserve.” My brother bought the new tape and I was creeped out by it. I knew by the other songs that it wasn’t a Christian rock band, so who exactly were they talking about serving. But back then I thought "OH i will just not listen to that song. You have to admit that NIN song we keep alluding to has an amazing beat. Back when I was a poet I thought the lyrics were raw and real and, although morally offensive, totally acceptable because it was art!

I am so thankful for my life changing experiences!
 
40.png
TeriGator:
Anyway, I had evangelicals tell me that my taste in music was not from God, implying that it was from Satan, of course. And I refused to accept even the tiniest possibility of that. I still do not believe that all metal is inherently evil, but I do now believe that some of it is. The lyrics, rather than the beat, are the real culprit. Except, maybe, the beat to NIN’s infamous song - you know which one I mean. :yup:

I have always loved chant, choral music, a cappella, classical, other sacred, and folk musics. Count out country & western, which really is the debbil. But my first love has always been metal. So imagine my horror when I discovered that listening to certain songs made me feel a certain way, which my sacred music did not. Now I listen almost exclusively to chant, classical and contemporary hymns, and Catholic rock groups like Critical Mass and Backyard Galaxy.

My suggestion is to try listening to Christian or classical music for a while, and see how it makes you feel. Then listen to the metal, and see if it makes you feel differently. If it does, and that different feeling takes you away from God, then it’s not something you should spend a lot of time listening to. I’m not saying cut out the metal entirely, especially if the lyrics are harmless, but be discriminating in your choice of bands and songs.
Click to expand...
The same thing happened to me, I was an art student, thought I was open-minded, but didn’t let it change my morals, but I realize so much more now. My husband has become the exact same way. He was even a bit of a punk skater boy, but we always listened to a wide variety of music, yes even country. I agree with her, find metal that isn’t offensive to God.

The first time I was ever offended by a song was “Bow down to the one you serve, youre gonna get what you deserve.” My brother bought the new tape and I was creeped out by it. I knew by the other songs that it wasn’t a Christian rock band, so who exactly were they talking about serving. But back then I thought "OH i will just not listen to that song. You have to admit that NIN song we keep alluding to has an amazing beat. Back when I was a poet I thought the lyrics were raw and real and, although morally offensive, totally acceptable because it was art!

I am so thankful for my life changing experiences!
 
I really enjoy bands like Metallica and Opeth, and have the same quesiton myself as to whether I should really listen to the music. I don’t think its sinful if it doesn’t present near occasions to sin, or tempt your mind to do so. Metallica and Opeth, for example, I don’t think make music that does that. A lot of it has to do with how your disposed, a lot of music is sort of abstract and you can come to your own interpretation. I usually try to listen to lyrics in a way, and with the assumption, that they have a positive “moral” of the story. I think its how you’re disposed. Metallica Fade to Black is a song about suicide, and if your disposed to pity the person who is that state, and see how that person is missing God, its perhaps passes muster for not being “music to avoid”. the problem is, not all people listen to music in that way. So a lot of it depends on the mode of the listener, and there is definitely a prolem with music that in interpretation could lead SOME listeners to embrace the idea of a sin of some sort.

OK, enough rambling, maybe a more bottom line is to figure out whether I’m attached to the music in a way that it is an END to which I submit myself, and fills me up with a wordly desire such that it keeps God from being fully able to enter. Thinking of it in terms of sin is a bit minimalist - it’d be best to think of whether you really are raised up to God in seeking it out.
 
How about taking the enemy’s Rock and Roll hand grenades, pulling out the pin, and throwing them back?

So far I haven’t heard any comments on my idea of using Rock and Roll to fight the same attitudes they supposedly fostered, by exposing them for what they are.

OK, so this post is really a quick plug for my new thread “Chastity Rocks” incorporating Meatloaf and Nilsson songs in attempt to inspire intergenerational discussion of some consequences of unchaste behavior.

Alan
 
I used to be a strict metal head, but now I mainly only like melodic metal. I dropped alot of bands because of the lyrics, I just can not listen to a group who mocks Christ such as the song “Jesus Saves” by the band Slayer. Slayer by the way can not play a good solo to save their own life. I used to love that band but after I became a Christian I just had to drop them along with King Dimoand and Mercyful Fate.

I play guitar myself and I am making my own solo album. It’s one of my hobbies and I praise God for music with beautiful melody.
 
Peace-bwu said:
The first time I was ever offended by a song was “Bow down to the one you serve, youre gonna get what you deserve.” My brother bought the new tape and I was creeped out by it. I knew by the other songs that it wasn’t a Christian rock band, so who exactly were they talking about serving. But back then I thought "OH i will just not listen to that song. You have to admit that NIN song we keep alluding to has an amazing beat. Back when I was a poet I thought the lyrics were raw and real and, although morally offensive, totally acceptable because it was art!

I am so thankful for my life changing experiences!
Click to expand...
Have you heard Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt”? It’s amazing. He slows it down even more than Trent Reznor’s original song, and it sounds even darker than Reznor’s version. BTW, Johnny Cash changes the offensive lyric. Cash says “I wear this crown of thorns” which actually makes more sense. Reznor’s original lyric was not just offensive but nonsensical too.
 
lak611 said:
Have you heard Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt”? It’s amazing. He slows it down even more than Trent Reznor’s original song, and it sounds even darker than Reznor’s version. BTW, Johnny Cash changes the offensive lyric. Cash says “I wear this crown of thorns” which actually makes more sense. Reznor’s original lyric was not just offensive but nonsensical too.
Click to expand...
What were the original lyrics?
 
One of my favoritest metal songs is Creeping Death by Metallica. From the title of the song, and even some of the lyrics (“Die by my hand, I creep across the land, killing first born man”) one would think it’s an evil song, etc. But it’s really a song about the passover that James Hetfield wrote after watching “The 10 Commandments” at Easter one year. It talks about Moses, the 10 plagues, and then the passover itself when “creeping death” killed the first born sons of Egypt.
 
thomasf said:
One of my favoritest metal songs is Creeping Death by Metallica. From the title of the song, and even some of the lyrics (“Die by my hand, I creep across the land, killing first born man”) one would think it’s an evil song, etc. But it’s really a song about the passover that James Hetfield wrote after watching “The 10 Commandments” at Easter one year. It talks about Moses, the 10 plagues, and then the passover itself when “creeping death” killed the first born sons of Egypt.
Click to expand...
From Wikipedia, "Hetfield[singer/guitarist/lyricist of Metallica] was born on August 3, 1963, in Downey, Los Angeles County, California. His father, Virgil Hetfield (a truck driver) and mother, Cynthia (a light opera singer) were devout and strict adherents to Christian Science, and accordingly, much of his young life revolved around religion[3]. In accordance with their beliefs, Hetfield’s parents strongly disapproved of medicine or any medical help and remained vigilant in their faith even as his mother began to die of cancer[3]. Her death, and his subsequently turbulent relationship with religion, are both recurring subjects which have been the focal point of some of Metallica’s lyrics (the songs “Mama Said,” and “The God That Failed,” are about Hetfield’s mother and father, and “Until It Sleeps” is about cancer, of which both of his parents died).[2]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hetfield

I do like “Creeping Death”. “Disposable Heroes” and “One” are also excellent. “One” is based on the book ***Johnny Got His Gun ***by Dalton Trumbo.
 
And the video from One uses scenes from the movie, which Metallica bought the rights for, just to put it in the video.

Creeping Death is a great song and always reminds me of The 10 Commandments, which I dig too.

😃
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top