Is this music ok for a catholic?

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curtishouse30 said:
I remember listening to those bands back in my younger days but just not into them anymore. I would look into the lyrics of the bands listed. Right off the bat Iron Maiden comes to mind when you look into their song “Mark of the Beast: 666”. It’s definitely glorifying the Devil and wouldn’t be something that Jesus Christ would be happy to know you were listening to. The stance I usually take is that if I have to question something’s sinfulness, chances are that it is sin. Just my take on the situation though. Nothing beats going to the Lord in prayer though. God bless.
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Actually, Iron Maiden have stated their song “Mark of the Beast: 666” is a story of a man who, as a boy, witnessed a satanic ritual taking place, told through a 1st person perspective. It was not intended as an endorsement of satanism. Many of Iron Maiden’s songs are basically stories told through song, and free to interpretation. You can even argue their song “10 Minutes to Midnight” has a pro-life message.
However, I agree 100% with your point that it is better not to listen to music if you are not certain if it is sinful or not.
 
Johann_du_Toit said:
Actually, Iron Maiden have stated their song “Mark of the Beast: 666” is a story of a man who, as a boy, witnessed a satanic ritual taking place, told through a 1st person perspective. It was not intended as an endorsement of satanism. Many of Iron Maiden’s songs are basically stories told through song, and free to interpretation. You can even argue their song “10 Minutes to Midnight” has a pro-life message.
However, I agree 100% with your point that it is better not to listen to music if you are not certain if it is sinful or not.
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Again, there is no Iron Maiden song called “Mark of the Beast: 666.” There IS an Iron Maiden song called “Number of the Beast”, which Steve Harris claims was about a nightmare—though it’s obviously got religious allegory.

There’s also no such Iron Maiden song called “10 Minutes to Midnight.” There IS one called “2 Minutes to Midnight,” which is about the fear of impending nuclear war. So I guess you could say it’s pro-life in that sense, but not about abortion.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
Again, there is no Iron Maiden song called “Mark of the Beast: 666.” There IS an Iron Maiden song called “Number of the Beast”, which Steve Harris claims was about a nightmare—though it’s obviously got religious allegory.

There’s also no such Iron Maiden song called “10 Minutes to Midnight.” There IS one called “2 Minutes to Midnight,” which is about the fear of impending nuclear war. So I guess you could say it’s pro-life in that sense, but not about abortion.
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Sorry, It’s been a while since I listened to any Iron Maiden songs so I got the titles wrong. Thanks for the update.
 
It’s probably the lyrics in the chorus that prompt people, like me, to wonder about the abortion subject:

“2 minutes to midnight,
The hands that threaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight,
To kill the unborn in the womb.”

The whole song is about war and the tendency of people to resort to it. I was just listening to it and it prompted me to come here. Songs and lyrics are a tricky one. They can be the source of evil or impurity to slip into our lives if we are not careful. What was said earlier about what we would listen to if Jesus or Mary were with us, makes a good point. And they are always with us aren’t they?
 
Try Taylor Swift for a change. Or “Classical Gas” by Mason Williams.

The Beach Boys always satisfy.
 
Second, I’m not sure that I agree with your assessment of this particular song. It begins by paraphrasing scripture. As I read it, it seems to be telling a story, mostly from John the Revelator’s viewpoint apart from the final verse.
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Steve Harris has said it was about a nightmare he had, though it obviously includes imagery from the Revelation.
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From what I’ve read, it’s about a man witnessing a satanic ritual, being horrified at it, but eventually becoming “One of them”. However, I don’t think this disqualifies it for Catholics. It definitely seems to recongize Satanism as evil.
 
OP, I listen to the majority of the bands you listed. When I converted and became serious about my faith, the change I made was not to ditch them, but to diminish the time I spent on those bands and I added in Christian bands to come up with a healthy balance. There are so many high-quality Christian bands in traditional and power metal now (two genres you seem to like) that it’s easy to find similar music with uplifting lyrics. If you need suggestions, you’ll find plenty of threads here at CAF where we’ve talked about those Christian bands.

A lot of the secular metal bands have lyrics that can easily be read from a Christian perspective, even if the writers’ don’t intend it. For example, I.M.E. by Helloween is an outsider hold-your-ground song that is probably aimed at least partially against religious people:

“I should not this
I must not that
No matter how I act I must regret
It’s not me”

But 90% of the lyrics in that song can easily be read the other way: the suffocating secular culture I’m surrounded by wants me to conform to it, but I’m holding true to the Church, which is truly “outsider” now.

“I am me
Who do you think you are
To tell me what to be
I am me
No matter what you say
Today I keep my way
I am me”
 
BTW, I totally did not realize when I replied that someone had bumped a 3-year-old thread. Oops!

I will also add that I’ve haven’t had a problem with Number of the Beast since I read some interviews with the band, examined the lyrics, and realized that they weren’t endorsing the Satanic ritual.
 
Wampa said:
BTW, I totally did not realize when I replied that someone had bumped a 3-year-old thread. Oops!
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My bad, sorry! I was researching this topic myself and didn’t think to check the date.
 
the_lark said:
My bad, sorry! I was researching this topic myself and didn’t think to check the date.
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No worries, it happens to all of us 😃 We just shouldn’t be surprised if the OP or earlier posters never return to the conversation!
 
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