With the recent playing of the Sonshine festival in Somerset, which featured dozens of Christian bands performing music of all styles, I thought I’d pull this item out of the vault, (frequented by mascot Eddie).
A spiritually defining moment for me, to be followed by many since, was at of all places a heavy metal concert by the group Iron Maiden, which has become by known by critics for its songs about mythology, history and yes, theology.
What I was not prepared for, when taking in one of their concerts in the mid-1990s that filled a professional basketball arena, was that the audience — dressed in biker gear, leather minskirts and black makeup — would be more interested in that topic then in moshing.
Perhaps I was being prejudiced, but I took a seat that was the highest up at the back of the arena, because I wasn’t real comfortable rubbing elbows with bikers at my assigned seat below. From this vantage point, I could see the entire arena below and its patrons as the concert unfolded.
Near the end of the concert, it was time for what some members of the group call their best work among their hundreds of songs, the lengthy anthem, “Hallowed Be Thy Name.”
The loud guitars were turned down, and the legendary metal singer, Bruce Dickinson, sat down in front of the crowd and sang the introduction in a very intimate way, like a priest giving a homily.
In the song, a man condemned to die at the gallows is ruminating about life and death, and God’s role. Then at the end, the jailer has come for him, and all that can be done is pray. In what has become an iconic rock-concert moment, he sings “Hallowed be thy name. Hallowed by thy name.” The length at which he holds the last note has been praised by critics for years.
What was unexpected is that in this mass of humanity in front of me, all raised hands and joined them together like one would in church during the Lord’s Prayer. The thousands of concert-goers, although dressed in black and not a crew who you might think would get into religion, swayed and jubilantly sang the refrain as one, along with Dickinson.
This experience was perhaps the most spiritual in my life. Perhaps it should not have been unexpected, as in those Old School metal songs, there is almost a preoccupation with religion and theology, and the Biblical imagery is frequent. Although this might sound counter-intuitive, it makes sense because singing about topics such as Christ’s crucifixion and martyrdom gives an opportunity to be spiritual and edgy and graphic, all at the same time. And some of the groups really go have something insightful to say about theology.
In particular, amongst all the philosophizing about life and death in Hallowed Be Thy Name, fans have speculated online that the convict at first questions the apparent absence of God in his sitation, then moves forward to re-embrace his faith.
So, this was perhaps the most noteworthy experience among many I’ve had since, where the band bonds with the crowd and there is a transendence, where a rock concert becomes something deeper, something profoundly spiritual.
I since found out that the singer, Dickinson, has written books about subjects that include theology — a personal interest of his — and is regarded by many to be a scholar, not just a screamer.