It was a “bonkers gig”, pairing heavy metal with a pipe organ – a musical curiosity that the bands thought would surely seldom be repeated, if ever.

But Pantheïst and Arð, the doom metals bands who performed the concert at Huddersfield town hall last year, have been inundated with requests to repeat the performance – with churches leading the way.

“We thought that churches would look at it as slightly heretical, – having a metal band playing in church – but that wasn’t the case at all,” said Mark Mynett, a senior lecturer in music production at Huddersfield University. “They really embraced this bold new world – some of them talked about bringing a new audience into church.”

The experiment last August saw Pantheïst and Arð accompanied by David Pipe, the cathedral organist at the Diocese of Leeds, playing Huddersfield town hall’s 1860 “Father” Willis organ.

Mynett said that after the Observer covered the event, it was featured on Radio 4’s Sunday Worship, prompting dozens of churches, among others, to get in touch with him and Pipe.

Now the new genre has its own name – “organic metal” – and a series of similar concerts is planned, starting with gigs this week at the deconsecrated St Paul’s church in Huddersfield.

It will feature Mynett’s band, Plague of Angels, alongside Pipe on the organ and Anabelle Iratni, a classically trained vocalist, who will sing an aria by Handel – as well as delivering death metal growls.

edit: Pantheïst’s full set (they have more bits on their YouTube channel)

  • Flax
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    7 months ago
    1. Because Christianity is declining as a whole in the UK

    2. A lot of churches die when they stop preaching the Gospel and start preaching lukewarm wishy-washy stuff. Unfortunately the Church of England does that A LOT these days. It would be best for the C of E to draw in crowds from the small congregations dotted around various shop units, that meet in schools, other buildings, etc. I’ve seen C of I parishes do that to quite a big success.

    3. “how’s that working out” Evangelism is declining and so are churches. That’s why we need better evangelism

    • Baahb@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Your conclusions are flawed. You don’t need better evangelism, you need better Christians.

      • Flax
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        7 months ago

        Exactly! We need both. I think I heard a good saying, it went like this:

        People will read Christianity from the actions of Christians before they read the Bible.

        Charity is a really good and effective outreach. I think welcoming immigrants as well into spaces in Church is also effective, eg, lunches for international students, english lessons, etc. More of that and less of this.

        It would be lazier to let a musical band come and desecrate your premises to raise money than it would be to suck it up and begin an outreach.

        • Baahb@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Don’t say “we.” I am not a Christian.

          That lowflying attack still somehow flew right over your head. Christianity is fucked because Christians are fuckers.

          Having grown up as and around Christians, I have yet to meet one that could convince me to come back. Fuck you.

          • Flax
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            7 months ago

            Then why are you concerned over how churches are used…?

            • Baahb@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              Churches are being used to convince people to take away my rights.

              Churches are being used to justify Genocide.

              Churches have been used to justify murder.

              Churches have been used to justify torture.

              Fuck you again.

              • Flax
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                7 months ago

                Here’s a list of things which have also done the same thing:

                Schools, Universities, Politicians, The News, The Internet, The Media, Atheism, Communism, Capitalism, Environmentalism, Islam, Hinduism, The United States, The United Kingdom, France, list could go on

                Although I must ask, How is the Church of England convincing people to take your rights and justifying genocide?

                • Baahb@lemmy.world
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                  7 months ago

                  You’re the only person limiting this discussion to the anglicans. The articL does mention buildings that exist in the UK. But every ounce of discussion since has been about Christians, and not anglicans.

                  Second:

                  Let me finish with yet another rounding “fuck you.”

                  • Flax
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                    7 months ago

                    There’s no way Catholic churches would allow this, it’s basically all C of E being churches with organs. Unless it’s Church of Scotland which already went down the drain ages ago.

                    And yeah, you did the whattaboutism by complaining about some redundant social issue.