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When I was first asked to do this, panic set in. I don’t really have a long history of listening to Christian music. I was brought up in a very Christian family, my parents went to a strict brethren church and my brother and I were brought up on classical music, Abba and Cliff Richard, but no Christian music apart from ‘Your 20 Favourite Hymns’ on vinyl & definitely no rock/metal
Mars (from The Planet Suite) – Gustav Holst
Yes, you’ve read that right. I’m starting with a piece of classical music. My family didn’t really listen to anything but traditional music, so this is about as metal as I could get as a young kid. What a piece of music, though! All the things a lot of us like about rock & metal are present in this piece – it’s loud, it has power, chest-vibrating bass, a threatening mood, in your face stabs. Yes it’s classical, but it does rock!
My musical world changed forever one day when Andrew, my brother, brought home an Iron Maiden album on tape. My parents weren’t particularly happy about it but allowed us to listen to it providing it wasn’t rude or Satanic. The next album Andrew brought home was this weird yellow & black thing…
Soldiers Under Command – Stryper
The title track from Stryper’s second album, this was astonishing. You mean Christian music can be like this?! I should point out that I was still very young at this point and it had been out for a few years, but I clearly remember listening to it thinking ‘why can’t we do this in church?’ Listening back to it now it still holds up as a good song. There are probably too many false harmonics played by the guitars, but the melody’s cool and the musicianship and harmonies are incredible. I also love the brazenness of the lyrics, this song is so overtly ‘Christian’ it could (and probably should) be a hymn sung in church.
When my brother went off to university I really got into music on my own, I didn’t have to listen to what he liked, or get his approval for what bands to listen to. My love for music grew exponentially and I just tried to absorb as much music as possible.
Down In A Hole – Alice In Chains
As a young teenager I really got into ‘grunge’ (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains) and this is probably one of my favourite songs of the era. It’s chilled, yet heavy. It’s beautiful, yet horrible. Alice In Chains are very far removed from being a Christian band, yet as a teenager the lyrics really resounded. ‘Down in a hole, feelin’ so small/ Down in a hole, losin’ control/ I’d like to fly’. The grinding guitars really contrast with the beautiful vocal harmonies which themselves contrast with the melancholic isolation that the lyrics display. Jerry Cantrell really dials back his gymnastic guitar skills to allow the vocals to fly.
Skip forward to being a young adult (I still claim to be young) and through Nu-Metal (yes, I confess I liked Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Korn & Deftones), I really got into Post-Hardcore. I almost burned out CD players listening to Finch, Rival Schools, Glassjaw, Brand New and . . . .
Stare At The Sun – Thrice
Thrice aren’t a Christian band either but their lead vocalist and guitarist, Dustin Kensrue, is currently the worship leader at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. This song is taken from Thrice’s third album ‘The Artist In The Ambulance’. It’s a song that talks about trying to find your spiritual path and a meaning to this world. ‘Cause I’m due for a miracle/ I’m waiting for a sign/ I’ll stare straight into the sun/ And I won’t close my eyes/ Till I understand or go blind’. It has a truly epic bass line through the verse (apparently the song was written around this) which leads into a chorus with crunching chords and melodic picking.
So, I have one more song to pick, and it’s going to be something more recent. Christian music has progressed a lot in my lifetime, so far. We have bands like P.O.D., Flyleaf, Switchfoot; very Christian bands being successful in the mainstream. Delirious? had Christian songs in the UK Top 40. More exciting though is the growth of small Christian bands in this country.
It used to be that you would either buy a record or go to a gig of a Christian band almost out of charity/duty. Right now we have a group of REALLY GOOD Christian bands coming through and starting to make a mark. Bands that rely on musicianship and good songs rather than charity to get people to come to gigs. I will happily pay money to go and see FireFallDown, Conduit, MaLoKai, Back Pocket Prophet, The Origin, Being Jo Francis, Saving Strike, Risen From Ruins and many more.
The Dark Hills – Day Of Fire
So why have I picked a song by an American band I hear you ask? Because sometimes you get a song that just nails it. This song is gorgeous! It lifts me up whatever mood I’m in but particularly when I feel low, and we all need songs like that. It really is EPIC. The song talks about being in dark places and that wherever you are Jesus will come to you. ‘They say Jesus walked the dark hills/ He broke bread with beggars and thieves/ When I cry out in this darkness/ When I fall down on my knees/ When He walks the dark hills/ I know He’ll come for me/ I know He’ll come save me’. The song is only just within singer Josh Brown’s vocal register but it really adds to the heartfelt nature of the lyrics, and Joe Pangallo’s guitar solo is almost David Gilmore-esque. This song is so good that what are you doing still reading this? Go and check it out – but do please come back and check out the rest of the site! |
