The best sources of information on Christian Rock bands are three magazines, Contemporary Christian Music. , 7 Ball Magazine, and Heaven’s Metal , which are available in most religious bookstores. “Christian Contemporary Rock” reports on “popular” bands, while “Heavens Metal” keeps up with what’s happening with Heavy Metal CR.
Here’s a brief description of my favorite CR bands. Keep in mind that these are my personal opinions only:
Stryper - They were one of the original CR bands. There were other bands around in the mid-eighties trying to define CR, but it was Stryper that put the “rock” in Christian Rock. The band has undergone a few personnel changes over the years. One of the most classic CR CD’s of all time is “To Hell With The Devil”. It’s their only CD that I really like, but it is my very favorite from the “CR zone”. Michael Sweet is the best vocalist in all of CR.
Whitecross - My very favorite CR band. They have no equal, nor even close competition, in my book. They jam, and their music is crystal clear. All of their recordings are of extremely high quality. My favorite CR guitarist, Rex Carroll, was with the band during the production of all of the following CD’s. Their best are “To the Limit / The Best of Whitecross”, and “By Demand”. Their next best are “Hammer and Nail”, and “Triumphant Return”.
P. K. Mitchell - This guy put out a heavy metal CR disk called “All Hail The Power - The Rock Hymns Project”. It consists of old traditional hymns like “Amazing Grace”, “Onward Christian Soldiers”, and “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”, with a rock beat added to them. When I first saw the CD, the idea didn’t really appeal to me at all. But if you like heavy metal rock, this CD is addictively good. I have listened to it at least fifty times. It gets better and better as I listen to it.
Audio Adrenaline - AA really took off when they put out their “Bloom” album. It is a very good CR recording to start off with. They appeal to a very wide audience.
Bride - This band plays a pretty good mix of hard-to-soft CR, and they are one of the most popular in concert. They boast excellent vocals, and most of their CD’s are consistently good all the way through. My favorite CD’s are “Drop”, and “Shotgun Wedding”. Bride also has a very interesting Web Page, which contains a lot of info about them and other CR bands.
Bloodgood - I only recently discovered this band. I picked up a discounted "KGM Records Classical Archives" CD that contains Bloodgood's first two CD's; "Bloodgood", and "Detonation". That CD is ADDICTIVELY good, and I have played it at least 30 times over and over since I bought it. They really jam. The lead singer has a "nasally" voice that can't be compared to anyone I've ever heard, and the bass player smokes. If you can't find the combination CD, I highly recommend either of the single CD's; the ones from "Detonation" are my favorite. Bloodgood has produced nine albums so far. I will surely be buying more of them.
Seventy Seven’s - A medium to hard CR band. Their “Tom Tom Blues” CD is their best.
Petra - One of the oldest CR bands, they have put out some very good moderately hard rock CD’s lately. Their old stuff is terrible, pass it by. Their best are “Petra Means Rock”, “Beyond Belief”, and “Wake Up Call”.
Guardian - Their older music is pretty hard CR, but they will have 2 or 3 good songs on each CD, and the rest are “dead spots”. Listen before you buy. Their newest release, “Buzz”, is a lot more contemporary, but is probably the best of their recordings to try first.
Harry Gore and the Measles - Harry, a black guy from Richmond, VA, is getting pretty popular with his folksy brand of CR. I really enjoy his “Subtlety Goes Out the Window” CD. It’s different from anything I’ve ever heard in the “CR zone”, but it’s cool.
Grammatrain - A brand new three man band out of Seattle, they are the absolute best in HEAVY METAL CR. Their lineup includes my favorite CR bass player, Dalton Roraback. Their sound is something like a cross between Metallica and Jimi Hendrix, and they slip in some feedback throughout their music that would make Jimi proud. Their first CD, “Lonely House”, is an excellent piece of work. Their second, “Flying” is OK, but nowhere as good as their first.
If you ever get into Heavy Metal CR, some other bands to investigate are, Tourniquet, Mortification, X-Sinner, Holy Soldier, Deliverance, Vengeance, and One Bad Pig. However, if you have never been into the sounds of secular bands like Metallica, Nirvana, AC/DC, etc., don’t bother. You will not like them.
A very good heavy metal CD to pick up is “Extremely Loud Guitar Disk”, which is carried by Star Song Communications. The cover states that the CD contains “Nineteen of the Loudest songs by the Loudest bands in Christendom”. I’m not so sure about the spelling and irregular capitalization of that statement, but the substance of it contains NO exaggeration. This is an excellent CD to buy if you want to check out some of the best music by the best bands in Heavy Metal Christian Rock. If the laser beam affected the surface of CD’s, my copy of this one would have been worn out long ago...
I hope that this page assists the curious...
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