What is Christian Metal?

Christian metal is a form of heavy metal music which, as well as its many subgenres, contains Christian lyrics and themes.

Christian metal came to existence in the late 1970s Jesus movement, and was pioneered by the American Resurrection Band and Swedish Jerusalem. Los Angeles' Stryper brought the genre into media spotlight during the mid 1980s. The term ”Christian metal” itself was born in 1984, around the time when heavy metal music divided into numerous subgenres. At the same time the secular label Metal Blade Records came up with the term "white metal" in contrast to the rising black metal movement to market the doom metal band Trouble, known for its Biblical lyricsAs a result, "white metal" was used interchangeably with "Christian metal" until the early 1990s when the mainstream popularity of the scene ended and the movement went underground. After that, English-speaking countries (North America, Australia, United Kingdom etc.) and Central and Northern European scenes adopted the "Christian metal" term, while "white metal" remained in use in South America and southwestern Europe. California's Tourniquet and Australia's Mortification lead the movement in the 1990s. The metalcore groups Underoath, As I Lay Dying and Norma Jean pioneered the genre's revival in the 2000s.

Although the term ”Christian metal” is used for the musical movement, it has established itself as a cross-genre term. Christian metal bands exist even in the more extreme subgenres, which is contrary to the general belief that Christian metal represents softer styles of heavy metal music. For example, All Music Guide defines Christian metal as "between arena rock and pop metal, though there are the occasional bands that are heavier." However, the only common link between most Christian metal bands are the lyrics, and often the Christian themes are melded with the subjects of the genre the band is rooted in, regularly providing a Christian take on the subject matter.