As you might guess from the header image, I am anything but a Christian. That said, I’ve always been a huge fan of both Christians and their music — the vast majority of them are genuinely nice, thoughtful, considerate people who are great to be around and a positive influence on everybody. I love them! And when it comes to music, for whatever reason, they’ve always been a little ahead of the curve — I can only assume it’s because they had wealthy, supportive parents, unlike those of us who were raised by broke, alcoholic losers who ‘didn’t believe in organized religion.’ Thanks, mom :/ #losing

Anyhow, the truth is that many of the best metal and hardcore bands of the last 10-15 years are Christian, and I think it’s time we gave them the credit they deserve. Let’s put aside the dull, redundant debate over whether Christianity has a place in music or not (hint: the correct answer is “who gives a fuck”) and focus on what is important: these bands rly know how to MOSH 4 CHRIST!

In this post, I will list a few of my favorite Christian bands. I will skip many of the obvious, big names that all of us know about and focus on the older, smaller bands that haven’t gotten enough props- and as always, there will be a few bands who probably should be on here, but couldn’t be included because I ran out of space and/or my memory failed me.  Thanks to Christian Hardcore Records blog for refreshing my memory on a lot of this stuff– check it out if you are into any of these bands!

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We had quite the debate about Christian metal and being pro-life versus pro-choice yesterday, and just in time to keep the vitriol flowing comes yet another list from our pal Carlos “I Must Really Enjoy Pissing People Off” Ramirez. He’s posted his picks for the top ten Christian metal bands of all time over at Noisecreep.

I wish I could get the ball rolling on this little argument y’all are surely about to have, but I literally have never heard of at least half the bands on this list. But there are at least three (As I Lay Dying, Zao and Believer) that I think are really good bands, so maybe I should check out some of these others.

Read the list here, then bitch and moan in our comments section below.

-AR

It’s been a doozy of a year for metal releases already, hasn’t it?

After the jump, the records I’ve been jamming the most so far that might or might not end up on my year-end Top 10.

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MetalSucks liking Zao is something akin to getting a blowjob from a hooker and not getting an STD — possible, but certainly not likely. And so the realization that both Axl and myself enjoyed Zao’s new song “What Will You Find?,” — released last month — was nothing short of shocking. Until I clicked a linky-dink in a press release sent this weekend directing me to Zao’s MySpace to hear their entire new album. And then it all suddenly made sense; there, at the top of their MySpace page, was a glistening new promo photo of the band with singer Daniel Weyandt sporting a wicked, classy, distinguished and bad-ass handlebar mustache.

Clearly the power of the ‘stache is behind Zao’s newfound rise to the realms of good music; do not underestimate the power of the stache, people! And this mustache is no joke; Weyandt looks like the kind of man who wouldn’t sport lip-hair as an ironic hipster fashion statement. No, instead he is the dinguished metal gentlemen, a mustachioed man amongst ironic bearded boys, a shephard amongst artsy-fartsy, poser sheep.

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Just as Vince was surprised to find himself enjoying Isis last week, I am now more than a little shocked that I enjoy the new Zao song, “What Will You Find?”, which is now streaming on the band’s MySpace page. Granted, prior to this my only real experience with Zao is 2004′s The Funeral of God, but that album struck me as being so very meh (and before all the Zao fans start flipping their shit, by “meh” I mean it wasn’t great and it wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t for me).

But this track is pretty kick-ass – it’s angry, dirty, and vicious. I especially dig the mid-section when all the crazy guitar shit starts happening. And the best part? No more shitty clean vocals! Hoo-ray!

The song comes from the band’s new album, Awake?, which will be released by Ferret on May 5. I may actually have to listen to this thing!

-AR

When news of the new band Zero System surfaced — featuring two members of North Carolina’s Bloodjinn — I was naturally curious, as Bloodjinn’s This Machine Runs on Empty was one of my favorite records of 2007. So I went straight to the source, emailing their singer Joel Collins to get the scoop, and he agreed to answer some questions about the new band, the old one, and what its various members are up to on all fronts. The interview, after the jump.

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