Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands. Many bands who perform Christian rock have ties to the contemporary Christian music labels, media outlets, and festivals, while other bands are independent.
The Choir is an atmospheric alternative rock band currently comprising Derri Daugherty on guitar and lead vocals, Steve Hindalong on drums and percussion, and Dan Michaels on saxophone and Lyricon. Long-time bass guitarist Tim Chandler died in 2018, and guitarist Marc Byrd was the fifth member of the band between 2005–2014. As of 2024, the band has released 18 full-length studio albums, three EPs, five live albums, one single-disc compilation album, one retrospective box set, and is still actively recording new material.
Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by professed Christians, principally for Christians and is often produced and distributed through various Christian networks.
Barry Andrews is an English songwriter, singer and keyboard player who is a co-founder of Shriekback and was formerly a member of XTC and League of Gentlemen.
Mortification is an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on guitar and Jayson Sherlock on drums. Mortification has released fourteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three extended plays, six live discs, one demo album, one box set, and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast. As one of the earliest internationally successful Christian death metal bands from Australia, they served as an inspiration for later similar groups.
Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been sometimes erroneously labeled "Viking metal", although the band insists they play melodic death metal.
Tracy Irving Richard Ulrich, known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the supergroups named Brides of Destruction and Contraband. He was also a founding member of Guns N' Roses, but left shortly afterwards and was replaced by guitarist Slash.
Flyleaf is an American rock band formed in Belton, Texas, in 2002. The band has charted on mainstream rock, Christian pop, and Christian metal charts. They performed around the US in 2003 before releasing their eponymous debut album, Flyleaf, in 2005. The album went platinum after selling more than one million copies. Flyleaf released their second album, Memento Mori, in 2009, which debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard charts.
Bride is an American Christian metal band formed in the 1980s, by brothers Dale and Troy Thompson. During the band's peak years it was known for covering a wide range of musical styles and remains popular in places like Brazil. Their song "Same 'Ol Sinner" is on the Digital Praise PC game Guitar Praise.
One Bad Pig is a Christian punk and metal crossover band from Austin, Texas, which formed in 1985. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music describes them as "quite possibly the most popular hard-punk act ever to arise within the Christian music scene." They were known for their mischief and irreverence on stage, as reflected even in their reunion at Cornerstone in 2000.
"Rock Is Dead" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mechanical Animals (1998). It was written by the band's eponymous frontman, along with bassist Twiggy Ramirez and keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy, and was produced by Manson, Michael Beinhorn and Sean Beavan. A glam rock and heavy metal track with elements of electronic music and grunge, the song features electric and bass guitars, keyboards, and live drums in its instrumentation. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the Wachowskis' film The Matrix (1999).
Dead Artist Syndrome was a Christian gothic rock band formed in 1989 in Orange County, California. The group consisted of singer-songwriter Brian Healy and a rotating cast of side men. Healy was dubbed the "father of Christian goth" by Rozz Williams, and was an ordained minister. The name of D.A.S. according to Healy is "Dead Artist Syndrome means greater in death than in life, be it James Dean, Van Gogh or Jesus Christ". His debut album Prints of Darkness was a notable, groundbreaking release. The band had been sporadically active due to health issues, releasing two albums in the 2000s, and another in 2015. In 2006, Dead Artist Syndrome was named "Outstanding Orange County Band" by the editors and readers of Rock City News, a Los Angeles local music paper. For several years Healy was privately in poor health his gallbladder exploded while recording vocals resulting in emergency surgery, and a neurological disorder his wife Marie Tullai Healy described as "a combination of Michael J. Fox and the late Foster Brooks everybody thought he was drunk, Brian was falling down he broke his arm, slurring his speech trying to complete his record, next thing we know he's in a wheelchair, finally in 2012 they discovered the cause and he had brain surgery and is 100% back to his old self and had no idea any of this was going on, inside his head everything was fine". Healy said on his Facebook page 'He's back" and is actively recording, producing others and hosting Frontline Records Rewind Broadcast and podcast Healy died January 12, 2020, of a brain hemorrhage.
Show No Mercy is the debut album by the American heavy metal band Bride. It was the band's debut on the Pure Metal Records label. Less commercial than Bride's later works, the album, which was somewhat more extreme and darker than many contemporary Christian releases, received a mixed reception and did not sell particularly well.
Silence is Madness is the third album by the American heavy metal band Bride, released in 1989. This was the last album in the band's metal era, as the band began writing more commercial hard rock on the following releases. On Silence is Madness, Bride also tried to achieve crossover success to the secular market, as they wrote slightly less Christian-based lyrics than before. Despite the changes, this album did not sell notably better than their previous releases.
Kinetic Faith is the fourth album by the American heavy metal band Bride, released in 1991. This album was the band's first release on the Star Song label, and started the band's hard rock era, leaving straightforward metal behind and focusing on a more commercial sound. The band tasted success with the song "Everybody Knows My Name" which won them a GMA Dove Award, and "Sweet Louise" was a Christian radio hit. The following album, Snakes in the Playground, would become a commercial success.
Snakes in the Playground is the fifth album by the band Bride. Seen by critics as the best release of Bride's hard rock era, Snakes in the Playground is commonly known as the breakthrough album in the band's career. This album would produce for the band more touring, press appeal, and two GMA Dove Awards for best song.
Frosthardr is a Norwegian Christian black metal band, formed in 1997. The band plays a raw type of black metal music with occasional punk influences and lyrics from Christian point of view. The drummer Pål Daehlen (Savn) is a former member of the influential black metal group Vaakevandring, and the vocalist/guitarist Jokull has played as a live member for the ground breaking act Antestor. Frosthardr has achieved some media notice: They appeared on the British 2007 documentary film Murder Music: A History of Black Metal, and are one of the featured bands on the 2008 documentary film, Light in Darkness – Nemesis Divina, focused on Christian black metal. Signed to Momentum Scandinavia, the band has released a demo and two EPs. In 2007, they played concerts at Cornerstone Festival, Bushnell, Illinois, USA.
Stryper is an American Christian metal band from La Mirada, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet, Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson, and Robert Sweet (drums).
Rottweiler Records is a Christian metal record label based out of Dallas, Texas, United States. The label features bands such as Lust Control, Soul Embraced, The Jericho Harlot, and Pantokrator. The label started early on as a label that served punk rock, but has become a label that serves metal and punk. It is a Christian label, and therefore many of its artists are as well. The label was created by Shawn Browning, also known as Wretched of Grave Robber. Many bands on the label have placed high on CMW's charts and have had many positive reviews. The label participates in several compilations, including Kill the Ill a benefit comp for Rottweiler's owner Shawn Browning, and Metal Pulse: A Tribute to Dale Huffman.
Hand of Fire is an American thrash metal band that originated in California. The band started in 2015 as a vision of frontman, Jim Settle, formerly of Tantrum of the Muse.
