Well it’s been awhile since I’ve wrote one of these. So I hope you all enjoy and I hope you check these amazing bands out! Go headbang!
10. Every Knee Shall Bow
Every Knee Shall Bow is a death metal band that started in 2002, with brothers Drew and DJ Wibblesman, but didn’t get going until 2008, when their two younger brothers came of age: Cole and Shane. Two years later, the band hired their friend Chris Hull and recorded an EP titled Weary Warriors. The band would then sign to Rottweiler Records and release Slayers of Eden. The band played AudioFeed Festival in 2016, but has remained primarily silent since then. They have teased that they are working on new material. Listen below to “No Longer Slaves” off of Slayers of Eden.
9. Toarn
Toarn is Deathcore band that started in November 2009. The band started with five friends, who have released several incredible releases, including: Protoevangelium, Brood of Vipers and most recently Giant Killer. The band was signed to Itchy Metal Records in 2013 and released Brood of Vipers. The band split with the label and as of July 2016, the band signed to Luxor Records and released Giant Killer. Listen below to “Giant Killer” off of the album with the same name.
8. GFM (Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh)
GFM, aka Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh, is beautycore band that started in 2008. The band started with sisters Maggie, CJ, and LuLu English. They have released an EP titled Death of Giants and their debut album titled Identity Crisis. The band has been independent since their formation, and they remain that way. Listen to the We As Human/As We Ascend produced single “Darkness” here.
7. Mortal Treason
Mortal Treason was one of the biggest deathcore bands during the early 2000’s. The band started in 2001 with friends Seth Kimbrough, Josh Jarrett, Richie Reale, Bruce Crisman and Chase Nickens. The band went through some lineup changes and released two albums: A Call to the Martyrs and Sunrise Over a Sea of Blood through Flicker Records. The band broke up in 2005, but reunited in 2014. The band has been working on new material, when they can. They are currently on hiatus. Listen to “War Within” below.
6. Revulsed
Revulsed is a brutal death metal band that started in 2010. The band is a supergroup, which brought together Jayson Sherlock of Mortification and Paramaecium fame, Sheldon D’Costa of InExordium fame and Konni Luhring of Defeated Sanity fame. Luhring left in 2016, but added Damien Mirklis for Vocals and Mark Smith on Bass. The band released their debut album, Infernal Atrocity via Permeated Records. The band has a new live lineup coming out as well as a new sophomore album. Listen to “Agonizing Putrid Self Infliction” below. Headbanging guaranteed.
5. Broken Flesh
Broken Flesh is a brutal death metal band that formed in 2004. The band has released three albums and an EP, through Sullen and Luxor Records. The band was formed by Brandon Lopez and Kevin Tubby. Kevin was formerly a member of the bands Death List and Obliteration, while Brandon would join Becoming the Archetype in the future. The band is in preparation of releasing a single and soon thereafter a new album. Listen to “Consumed by Death” here.
4. ZAO
ZAO is one of the best known metalcore bands around. Zao formed in 1993 with a completely different lineup. The band has gone through several lineups, as any passerby would recognize, but has finalized on Daniel Weydant, Scott Mellinger, Russ Cogdell, Marty Lunn, and Jeff Gretz. The band has released 11 albums, most recently The Well-Intentioned Virus. (Side note: Recently saw the band live for the first time, and they blew it away.) Listen to “Xenophobe” below.
3. Death Requisite
Death Requisite is a Symphonic death metal band that started in 1999. The band has gone through several lineup changes, leaving founding guitarist Dave Blackmore the only remaining original member. The band released several EPs and a single LP before getting signed to Rottweiler Records and releasing Revisitiation. Listen to “Redemptio Per Deicide” below.
2. Becoming the Archetype
Becoming the Archetype, one of the most impressive progressive death metal bands, started in 1999 as Nonexistent Failure. The band changed their name to The Remnant and finally BTA. The band has released five studio albums as BTA through Solid State Records. BTA has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2013, with the members being busier than ever. Hopefully they’ll be back soon with some new material! Listen to “How Great Thou Art” below.
1. Living Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice, the defining metal band of the Christian metal scene, started all the way back in 1989. The band brought thrash metal, death metal, groove metal, metalcore and even a little bit of hardcore to their music. Of course those sounds varied, almost every record. They recorded 8 studio albums and have released a single digital EP, titled Death Machine. The band is supposedly working on a new album, but seemingly, only when they have the time to do so. Hopefully, it will be out this year. Listen below to “Rules of Engagement”.
Well I hope you enjoyed this list. It was very diverse in subgenre, ranging from deathcore, to hard rock, to thrash metal. So if you don’t like all the bands on this list, hopefully, you’ll like at least one. Thanks! Enjoy!
Impending Doom (For the Wicked) is my favorite, Living Sacrifice is my second favorite. Impending Doom has changed over the years and has always gotten louder and heavier. They are warning about the Armageddon Apocalypse coming up very soon. Living Sacrifice also went through change from sounding like Sepultura to a overhaul into the Death and Thrash style. They are great and legendary for their focus on God and their heavier style. I have a lot of other bands I listen to that are all and only Christian. As soon as I find out they turned their back against the… Read more »
As a long time fan of Becoming the Archetype, i loved this list, and I am glad to know there are lots of good bands out there.
I got impressed with Every Knee Shall Bow, i didn’t know them till now, I will be checking out their music even thought they seem to not be active anymore.
Anyways, this article gave me an idea, I wanted to make a suggestion:
An article about the top Death Metal Christian bands, that would be awesome!
Bands like Becoming the Archetype or Every Knee Shall Bow may even appear again in that
I just miss root Death Metal, the one that doesn’t have the word “Brutal” attached.
I really wanted to know more bands like the ones above
I really enjoy Revulsed. I wish their lyrics weren’t so veiled. You definitely get the depravity of man aspect in the art and lyrical content though. Broken Flesh is one touch too “toilet bowl” vocal for me, like Abated Mass of Flesh and Krig. When everything becomes indecipherable I can’t get into it. I at least need some variety to break it up. Death Requisite has been a good surprise for me over the last few months. They definitely have a worshipful atmosphere. The lyrics are so powerful and are clearly heard in most cases. I messaged Dave for the… Read more »
Mortal Treason! I used to ride BMX back in the day- well, still do actually – and I only heard of MT because Bruce Crisman and Seth Kimbrough were both pro BMXers. I listened to pop punk among other things and upon hearing MT I was like, “what the heck is this?!” It was the first time I had heard heavy music & I didn’t know what to think. haha
I was disappointed in BTA’s “I AM.” While a decent album in its own right, it was a disappointing follow-up to the masterful “Celestial Completion.”