What is this book about?
The précis of the book, its purpose and likely market
Currently there have been no books published on the underground Christian Metal music scene. This scene is very busy online, with new releases each month and has a very strong niche fan base. This publication has two purposes, firstly to introduce the scene and the development of its history from its inception in the 1970s until the new millennium. It will discuss the influence of artists, land marking albums and in particularly the Sanctuary Metal church based in California in the 1980s. It will then critique the historical controversies and future issues the scene has to face.
Another purpose is to allow present and past fans of the scene to reflect on the scene and to review how they feel the scene has developed. Future possibilities of what the book will offer is an online forum for readers to submit thoughts and opinions on the material they have read.
The likely market will be those in the 20-40 age group. These will be people interested in new music genres and who are unaware of the scene. Also it will be used for those in the present scene
What is going to be covered?
There is going to be a chapter on each of the following:
[BUT THERE IS NO LIST IS NOT FINALIZED AND WILL CHANGE AS THE RESEARCH GOES FURTHER]
The information for this book is likely to change as the research progresses but here is an outline:
The précis of the book, its purpose and likely market
Currently there have been no books published on the underground Christian Metal music scene. This scene is very busy online, with new releases each month and has a very strong niche fan base. This publication has two purposes, firstly to introduce the scene and the development of its history from its inception in the 1970s until the new millennium. It will discuss the influence of artists, land marking albums and in particularly the Sanctuary Metal church based in California in the 1980s. It will then critique the historical controversies and future issues the scene has to face. Another purpose is to allow present and past fans of the scene to reflect on the scene and to review how they feel the scene has developed. Future possibilities of what the book will offer is an online forum for readers to submit thoughts and opinions on the material they have read.
The likely market will be those in the 20-40 age group. These will be people interested in new music genres and who are unaware of the scene.
List of draft chapter headings, outlining what each chapter will cover
Chapter One: introduction
Discussion on what applicable theories or ideas are useful in describing the Christian metal scene, i.e. subculture, counter culture or community. A definition is given on what defines the Christian metal community
Chapter Two: beginning stages of the Christian metal scene.
[Discussion focuses on Rez Band, Daniel Band, Barnabas. Focuses on their difficulties and focus on evangelizing through their music].
Chapter Three: the golden years of Christian metal
[The glam years, with the particular influence of Stryper and the multi birth of many ground breaking bands such as Barren Cross, Whitecross, Stryper, saint and others].
Chapter Four: The Survival years and creation of extreme metal
[Christian metal lost its popularity and went underground as it did with its secular counterpart as labels lost interest in the genre. Development of the extreme metal scene began to appear].
Chapter Five: the revival scene of Christian metal in the new millennium
[Will examine present bands, popular genres and the revival of past bands with their reunions]
Chapter Six: Sanctuary as a church and now an international ministry
[Sanctuary grew out of the salvation of metalheads in California and is now based in Nashville as an international ministry, reaching into different countries such as Sweden and Norway.
Chapter Seven:. Historical review of past and present controversies
[The church and secular scene have their own feelings about Christian metal and how it should not exist. These controversies are discussed and how valid are they].
Chapter Eight: The future of Christian Metal
[Discussion focuses on present contributors of the scene i.e. labels, key figures and distributors. Discussion of internet and the commercialism of the scene]
Chapter Nine: Review of the top 20 albums of the Christian metal scene
[Twenty albums are critiqued on what they contributed to the Christian metal scene and what makes them ground breaking]
Chapter Ten: Examination of Christian metal lyrics
[Christian metal has unique lyrics, these are examined through a small survey and discussion focuses on what topics typify the scene and how controversial these are]
Chapter Eleven: The Christian Metal Fan
Chapter Twelve: Focus on defining and analyzing the Extreme metal genres
[Discussion will focus on extreme metal genres such as Doom, Black and Death metal].
Chapter Thirteen: Reflection on Past labels that have contributed to the scene
Chapter Thirteen: Conclusion
Summary of discussion and an evaluation of the CCM and CM scene.
How can I help?
Well if you are avid fan of the metal scene purchasing this book or sharing it with those who know nothing about Christian metal and would like to discover it further, this is the book for them.
If you are a band or were in a band and would like to contribute your story about the albums released, your tours, your fustrations or what significant contributions your band brought to the christian metal scene then please, contact me.
When is it going to be published?
I would like to get this published by January 2009 or I will delay it if I feel the material needs further stronger referancing or previewing by those who I have asked to consult it and provide corrections to statements or situations stated in the chapters.
I want this book to be an accurate picture but also real in its description of the situations found in the industry and being a band in each decade.
I may decide to either self publish this or I will create an e-digital book, using a special key to unlock the book if it is to be a downloadable version. This book is not to be used as a money making venture. I will not be using this book to make any profit and I will use any money gained from the project to pay for any production costs.
How can I get a copy?
Come back to this site and visit it monthly as changes will be ongoing as the book develops
How often are you working on this book?
I have been working on this book since February, when I was going to start working on an essaby about Christian Metal and it slowly developed into a book. I have been wanting to create this book for nearly three years but my study as a teacher has taken priority. I get up at 4am to start writing this book, working for a few hours in the silence and darkness of the morning. I restart at 9am and finish at midday and work like this nearly everyday of the week.