Would you recommend it to a fellow believer? (Music)

Regarding Herbie Langhans' faith, this statement directly from him will prove he means it.

As for another concern here...

R0b said:
Bands I'm unsure of:

Anubis Gate -- I really like these guys, but after reading an interview with their first vocalist concerning the first album (and after checking out the lyrics of their second album), I'm a bit unsure of how to take them. Nothing in their lyrics seems blatantly anti-Christian, per se, but there are small things. Their third and fourth albums are concept albums, so there's not much to worry about there (I don't typically search for multiple meanings within concept albums, unless the additional meanings are fairly blatant), but I wonder if they're a band that should be considered 'okay' for a Christian to listen to or not.
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I have done some digging on this. Anubis Gate frontman Kim Olesen, according to conversations we have had directly and a fans+musician debate held on his profile, considers himself what I would define an agnostic atheist with respect for Christ and Christian ethics, and that "while we are in no way a christian band (we are not anti christ either) i think christian ethics play a role in how we view the world." Most of Anubis Gate's lyrics are written by bassist/vocalist Henrik Fevre, and after reading some lyrics with vague spiritual references on their self-titled album and at Olesen's suggestion, I asked him directly about his views.

"I come from the Christian home, I've often been to church with my parents, but it's seems since I moved out some 20 years ago I haven't been there very much. But I'm not in any way detached from the church. I see myself as a believer in God, but I don't need to share it with anyone (in church for instance). I have sort of my own relationship with the spirits. That may shine through some of the stuff I do."

This can be seen on other lyrics as well; a song such as "Waking Hour" could actually be mistaken for blatantly Christian. Overall, though, I connect spiritually with Anubis Gate's music less nowadays as I concentrate on my faith development, and will not be listening to them often; they are okay with a couple reservations at worst. However, the self-titled CD is one of the chief reasons why I met a friend of mine who shortly became a brother in Christ, and so it still has spiritual significance to me.
 
ManipulatorGeneral404 said:
Regarding Herbie Langhans' faith, this statement directly from him will prove he means it.

As for another concern here...



I have done some digging on this. Anubis Gate frontman Kim Olesen, according to conversations we have had directly and a fans+musician debate held on his profile, considers himself what I would define an agnostic atheist with respect for Christ and Christian ethics, and that "while we are in no way a christian band (we are not anti christ either) i think christian ethics play a role in how we view the world." Most of Anubis Gate's lyrics are written by bassist/vocalist Henrik Fevre, and after reading some lyrics with vague spiritual references on their self-titled album and at Olesen's suggestion, I asked him directly about his views.

"I come from the Christian home, I've often been to church with my parents, but it's seems since I moved out some 20 years ago I haven't been there very much. But I'm not in any way detached from the church. I see myself as a believer in God, but I don't need to share it with anyone (in church for instance). I have sort of my own relationship with the spirits. That may shine through some of the stuff I do."

This can be seen on other lyrics as well; a song such as "Waking Hour" could actually be mistaken for blatantly Christian. Overall, though, I connect spiritually with Anubis Gate's music less nowadays as I concentrate on my faith development, and will not be listening to them often; they are okay with a couple reservations at worst. However, the self-titled CD is one of the chief reasons why I met a friend of mine who shortly became a brother in Christ, and so it still has spiritual significance to me.
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So it's probably safe to say that Anubis Gate is safe in moderation (which is how I seem to treat secular music as a whole these days, anyway)?
 
R0b said:
So it's probably safe to say that Anubis Gate is safe in moderation (which is how I seem to treat secular music as a whole these days, anyway)?
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Certainly safe and quality music overall, but at least what I've heard is not leading me much closer to God either, rather leaving me somewhat cold spiritually. I would take bands that do that if given the choice, especially with how seriously I take spirituality of music nowadays.
 
I have been having this debate with myself for years. Is this band Christian or not? If not are they at least safe to listen to?

For some bands it is (or was, for bands that no longer exist) more than obvious, like Petra, Rez, Kutless, Stryper, Bloodgood, Whitecross, Rob Rock, etc., and that speaks volumes. Like the dude in the video a few posts up said, if you spend all day with me and you don't know I'm a Christian, then I have failed miserably. If I listen to a band's entire CD and I cannot tell they are Christian, then as far as I am concerned they are not. I'm not saying they aren't Christians, I am saying they aren't a Christian band. As Christians we are to "let [our] light so shine before men that they might see [our] good works and glorify [our] Father which is in Heaven." (Matt. 5:16) And as Christians our very purpose, the very reason we breathe, is to glorify and praise God: "Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made." (Isaiah 43:7), "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD." (Psalm 150:6) If a band openly claims to be Christian, then I expect to hear them praising and glorifying God or, in the case of bands that put forth their music as a mission for the unsaved rather than a ministry for the saved, singing songs that share the hope we have in Jesus, even if it is subtle (as that might be necessary to "befriend" unsaved listeners rather than turn them off). However, if a band makes no claim to be Christian, then I don't expect them to be, even if their members are Christians (i.e., Nikko McBrain, Herbie Langhans, "Fieldy" of Korn, etc.)

As for "is this band Christian-friendly?" and "are they safe to listen to? That, my friends, is between you and God. If you are listening to a band and you don't hear the Holy Spirit saying "Dude" ... yes, He calls me Dude. :) ... "Dude, you really shouldn't be listening to this," then either it is safe to listen to or you are not in tune with the Spirit. I suggest you make sure it's not the latter.

As for myself, I still have a lot of secular music, as in not Christian, but by no means anti-Christian, that I like to listen to. I have been a Journey fan my whole life. (oops, did I just let my non-metal side show? :) ), and I love the Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Symphony X, Blind Guardian, Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC... the list goes on. But I have found that as I grow in my relationship with the Lord I find myself drawn more and more to the the "definitely Christian" artists. Just today I was blaring praise songs in my truck (uh-oh, I think I just got myself banned! :) I can't say I've heard the Spirit say "Dude, you gotta get rid of those others," but it could also be that He's saying it and I'm choosing to be deaf. Dunno! :)

So, in a nutshell ... if you have to ask if a band is Christian then they probably aren't, and if you are asking if a band is safe to listen to you are asking the wrong one ... you should be asking The One.
 
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R0b said:
Blind Guardian -- As far as I can tell, most of their music seems to be about mythology and fantasy literature. Admittedly, the bands original name makes me a bit uneasy, but they never released anything under that name.
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Lyrics from sacred world:
"I'm raised from the dead"
This suggests the "whatever" in the song thinks it has a relation with God.

"Watch me, I will rise"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"I'm the one forever"
Obviously it thinks its immortal

"I spread my wings
But keep on falling"
Dark Angel, indeed

"I will live forever"
Thinks its immortal.

So they're not satanic?

Anyways,

DragonForce-
Really I know to little.

Stratovarius-
They use harmless, non-satanic lyrics. They're lead singer is realy gifted. But most metal bands are.

Theocracy-
Obviously.
 
MythicalLamb said:
Lyrics from sacred world:
"I'm raised from the dead"
This suggests the "whatever" in the song thinks it has a relation with God.

"Watch me, I will rise"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"I'm the one forever"
Obviously it thinks its immortal

"I spread my wings
But keep on falling"
Dark Angel, indeed

"I will live forever"
Thinks its immortal.

So they're not satanic?

Anyways,

DragonForce-
Really I know to little.

Stratovarius-
They use harmless, non-satanic lyrics. They're lead singer is realy gifted. But most metal bands are.

Theocracy-
Obviously.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how to take your "So they're not satanic?" response. Are you saying they're not, asking they're not, or sort of posing a counter stance based on the quoted lyrics? Not trying to argue with you, I'm just honestly not sure how to take it. For the record, I only own one Blind Guardian CD, and haven't listened to it in a while, despite my inclusion of them.

Is this the song you're referring to, from their 'At the Edge of Time' album? If so, then a couple of the comments suggest that it was written for a video game.
 
Can anyone give me some perspective on the album Chaos and Greed by Heel? Are they a Christian band? What are your thoughts on it from a music as well as lyrical standpoint? Worth buying? Thanks.
 
A band that I would recommend to a fellow believer and is okay to listen to is Dragonland. They have some pretty good songs. Three of their albums are based off of their own "trilogy" called The Dragonland Chronicles. The three albums tell a story with a lot of influence from Lord of the Rings. They also have two other albums but they are concept albums. The Dragonland Chronicles has nothing to do with dark stuff either. All it's about is every 100 years there is a person born who is a dragon's son. He is called the Dragonson. He is supposed to find and kill the Dark Lord and his army of Orcs to save Dragonland. Pretty good story. I love the third part, Under the Grey Banner, the best. The music is good, the lyrics are acceptable, and it tells a good story at the same time.
 
30PiecesOfSilverShining said:
A band that I would recommend to a fellow believer and is okay to listen to is Dragonland. They have some pretty good songs. Three of their albums are based off of their own "trilogy" called The Dragonland Chronicles. The three albums tell a story with a lot of influence from Lord of the Rings. They also have two other albums but they are concept albums. The Dragonland Chronicles has nothing to do with dark stuff either. All it's about is every 100 years there is a person born who is a dragon's son. He is called the Dragonson. He is supposed to find and kill the Dark Lord and his army of Orcs to save Dragonland. Pretty good story. I love the third part, Under the Grey Banner, the best. The music is good, the lyrics are acceptable, and it tells a good story at the same time.
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Oooo, I really like fantasy games/books/movies/etc, so I think I'll have to check these guys out!
 
I have been wondering this for a long time, but those of you who listen to Dream Theater: are they ok to listen to? I heard from somebody a couple of times a while ago that their lyrics are very dark and depressing. By the way, this person does not listen to them very often. I listened to the new album a couple of times and more of their songs from previous albums and I have looked up the lyrics to many different songs and I do not see anything really dark about the lyrics. Of course, many bands who are not Christian do have one dark or sad song. Can anybody help me with this? Thanks
 
There's nothing too bad that I can think of off the top of my head. Some Christians might be uncomfortable with singing along to In The Presence Of Enemies (Pt. 2) or maybe even Panic Attack?
 
Rawshik said:
There's nothing too bad that I can think of off the top of my head. Some Christians might be uncomfortable with singing along to In The Presence Of Enemies (Pt. 2) or maybe even Panic Attack?
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Nothing wrong there either. Unless you just look at lyrics as they are without taking them into context. Which if anyone does that, you're doing it wrong.

Edit: Panic Attack is literally about suffering from panic attacks, so I don't know what would be questionable there.
 
matt schrauben said:
Nothing wrong there either. Unless you just look at lyrics as they are without taking them into context. Which if anyone does that, you're doing it wrong.

Edit: Panic Attack is literally about suffering from panic attacks, so I don't know what would be questionable there.
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I agree. I think some people would have problems with them though and there are some people on this forum who are very picky about that stuff.
 
What do you guys know about Ayreon? I just listened to this song and it pretty cool.I know nothing about the band/guy, so is it offensive or nothing to worry about?
 
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dudu said:
What do you guys know about Ayreon? I just listened to this song and it pretty cool.I know nothing about the band/guy, so is it offensive or nothing to worry about?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E98C5BcXnE
Click to expand...

I don't find anything about Ayreon offensive. Mostly sci-fi type concept albums. Arjen Lucassen has worked with an amazing array of musicians over the past 18 years or so that Ayreon has been making albums (as well as his other projects like Star One, Guilt Machine, etc.). My favorites are probably Into The Electric Castle and The Human Equation (which features appearances by James LaBrie, Eric Clayton [Saviour Machine], Mike Baker [Shadow Gallery] among others). I haven't heard The Theory of Everything yet, though. Here is one of my favorites:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Parched Earth said:
I don't find anything about Ayreon offensive. Mostly sci-fi type concept albums. Arjen Lucassen has worked with an amazing array of musicians over the past 18 years or so that Ayreon has been making albums (as well as his other projects like Star One, Guilt Machine, etc.). My favorites are probably Into The Electric Castle and The Human Equation (which features appearances by James LaBrie, Eric Clayton [Saviour Machine], Mike Baker [Shadow Gallery] among others). I haven't heard The Theory of Everything yet, though. Here is one of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfYD5urjZGs
Click to expand...

Thansk for the info. I appreciate it :kickass:
 
Well, I listen to Pagan's Mind off and on, and I'm a very serious Christian, who, like you, is careful in what they recommend to others. I've looked over their lyrics, and while the name sounds like an anti-Christian band, their lyrics deal more with sci-fi themes. Nils (the vocalist) stated they really all like the Stargate movie (not the show), so a lot of their lyrics seem to look a lot like it.

Iron Maiden.. their lyrics aren't entirely anti-Christian, really. I just figure most people already know of them, so I don't normally have to recommend them to anyone lol. But there's a line I draw: I'd never recommend bands like Dimmu Borgir. They're too anti-Christian for my tastes.

As for the music I commonly recommend, Theocracy is a the top of the list, followed by bands like Stryper, Third Day as you mentioned, Chris Tomlin (one of my favorite CCM artists), Dream Theater, Avantasia/Edguy (despite Edguy's sometimes crude lyrics), and recently, I've been recommending a rising metalcore band called Dayseeker.

So yeah, I can see where you're coming from. :p

-Jacob (Jakob von Feldern)

PS - Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum. I've been a major Theocracy fan since Mirror of Souls, but I just never really registered for the forums. I hope to enjoy my time in the Theocracy fan community. :)
 
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