2023

Marcus Moberg

<p>This chapter explores the prevalence of apocalyptic subject matter and imagery in Christian metal music-arguably the most controversial form of Contemporary Christian Music. The first part of the chapter provides a general account of evangelicalism and the historical development of the broader phenomenon of evangelical popular culture, thus situating Christian metal in the end-time focused neo-evangelical milieu from which it originally sprang. Through a discussion of the song lyrics of several widely known bands, the second part of the chapter identifies and analyzes particularly characteristic ways in which Christian metal bands have employed apocalyptic and eschatological themes and imagery. These include the common paraphrasing of original biblical texts, the re-articulation of these through a "metal"-idiom, and a strong preoccupation with certain sections of the Revelation of John in particular.</p>