Top 5 Religious Themed Metal Albums You Should Try

Happy Easter fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I’ve certainly done a bunch of special posts for this holiday. From overviews on Stryper & Grim Reaper, to a review on Tourniquet’s first release & Stryper's only non-Christian record last year, it’s always fun to make treats for all of you. This year’s Easter treat is going to be rather different. Instead of an overview or a review, I wanted to make a list for you. 5 Heavy Metal albums, and they all have a touch of the religious side to them. Some have a lot of faith, why others don’t. Still, I wanted to show off a couple of the albums I came across that seemly oddly appropriate for this time of the year, and who knows.....maybe you’ll like these as well. With that out of the way, here are 5 Religious Themed Metal Albums You Should Try.

(To those who are Atheist or Agnostic, my apologies if this offends you in any capacity. I figured that some of you would get a kick out of this, so if this rubs any of you the wrong way.....my bad.)

1) King Diamond - House of God (Song)

I begin this list with an album that’s probably pure blasphemy among those with faith. King Diamond has never been afraid to show his disdain toward Christianity, and religion by extension. And so with 2000s House of God, he created what is perhaps his most ambitious album to this day. Taking the story of Rennes-le-Château & turning it into an incredibly frightening tale, this record show off the storytelling capabilities of the king. The atmosphere, coupled with the religious imagery, excellent instrumentation, and King’s patented raspy vocals, makes for a great start to the 2000s. It may be a little too clean with it’s production in places, but on sheer scale alone, I have nothing but respect for House Of God, and I enjoy it quite a bit.   

2) Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs (Song)

A relative recent release, Orphaned Land’s 2018 offering of metal is a potent one. Fusing together Progressive, Death, and Doom Metal into what is considered to be the origin of Oriental Metal back in 1994, their lyrics were often promoted a message of peace and unity, particularly between the three main Abrahamic religions, and their albums had some concept related to two extremes (A meeting of East and West, past and present, light and darkness, God and Satan, etc). Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs is no exception: perhaps their most aggressive album in certain places, the band’s intent on this record is no different than anything before this release. If you like your metal to have a touch of the exotic, then you might enjoy this!

3) Tourniquet - Stop The Bleeding (Song)

I’ll talk about another Christian Metal icon in a bit, but I do want to mention a group that deserve some time in the light also. Since 1990, the Christian Thrashers known as Tourniquet have embraced Jesus & mosh pits in equal measure, and it was their inaugural release Stop The Bleeding that put them on the map! While other Christian Metal group have a preach-like (But not necessarily abrasive) aspect to them....Tourniquet doesn’t go for that. Instead, their way of showing their faith is through brutal imagery, pounding instrumentation, and fierce vocals. I can understand why Tourniquet might be off-putting for some people, but they are a good alternative for those who like a little more force behind their Christianity.

4) W.A.S.P. - Unholy Terror (Song)

I’ve made a few criticisms towards W.A.S.P.’s frontman Blackie Lawless about his conversion to Christianity & embracing of more conservative politics in part 3 of my overview on the band (Which you can read here), and I still stand by what I said. However, his newfound faith was actually used quite well on the first three releases in the 2000s, and with particular potency on 2001's Unholy Terror. In a weird way it’s sort of the precursor of God’s Not Dead 3: despite very much being rooted in Christian ideology, it isn’t afraid to speak about why people (Especially young people) would want to leave the church & pursue their own path. On top of that, Unholy Terror isn’t necessarily afraid to question the motives of the Christian church, nor is it afraid to tackle issues that Christianity is afraid to here in the United States. It’s such a shame that Blackie would move away from this by the late 2000s, and become perhaps a little too religious & political, but for a brief period of time he was using his newfound faith for a good purpose. This is definitely one terror that isn’t scary!

5) Stryper - Soldiers Under Command (Song)

If I had this list as the “Top 5 Religious Themed Metal Albums You Should Try”, I would have proudly put this band’s second release right at number 1. For almost 4 decades, Soldiers Under Command is not just the definitive Hair Metal record, but also one of if not the most iconic releases in all of Christian Metal. On top of that, this release, whether intentionally or accidentally, helped give that proto Power Metal movement in the 80s a big template to work with! Putting that aside, however, you have perfect balance between the bands patented Hard Rock/Hair Metal sound, and a equally impressive Christian message behind the music. It’s obvious without being in your face. It’s preachy but not condescending, and it also respects listeners who may not be of the faith. The faithful embraced this release, and even a non-believer such as myself (I’m more of an Agnostic with Eastern tendencies) can’t help but smile when this album is playing. If there was ever one religious metal album you should have in your life, I’d say it should be this one.

And those were 5 religious themed metal albums you should try. This was a really fun list for me to make! I love I’ve done overview & reviews in the past, so I figured that something more simplistic was needed this time. I hope you all have a great Easter, and....actually, I got an idea. Join me next Sunday, as we take a look at a unholy terror’s 20 birthday! See you then!


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If you’re curious about listening to these albums, then click on the links below:

House of God

Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs

Stop The Bleeding

Unholy Terror

Soldiers Under Command