So, I’m a Christian. Not only that, but I’m literally a pastor. And I LOVE black metal. I love all types of metal. And not even in a “I just like the riffs” kind of way. I love it all. Even the satanic stuff. And I’ll try to explain why.

Throughout all of heavy metal and rock n’ roll, there are messages that are diametrically opposed to my beliefs. These fall into two categories, though the line between them gets kind of blurry sometimes.

On one hand, many (if not most) rock and metal bands, especially early on, used satanic and violent imagery in their lyrics and art for the purpose of shock and entertainment. It was edgy, it was scandalous, it was a repudiation of conservative morals (and as a liberal Christian I’m all about that). And sometimes it was just fun. Usually it was more akin to watching a horror movie or reading a Stephen King novel. These people didn’t actually worship the devil, or practice murder, nor  were they particularly violent people. It was, and for most still is, just an act. A performance. Theater. Similar to horror movies, what we find entertaining on screen we’d find abhorrent in real life. That is, if you’re not a maladjusted person with unaddressed mental health issues.

And speaking of maladjusted mentally ill people, that’s the other category. Second wave black metal, some elements of the punk scene, etc - for these people, it wasn’t an act. Many of the punks wanted actual anarchy and celebrated violent, antisocial behavior. Many of the Scandinavian black metal artists likewise actually worshiped satan, either as an actual being or as an idea, and took their art to its most extreme conclusions - church burnings, murder, suicide, torture, etc.

And of course the lines blur. Plenty of artists that were just putting on a show had their lives devolve into sex, drugs, and violence, and many of their lives were destroyed by it. Sid Vicious comes to mind.

You’d probably expect me to say I can get down with the performance art, the same way I really enjoy reading Stephen king or watching horror movies, but not with the “true believers.” That’s only half true. I do love the dark spectacle of, say, death metal. It’s just fun. The lyrics of cannibal corpse for example are fun when they’re fiction, but would be awful in real life. But when it comes to, say, Mayhem or GG Allin, I enjoy the content more the same way I’d enjoy a true crime documentary. I’m fascinated by their darkness. I have sympathy for their pain and pathos. And, in a strange way, I respect them for taking their convictions all the way, even if I think their convictions were wrong.

As a Christian I think it’s of value to hear the perspectives of others, especially those who are broken and mired in deep darkness. Not every person, and certainly not every Christian, is up for the task, but I think coming face to face with the darkness that was/is in these people and reckoning with it is important work. I think whether we know it or not, this is why a lot of us like horror movies, scary stories, and death metal. It helps us confront our fears, the potential of the human imagination for violence and evil, all the things that disgust us - all in the safe space of the screen, the page, or the music. Listening to the real satanic shit is just taking that a step further. A little less safe. Quite a bit more upsetting. But still ultimately worthwhile if for the person who is spiritually grounded and centered in goodness.

And then there’s the simple fact that, more often than not, pathos produces the best and most compelling art. Tortured souls take their art forms to their highest heights, and they often pay a huge toll to say what they wanted to say. And I think we should all hear it, if we have the stomach for it.

So, that’s why I, as a Christian Pastor, enjoy satanic black metal. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk 😂

I'm as esoteric and religious as bread, I like Black Metal because I like horror themes and hard music. And okay, the Christian history is practically the base of most horror stories.

Is This the Heavy Metal Keanu Reeves? Lol

This was a blast to hear! I always love these types of posts where it’s hard to tell if the person behind it is an amazing troll or a legitimate insane person lol

Man that was an amazing biography, better get rid of all my pentagrams and slayer merch before the demons turn me!

Jon…

You cracking yourself up, cracks me up. I was trimming my beard with my sharp little barber-scissors while listening, and almost lost an eye from laughter.

Love you brother. Never change LOL 🤘

Great video!  Hope to see more rants in the future, subscribed!

Just discovered your channel and subscribed! Love both metal and philosophy, so this is perfect! Somehow related to this episode, I was just listening to your fellow philosopher Bernardo Kastrup and he was arguing that an adult society should not pretend that evil does not exist.  It should instead learn about it, acknowledge its existence so we  can find a healthy way to keep it under control. Peace 🤘😆

The dude's question is used in the Profiler Training at the FBI.

This is hilarious. Great work. Have to admit that I know some of those guys’ real names in mayhem etc too though because I read lords of chaos and was into it in the 90s

“This man is my hero!” Hahah
I grew up Christian, too, and it always amazed me how all my youth pastors had lived lives of infinite sex, drugs, and parties until they found god. Now that I’m out of Christianity, I can’t seem to find all that money!
I did look into some kind of alleged magic once and it turned out to be primarily primal scream stuff (like your put your mind into the place where ancient Sumarians were and then roar in one of their ancient rituals. Or just “do this ritual and you might feel a presence.” The primal scream sounded pretty cool, though I never tried it.

I'm Christian and I've been listening to metal since i was a kid. While black metal isn't for me(just never got into it) I dont or will not judge people who listen to it. Each to their own.

I'm a Bible believing Christian and a longstanding metal fan . When it comes to dark lyrical themes and imagery in music, I draw a distinction between documenting and promoting or glorifying. Black metal wouldn't be my favourite metal genre although by far the edgiest and most controversial. Trad/true, doom, speed/thrash and prog is more my thing aesthetically but I am 59 y.o. At the end of the day, black metal may have forged coincidental associations antithetical to Christianity but it is an art form with musical distinctives and I'm aware of the explicitly Christian 'unblack' scene that has harnessed the sound. Of course, you can be a Christian believer and enjoy or perform black metal but I suppose a lot more sifting and sieving is required compared to other forms. I'm also aware that as the genre as a whole has evolved over time, there has been a shift away from Satanism and the occult and even started long ago in the first wave with Celtic Frost and Bathory.

Interestingly, Black Sabbath took their name from a piece all about a member's numinous experience that convinced him the fashionable Satanism in which he was dabbling was not just a mockery of faith itself to scandalize the squares, but messing with seriously dangerous 'supernatural' phenomena.

In other words, it was just the opposite of advocating that path.

Other Sabbath songs -- e.g., "After Forever" and "Lord of this World" are not sectarian (albeit the former mentions the Christ) but are rather "altar calls" for ethical monotheism broadly. As in the hit "War Pigs," the figure of Satan symbolizes the evil being condemned.

That's radically different from the serious, terrorist commitment to Satanic Hitlerism that informs some extremely dark corners in the large diverse world of heavy metal.

The difference is profound even between the Satanic Temple organization (actually about scientific naturalism, and freedom of religion including freedom from imposed religion) and Anton La Vey's old Church of Satan (basically Ayn Rand's philosophy of selfishness mixed with magic).

Well......speaking for myself. I'm a christian. Jesus Christ is LORD, AND I am very much a metal head. I've been one growing up ever since middle school going into high school back since 2001. I do listen to some secular metal, but I'm actually into christian metal. I actually JUST started getting into and exploring christian black metal (or unblack metal as it's also called) and I'm very much hooked now. I love the themes of nature that are used in christian black metal. Especially winter and wilderness themes. I love deathcore, deathmetal, and black metal that is christian based and I steer clear away from satanic secular metal. I don't believe that every secular metal band is satanic. But I also don't like vulgar perverted lyrics or cursing in music. This is just me and what I'm into. I personally never would've discovered christian metal if I had not first been exposed to some secular metal bands.

This video is mainly about how Christians feel about black metal, but what do people who listen think about Christianity? I would suppose they don’t care either way. The only reason I ask is because a meme that stated how listeners of black metal set fire to a church. Never heard of anything like that before.

"Therr's satsch a thinh as a farmr 'satanist'?"

I went through a period in my life where I was doing anything and everything I could to summon a demon and/or see a ghost. I did it right and during those 7 or 8 years I saw, heard, smelled, sensed absolutely nothing at all. It's not real.

The minority of black metal is about satanism.

Lots of black metal is not about satanism, Varg Vikernes is a  pagan, Gaahl form Gorgoroth is a pagan and lots of black metal musicants are pagans, satanic themes are only symbolic their disagreement with christianity and other abrahamic beliefs.