Is it ok if I listen to a certain album

  • Thread starter Thread starter PeripheralMajesty
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

PeripheralMajesty

Guest
So I am a metalhead. Not like the metalhead you probably are imagining now. I like a subgenre called Progressive Metal which emphasizes the music rather than lyrics and such. I like metal because of the instruments, not because of any lyrics or imagery that might be demonic. In fact, I tend to try and steer clear of music I know that either support Satanic ideologies or if I know the band members are Satanists themselves. This tendency to steer clear of music like that is why I am here. So one of my favorite bands are releasing a new album this year called “Periphery IV: Hail Stan.” This band does not have a history of promoting Satanism as far as I know and this is the first sketchy album I have come across. Only thing that come close is a story they wrote for a double album that featured a Satanic cult, but it wasn’t promoting the cult or anything, in fact, the album told of the consequences the main character experienced by being in that cult (they weren’t good consequences). I’d also appreciate it if you looked up the album cover art, it won’t let me post a link or image for some reason. I don’t think that I am committing sin because of the context. I love God and don’t listen to that music because of anything like hating God. It would suck to not be able to listen to the new album when it drops, but I’d rather be educated and avoid offending God than to keep myself ignorant since it would technically not be a mortal sin since I didn’t know it was a sin. Thanks for your time to explain something to Catholic who tries to get better at being Catholic everyday. If you are concerned about anything else I have said, please let me know
 
Last edited:
I’m concerned about a song called, “Church Burner” even though they changed the spelling. In any event you want to believe this album is morally neutral so that you can listen to it and enjoy it with a clear conscious which I can appreciate. I don’t think you will be sinning by listening to this unless you think it’s sinful and do it anyways. You like the guitars and drums and song structures. I get it.
Listen in peace brother
 
Last edited:
I didn’t even see that song since I never looked at the tracklist, thanks for telling me. I guess I’ll check the lyrics before I listen when it comes out. So it sounds like it’s up to personal morals rather than a flat out no? Either way, thank you for taking time to reply.
 
First of all, is the album, or this band, leading you into sin? When you listen to their music, does it make you want to commit sins such as sex outside marriage, using drugs, drinking, blaspheming, punching people, destroying property, or worshipping Satan? Since you’ve been listening to the band for a while, I’m guessing the answer is “probably not”. The major test of any piece of media (band, album, videogame, book, film etc.) is “does it lead you into sin”.

Assuming you reviewed the above and decided the band/ album is not leading you into sin, the next question is whether the album is intrinsically immoral in some way. For example, if it was full of porn images, you probably don’t want to support that even if you yourself don’t get turned on by the porn. The album title frankly looks to me like it’s supposed to be a satire since it’s “Hail Stan” not “Hail Satan”. Since the album is not out, it’s not possible for me to read all the lyrics or whatever but it just looks like normal metal to me. I don’t get too wound up over a song called “Church Burner” unless the lyrics turned out to be blasphemous or something, I’ve actually enjoyed the atmospheric music of Burzum and I went to a Mayhem show once; I know I’m not going to go out and burn a church or commit homicide, so it’s not a big deal to me. I personally avoid bands that mock Jesus or have blasphemous art that trashes holy things, but not really seeing that here, it’s just a dopey looking goat.
 
It is not leading me to sin. I don’t feel the urge to sin when I listen to their music. I get wrapped up in the technical skills of the band and go inside my own headspace of just appreciating what is going on. Needless to say, I’m not thinking about sinning in the moment. Thank you for affirming my suspicions. I figured that the band members would lean more towards satire than full on devil worship. The goat is dopey looking indeed, just a little suspicious since it appears to have 3 horns and a star on it’s head (not so sure about the star though, kinda looks like that, but when you zoom in, it looks less like one). I don’t think I’m going to burn churches or anything because of this album, thank you for affirming me, rock on to that music \m/
 
A lot of the “Satanic panic” stuff from the 80s has just become a metal trope/ joke. I know some people take it seriously because they don’t think it’s a good idea to make a habit of being around that stuff, but I tend to believe that symbols, gestures, a goat etc have the meaning that you give it in your head, assuming again it’s not something openly blasphemous or immoral of itself (like porn).

I have to chuckle when I see everybody waving the upside-down cross for Black Sabbath when Ozzy is Christian and Tony is writing Anglican liturgical music on the side…or US Pentagram with pentagrams on everything while they have born-again Christians in the band and lyrics about paying for all your sins.
 
That’s a good philosophy. I agree with it. I think there are some things that we shouldn’t expose ourselves to, but really anything can have evil meanings if you give them it. Yeah, what music bands put out really matter more than what their image is. Same things goes for an innocent looking band actually ending putting out music with evil meaning and intent
 
It’s completely fine. I have a strong faith in God and the Church and Slayer is one of my favorite bands.
 
Thank you @PeripheralMajesty for this post and everyone else for the comments!

I love metal and this is something I was worrying about.

My ex and I bonded over metal in the beginning and as we both grew in our relationship with God, our views on music and many other thing started to change. Towards the end of the our relationship he stopped attending concerts with me because he didn’t want to be a part of that environment or music anymore. He basically stopped listening to metal and started to listen to Christian worship music like Hillsong. He didn’t like that I kept on listening to metal and tried to explain how if the band or song wasn’t for God then it was against God. I tried to explain to him that I listen for the musical content not necessarily for lyrical content.

This caused some doubt in me, since he kept on bringing up that if something in general wasn’t for God then it was against God.

Seeing how y’all have explained it really helped calm that doubt, so thank you!
 
That’s awesome that my query helped you out. I was concerned about this issue but now it’s so obviously satire in their case. I think the only music that is not acceptable is music that bashes God in a very specific way. What I mean by this is that the music targets our God and demeans him. And even that is not as bad as music that worships other gods. This is a fine line, I think it’s ok to listen if you’re going to a worship place with a friend who is not of your religion. It’s unavoidable at that point and it would be rude to make them stop because of your religion. You probably shouldn’t sing along the words. But if you’re listening to songs because they are about worshipping different gods, there are problems. Considering you are on a Catholic forum, you probably aren’t spending your free time listening to music that would put you at odds with your faith. It’s like someone on this thread said earlier, if you think that it is putting something between you and God, it’s probably sin. It’s natural to feel doubt when you are being told that you’re wrong and I am glad you turned to the body of Christ for advice. Peace be with you and rock on \m/
 
Tis_Bearself said:
The album title frankly looks to me like it’s supposed to be a satire since it’s “Hail Stan” not “Hail Satan”.
Click to expand...
Indeed. That seems likely.

Certainly, once the album is out, the OP can read the lyrics online and get the sense of whether or not that is true.

I’m not familiar with Periphery, so I don’t know their general personality as a band. I love Dream Theater, though. 👍
 
Yeah, looking at some of the stuff they have put out for the album, it seems more like satire to me now. Dream Theater is awesome I love them as well as you can probably tell. Think of Periphery as a fusion between Dream Theater’s complex ideas and more traditional metal tropes. Good stuff
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top