Christian Big Four

Posted by IFD on January 3, 2011 · 6 Comments 

As many metal fans know the “Big Four” of thrash metal (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax) got together and did a tour overseas in 2010, and plan on doing a tour stateside in 2011.  When I first heard about these tours my first thought was “Man, I want to go!” but then I had another thought. Who are the Big Four in christian metal? Based off my description below I think the christian Big Four would consist of Believer, Tourniquet, Deliverance, and Mortification.  Of course there’s also good arguments for bands like Living Sacrifice, Zao, The Crucified, Bride, and Ultimatum. However, I believe these four have Four Qualifiers that  distinguish them among the rest.

The first is timing. Each of these bands released an album in the late 80’s/early 90’s. It was at this time that christian metal was becoming a genre, and not just a few bands with christian lyrics. Of course, these four bands all releasing critically acclaimed albums in this timeframe may have largely contributed to the genre forming as well.

The second qualifier is crossover credibility. All of these bands have released albums that were able to garner at least some respect in the secular realm throughout multiple releases. Although, Mortification could be a tough argument, the other 3 are not.

The 3rd qualifier is staying power. Each of these bands have been around 15-20 years and in many cases still releasing new material. Also they’ve all written albums with “Staying Power”, in other words they have released albums that are widely regarded as Christian Metal Classics. “Weapons of our Warfare”, “Psycho Surgery”, “Sanity Obscure”, and “Scrolls of the Megilloth” speak for themselves. If you don’t own these albums…get an ebay account and go get them NOW.

The last qualifier is metal influence. Each of these band is undoubtedly metal, not hardcore, not hard rock, but METAL.  Not only were they unquestionably metal but they also they added something new to the genre and had influence on future metal bands and trends.

Well thats my argument for what would be my Big Four christian metal bands. After more thought, Living Sacrifice could just as easily fit on this list as Mortification. But I’ll keep Mort on there for quantity/frequency of music released over their career. Also it could be argued that LS’s timing was off because their classic albums weren’t released until the late 90’s.

If you haven’t heard of these bands go check them out and get to know your christian metal history. Also, make sure and leave a list of your Big Four in the comments and tell me why my Big Four is WRONG.

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