IT TOOK A FEMALE REVEREND TO PRAISE METAL

I don’t think reverends that are also ladies are so rare today — my high school girlfriend’s mother was a reverend (actually, both of her parents were reverends, believe it or not). But I have to think there’s some connection between a woman who holds a position that some tight-asses would consider “unorthodox,” and the fact that that same woman has now publicly declared that “the Church, especially at this agonized time, has a serious gospel lesson to learn from this darkest and heaviest music.”

In article in British newspaper The Telegraph, Reverend Rachel Mann has this to say about metal:

“The music’s willingness to deal with nihilistic and, on occasion, extremely unpleasant subjects seems to offer its fans a space to accept others in a way that shames many Christians.

“Metal’s refusal to repress the bleak and violent truths of human nature liberates its fans to be more relaxed and fun people.”

She also says that metal fans are “graceful, welcoming and gentle.”

Of course, for readers of this site and headbangers across the world, Reverend Mann will just be preaching to the converted (pun intended); I’ve long felt that I’d be in prison for murder if I didn’t listen to aggressive music that is often about murder, so, yeah, “metal’s refusal to repress” the bleak/violent/etc. is, I think, certainly liberating for the listener. But it’s always great to see someone so closely associated with an organized religion that has often frowned on our music of choice give said music praise.

Read the rest of the article here, then weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

-AR

[via Metal Underground]