Feature: Clint Lowery of Sevendust – From Riffs to Redemption (Let’s Talk About It Like Adults)

By Seth Metoyer, Heaven’s Metal Magazine –

Let’s be honest, the Christian community gets weird when a secular musician finds God. Not always, but often. There’s a knee-jerk excitement, a public celebration, followed by a toxic inspection process that can choke the life out of the very faith we’re cheering for. I have a love/hate relationship with how the scene reacts to these conversions. I get it, it’s exciting. But that excitement can come with a cost.

It can be overwhelming for the person going through the transformation, like being handed a spotlight when all they needed was a flashlight. Suddenly, their journey isn’t theirs anymore. It becomes a shared spectacle, a headline, a debate. And the same crowd that welcomed them with open arms can turn cold the moment their growth doesn’t match someone’s expectations or theology. We forget that faith is fragile when it’s fresh, and piling on praise, pressure, or pedestals can crush more than it lifts.

Brian “Head” Welch of Korn was dissected like a frog in high school biology when he came to Christ. Every lyric, every tweet, every tour date scrutinized. Some fans applauded. Others tore him down. And the Christian community can be our own worst enemy cheering one minute and throwing stones the next because someone didn’t quote the right verse or vote the right way.

Welch himself has spoken openly about this pressure. In his book Save Me from Myself, he wrote, “It must grieve God’s heart when he sees Christians fighting about whose doctrine is right; he doesn’t see denominations, he sees one big glorious bride. When Christians argue about doctrinal issues, all he sees is carnal people acting like children.” He called for unity, not division, and highlighted how internal bickering only serves to alienate those trying to walk in faith.

He also admitted to getting overzealous in his early days as a believer. “I think I went too far with it. And I got obsessed with it, just like I was obsessed with the drugs,” he confessed. “And I had to come out of that and find normalcy, because there’s nothing worse than a freakin’ irritating religious person just shoving it down your throat.”

In case you haven’t heard, Clint Lowery of the band Sevendust has recently shared publicly about his renewed faith in Christ. After completing his first tour as a “saved Christian,” he opened up about how his relationship with Jesus has transformed his life and music. Raised in a Christian household, Lowery had a foundational understanding of God but admitted to going through the motions without a true relationship. It wasn’t until a series of personal and health challenges, including a torn meniscus, a herniated disc, and his father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis, that he fully surrendered to Christ. A pivotal conversation with his neighbor, Pastor Jody, led him to give his life to Jesus and dive into the Bible, seeking a deeper connection with his faith.

So here’s the deal: When a guy like Clint Lowery of Sevendust starts walking a path of faith, let’s not turn him into some shiny new trophy for Team Christianity. It’s not about being a win for us. It’s a win for God. It’s his journey. His healing. His soul. Not our PR campaign.

Clint’s story is compelling because it’s honest. It’s not some “Instagrammable” Hallmark salvation moment. It’s a dude getting crushed by life, reaching out, and finding something real in the chaos. After years of drinking, drifting, and grinding through the rock machine, he hit a wall. That kind of stuff gets your attention.

He didn’t stumble into some megachurch. He had a neighbor, Pastor Jody, who actually cared. They talked. Clint read the Bible. And in a quiet, very un-rockstar moment, he opened the door to Christ.

And he’s not keeping that to himself. Lowery says straight up, “I’m absolutely gonna write about my journey with Christ in new songs.” That’s not a marketing gimmick, it’s a guy integrating his belief into his art because it matters to him. He says it won’t make the music soft, either. “It’ll be heavy too, man… might even be better.”

But let’s also acknowledge that stepping into faith doesn’t mean you suddenly have a theological degree and the armor of Paul. New believers, especially high-profile ones, are easy targets. The world mocks them. The church tests them. It’s like giving someone a compass, then throwing them into a hurricane.

There have been plenty who started this path and didn’t stick around, or at least found themselves in a complicated dance with it. Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath, for example, came from a heavily Christian background and fronted one of the most iconic Christian metalcore bands of the 2000s. But years later, he said plainly, “Religion ruined my life,” and detailed the damage that judgmentalism and hypocrisy caused him personally. He didn’t necessarily reject faith entirely, but he distanced himself from the culture surrounding it.

Then there’s Zack Plunkett of Abated Mass of Flesh, a band that once stood as a pillar in the Christian brutal death metal scene. In our interview earlier this year, Zack opened up about his departure from the faith. He described a journey from devout belief to deep skepticism, spurred by years of theological contradictions and personal doubts. “I came out the other side an unbeliever,” he told us, after immersing himself in philosophy, science, and religious studies. The backlash from the Christian metal community was swift and, at times, harsh. Fans denounced the band, private conversations were leaked, and online forums lit up with criticism. Zack channeled that experience into their latest album, Rebirthing the Vile, which confronts religious tribalism and the pain of spiritual exile head-on.

The best thing we can do is be encouraging without being invasive. Celebrate without smothering. Pray without posturing. This is Clint’s journey. Let’s not hijack it. Instead, let’s stand beside him, silent when needed, supportive always.

In the end, faith isn’t about winning points or claiming celebrities for the cause. It’s about connection. Redemption. Hope. Clint Lowery found something real, and that’s worth more than any headline.

Let the music speak. Let the man grow. And let grace do what it does best.

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