back to article Lady vicar tells Anglicans to learn from Black Sabbath

A Church of England vicar has told the Anglican community that it could do worse than learning to relax and taking a few cues from heavy metal. The Reverend Rachel Mann writes in the Church Times that the outpourings of Black Sabbath and their musical descendants demonstrated a "liberative theology of darkness" enabling …

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  1. asiaseen

    Unflinching engagement with death, violence and destruction

    Just like the Old Testament.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ozzy sounding biblically relevant?

    Sure, why not? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM06TRcFnJE

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cue C of E style similes in sermons/Thought for the Day

    is Alan Bennett available to deliver these

    "You know, God is very much like Thrash Metal" (if you don't get it, its just a lot of noise)

    "God is like an extended drum solo" (he gives a chance for the other members of the band to rest)

  4. GrahamT

    So not cadmium and mercury then?

    She sounds like a Judas Priest to me. Does she only preach on Black Sabbaths?

  5. Code Monkey

    Noooo!

    Xtian metal is shite. There are exceptions like early Trouble and the fact that Tom Araya's a Catholic.

    1. Sodabread

      May I recommend...

      Becoming the Archetype? It's some extremely good stuff.

  6. Richard 39

    As a wise person once said to me...

    "Most metallers look like someone you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, but stick them all together in a festival (Donnington) and everyone gets on like a house on fire."

    I experience this first hand everyday of my life. It is amongst metallers and the music that I feel relaxed and myself, I cannot want for a better group of people.

    Compared to other brands of music with gun/knife violence, autotune singing, regurgitated pop drizzle, gang warfare, ho's and pimps or techno-techno computer programmed crap, Metal is pure talent oozing out for the enjoyment of fans and although they mosh the hell out of each other in a pit, they always pick up the fallen and take care of the wounded.

    I never see that amount of understanding and respect for another in any of the other styles of music out there

  7. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD
    WTF?

    Beware what you allow in...

    There is a big difference in enjoying heavy metal and EXULTING in devil music and even worse, as a priest, encouraging others to do likewise.

    Not all heavy metal songs invoke the devil, far from it, but judging from the article linked, this one reverend has no qualms about revelling in such blasphemy...

    I myself usually play metal of some kind when pwning n00bs on line. It fits the mood. This is one thing I personally find metal most suitable for... But I avoid blasphemy like plague. I believe God (and the Devil) exist... call me deluded or not.

    There are certain things you just do not invoke in vain, imho.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Invoking in vain

      Invoking god or the devil is *always* going to be in vain. Same as invoking the 60-foot invisible chocolate half-elephant, half-budgerigar that doesn't live in my office. You can try, but there's gonna be fuck all in response.

      1. Witty username

        Silence heathen!

        Else the Budgerelephant will smite thee!

        on a side note, AC/DC = not metal. AC/DC does not deal with the devil, satanic rituals or all the other stereotypical crap that people think metal deals with, AC/DC deal with getting pissed, getting laid, people/things called Jack, and getting pissed. again.

        1. MJI Silver badge
          WTF?

          Metal is not the stereotypical crap

          Listen to a lot of lyrics. Lots of things are sung about. Quick think here.

          Motorcycles (pretty common)

          Steam Trains (What else did you think Princess of the Night was about)

          Aircrashes (same band as above)

          Dragons

          Knights

          Music (yes - lots)

          Women

          Good vs Evil

          Lots based on Arthurian Legends and similar AFAIR

          War

          Sat down with my record collection I could find a lot more.

          1. Witty username
            WTF?

            facepalm

            i know that you dolt, hence why i...oh nevermind. I ment people (read: idiots) tend to think metal is the same thing over and over.

            other examples of what they deal with include evil tyrants, abusive fathers, killings/killers in the news (Andrea yates etc), japanese/greek mythos etc

    2. Graham Marsden
      Stop

      Dear deluded...

      You are free to believe what you want, provided you don't start trying to tell everyone that *they* should believe it too.

    3. Rich 11
      FAIL

      Re: Beware what you allow in...

      > I believe God (and the Devil) exist... call me deluded or not.

      Yes, you're deluded.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      call me deluded or not

      You are deluded.

  8. FunctionalProgrammer
    Happy

    Um?

    Apparently she's not familiar with the glut of Christian Heavy Metal out there. And before you ask, no, a lot of it is not not a toned-down version of 'real' metal.

    - The Chariot

    - Demon Hunter

    - Living Sacrifice

    - As I Lay Dying

    1. Tim Bates

      Yeah...

      I agree... I'm not into that sort of angry people music, but even I know that the likes of Demon Hunter are out there.

  9. Luther Blissett

    "liberative theology of darkness"

    A walk in the woods after the sun has gone down for the lady? As they say (here) - if you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to fear.

  10. Thomas Gray

    *Ahem* the Leicestershire village/Castle/racetrack is called

    Donington (note only two 'n's), and the festival hasn't been called that for years...

    1. dodge
      Boffin

      *Ahem* that would be _three_

      >Donington (note only two 'n's)

      Note: look more carefully.

      1. Thomas Gray
        FAIL

        Dang it....

        Three it is. I shall go out and listen to three hours of Kylie Minogue in reparation.

        They still spelled it wrong in the article... :)

  11. Graham Bartlett

    @Richard

    Too right. Go to a club full of bearded bikers with serious decibels pounding out the PA, and chances are you're going to have a fun, safe evening. Go to a club full of Stella'd-up lads, and chances are there's going to be at least one fight during the night.

    1. MJI Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Confirmed by bouncers

      Their quietest nights were the rock nights, only nights with no dress code and only trouble caused by non rock fans.

  12. Falanx

    Beard? Check. Long hair? Check? Asswhuppin? Check...

    I even have a T-Shirt to that effect :-)

    Surely, coming home to find someone's turned your father's house into a shop and kicking seven bells of sh*t out of the lot of them could *only* be described as metal?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Badgers

    Palindrome

    Satan oscillate my metallic sonatas

    Ozzy He's as mad as a pack of Badgers.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Giving Metal a bad rep

    The Christian "rock" music I've heard in the past is pretty much the worst thing ever devised - "Jesus wants you as a sunbeam" just lacks the punch as a vocal lead in to a guitar solo. Christians in the Metal scene must really be hiding their lights firmly under a studded bushel as I've yet to hear anyone express even mildly christian leanings, although a loud "have you found Jesus yet?" might well clear you a space at the bar.

    1. Peter Masterton

      \m/

      I dunno, Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain is famously a born again Christian, as is Alice Cooper. And I'll agree with the others - I was at the Sonishpere festival at Knebworth a month ago - 60,000 metal fans, an amazing atmosphere, no trouble at all. Give me a large group of metal heads over the Stella'd up hip-hop / dance / trance / whatever boys any day.

      1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: \m/

        Hey - a lot of dance crowds are perfectly lovely. There are beered-up sub-sections of all these tribes (a lot of whom are more into the drinking itself than whatever musical genre or subculture they're attaching themselves to) who flail around and behave appallingly and give the rest a bad name. Metallers get a bad reputation/are thought of as scary but are often great - same goes for other types. Generally, avoiding snap judgements and sweeping condemnation is a good thing across the board, especially if you've already stuck your neck out to say it's wrong to judge... innit.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    What can I say?

    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/08/04/

  16. YumDogfood

    Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIHSEX9TLl8 (NSFW lyrics)

    Go on then, sing this in the chapel.

    R.I.P. Peter Steele

  17. spiny norman
    WTF?

    Download or Bloodstock?

    So, Download (at Donington with 3 Ns) is a Rock festival, not especially Metal, viz this year's lineup including Them Crooked Vultures, AC/DC, RATM and Aerosmith. Led Zeppelin wasn't metal either, nor was/is Deep Purple, which the article didn't mention, but I'm sure would have given half a chance.

    Perhaps you meant Bloodstock? That's in Derby, with one B.

  18. MJI Silver badge

    Heavy Metal is a form of rock

    There are a lot of sub forms of music under the rock umbrella, but the all the music discussed above is rock music, there is Heavy Metal, NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal - eg Iron Maiden), Heavy Rock - eg Led Zep, I would also class AC/DC as Heavy Rock.

    They all appeal to the same people, few Maiden fans would hate a good AC/DC track and vice versa.

    You have your favourites, but you generally don't hate other similar music types.

    I remember the NWOBHM years very well, and you did not class it as different to the older bands or the more melodic heavy rock bands, it was all good music - better than the New Romantic waffle* which got the most press.

    * Excepting some Duran Duran as they were actually rock musicians - remember Powerhouse?

    Yes there was a split to some more extreme metal music types (eg Death Metal), but we don't talk much about them.

    So basically we al listened to music played to a high standard, based on lead electric guitar, electric base, a singer with a decent range, and all displaying good musicianship.

    I think Rock in the 70s and 80s was where the talented musicians went.

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