Feature: Ten of the Heaviest Christian Metal Tracks I’ve Heard Yet

It was awesome to watch everybody’s comments on the Heavens Metal Facebook page concerning what fans think is the heaviest Christian metal album ever released. I’ll be pondering that for a spell myself, and maybe even concocting a top list. 

In the meantime, here’s ten of the heaviest Christian metal tracks I’ve come across yet. It’s not a definitive top 10, but it’s definitely ten of the biggest musical bruisers you’ll ever come across in Christian metal that will give your current playlist a real boost in brutality.

Abated Mass of Flesh – “Gravecharmer”

For my money, 2015’s “Gravecharmer” has to be one of the most ludicrously heavy tracks I’ve ever heard. Opening with a more deathcore-ish opening, it descends into an absurdly brutal sonic pulverizing that is alarming on every level, like a rabid gorilla pile-driving you into concrete on repeat. The vocal work on here is downright terrifying, even by Abated Mass of Flesh standards. “Gravecharmer” makes most deathcore sound like pop, and most slam sound trite in comparison. 

Broken Flesh – “Acrid Stench” (Beheaded in Vain live version)

Anyone who’s heard Broken Flesh, even in passing, knows that they are an extremely intense band. Pick any of their albums at random, and you’ll be in for a sonic battering of apocalyptic proportions. But their latest, and sadly last, release – a live album entitled Beheaded in Vain – featured a take on their already exceedingly hostile-sounding “Acrid Stench” and upped the ante even more. It’s the sound of a spin on a rather infamous Sarcofago riff blended with a jet turbine and a bear fight, all played at inhuman speeds. 

Vomitorial Corpulence – “Hammer Inflicted Brain Seizure and Hemorrhaging Cranial Cestation”

I mean, with a title like that by a band with a name like that, there’s no surprise that the Christian metal scene’s finest purveyors of gruesome grindcore this side of Carcass are on this one. Seventeen seconds long and beginning with a classic soundbite of Ash (Bruce Campbell) from Evil Dead 2, it’s a microcosm of grinding carnage full of layered gurgles and shrieks that manages to absolutely terrify (or perhaps bewilder?) the listener before its swift exit. Memorable stuff.

Living Sacrifice – “In the Shadow”

Though I remain a staunch defender of Living Sacrifice’s second release, the divisive Nonexistent, it’s impossible to deny the pure power and force of their third record and its iconic opening track, “In the Shadow.” Boasting a booming roar after the first few verses that’s strong enough to send several legions of hell fleeing for their lives, “In the Shadow” completely batters the listener with concrete-thick guitars, chaotic soloing, and pummelling drum work with enough energy to level a small city. Please, PLEASE guys – if you’re reading this, bring DJ back into the fold and give us just one more death metal album! 

Aceldama – “Artefactos de Purulencia”

Beginning with what could be one of the most grotesque guttural vocals of all time, Costa Rica’s Aceldama absolutely obliterate on this one. Thick guitars, punishing grooves and some of the deepest growls I’ve ever heard in Christian death metal courtesy of Dixon Badilla, “Artefactos de Purulencia” is monolithic in its singular-minded approach to sound as impenetrably heavy as possible. 

Crimson Thorn – “Withered”

Nobody does death metal vocals like Luke Renno, and though Purification is my least favourite of Crimson Thorn’s releases (not that it’s a weak album, I talking relatively here!), “Withered” not only crushes in classic fashion (even more so thanks to some improved production) but boasts what could be the longest death growl I’ve ever heard- a full 14-second long guttural that undoubtedly mimics the sound of being swallowed whole by a sandworm. The band seems to have always made a habit of mentioning that the vocals are entirely unaided by any effects or studio tinkering, making this insanely long bowel-shaker of a growl even more unreal. Brutal doesn’t cover it. 

Metanoia – “Eternal Destruction”

Not often (if ever?) does one hear a death metal track begin with a didgeridoo. And to be honest, there’s something really heavy-sounding about that instrument to begin with. Add to that some really earthquake-inducing, cavernous death metal and a bridge featuring some of the strangest sounding distorted vocals ever, and you’ve got a winner. Overlooked in the extreme.

Impending Doom – “In Reverence Of”

The obvious pick from Impending Doom’s ultra-brutal deathcore classic Nailed. Dead. Risen. would have been the title track. But for sheer force, nothing hits like the third track, “In Reverence Of.” No warning, no lead up, no nothing; “In Reverence Of” starts at full throttle, only letting up for a severe beating of a breakdown that remains unrivalled in anything they’ve done since. Brook Reeves’ vocal work here is ludicrously heavy, sounding nothing like the more Whitechapel-esque roars he would come to use on later albums. Deathcore never sounded more extreme.

Mortification – “Terminate Damnation”

Everyone knows Scrolls of the Megilloth and its attendant title trackbut it’s hard to ignore how monolithically frightening Mortification sound on the second track of that album. Kicking in hard with blastbeats and uber-thick guitars, it halts for a brief haunting moment before unleashing vocalist Steve Rowe at his absolute finest. His roars on here are on another level entirely, backed by sickening rasped backing vocals and the pummelling rhythm work of Mick Carlisle and Jayson Sherlock. Mortification never again sounded as heavy or as compelling as this; frankly, I love to think about the looks on people’s faces when they were told afterwards that this was a Christian band. 

Ascending King – “Eternal Extinction of Apollyon”

Black metal is normally not so much heavy as it is raw. But with blackened death/doom band Ascending King, we get both. I remember when I first heard “Eternal Extinction of Apollyon” and was stunned by how dark and intimidating it all sounded. This was like the doomy black metal of Nortt, but with its despair replaced with righteous fury instead. Crushing.

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