I’d argue there is (at least) one exception. Neal Morse. Yeah, the lyrics in his solo projects are all “hallelujah” but he really makes some good music.
Christian rock?
That’s why Jesus used analogies.
Are you saying AI art…It can take me higher? To a place where blind men see?
Nah. There are a lot of bad Christian rock/metal bands, but there are quite a few good ones too.
To name some I still come back to, even though I no longer identify as a Christian:
- Skillet is an obvious one (not my thing anymore, especially everything after Awake, but can’t call them bad)
- Silent Planet
- August Burns Red
- Underoath (well, they used to be)
- Fit For A King
- Wolves At The Gate (though their lyrics can be too much on the nose)
- Flyleaf (when Lacey Sturm was still on board)
- Love & Death
- Children 18:3
How did you literally forget Reliant K?
I like Half Alive
I’m just going to tack a few more on here so I can find some of yours later, but I’d like to add:
Nine Lashes, which are probably more overt than some
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, for the entirety of Don’t You Fake It, and a few other songs
Red
Demon Hunter
Switchfoot, don’t @ me Dare You To Move is a banger
Disciple
Pillar
Disciple is probably more overt than Nine Lashes though, no?
DH I’ve gotten uncomfortable with since Exile.
I just hate it when I find a new song that sounds like a tragic story of the loss of a loved one just to find out it’s actually about their love for god.
It just feels so cringey to me 🥴
Or you think it’s divorced dad rock and it’s actually about the devil
I liked mxpx back in the early 2000s. when I found out they were a Christan punk band I stopped listening to them.
who the fuck makes a Christan punk band?? wankers, that’s who.
You’re missing out on some crazy vicar riffs bruv
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I’m an atheist, but Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit In The Sky” is a banger.
Otherwise yeah, this meme nails it.
I also like some religious music, I think the key is that the music needs to be interesting with zero pandering.
At the risk of turning this into a “not religious, but…” music recommendation thread: I’ve enjoyed mewithoutYou for a long time now. They have a subdued art-rock sound, and I even enjoy a lot of their more overtly religious songs like “In a Sweater Poorly Knit” and “The King Beetle On A Coconut Estate.”
Mewithoutyou - “Cattail Down”Creepy though.
When I die and they lay me to rest,
I’m going to go to the place that’s the best.I actually looked up the song after I commented. Apparently Norman is Jewish and wrote the song after watching a gospel performance and said “Hey, I could do that.” He then wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes…
There are definitely exceptions. But this is often true.
Isn’t Skillet kinda fine?..
the key ingredient is they don’t only sing about Jesus. See also: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Mainstream audiences don’t generally mind christian themes so long as that band is being true to themselves rather than making common denominator slop.
i mean… look at all the music that came from Motown records before 1985. not all of those musicians and acts were devoutly christian, but a lot of them were
I think you nailed it. I don’t mind the Christian songs of Black Sabbath. They are just true to themselves and sing what they want to sing.
Skillet is trash, and the front man is a tool.
You misspelled fire.
I have a soft spot for Creed sometimes, but it’s not exactly like they disprove this statement.
Edit: huh, apparently they aren’t a Christian rock band. Could’ve fooled me.
Scott Stapp the vocalist and lyricist is a Christian and his solo albums are outrightly spiritual in theme.
Something you would have to grow up in the church to understand is how controversial a lot of “Christian bands” actually were in Christian circles. Like the pushback against music with scream vocals was real.
It was a genuine wedge issue because churches used professional audio/lights to attract members with polished modern rock worship music. Music became so intertwined that it led to all non christian music being labeled “secular”.
Bands like Creed didn’t fit either label but generally was considered acceptable listening material in the church circles I grew up in. Most objections were genre based.
That’s one of those where they became so mainstream that they don’t want to name it, but they definitely make Christian rock.
Apparently, Higher is about lucid dreaming, but he’s also dreaming of biblical Heaven:
Can you take me higher
To a place where blind men see
(Isaiah 29:18-19)
Can you take me higher
To a place with golden streets
(Revelations 21:21)“My Sacrifice” is about Scott’s struggle with alcoholism, but speaks of a person who gave him love and who he implies he repeatedly reunites with “in their mind.” That’s Jesus bro.
“One Last Breath” drops a capital-H “His grace” referring to God, “With Arms Wide Open” mentions praying, “What If” references Matthew 7:16-17, etc.
It seems quite a few of their songs are “actually” about something else, but totally allegorical to Christian belief. And idk what that makes you other than a Christian rock band.
I thought My Sacrifice was about the double standard of being a supposed Christian rockstar but hanging with Kid Rock and getting bjs from the groupies.
“When you are with me, I’m free. I’m careless, I believe. Above all the others, we’ll fly. This brings tears to my eyes. My sacrifice.”
Creed is an honorary Christian rock band, which is 1000x worse than a normal one.
Alter Bridge is better
They are.
It’s already cringe when the youth pastor shows up with his acoustic guitar, and there’s really no need to also bring electricity into this.
The word “intelligence” means nothing when referencing most “AI”, just like the word Christian means nothing when referencing most “church-goers”.
More like K-Pop.
everyone knows kpop is the immortal enemy of Christians.
K-pop is actually good, christian rock is just crappy mushed copies of copies of bad rock
Perfectly valid subjective taste. For me personally k-pop looks and sounds like a marketing and dance ai glued together everything that “works” but has no soul or any identifiable bits.
