page_title: Christian metal
section_title: Thrash metal
hierarchical_section_title: Christian metal / Role in metal subgenres / Thrash metal
caption_attribution_description: Drummer Ted Kirkpatrick of the American thrash metal band Tourniquet live in 2007.
context_page_description: Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is a form of heavy metal music usually defined by its message using song lyrics as well as the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by professed Christians principally for Christians who listen to heavy metal music and often produced and distributed through various Christian networks.
  Christian metal bands exist in most of the subgenres of heavy metal music, and the only common link among most Christian metal bands are the lyrics. The Christian themes are often melded with the subjects of the genre the band is rooted in, regularly providing a Christian take on the subject matter. It has been argued that the marginal yet transnational Christian metal subculture provides its core members with an alternative religious expression and Christian identity, and that the music serves the purpose of offering a positive message through lyrical content. This may not necessarily show a direct connection or reference to the Christian faith but often it does.
context_section_description: Some notable American Christian thrash metal groups include Deliverance, Believer, Vengeance (frontman, vocalist and last remaining member Roger Martinez currently against Christianity) and Tourniquet. Allmusic states that Vengeance Rising's first two albums "were huge successes in the world of Christian music, making them one of the few bands in the genre to cross over into the secular music scene." Tourniquet was called "arguably the greatest Christian metal band in history" by Cross Rhythms in 1996. Tourniquet's Psycho Surgery was ranked as the second most influential Christian metal album of all time by HM Magazine. Deliverance's 1990 music video for the title track of Weapons of Our Warfare album received some airplay on MTV. Allmusic wrote about Believer's Sanity Obscure album: "Before 1990, the Christian heavy metal genre rarely strayed from generic riffing and poor lyrics. Bands like Petra and Sacred Warrior never broke through to the mainstream for this very reason. With low expectations, Believer released this massive slab of molten metal. Although it never really became popular, several mainstream magazines praised the album."
  The British bands Seventh Angel and Detritus introduced Christian thrash metal to Europe. Seventh Angel were considered to be thrash metal pioneers, and their albums achieved mainstream distribution through the Music for Nations label. Cross Rhythms states that for a long time Seventh Angel were considered to be the best metal act in the UK. Seventh Angel also has included aspects of doom metal on some recordings. In the 1990s, New Mexico based Ultimatum and Oklahoman group called Eternal Decision gained some attention, the latter with its thrash and groove metal style. The band's eponymous 1997 album hit the record stores in the U.S. and 16 other countries, achieving considerable acclaim and providing the band with even more notice.
caption: Drummer Ted Kirkpatrick of the American thrash metal band Tourniquet live in 2005.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 20D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2007:06:25 09:30:49", "Image Artist": "Joachim Cl\u00fcsserath", "Image WhitePoint": "[313/1000, 329/1000]", "Image PrimaryChromaticities": "[16/25, 33/100, 21/100, 71/100, 3/20, 3/50]", "Image YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "\u00a9 2007, Joachim Cl\u00fcsserath, K\u00f6ln, Germany", "Image ExifOffset": "432", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "997", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4443", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/400", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1600", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:02:24 23:54:26", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:02:24 23:54:26", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "141621/16384", "EXIF ApertureValue": "46331/8192", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "70", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2126", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1417", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R03", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "856", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "233600/59", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "233600/59", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}