Who are “Christ-influenced” artists? These can be musical artists that profess to be followers of Christ and produce quality musical material that is not always strictly gospel or worship, but believers can still appreciate it.

Growing up as a teenager influenced by the Christian alternative music scene and subculture, there was a constant debate as to what was really “Christian music.” Many bands and artists professed to be Christian, but their lyrics didn’t mention God or Jesus. Then came the phrase, “we’re not a Christian band, we’re Christians in a band.” Christian bands and artists were generally on Christian record labels, and the bands that joined the labels were assumed to have members who believed in Christ. Although much of the content of the lyrics was not evangelical, worship or gospel-focused, listeners would usually simply be happy to hear a positive message that was free of profanity and other bad influences. That was what part of listening to Christian alternative music was about.

Some Christ-influenced bands and artists would struggle to get accepted by both secular and religious audiences for either getting pigeon-holed as a religious band for religious people, or too influenced by worldly music to be accepted by some believers. I’ve been very positively impacted by many musical artists who are Christ-influenced, and although some of them have stopped being believers, the music they made as believers still inspires me, and I praise and thank God for them. There’s even been a trend of some secular musicians turning to God, some who were very vulgar and anti-Christ like Alice Cooper, Slayer, Brian Head Welch of Korn and Kanye West.

I used to read a Christian magazine dedicated to heavy and alternative music made by Christians, originally called Heaven’s Metal. Stryper was their first issue’s feature and they would interview secular bands regularly with questions about Jesus. That magazine is a big inspiration for my creation of this current publication’s musical focus, and my interest in heavy and alternative music made by Christians is strongly influenced by the bands and artists it featured. One of my favourite genres is called “spirit-filled hardcore,” and encapsulates what I love about heavy music made by Christians which is a very high level of energy backed by spiritual revelations and emotional expressions from a heart devoted to Christ. It draws me closer to God and His purposes and I am grateful to Him for that. Amen.