Black metal was never really meant to be popular. By its very nature, black metal was anti-everything in almost every way possible. Spawning from the schlock theatrics of bands like Venom and Bulldozer, it suddenly became an altogether more serious thing. Bands like Bathory, Sarcofago, Tormentor and the infamous Mayhem began to emerge, and suddenly black metal was no longer just about aesthetics. Anyone remotely familiar with the history of the genre knows what happened next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what\u2019s interesting about it all was that, in spite of itself, black metal became a big thing. Even stranger was that the bands who really rose to mainstream stardom, if you will, were the ones that expanded the scope of black metal from being primitive, chaotic and feral into something altogether more grand, incorporating symphonic and classical elements into a sound that one would think would be entirely at odds with such musical chemistry. The standout band, aside from Emperor, in this regard are arguably Dimmu Borgir. Loved by many, loathed by probably more, but their presence is inescapable in black metal\u2019s history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is their popularity and their ubiquitousness that made me think of this article in the first place. A lot of metalheads go to my church parish, and I sometimes get asked about Christian alternatives to secular bands. I know that just by saying this, it will garner me a few \u201cSee, Christian metal is just the tofu version of the real stuff\u201d style comments, and that\u2019s fine if someone thinks that; I would only respond that they\u2019ve obviously not heard Christian metal before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I think there are many out there who really don\u2019t know where to start when it comes to finding bands that align more with their Christian worldview (or at the very least, don\u2019t attack it), and are looking for some solid bands in a similar style to what they liked before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back to the point. Dimmu Borgir were at one point, one of the most, if not the most, popular black metal band in the metal mainstream as far as I know, and love them or hate them, they\u2019ve established themselves as giants of the style, even if their relevance nowadays has been superseded by blackened death metal acts like Behemoth and \u201creligious\u201d black metallers Watain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This isn\u2019t a list that offers nice, squeaky clean Christian alternatives so one can listen to black metal that\u2019s \u201csafe.\u201d It\u2019s a list that offers four alternatives for Christian headbangers who like the style, but importantly, wish to listen to something that aligns more with their faith. With that said, there\u2019s others out there of course, but this short list should get you more than started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cerimonial Sacred, a two-piece band (plus session members) from Brazil, are the first band to come to mind when I think of a Christian alternative to Dimmu Borgir, without question. Nothing about this band is subtle when it comes to the symphonics, and they have no problem in melding all sorts of orchestral elements into their music in grand proportions. Covered in corpse paint and armour, they definitely bring to mind band photos from the early days of Dimmu Borgir\u2019s career back in the 90\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a fan of Dimmu classics like Stormblast<\/em> and Enthrone Darkness Triumphant<\/em>, you will definitely dig the band\u2019s first album, Our War is Only Against Hell<\/em>. Like Enthrone Darkness Triumphant<\/em>, it has the manic keyboard fits over blastbeats approach, but it also dives into piano-led classical styles as well that are reminiscent of Stormblast<\/em> to a degree. Like Stormblast<\/em>, Cerimonial Sacred aren\u2019t afraid to slow things down sometimes, with songs like \u201cTears of a Christian Hero\u201d descending into an unnerving groove replete with some of the most unsettling black metal snarls going. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For those who just can\u2019t get enough of what Dimmu Borgir\u2019s been doing since Spiritual Black Dimensions<\/em>, I introduce you to Cerimonial Sacred\u2019s second full-length, Christ Worshippers<\/em>. It\u2019s pretty amazing that this band managed to approximate the huge sound of Dimmu Borgir\u2019s later records with what I would assume to be a much smaller budget. Ditching the more raw edges heard on their debut, Christ Worshippers<\/em> expands into an epic black metal symphony that will have fans of the approach loving every second of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n