Christian Metal: Oxymoronic?

Just like the seasons, my music tastes tend to go in cycles. During the spring and the fall I like to jam out to a little classic rock via Led Zeppelin, and during the summer I like to jam to a little Kanye West and some hip-hop, but it is during the winter months I love to listen to metal.

Recently released album, Dreamer, by Christian Metalcore band Haste the Day has got my attention for this winter, and the gettin' is good. Most people don't look at Christianity and immediately think Metallica or the ironically named metal group Lamb of God, but a majority of bands are breaking into this genre of "Christian Metal."

Haste the Day, Norma Jean and As I Lay Dying are just a few of the many bands in this genre. These bands are reaching out to a niche of people that was previously left untapped by the metal market, and kudos to them.

But back to just the metal aspect. Dreamer, by Haste the Day, is a good album, I'm not going to say it is the pinnacle of metal or anything, but it has been keeping my attention for the past week, (It was released a week ago). My favorite track from this album is "Invoke Reform."

So now that I am back in the groove of metal, I had to find more albums, and in my search I did find an excellent metal album that I recommend everyone should check out, and just a disclaimer, this is not a Christian album.

All That Remains' Overcome was released over a month ago, so I know I'm pretty late getting to it, but better late than ever. This album has a great mesh of heavy and light metal that I crave. Being a former piano player, I was taught that the differences between sound volumes in a song allow people to tell the really good parts from the ones that are just leading up to those parts, and this album features that heavily.

The album has great guitar solos and melodic rhythms that have other commuters on the highway wondering why my head is jerking in such a weird manner. The best track on this album, to me, is "A Song for the Hopeless," and is worth a download for any yearning metal fan out there.