List of unblack metal artists

Last updated

This is a list of artists described as unblack metal, a genre of music which is musically and stylistically similar to black metal but whose artists profess Christianity and either promote the religion in their lyrics, oppose the Satanism and paganism promoted by black metal, or both.

Note that this list only includes bands described as unblack metal or "Christian black metal". Christian bands that are described only as black metal are not included, but can be found on the list of Christian metal artists and lists of black metal bands.

BandCountryFormedNotes
Admonish Sweden1994 [1]
Antestor Norway1990 [2]
Armageddon Holocaust Indonesia1999 [3]
Christageddon United States2010 [4]
Crimson Moonlight Sweden1997 [5]
Demoniciduth Switzerland1998 [6]
Drottnar Norway1996 [7]
Elgibbor Poland1999 [2]
Frosthardr Norway1997 [8]
Frost Like Ashes United States2001 [9]
Grave Declaration Norway2006 [10]
Horde Australia1994 [11]
Hortor Mexico2004 [12]
Lengsel Norway1995 [13]
O, Majestic Winter United States2008 [14]
Sanctifica Sweden1996 [15]
Shadows of Paragon Sweden2001 [16]
Skald in Veum Sweden2013 [17]
Slechtvalk Netherlands1997 [2]
Vaakevandring Norway1999 [2]
Vardøger Norway1994 [18]
Vials of Wrath United States2011 [19]

Related Research Articles

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.

Unblack metal is a religious philosophy and subgenre within black metal, inheriting several characteristics of it, such as the melody, the lyrics and the aesthetics, whose artists either directly oppose the Satanism prevalent in most black metal, or promote Christianity in their lyrics and imagery. Unblack metal artists are controversial within the black metal subculture, because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, were anti-Christian. It is also suggested that Christianity contradicts black metal's dark nature and the individualistic and misanthropic ideals of many bands.

Deliverance is an American Christian metal band. A progenitor of Christian thrash metal, they later shifted more towards progressive metal and alternative rock. The band was founded by Jimmy P. Brown II in 1985, who has been the only constant member through numerous lineup changes.

<i>The Return of the Black Death</i> 1998 studio album by Antestor

The Return of the Black Death is the second recorded and first released studio album by the Norwegian unblack metal band Antestor. It was released on September 14, 1998. It is the band's only release on the British Cacophonous Records label. This album's working title was Kongsblod. Antestor recorded another album, Martyrium, prior to The Return of the Black Death, in 1994, and while bootleg versions of the recording circulated, this album did not see official release until 2000.

<i>Omen</i> (Antestor album) 2012 studio album by Antestor

Omen is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian Christian extreme metal band Antestor, released by Bombworks Records on November 16, 2012. Recording began in 2011, and was mostly conducted at the home of vocalist Ronny Hansen. The album cover is a painting by Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński, and depicts a deformed, many-fingered humanoid creature playing a trumpet. Antestor met with critical praise for its musicianship and the progressive sound on the recording. Critics described the sound as primarily black metal, though the band prefers the more general term "extreme metal" to describe the sound on Omen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Hill to Die Upon</span> American blackened death metal band

A Hill To Die Upon is an American blackened death metal band from the Monmouth-Galesburg area of Illinois, formed in 2004 by the brothers Adam and R. Michael Cook. The brothers initially founded the band as hardcore project, but eventually started listening to death and black metal, which led them to transform their band's sound. Over the years, various musicians have filled out the band's lineup, which currently consists of the Cook brothers and Nolan Osmond. Signed to Bombworks Records, A Hill to Die Upon has released five albums – Infinite Titanic Immortal in 2009, Omens in 2011, Holy Despair in 2014, Via Artis, Via Mortis in 2017, and The Black Nativity in 2023 - all to a positive critical reception. In 2013, the band also released a stand-alone single, "Manden med Leen". Musically, the band is compared primarily to Behemoth as well as Immortal, Naglfar, and Old Man's Child, all of which the brothers cite as among their major influences. The brothers are Christian, but they distance themselves from calling A Hill to Die Upon a Christian metal band. Lyrical themes include mythology, war, philosophy, and despair, with references drawn from the Bible and numerous literary works and authors.

Vials of Wrath are an American Christian metal band, who play a mixture of unblack metal and death metal music, with one member Dempsey "DC" Woodrow Mills Jr. He is from Princeton, West Virginia, however the band was formed in 2011 in Charlotte, NC. The band has released three studio albums, Seeking Refuge in 2013, Days Without Names in 2015, and Dark Winter Memories in 2019. The project has released four extended plays, Vials of Wrath, in 2011, Let There Be Light, in 2013, Ataraxia and The Ways of Old in 2018.

Promise Land is a Christian symphonic metal band that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and formed in 1997. It went on an unofficial hiatus around 2009. In 2010 there was a resurgence in the band.

Hortor is a Mexican extreme unblack metal band originated in Mexico City, Mexico in March 2004. The band's name translated in English means "Animate". Members have been involved in multiple projects including Freddy Acosta for his solo project, Impaled Baphomet. On one of their full-length albums, they covered a song by one of their unblack metal influences, Horde. The band has released four studio albums, an EP, a split album, a compilation album, and a demo.

Skald in Veum are a Swedish unblack metal band. They have released one extended play, 1260 Days (2015), with Rottweiler Records and SkyBurnBlack Records and a studio album, Stridslysten, via Rottweiler in 2019.

Doomsday Hymn is a Brazilian Christian metal band, whose music incorporates metalcore, death metal, groove metal and thrash metal. They started making music together in 2013. They have released one studio album, Mene Tequel Ufarsim (2015), with Rottweiler Records.

Grave Declaration is a Christian black metal band that originated in Norway. The band formed in September 2006 as a solo project of Thor Georg Buer, formerly of Antestor. He later on hired other musicians including his former Antestor band mates, Ronny Hansen and Jo Henning Børven.

Recon was an American Christian metal band that originated in California in 1987.

Elgibbor or Fire is an unblack metal project by Jarek Pozarycki that started in 1999. The band went on a hiatus around 2017, but reconvened with a full-lineup in 2020, consisting mostly of former live members.

Antidemon is a Christian extreme metal band from São Paulo, Brazil. The band was founded in 1994 by Carlos Batista. The band has been compared to death metal acts such as Morbid Angel and Suffocation.

Christageddon is an unblack metal project, formed by Jesse McKinney of The Synics Awakening.

The Beckoning is an extreme progressive metal band that originated in Canada.

References

  1. ↑ "Admonish". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "7 Christian Black Metal Bands You Need To Hear". Metal Injection . 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  3. ↑ "Armageddon Holocaust". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Strother, Eric (December 2, 2014). "Album Review: Christageddon: Metal Unblack". Untombed Zine. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  5. ↑ Simms, Kelley (March 11, 2016). "Crimson Moonlight – Blackened Liturgy". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles . Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  6. ↑ Pneuma 2014, "Demoniciduth".
  7. ↑ "Drottnar". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  8. ↑ Moberg 2015, p. 38.
  9. ↑ "Frost Like Ashes". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  10. ↑ Strother, Eric (12 August 2013). "Album Review: Grave Declaration - When Dying Souls Scream Praise". Untombed Zine. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Horde". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  12. ↑ Strother, Eric. "Album review: Hortor - Dios de Dioses". Untombed Zine. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Lengsel". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  14. ↑ Croteau, Justin (August 2013). "A Cold Day's Night: O' Majestic Winter Are Forging Their Own Path". HM Magazine . pp. 74–80. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Sanctifica". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  16. ↑ Manna, Fabio. "SHADOW OF PARAGON: Fear of Being Forever Lost (Ep)" (in Italian). Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  17. ↑ Huncherick, Sean (6 January 2016). "Eight Overlooked Albums of 2015". HM Magazine . Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  18. ↑ Plantinga, Jakob (January 11, 2016). "Vardøger – Ghost Notes". Rocklife.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  19. ↑ Turner, Logan (11 October 2015). "Vials of Wrath – Days Without Names". HM Magazine . Retrieved 29 April 2016.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.