Reading this comment section, I am surprised at how many faithful Christian and even pastors and priests metalheads there are out there. This is great, Metal is a big, happy inclusive family 👐.
Having been really into regular Black Metal in Highschool, I’ve just recently discovered Christian (Un) Black Metal, now having served as a priest for 8 years. Really enjoying Crimson Moonlight as well as Hesychast, both being Orthodox Christian bands. I’d highly recommend them!
In my opinion, Extol's 'Burial' is one of the most interesting metal albums ever. No one sounds like them even to this day even though a shit ton of bands and metal artists are influenced by them. Celestial Completion is one hell of an album opener.
I'm actually a huge collector of Christian extreme metal. This was a joy to watch. Drottnar is in my all-time top five, Crimson Moonlight, as well. For the curious, here are some more of my favorite Christian black artists, though not all Norwegian: Admonish, Bismoth, Bloodwork, Epta Astera, Evroklidon, Fearscape, Frost Like Ashes, A Hill to Die Upon, Irgalom, Lo-Ruhamah, Morgarten, Opus Majestic, Panegyrist, Parakletos, Reverorum ib Malacht, early Sanctifica, Shadows of Paragon, The Slave Eye, Slaves BC (now Uzkost), Stronghold, Symphony of Heaven, Synnove, They Wither, Usynlig Tumult, early Vardoger, Vials of Wrath, and Wintersoul.
Great list of favorite unblack metal bands. Basically have the same list, but Antestor is my all time favorite. Don’t see them on yours. Did you leave them out purposely?
I’m a Pastor and I love black metal and death metal. I appreciate the sound and art. It break my heart that so many Christian are quick to judge instead of being understanding.
Hi! Cool to see a Pastor that loves black and death metal, but I'm curious, with black metal you mean this holy unblack metal? Or the regular black metal with the satanism and anti-christian stuff, do you pull apart the ideologies and lyrics from the music?
@@TheDudeness123 I like regular anti Christian black metal. Of course I don’t agree with the ideology but love the sound and even respect peoples ideas that are different than mine. 👍
@@Homeslice130 I see, well thanks for answering and that's how the music (at least for me) should be seen, if you like something as how it sounds, just don't focus on the lyrics or the message it tries to send.
If anyone from BangerTV was going to cover Christian Black Metal I would’ve wanted it to be Blayne and look what I got! That was a blast to watch! Cool videos! Spicy comment sections! BangerTV!
Awesome to see the lack of hypocrisy. Music quality has nothing to do with religious beliefs.... and let's all be honest. The Satan shit has been corny for a long time lol Having an open mind is awesome. Great job Blane!!
@@Protometal66 did I say anything about other topics not being cringe??? My comment is 100% knocking the "TRVE" idiots taking the satanic lyrics seriously and claiming antestor is crap. That's all... locking a genre by lyrical content is moronic. I'm sure we agree on that.
Thanks for bringing back this series, which was what got me to become a Patreon donor in the first place. A great first episode! I'm not Christian, but then I'm not a Buddhist, either, and I've heard some terrific Buddhist-themed metal albums. Metal is just about wrestling with ultimate reality and the big questions in an honest and intense way. And I mean Master of Reality was the first Christian metal album - and Black Sabbath's best ever IMO.
Been a fan of most of these guys for years. I got into Extol with their Mesmerized EP which has some of the dreaded black metal remixes that I actually dig. Mantric is a nice post metal offering, and bands like Crimson Moonlight, Grave Declaration, and Antestor are the big names. Also worth mentioning is Flesh Killer who kept with the more technical aspects of Extol after members parted ways. It's a small sub genre, and smaller still if you want quality, but most music is that way. Definitely shocked to see Blane cover this one, but happy he was open-minded enough to give it a chance and find quality in there. He's right, though, most Christian music is hard to listen to. Next, let's see some Living Sacrifice in here. Easily one of the best bands the Christian scene has to offer.
Thanks for the coverage, good words and a great approach and attitude (I've played in both Lengsel and Extol, and now Mantric). Always found the labels "unblack" and "christian" metal quite silly, but hey - too old to care anymore. 😁 🤘🏼
Hey man! Thanks for all your contributions to the scene. I was lucky enough to see you when Extol came to California (a ways back). You were touring with Demon Hunter then. I am actually about to buy a Mantric album, today or tomorrow, to support your guys' work. Again... thank you for being a part of many of our best metal memories!
@@brian95240 Hey there, and thanks a lot for the support - really appreciate it! :) Been a long time since we last toured the U.S. now, and definitely miss it!
*Gotta give love to all of the outrageous* PATREON *donors of this channel for making a huge unification of requesting this sub-genre to be covered.* YOU GUYS RULE!!! ❤ And I'm also happy to see my big boy *Blayne Smith* back in action for Season 2.
I grew up in a Christian household and I was aware of Extol and I think even heard the term "white metal" thrown around. At any rate, I think the Christian metal album that holds up the most is Living Sacrifice's The Hammering Process album. A close second would be the metalcore (gasp!) album Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child by Norma Jean. In the early 2000's in the Atlanta area, Norma Jean seemed ...probably bigger than they actually were. Oh! Zao is also really good. Liberate Te Ex Inferis by them is great.
I love that Living Sacrifice album as well Conceived In Fire that came after it. Both have the Sepultura-esque tribal drumming thing going for them. Great band all around!
If you expand the search a little bit further, to the Netherlands specifically, try out the band called Slechtvalk and their album At The Dawn Of War. Solid stuff
@@thenoctus6722 Agreed. I’d have thought that would have lifted them a little bit; however, if they want more, they gotta get out there more, to include social media.
I was looking to see if someone would mention those guys. I thought A Forlorn Throne was top tier. For anyone looking for a cleaner black metal, that album is the way to go. I didn't get into their following release nearly as much myself unfortunately, but their still working on more music so we'll see what they can cook up next, Cheers
Heaviest gig I ever went to was in Brazil. A Christian death metal show where the lead singer of the headline band pulled out a sword and Bible and started head banging and singing verses. So bizarre 😳 so metall!
Thanks so much for covering this!! I grew up in and then out of Christianity, but this music is still so important to me. My favorites are Extol, Antestor, Crimson Moonlight, and Fleshkiller (former members of Extol). You guys rule! Thanks for shedding light on this fascinating and underappreciated community!
I have the exact same experience, Jon 👍 Crimson Moonlight has been one of the most important bands in my personal evolvement out of christianity. Them, alongside Pantokrator and many more.
Me being a follower of Jesus but love this channel really makes me excited, huge props to the banger team for covering some of the legendary bands in this genre, incredible christian bands in all genres of metal that never get covered but thanks to banger we have this. Thank you!!! To bad we had to stick to Norway, Hill to die upon from US Pantokrator, and crimson moonlight are top notch. Fantastic job Blane your a great dude!
Basically sounds like any other type of black metal to me, only way I would know its this microgenre is to read the lyrics because I aint going to pick out more than a few words through black metal vocals anyways =D
Yes, they are trying to infiltrate the black metal scene by camouflaging themselves and ultimately convert some wannabees to "Jesuits". A very important UA-cam video by BANGERTV. This music is pure poison for the soul :=)))
I was totally against Christian music of any kind having been raised Catholic and gone to Catholic school, but as I've gotten older I've started to view Christian metal (particularly black and death metal) in the way of bands with lyricsa bout ancient Egypt or Norse Mythology.
From the U.S. Vials of Wrath is a great band and in the Ukraine the band only released one EP but it's fantastic Usynlig Tumult Voices of the Winds then from the U.S. again the one man band Sorrowstorm and their new EP Epoch of Exile🤘⚡🔥
This is the most honest approach to inclusivity I've seen from anyone. Good on you Blayne!! We will be trying to win you over to our side, as well, brother.
@@joshalan5125 AND WHEN THE VVVVITCHES SURROUND THE CAVVLDRON, THE VVVLAMES REACH VNDER MY VVHILT OVVV HELL AND CHAOS. THE DARK VVVASTER VVATHER HEAR ME SO MOTE IT VVVVVVVV
So the best part isn't the music or the lyrics, it's the fact that someone might be upset about it....? That's weird to me. Why do you want someone to be upset? I don't understand why anyone would be as everyone has their own opinion and we are all different but that you would think that is confusing to me..
@@Protometal66 some people use agitation to dispel boredom. some people are hardwired to be more rebellious and/or mischievous than others. some people feel deeply unimportant and ineffectual and rather than work on themselves to change that which is personally dissatisfying they try to be provocative; the reactions they get from other people give them a sense of having an impact on the world around them, providing temporary relief from the existential impotence they otherwise feel. some people are genuinely interested in subverting the status quo. there's a plethora of reasons why people do what they do, who really knows?
Thanks for reviewing Christian Black metal or “Unblack” as some refer to it. I wish you had featured “Horde” in the music review. They were the first. Also “Crimson Moonlight “ and “Christageddon” are fantastic. Black metal is just a genre of music so Christians can play it just like satanist can. God bless them for groundbreaking into a unique music style ✝️
Good stuff. Had no idea your channel existed. Kudos to you for exploring this. Extol is my favorite - no one sounds like them. Lengsel's Solace is a wonderful album.
I'm a non-relgious former Christian, and Lengsel's album Solace is still in my top 5 favorite Black Metal albums of all time. (un-black metal is fake news)
I never expected to see an episode on this subject on Banger, and much respect for doing it!! I've been a metal fan since the early '80s (and a hard rock fan since the late '70s), and when I discovered the existence of "unblack metal," in Norway and elsewhere, I was pretty skeptical. However, when I heard Extol, and later, bands like Wintersoul and Drottnar, I knew this music was real, serious, and very, very heavy!!!
Like all of Balyne's videos, this was both informative and hilarious! I'm Catholic and I just listened to Rotting Christ this morning, so I am 100% on board with the cognative dissonance of Christian Black Metal🤘
This is super cool to see. If anyone here doesn't know about Extol, I'd highly recommend giving their albums a listen. Extol is kind of a hidden gem in the metal world and among the few who know about them, they are quite revered. Opeth requested Extol to tour with them in the early 2000s (which they obliged). That says enough. Misha Mansoor of Periphery cites them as an influence. Their albums run the gamut of black metal, brutal death metal, tech death and alternative. They never repeated themselves and their music always had a consistent prog element to it. This is the band that got me into extreme metal. And one of the few exceptions where a Christian band is actually light years better than many, many other secular bands. I put this band in the same halls as Opeth, Death, Gorguts, Cynic, Atheist, etc. The whole thing of Christianity not belonging in metal should be a meme at this point. Like Blayne said, if you can listen to music by a racist murderer, you can listen to music by Christians. If you can listen to Mayhem cartoonishly exalt the Halloween store Satan, you can listen to music that exalts God.
Watch new episodes of Overkill Global: Bangladeshi Extreme Metal: ua-cam.com/video/SC47OWXmOnA/v-deo.html Finnish Death Metal: ua-cam.com/video/bvkxHyL-2kw/v-deo.html United Arab Emirates Extreme Metal: ua-cam.com/video/4zhjJ2fP9p4/v-deo.html
Antestor's Omen album has one of my favorite intros of all time, the whole album is great. A Hill To Die Upon takes the cake for "unblack" in my opinion.
It’s a small world! A friend of Banger interned at HM Magazine in the 90s and introduced us to Doug. I originally reached out for a Lock Horns episode but we got talking and it turned into this.
@@BangerTV oh, that's awesome. I just remember mentioning in a comment you should do Christian metal sub genre. Banger replied you had intended to something to that degree. I remember mentioning Doug van pelt... but had no idea you already knew.😆 the only band I saw missing was Skald In Veum
@@BangerTV because it is a mirror of the metal world there is just about a Christian band for all subgenres.... so you should get some decent mileage out it
I loved this! You should do christian amarican death metal. There's some quality stuff their. Like living sacrifice, becoming the archetype, and mortification to name a few.
I'm not sure if these guys are from Norway, but I highly recommend Wintersoul with their album (I think it's their ONLY album) Frozen Storm Apocalypse. This is some intense, aggressive, FIERCE black metal. The drums sound like machine gun fire and surprisingly, done by a human, not a machine (maybe he was possessed by an angel of death or something). Anyway, the album is killer, super heavy, not too long, check it out.
As someone who is a huge black metal fan and a Christian, thank you Blayne. I’ve never cared about anti-Christian lyrics but I’m glad Blayne took an unbiased stance here. Even if I’ve never heard any of these bands before.
Loved this, hilarious and knowledgeable as always. The Hellripper t-shirt cracked me up, good shit disturbing there. In fact, the shit disturbing was like an onion on this one.
Christian Metal actually has lots of great bands. Not wanting to give it a chance only because of the lyrical content is a bit dumb. If I listen because of the lyrics, I'd have already sacrificed a virgin while listening to Slayer 😔😔
Very funny and entertaining as always, thank you :). That Antestor record really tickles my fancy. And my jaw dropped when I saw that Drottnar video. They certainly have a unique identity lol, and the music is damn solid. Cheers all around!
I recommend you Plebeian Grandstand then :) They are french and playing a blend of chaotic hardcore and dissonant BM. I even saw Liam from TDEP wear one of their T-Shirt in an interview
Dig this vid, I know it’s all Norwegian and stuff but there’s some more like A Hill To Die Upon, Crimson Moonlight, & Pantokrater but this is an awesome start for folks who don’t know this genre exists!! As a worship and youth pastor I love finding more bands to give to some of my metalhead youth kids
@@goregrind1 you mean by CM or in general? Wilderness is their best song in my opinion and many others are right up there along it e.g. Path of Pain and Embraced by the beauty of cold.
I suggest everyone in the comments check out Prayers From A Yearning Heart by Stronghold. Not the best EP, but some of the best individual riffs ever produced by this scene.
Copied my reply to another post and am leaving it here to peruse at your leisure. Skald in Veum - Black Metal with some thrash sprinkled in. Song - Goatwhore Paramaecium - melodic death doom with some female clean singing thrown in. Gospod - slow melodic Russian orthodox chanting with heavy riffs and drums, think Batushka but catchier. Hesychast - think Batushka but prettier. Veni Domine - Epic Doom, their first 3 albums are their best in my opinion and are only on UA-cam. They are Fall Babylon Fall, Material Sanctuary, and Spiritual Wasteland. Their later ones just aren’t my cup of tea. Vials of Wrath - Black Metal from Tennessee, reminds me of Wolves in the Throne Room. Crimson Moonlight - Swedish Black Metal. Mentioned in the video but not sampled. Very good. Holy Blood - Folk Metal, grab a flagon. Pantokrator - Death Metal, very catchy Sacrificium - Melodic Death Metal Ceremonial Sacred - Symphonic Black Metal Slechtvalk - Dutch Black Metal with some folk influence. Their old stuff is more traditional sounding while their newer stuff is cleaner sounding. That’s a good starting point. Blast’em loud!!! 🤘🤘🤘
You know, it's funny this bias we all have towards christian metal. And I'm also guilty of that. I'm an atheist, so I don't believe neither in god or the devil, but I never had any trouble listening to bands that feature satanic lyrics, but for christian metal I would immediately turn away in disgust. Yes, I know that 99% of the satanic lyrics in metal are tongue in cheek, but there bands and artists like Watain and King Diamond that claim to be actual satanists, and I never had any issue with their music. This video was a great eye opener, because I liked pretty much everything I heard here. And yeah, I'm not going to relate to their lyrics or their message, but hey, I also don't relate to Dave Mustaine's conspiracy theories and I still blast Rust in Peace regularly.
As someone who's merely in metal for the music itself and the sound of it all, not the message or the lyrics, this is still pretty cool. It's a solid genre with some very talented musicians, which is what I love about metal; great music from all sorts of people, from all walks of life. Love the metal community!
Thank you for the review of the Norwegian unblack metal! Im listening to extol and looking for more unblack metal bands. Hoping you cover more Christian metal bands. PS: first time to watch your vlog. You're funny and unbiased. Thanks
As an Orthodox inquirer who quite enjoys Christian metal and has recently been really hooked on Unblack metal/Christian black metal I liked this video. These were good picks and I liked that you weren't biased against this style of music which is how people normally seem when it comes to Unblack metal. I would also reccomend Ascending King's album Funeral of a Species, it's quite short but it gives off a fantastic atmosphere with Christian lyrics. Hazarmaveth is another great reccomendation if you are looking for something Christian but with a more intense sound and atmosphere compared to most Christian black metal bands
Extol were incredible! For me right up there with bands like Emperor and Opeth in terms of the quality of metal they were making at the time. Killer band! This quality followed Ole Børud of Extol right on into Fleshkiller.
I love death metal and grindcore, but lately Ive been listening to black metal. As of now, Antestor has been on my daily rotation. Their album The Forsaken is great and their latest album Omens is awesome. Their song, Torn Apart, is one of the best black metal songs Ive ever heard.
Christian metal band are in a tough position a lot of the metal community rejects them because their Christian and Christians condemn them because of their sound and appearance.
I've really been wondering for a while when Christian metal bands would finally be featured. Hopefully we see some more of this, and maybe bands with other spiritual/philosophical roots.
Really cool stuff. I can suggest Crimson Moonlight, Sacrificum, Frost Like Ashes, Grave Declaration, Renascent, Sanctifica, Lo-Ruhamah. There's a lot to hear. I really love this music as I used to "love" Blackened Death Metal in the 90's. Manuel from México 👋🏽
I'm not a christian but I will listen to some christian metal if it's heavy enough and my favorite unblack metal album so far is Skald In Veum-Stridslysten. These guys are considered the darkest of the unblack metal bands which makes them fucking awesome!
Lengsel ,Antestor ,Drottnar ,FrostHardr are all sickass bands oh also Horde,the drummer from Mortifications Norwegian Black metal Project but he's from Australia.
From the U.S. the band Vials of Wrath is great and in The Ukraine the band Usynlig Tumult has their EP Voices of the Winds unfortunately it's the only thing they released but it's Fantastic🤘⚡🔥
I got you my dude. Skald in Veum - Black Metal with some thrash sprinkled in. Song - Goatwhore Paramaecium - melodic death doom with some female clean singing thrown in. Gospod - slow melodic Russian orthodox chanting with heavy riffs and drums, think Batushka but catchier. Hesychast - think Batushka but prettier. Veni Domine - Epic Doom, their first 3 albums are their best in my opinion and are only on UA-cam. They are Fall Babylon Fall, Material Sanctuary, and Spiritual Wasteland. Their later ones just aren’t my cup of tea. Vials of Wrath - Black Metal from Tennessee, reminds me of Wolves in the Throne Room. Crimson Moonlight - Swedish Black Metal. Mentioned in the video but not sampled. Very good. Holy Blood - Folk Metal, grab a flagon. Pantokrator - Death Metal, very catchy Sacrificium - Melodic Death Metal Ceremonial Sacred - Symphonic Black Metal Slechtvalk - Dutch Black Metal with some folk influence. Their old stuff is more traditional sounding while their newer stuff is cleaner sounding. That’s a good starting point. Blast’em loud!!! 🤘🤘🤘
Excellent, Overkill global is back! Just an idea: Colombian Black Metal... I mean Mayhem even mention this scene as their influence (check out the vice (noisey) documentary about "Parabellum", the most representative band of the scene)
@@BangerTV Dude, didn't expect an answer much less a compliment, thank you! good(sound) sources for this are scarce but you can surely contact Alex Oquendo, Founder of "Masacre" and other bands, he's even listed on the Encyclopaedia metallum (a.k.a metal-archives), and look for "Masacre(Oficial)" in the book of faces...
honestly... this is a basically non existing scene here in Norway, because let's be honest its just Black Metal. Bands like Nekromantheon, Deathhammer, Condor(RIP), Evoke, Obliteration and the like are what the real scene in Norway is all about.
I find it sad that some of these bands don't get enough validation just because they preach christian stuff in this 'satanic' scene eventhough the music is so good. A Hill to Die Upon is one of them. So underated.
I like how AHTDU adds in other religious influences like the Greek Pantheon and Thelema. Fantasy literature and war history make their appearance too! The best part is the crisp, chunky blackened death metal riff work, though!
I would love to continue diving into other Christian metal subgenres. Good, fair reviews. Personal recommendation is a prog death metal band, Becoming the Archetype. The album Dichotomy is near perfect with Mountain of Souls, Artificial Immortality, and End of the Age being standout tracks.
Reading this comment section, I am surprised at how many faithful Christian and even pastors and priests metalheads there are out there. This is great, Metal is a big, happy inclusive family 👐.
Christian here who loves all things metal
Big time. I’m a practicing Catholic and I only listen to metal. I try to stay away from the overtly Satanic stuff, but otherwise enjoy most of it
I'm a Christian who went to seminary to become a pastor (Reformed Baptist) and I love brutal death metal, goregrind etc.
Representing the Eastern Orthodox Church here. Metalhead forever! ☦️🤘🏻
Yup! Representing Jesus first, family second and metal third!
Having been really into regular Black Metal in Highschool, I’ve just recently discovered Christian (Un) Black Metal, now having served as a priest for 8 years. Really enjoying Crimson Moonlight as well as Hesychast, both being Orthodox Christian bands. I’d highly recommend them!
Check out GOSPOD too, they have a Batushka feel to them.
In my opinion, Extol's 'Burial' is one of the most interesting metal albums ever. No one sounds like them even to this day even though a shit ton of bands and metal artists are influenced by them. Celestial Completion is one hell of an album opener.
So that's where BTA got their album name.
All of Extol albums are great. They' ve pushed themselves further for each new release and produce some really great stuff.
I'm actually a huge collector of Christian extreme metal. This was a joy to watch. Drottnar is in my all-time top five, Crimson Moonlight, as well. For the curious, here are some more of my favorite Christian black artists, though not all Norwegian: Admonish, Bismoth, Bloodwork, Epta Astera, Evroklidon, Fearscape, Frost Like Ashes, A Hill to Die Upon, Irgalom, Lo-Ruhamah, Morgarten, Opus Majestic, Panegyrist, Parakletos, Reverorum ib Malacht, early Sanctifica, Shadows of Paragon, The Slave Eye, Slaves BC (now Uzkost), Stronghold, Symphony of Heaven, Synnove, They Wither, Usynlig Tumult, early Vardoger, Vials of Wrath, and Wintersoul.
Great list of favorite unblack metal bands. Basically have the same list, but Antestor is my all time favorite. Don’t see them on yours. Did you leave them out purposely?
@@jacobcrowley457 Ah, I was just trying to mention bands I didn't see in the video. Antestor is a fave of mine, too. I even have their demo tapes.
@@mutehero7 oh ok, that makes sense. Well, you’ve got a good taste in music. I have to say.
@@jacobcrowley457 Thanks, mate
tight! i’ll check these out
All Hail Banger for bringing back this gem of a series \m/
I’m a Pastor and I love black metal and death metal. I appreciate the sound and art. It break my heart that so many Christian are quick to judge instead of being understanding.
Hi! Cool to see a Pastor that loves black and death metal, but I'm curious, with black metal you mean this holy unblack metal? Or the regular black metal with the satanism and anti-christian stuff, do you pull apart the ideologies and lyrics from the music?
We are allowed to judge, being anti Christian is cringe and shouldn't be supported.
@@TheDudeness123 I like regular anti Christian black metal. Of course I don’t agree with the ideology but love the sound and even respect peoples ideas that are different than mine. 👍
@@Homeslice130 I see, well thanks for answering and that's how the music (at least for me) should be seen, if you like something as how it sounds, just don't focus on the lyrics or the message it tries to send.
Any chance your pastor in Flint, Michigan? lol. I'm having a hard time finding a good church around here. A real hard time.
If anyone from BangerTV was going to cover Christian Black Metal I would’ve wanted it to be Blayne and look what I got! That was a blast to watch!
Cool videos!
Spicy comment sections!
BangerTV!
Awesome to see the lack of hypocrisy. Music quality has nothing to do with religious beliefs.... and let's all be honest. The Satan shit has been corny for a long time lol
Having an open mind is awesome. Great job Blane!!
Thanks!
Too trVVVVVVe. Satanism in metal these days is pure cringe.
Satan is cringe but God isn't? A fairytale is a fairytale
Satan *is just another brand of milk these days.*
@@Protometal66 did I say anything about other topics not being cringe??? My comment is 100% knocking the "TRVE" idiots taking the satanic lyrics seriously and claiming antestor is crap. That's all... locking a genre by lyrical content is moronic. I'm sure we agree on that.
Extol’s Burial is one of the absolutely best metal albums ever! In my top 5 without a doubt
Thanks for bringing back this series, which was what got me to become a Patreon donor in the first place. A great first episode! I'm not Christian, but then I'm not a Buddhist, either, and I've heard some terrific Buddhist-themed metal albums. Metal is just about wrestling with ultimate reality and the big questions in an honest and intense way. And I mean Master of Reality was the first Christian metal album - and Black Sabbath's best ever IMO.
Thanks Dave!
Never thought I'd see this genre covered.
Same this great for people like me I been waiting for this
Been a fan of most of these guys for years. I got into Extol with their Mesmerized EP which has some of the dreaded black metal remixes that I actually dig. Mantric is a nice post metal offering, and bands like Crimson Moonlight, Grave Declaration, and Antestor are the big names. Also worth mentioning is Flesh Killer who kept with the more technical aspects of Extol after members parted ways. It's a small sub genre, and smaller still if you want quality, but most music is that way.
Definitely shocked to see Blane cover this one, but happy he was open-minded enough to give it a chance and find quality in there. He's right, though, most Christian music is hard to listen to.
Next, let's see some Living Sacrifice in here. Easily one of the best bands the Christian scene has to offer.
Haven't even started the video and I can't believe what I'm reading in the title. I'm so damn excited!!! Finally some actual moderj exposure!
Probably my fav series, really glad it’s back
Thanks for watching!
Respect to Blayne for being open minded on this one lol. Although, when you think about it, satanic music is also Christian at its roots.
Based on the same source, yes. I wouldn't say it has the same roots.
Yeah.... But I'm not sure actual Christians would accept "Christraping black metal" or "Fuck me Jesus" as part of the same Christian metal family 😂
Doesn’t mean Christianity has a place in black metal lol black metal is a big F U to Christianity. Christians have their own music… gospel lol
@· Voice · Ov · Evil · we need a reason to hate nazis now??? wtf 🤡
Thanks for the coverage, good words and a great approach and attitude (I've played in both Lengsel and Extol, and now Mantric). Always found the labels "unblack" and "christian" metal quite silly, but hey - too old to care anymore. 😁 🤘🏼
Hey man! Thanks for all your contributions to the scene. I was lucky enough to see you when Extol came to California (a ways back). You were touring with Demon Hunter then. I am actually about to buy a Mantric album, today or tomorrow, to support your guys' work. Again... thank you for being a part of many of our best metal memories!
@@brian95240 Hey there, and thanks a lot for the support - really appreciate it! :) Been a long time since we last toured the U.S. now, and definitely miss it!
*Gotta give love to all of the outrageous* PATREON *donors of this channel for making a huge unification of requesting this sub-genre to be covered.*
YOU GUYS RULE!!! ❤
And I'm also happy to see my big boy *Blayne Smith* back in action for Season 2.
Our Patreon donors absolutely rule !
I grew up in a Christian household and I was aware of Extol and I think even heard the term "white metal" thrown around. At any rate, I think the Christian metal album that holds up the most is Living Sacrifice's The Hammering Process album. A close second would be the metalcore (gasp!) album Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child by Norma Jean. In the early 2000's in the Atlanta area, Norma Jean seemed ...probably bigger than they actually were. Oh! Zao is also really good. Liberate Te Ex Inferis by them is great.
I love that Living Sacrifice album as well Conceived In Fire that came after it. Both have the Sepultura-esque tribal drumming thing going for them. Great band all around!
Dutch reformed pastor, blackmetal fan over here. And giving a shoutout to Dutch band Slechtvalk.
Slechtvalk is fantastic! Also didn't think I'd meet any other reformed in here, but that's awesome!
@@brastongray2480 as Calvins theology says: traces of grace are everywhere. It would be weird if God could somehow be limited 😉
Yes here also a reformed person. Slechtvalk rules, Dawnbreaker is also a band to look on, currently he is living in the Netherlands to
Reformed here too.
If you expand the search a little bit further, to the Netherlands specifically, try out the band called Slechtvalk and their album At The Dawn Of War. Solid stuff
Yeah, these guys...I like all their stuff, but those first three albums slay!
Weird how Slechtvalk isn't more known, what with being formed by ex-member(s) of Heidevolk. 🤔
@@thenoctus6722 Agreed. I’d have thought that would have lifted them a little bit; however, if they want more, they gotta get out there more, to include social media.
I was looking to see if someone would mention those guys. I thought A Forlorn Throne was top tier. For anyone looking for a cleaner black metal, that album is the way to go. I didn't get into their following release nearly as much myself unfortunately, but their still working on more music so we'll see what they can cook up next, Cheers
Not gonna lie, Antestor sounds rad as hell! Definitly going to see if I find The Return on CD. :)
Heaviest gig I ever went to was in Brazil. A Christian death metal show where the lead singer of the headline band pulled out a sword and Bible and started head banging and singing verses. So bizarre 😳 so metall!
Which band?
@@goregrind1 I feel like it was Hortor, they have that vibe going for them
Thanks so much for covering this!! I grew up in and then out of Christianity, but this music is still so important to me. My favorites are Extol, Antestor, Crimson Moonlight, and Fleshkiller (former members of Extol).
You guys rule! Thanks for shedding light on this fascinating and underappreciated community!
I have the exact same experience, Jon 👍
Crimson Moonlight has been one of the most important bands in my personal evolvement out of christianity. Them, alongside Pantokrator and many more.
Me being a follower of Jesus but love this channel really makes me excited, huge props to the banger team for covering some of the legendary bands in this genre, incredible christian bands in all genres of metal that never get covered but thanks to banger we have this. Thank you!!! To bad we had to stick to Norway, Hill to die upon from US Pantokrator, and crimson moonlight are top notch. Fantastic job Blane your a great dude!
Killer video as always Blayne, and cheers for repping the goat!
*Where can I possibly avail that shirt?*
Basically sounds like any other type of black metal to me, only way I would know its this microgenre is to read the lyrics because I aint going to pick out more than a few words through black metal vocals anyways =D
Yes, they are trying to infiltrate the black metal scene by camouflaging themselves and ultimately convert some wannabees to "Jesuits". A very important UA-cam video by BANGERTV. This music is pure poison for the soul :=)))
I was totally against Christian music of any kind having been raised Catholic and gone to Catholic school, but as I've gotten older I've started to view Christian metal (particularly black and death metal) in the way of bands with lyricsa bout ancient Egypt or Norse Mythology.
From the U.S. Vials of Wrath is a great band and in the Ukraine the band only released one EP but it's fantastic Usynlig Tumult Voices of the Winds then from the U.S. again the one man band Sorrowstorm and their new EP Epoch of Exile🤘⚡🔥
Doug Van Pelt on Banger, who would have thought!
The most improbable metal scene ever?
This is the most honest approach to inclusivity I've seen from anyone. Good on you Blayne!! We will be trying to win you over to our side, as well, brother.
I'm simple. I see Blayne, and especially in a Hellripper shirt, I like
Never has my jaw dropped faster than after finding out that Mayhem's drummer played on an Antestor album, Lol 🤣😂 TRVE KVLT \m/
Yeah that made me spit out my coffee all over the screen.
Lol, Is this even called Blasphemy at this point?
Cool.
Pantokrator's "Blod" and "Marching Out Of Babylon" albums are dope as hell!
The best part about un-black metal is how much it makes the “trve kvlt” left hand path edgelords loose their minds.
Truth. Plus, I think the whole substituting the U with a V such as "trve" is cheesy af. 😆
@@joshalan5125 AND WHEN THE VVVVITCHES SURROUND THE CAVVLDRON, THE VVVLAMES
REACH VNDER MY VVHILT OVVV HELL AND CHAOS. THE DARK VVVASTER VVATHER HEAR ME
SO MOTE IT VVVVVVVV
@@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245 lol
So the best part isn't the music or the lyrics, it's the fact that someone might be upset about it....? That's weird to me. Why do you want someone to be upset? I don't understand why anyone would be as everyone has their own opinion and we are all different but that you would think that is confusing to me..
@@Protometal66 some people use agitation to dispel boredom. some people are hardwired to be more rebellious and/or mischievous than others. some people feel deeply unimportant and ineffectual and rather than work on themselves to change that which is personally dissatisfying they try to be provocative; the reactions they get from other people give them a sense of having an impact on the world around them, providing temporary relief from the existential impotence they otherwise feel. some people are genuinely interested in subverting the status quo. there's a plethora of reasons why people do what they do, who really knows?
where's Pastor Bob?
He's more of the thrash scene
Thanks for reviewing Christian Black metal or “Unblack” as some refer to it. I wish you had featured “Horde” in the music review. They were the first. Also “Crimson Moonlight “ and “Christageddon” are fantastic. Black metal is just a genre of music so Christians can play it just like satanist can. God bless them for groundbreaking into a unique music style ✝️
Great bands
🖤✝️
Good stuff. Had no idea your channel existed. Kudos to you for exploring this. Extol is my favorite - no one sounds like them. Lengsel's Solace is a wonderful album.
I'm a non-relgious former Christian, and Lengsel's album Solace is still in my top 5 favorite Black Metal albums of all time. (un-black metal is fake news)
I never expected to see an episode on this subject on Banger, and much respect for doing it!! I've been a metal fan since the early '80s (and a hard rock fan since the late '70s), and when I discovered the existence of "unblack metal," in Norway and elsewhere, I was pretty skeptical. However, when I heard Extol, and later, bands like Wintersoul and Drottnar, I knew this music was real, serious, and very, very heavy!!!
So glad Overkill Global is back!
Glad we could do more episodes!
Like all of Balyne's videos, this was both informative and hilarious! I'm Catholic and I just listened to Rotting Christ this morning, so I am 100% on board with the cognative dissonance of Christian Black Metal🤘
You are not a catholic. Maybe on paper.
This is super cool to see. If anyone here doesn't know about Extol, I'd highly recommend giving their albums a listen. Extol is kind of a hidden gem in the metal world and among the few who know about them, they are quite revered. Opeth requested Extol to tour with them in the early 2000s (which they obliged). That says enough. Misha Mansoor of Periphery cites them as an influence.
Their albums run the gamut of black metal, brutal death metal, tech death and alternative. They never repeated themselves and their music always had a consistent prog element to it. This is the band that got me into extreme metal. And one of the few exceptions where a Christian band is actually light years better than many, many other secular bands. I put this band in the same halls as Opeth, Death, Gorguts, Cynic, Atheist, etc.
The whole thing of Christianity not belonging in metal should be a meme at this point. Like Blayne said, if you can listen to music by a racist murderer, you can listen to music by Christians. If you can listen to Mayhem cartoonishly exalt the Halloween store Satan, you can listen to music that exalts God.
Watch new episodes of Overkill Global:
Bangladeshi Extreme Metal: ua-cam.com/video/SC47OWXmOnA/v-deo.html
Finnish Death Metal: ua-cam.com/video/bvkxHyL-2kw/v-deo.html
United Arab Emirates Extreme Metal: ua-cam.com/video/4zhjJ2fP9p4/v-deo.html
Antestor's Omen album has one of my favorite intros of all time, the whole album is great. A Hill To Die Upon takes the cake for "unblack" in my opinion.
Lengsel, amazing album have it on vinyl
Thanks for reaching out to Doug van pelt. I'm glad you read my message a few months back. And thanks for covering this microgenre
It’s a small world! A friend of Banger interned at HM Magazine in the 90s and introduced us to Doug. I originally reached out for a Lock Horns episode but we got talking and it turned into this.
@@BangerTV oh, that's awesome. I just remember mentioning in a comment you should do Christian metal sub genre. Banger replied you had intended to something to that degree. I remember mentioning Doug van pelt... but had no idea you already knew.😆 the only band I saw missing was Skald In Veum
@@xazmuthx00 The response was so great from the community I think we'll do more episodes of Christian Metal in the future.
@@BangerTV because it is a mirror of the metal world there is just about a Christian band for all subgenres.... so you should get some decent mileage out it
I loved this! You should do christian amarican death metal. There's some quality stuff their. Like living sacrifice, becoming the archetype, and mortification to name a few.
Nice! Thanks for letting us know
Mortification are Australian. But still a good idea!
You guys are awesome! Thank you for the correction!
Slechtvalk - Holland, and Parakletos - Finland.... Honorable mentions.
13:10 So I guess Soviet Christian Black Metal does exist. Stalin and Jesus both approve.
Do you mean Stesus?
I think Drottnar is using the soviet imagery in an attempt at something tongue in cheek, In the same way bands like Ghost use catholic imagery.
I'm not sure if these guys are from Norway, but I highly recommend Wintersoul with their album (I think it's their ONLY album) Frozen Storm Apocalypse. This is some intense, aggressive, FIERCE black metal. The drums sound like machine gun fire and surprisingly, done by a human, not a machine (maybe he was possessed by an angel of death or something). Anyway, the album is killer, super heavy, not too long, check it out.
Just listening to them now. Amazing stuff. Who cares what they sing about when the music is this fierce? Just wish they were on Spotify. Cheers.
As someone who is a huge black metal fan and a Christian, thank you Blayne. I’ve never cared about anti-Christian lyrics but I’m glad Blayne took an unbiased stance here. Even if I’ve never heard any of these bands before.
Horde Hellig Usvart...first unblack metal album...actually pretty good. A solo project by the drummer from Mortification.
Loved this, hilarious and knowledgeable as always.
The Hellripper t-shirt cracked me up, good shit disturbing there. In fact, the shit disturbing was like an onion on this one.
Christian Metal actually has lots of great bands. Not wanting to give it a chance only because of the lyrical content is a bit dumb. If I listen because of the lyrics, I'd have already sacrificed a virgin while listening to Slayer 😔😔
Very funny and entertaining as always, thank you :). That Antestor record really tickles my fancy. And my jaw dropped when I saw that Drottnar video. They certainly have a unique identity lol, and the music is damn solid. Cheers all around!
While the "murderers" part was hilarious, there is no shortage of words you could have inserted there and it would still be funny
"Nazis" being the most obvious
@@hutch13pbbc When such people literally invent the genre, it's to be expected that they're tolerated by the hardcore/original scene.
Drottnar sounds like Dillinger Escape Plan playing black metal. What a bizarre combo that actually works
Yep you pretty much nailed it. The latest album they released is less dillinger more DSO or maybe gorguts influenced
I recommend you Plebeian Grandstand then :) They are french and playing a blend of chaotic hardcore and dissonant BM.
I even saw Liam from TDEP wear one of their T-Shirt in an interview
Dude pleabian grandstand just announced a new album. They are really good
@@xazmuthx00 Yeah that's why I thought of them instantly :P
It's so avant garde
every single band in this video is just awesome , really, can´t get enough of it.
Loved this video! You certainly did the genre justice :D
Dig this vid, I know it’s all Norwegian and stuff but there’s some more like A Hill To Die Upon, Crimson Moonlight, & Pantokrater but this is an awesome start for folks who don’t know this genre exists!! As a worship and youth pastor I love finding more bands to give to some of my metalhead youth kids
Anyone who hate Unblack Metal should check out Extol - Undeceived. It will blow any Metalhead,s mind
Great to see that Crimson Moonlight gets some recognition.
Greatest Black Metal band of all time
@@goregrind1 wouldnt go that far but Thy Wilderness is one of my favorite songs of all time, all categories.
@@Viskrut Perfect song. Was just listening to it in the mountains recently. Who would you say is better?
@@goregrind1 you mean by CM or in general? Wilderness is their best song in my opinion and many others are right up there along it e.g. Path of Pain and Embraced by the beauty of cold.
@@Viskrut In general. Those songs are amazing too
So glad to see this series coming back!
Great episode!!
If unblack was a response to early black metal we need something in response to NSBM. I really want to hear a rabbi screech Yiddish at me.
It's RABM. Red & Anarchist Black Metal. Check out Dawn Ray'd, Panopticon, Iskra, and Wolves in the Throne Room.
@@gatesong I mean specifically with Jewish themes and Yiddish language. Imagine black metal shrieks about circumcision in Yiddish. Metal!
I suggest everyone in the comments check out Prayers From A Yearning Heart by Stronghold. Not the best EP, but some of the best individual riffs ever produced by this scene.
Wow, I did not expect to enjoy some of these as much as I did.
Copied my reply to another post and am leaving it here to peruse at your leisure.
Skald in Veum - Black Metal with some thrash sprinkled in. Song - Goatwhore
Paramaecium - melodic death doom with some female clean singing thrown in.
Gospod - slow melodic Russian orthodox chanting with heavy riffs and drums, think Batushka but catchier.
Hesychast - think Batushka but prettier.
Veni Domine - Epic Doom, their first 3 albums are their best in my opinion and are only on UA-cam. They are Fall Babylon Fall, Material Sanctuary, and Spiritual Wasteland. Their later ones just aren’t my cup of tea.
Vials of Wrath - Black Metal from Tennessee, reminds me of Wolves in the Throne Room.
Crimson Moonlight - Swedish Black Metal. Mentioned in the video but not sampled. Very good.
Holy Blood - Folk Metal, grab a flagon.
Pantokrator - Death Metal, very catchy
Sacrificium - Melodic Death Metal
Ceremonial Sacred - Symphonic Black Metal
Slechtvalk - Dutch Black Metal with some folk influence. Their old stuff is more traditional sounding while their newer stuff is cleaner sounding.
That’s a good starting point.
Blast’em loud!!! 🤘🤘🤘
You know, it's funny this bias we all have towards christian metal. And I'm also guilty of that. I'm an atheist, so I don't believe neither in god or the devil, but I never had any trouble listening to bands that feature satanic lyrics, but for christian metal I would immediately turn away in disgust. Yes, I know that 99% of the satanic lyrics in metal are tongue in cheek, but there bands and artists like Watain and King Diamond that claim to be actual satanists, and I never had any issue with their music. This video was a great eye opener, because I liked pretty much everything I heard here. And yeah, I'm not going to relate to their lyrics or their message, but hey, I also don't relate to Dave Mustaine's conspiracy theories and I still blast Rust in Peace regularly.
As someone who's merely in metal for the music itself and the sound of it all, not the message or the lyrics, this is still pretty cool. It's a solid genre with some very talented musicians, which is what I love about metal; great music from all sorts of people, from all walks of life. Love the metal community!
Thank you for the review of the Norwegian unblack metal! Im listening to extol and looking for more unblack metal bands. Hoping you cover more Christian metal bands.
PS: first time to watch your vlog. You're funny and unbiased. Thanks
Other Norwegian bands I would recommend: Drittmaskin, Blodknoke and Condor!
As an Orthodox inquirer who quite enjoys Christian metal and has recently been really hooked on Unblack metal/Christian black metal I liked this video. These were good picks and I liked that you weren't biased against this style of music which is how people normally seem when it comes to Unblack metal. I would also reccomend Ascending King's album Funeral of a Species, it's quite short but it gives off a fantastic atmosphere with Christian lyrics. Hazarmaveth is another great reccomendation if you are looking for something Christian but with a more intense sound and atmosphere compared to most Christian black metal bands
Extol were incredible! For me right up there with bands like Emperor and Opeth in terms of the quality of metal they were making at the time. Killer band! This quality followed Ole Børud of Extol right on into Fleshkiller.
I love death metal and grindcore, but lately Ive been listening to black metal. As of now, Antestor has been on my daily rotation. Their album The Forsaken is great and their latest album Omens is awesome. Their song, Torn Apart, is one of the best black metal songs Ive ever heard.
Banger NBD! I love the Gary Roger shout out!
One of the best series on this channel.
Christian metal band are in a tough position a lot of the metal community rejects them because their Christian and Christians condemn them because of their sound and appearance.
I've really been wondering for a while when Christian metal bands would finally be featured. Hopefully we see some more of this, and maybe bands with other spiritual/philosophical roots.
Blood Covenant (Armenia) - The Blood Of The New Covenant
The Hellripper shirt was a great choice for this review! Lol
Great! Can't wait for the "pro-politicians Punk", "Communist RAC", "Police Officer's RAP" and "Anti-Marijuana Reggae".
Really cool stuff. I can suggest Crimson Moonlight, Sacrificum, Frost Like Ashes, Grave Declaration, Renascent, Sanctifica, Lo-Ruhamah. There's a lot to hear. I really love this music as I used to "love" Blackened Death Metal in the 90's.
Manuel from México 👋🏽
I'm not a christian but I will listen to some christian metal if it's heavy enough and my favorite unblack metal album so far is Skald In Veum-Stridslysten. These guys are considered the darkest of the unblack metal bands which makes them fucking awesome!
Vials of Wrath from the U.S. and Usynlig Tumult from The Ukraine are great too both better than Skad Venum if I do say so myself🤘⚡🔥
Lengsel ,Antestor ,Drottnar ,FrostHardr are all sickass bands oh also Horde,the drummer from Mortifications Norwegian Black metal Project but he's from Australia.
Blayne, you are a brave soul. I love the invitation to ditch religion at the beginning.
There are Christians in Norway? Huh, ya learn something new every day. This was a great video Blayne!
Norway is very christian. Black metal was a counter culture to that.
HA! this brought back some memories!! back when i was in christian school trying to convice the principal that i'm not a satanist hahaha
Nice job on the opening sequence, I bet that took some time and effort to put together
i fuck with this more than i thought i would. anyone have any other recommendations not in this vid? also not only limited to black metal
From the U.S. the band Vials of Wrath is great and in The Ukraine the band Usynlig Tumult has their EP Voices of the Winds unfortunately it's the only thing they released but it's Fantastic🤘⚡🔥
I got you my dude.
Skald in Veum - Black Metal with some thrash sprinkled in. Song - Goatwhore
Paramaecium - melodic death doom with some female clean singing thrown in.
Gospod - slow melodic Russian orthodox chanting with heavy riffs and drums, think Batushka but catchier.
Hesychast - think Batushka but prettier.
Veni Domine - Epic Doom, their first 3 albums are their best in my opinion and are only on UA-cam. They are Fall Babylon Fall, Material Sanctuary, and Spiritual Wasteland. Their later ones just aren’t my cup of tea.
Vials of Wrath - Black Metal from Tennessee, reminds me of Wolves in the Throne Room.
Crimson Moonlight - Swedish Black Metal. Mentioned in the video but not sampled. Very good.
Holy Blood - Folk Metal, grab a flagon.
Pantokrator - Death Metal, very catchy
Sacrificium - Melodic Death Metal
Ceremonial Sacred - Symphonic Black Metal
Slechtvalk - Dutch Black Metal with some folk influence. Their old stuff is more traditional sounding while their newer stuff is cleaner sounding.
That’s a good starting point.
Blast’em loud!!! 🤘🤘🤘
Excellent, Overkill global is back!
Just an idea: Colombian Black Metal... I mean Mayhem even mention this scene as their influence (check out the vice (noisey) documentary about "Parabellum", the most representative band of the scene)
what a great idea....
@@BangerTV Dude, didn't expect an answer much less a compliment, thank you!
good(sound) sources for this are scarce but you can surely contact Alex Oquendo, Founder of "Masacre" and other bands, he's even listed on the Encyclopaedia metallum (a.k.a metal-archives), and look for "Masacre(Oficial)" in the book of faces...
Nothing wrong with being a Christian and a metalhead. Dont see a problem with that. Not all metal is Satanic
It has returned!!!
honestly... this is a basically non existing scene here in Norway, because let's be honest its just Black Metal. Bands like Nekromantheon, Deathhammer, Condor(RIP), Evoke, Obliteration and the like are what the real scene in Norway is all about.
I wore my Horde shirt earlier this week.
I thought Christian black metal was called White Metal but I suppose this works too. Excited to see who takes us where next!
White Metal would probably have been viewed too much as NSBM ;)
White Metal: The bestfriends of ANTIFA
Great episode and Blayne very entertaining as always :)
Black metal is supposed have the very soul of rebellion , which where something like the devil fits very well. A kind of musical anathema.
Everybody in metal is about the devil. Religon is rebellion post 2000.
I find it sad that some of these bands don't get enough validation just because they preach christian stuff in this 'satanic' scene eventhough the music is so good. A Hill to Die Upon is one of them. So underated.
I'm not really into the black metal sound mostly but A Hill to Die Upon I enjoy!
I like how AHTDU adds in other religious influences like the Greek Pantheon and Thelema. Fantasy literature and war history make their appearance too!
The best part is the crisp, chunky blackened death metal riff work, though!
Hey I know these places, Stavanger and Mt Kjerag in Rogaland. Great landscape over there. Greetings from germany.
I would love to continue diving into other Christian metal subgenres. Good, fair reviews. Personal recommendation is a prog death metal band, Becoming the Archetype. The album Dichotomy is near perfect with Mountain of Souls, Artificial Immortality, and End of the Age being standout tracks.
Antestor is dope as hell, and Drottnar's most recent album is fuckin insane.
Of course it is, cause it’s Drottnar lol.