page_title: Christian metal
section_title: Unblack metal
hierarchical_section_title: Christian metal / Role in metal subgenres / Unblack metal
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Photo du bassiste et du guitariste d'Antestor prise au Elemants of Rock.
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: Horde is widely considered to be the first unblack metal (also called Christian black metal) band. As a one-man band with only one release (in 1994), Horde initiated controversy within the extreme metal community, opposing the more common lyrical themes of Satanism and evil. The title of Horde's only release – Hellig Usvart – means "Holy Unblack", which is now often used by Christians to refer to Christian black metal, in order to avoid the negative connotations of the term "black metal".
  Antestor (then called Crush Evil) existed prior to the release of Hellig Usvart but their music was a death/doom style, and was not yet musically considered black metal. During the early 1990s when the band was known as Crush Evil, Euronymous, guitarist for the seminal black metal band Mayhem, was planning to stop Crush Evil from continuing. However, this never took place.
  The release of Antestor's The Return of the Black Death on the British black metal label Cacophonous Records in 1998 "set the standard for Christian black metal". Swedish Crimson Moonlight's The Covenant Progress, HM Magazine stated, "rivals the best any other band (Christian or secular) in this subgenre can offer." While the unblack scene is not part of the traditional black metal scene, several musicians from both have co-operated: Stian Aarstad of Dimmu Borgir produced Vaakevandring's eponymous EP, and Jan Axel Blomberg of Mayhem played drums for Antestor's The Forsaken (2005) album.
caption: Norwegian unblack metal band Antestor in 2011 at Elements of Rock.
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