I am assuming that long-time readers of this blog will have figured out by now that I am a fan of all kinds of music. I am also assuming that long-time readers of this blog, having indulged my self-indulgent music posts twice a week, will also have figured out that I enjoy some music that some Christians think is inappropriate. Finally, I assume that these same readers will have figured out that I think these Christian critics are know-nothing simpletons who confuse their own musical tastes with the directions from The Almighty.
Back in the late-1980's I was leading a Youth Group study on the subject of contemporary music (a pretty sad affair in 1989, let me tell you; if you weren't around, or don't remember, be glad), and one member of my Youth Group started spouting off with the same, tired, and wrong, claims - AC-DC was a Satanic moniker; Black Sabbath were all devil worshipers; listening to rock music leads to drug use; and, my favorite, the Led Zepelin song "Stairway to Heaven" is backward masked with all sorts of Satanic messages. I dealt with it in a mature fashion - I laughed at her (I hope you get it that I am being self-mocking when I say that I was being mature . . .). I would much rather than I started to ask her some questions, such as - Have you actually listened to any the bands you criticize? What music do you listen to? Why? What makes some music appealing to you, and other music not appealing? In this way, I could possibly have led her to think more deeply about the question, without either passing judgment upon her, or being boring and pedantic, or both (a failing I have).
Having said that, I recognize that there are some bands out there - the so-called Black Metal or Death Metal bands, for the most part - that present themselves as actively involved in worshiping Satan, and write songs around such themes. Venom, Mercyful Fate, Slayer, and a whole host of bands, mostly from Scandinavia (I find it amusing that most of these bands combine a musical onslaught with a vocal style doubly unintelligible, by grunting in Norwegian) are part of a small subset of bands with a dedicated following. I doubt highly whether even the majority of even the most die-hard listeners are either active Satanists; most probably at worst flirt with general occult hobbies, and are in little danger other than losing their hearing. For what should probably be obvious reasons, I do not listen to these bands (which does not mean I am not aware of them; Slayer in particular has much to offer, if only they would step back from their feaux-Satanic lyrical trappings long enough for me to be able to listen to them with something like a clear conscience), nor would I ever offer a video of them here.
The existence of bands and individuals who have dabbled with occult themes, however, has led to the condemning of a whole host of musicians, and even musical styles, without warrant or even evidence. In various ways Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and Iron Maiden have played up certain imagery and themes that some might consider offensive. I remember seeing an Ozzy concert on MTV when I was in high school, and talking about it with my English teacher. At the show, Ozzy walked out on stage carrying a cross, which he proceeded to throw on the floor. I have to admit I was a bit stunned by this bit of theatrics (a bit tame compared to Alice Cooper chopping off his own head, hanging himself, and electrocuting himself - all in the same show!), and my English teacher asked a question that I think it might be important to consider - "Why do it?" Why, indeed.
Publicity.
In general, the Christian critics of rock in general, and certain aspects of heavy metal in particular, use such stunts as this, and the employment of certain lyrical and visual imagery that can be considered "occult" in a general sense as a way of damning what is, for the most part, a very specialized musical form. I think, to be honest, they don't get what heavy metal is about, and rather than try to figure it out, they simply toss it all away, preferring to condemn what they do not understand. In particular, the list of grievances listed above that I had thrown in my face, familiar to anyone who is a fan of rock in general and aware of the mid-1980's contretemps in re the Parents Music Resource Center, can all be shown to be false. Yet, they persist precisely because these same critics fail to actually listen to the music in question, and send out their notices and are accepted as gospel truth.
It is one thing to say, "You know what, I don't like this music because it is loud/angry/profane/offensive" and say, "You know what, if you listen to Judas Priest/Ozzy Osbourne, you will commit suicide". The former is both honest and acceptable - I understand why people are turned off by the noise, the over-the-top-theatrics, and macho posturing of heavy metal. What I fail to understand is the latter kind of nonsense (both Ozzy and JP were dragged in to court by ambulance-chasing lawyers looking for money representing bereaved parents whose very disturbed children committed suicide; both artists expressed horror and sympathy at the tragedies only to have themselves accused of culpability in the events in question) because it confuses theatrics with reality. It is one thing for Ozzy as the stage figure to toss a cross on to the floor; it is another thing to extrapolate from that that he is the anti-Christ and is to be shunned at all costs.
All of this can be summed up this way: If you don't like heavy metal, fine. Please, however, do not try to convince other people that they are damned for all eternity by listening to . . .
Virtual Tin Cup
