Californian metalcore band, Silent Planet has always been tied to religion and spirituality as a band, owing to the frequent use of Christian imagery in their songs. The band was founded in 2009 in Azusa, California by Garrett Russell who revealed that his volunteering activities at a Haitian Orphanage, as part of a Christian youth mission inspired his music and formation of the band.
After multiple lineup changes, Silent Planet is now left with vocalist Garrett Russell, bassist Thomas Freckleton, guitarist Mitchell Stark, and drummer Alex Camarena. Silent Planet is currently signed to Solid State Records and the band claims their name is from a novel by C. S. Lewis “Out of the Silent Planet.”
Silent Planet has combined their aggressive vocals with carefully crafted, thought-provoking, and soul-lifting lyrics and this has earned them millions of fans. Questions about the band being a Christian band are common among fans and as you read through, this article will provide answers to the question: Is Silent Planet a Christian band?
Is Silent Planet a Religious Band?
What defines a religious band is the type of music the band makes. Songs by a religious band are usually embedded with the beliefs and practices of a particular religious group.
Some members of Silent Planet belong to one religious group or the other. Vocalist Russell for instance, clearly stated that he is a Christian and believes so much in God and Jesus Christ. Such religious background and beliefs have influenced their songs and even led to the band being labeled a religious band.
Silent Planet has however countered every claim of the band being a religious band. In a 2019 interview with Unraveled and the band’s frontman, Russell stated:
“I’m very passionate about my relationship with Jesus. I don’t consider myself religious, because I don’t consider Jesus a religious figure. I think he’s a revolutionary figure and so I’m a follower of Jesus but we are not religious”
What Kind of Music Band is Silent Planet?
Silent Planet is an American metalcore band. Metalcore is a fusion music genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. Metalcore music is popular for its use of heavy guitar riffs, occasional blast beats, double bass drumming, use of breakdowns with vocalists using thrash or scream vocals, and death growls.
The metalcore music genre emerged in the 1980s and bands like; Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Killing Time, Discharge, and Suicidal Tendencies were pioneers of the genre. As time went on, others like Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, Atreyu, Bleeding Through, Trivium, etc, achieved music success with the genre and Silent Planet also became a part of the metalcore scene.
Apart from metalcore, Silent Planet has also incorporated elements of progressive metalcore and Christian metal into their songs. When the band first emerged with their deep spiritual songs, use of Biblical terms and themes, and expression of faith and positive Christian messages, the band was already pigeonholed as a Christian band.
However, the band had long debunked this notion, stating that their songs are not promoting religion to anyone because people are at liberty to believe what they choose to. Some band members have been identified as Christians but their intentions are not to use their music to persuade everyone to believe in their God or Christian tenets.
Songs by Silent Planet are a blend of metalcore, Christian metal, and progressive metal elements and are characterized by Christian-themed songs, the dedication of band members to Christianity, the use of highly technical guitar, complex instrumentation with guitar as the dominating instrument, and the elements of metalcore listed above.
Songs by Silent Planet are embedded with themes like; religion, faith and spirituality, emotions, love, history, leadership and governance, theology, bravery, and political, social, and environmental issues, and they progress to darker themes like; war, suffering conflict, spins, and anger, evil, drug addiction, depression amongst others.
Silent Planet has released four studio albums with the fourth “Iridescent” released in 2021. The band’s first three albums were released under Solid State Records and the last under UNFD. Their albums have topped several American music charts and are appreciated by a large audience.
Is Silent Planet a Christian band?
Christianity is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. True Christian attitude reflects the teachings and principles of Christianity and the directions of Jesus Christ, the central figure of the religion. Christians believe in God, the father of all creation, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, and other pillars and structures of the religion.
In like manner, a Christian band is a music group that upholds the beliefs of Christianity. A Christian band has members that have publicly affirmed their faith in Christianity or have collectively declared their faith in the religion. The musical elements of a Christian band portray the beliefs, structures, and teachings of Christianity. To be rightly labeled as a Christian band, such a band must have outrightly tagged itself as one.
Christian music now takes various forms. In a bid to reach more listeners, Christian music bands have adopted styles and genres that are far from the conventional hymns, praise, and worship Christian songs that usually create a sober feeling in listeners, to more appealing styles like; pop, metalcore, rock, hip-hop, hardcore, folk, rap, and other contemporary Christian music styles and genres.
Silent Planet has always been linked to the Christian metalcore subgenre. The band has employed Christian imagery in their songs and has significantly made use of biblical references, which has ignited the debate on the band being a Christian band. However, the band has mentioned that they are not a Christian band. In a 2019 interview with Metal Injection and the band’s frontman, Garrett Russell mentioned that he is Christian and he is not ashamed to be one, but not all members of the band are Christians. When asked about what they think about being labeled a Christian band, he stated:
“I’ll tell you to point blank for the record, we’ve never considered ourselves a Christian metal band, and even the perception that we are a Christian metal band has made our lives harder. We get passed up on tours because they don’t want to be associated with us because of that label. I’m not ashamed of being called a Christian because I am a Christian and I’m open about that. However, our band doesn’t feel like our songs only pertain to Christians both topically and lyrically “
Russell added:
“A hallmark of typical Christian music is pretending to have answers. I don’t pretend to have answers. I have ideas that I’m open to sharing about my life experiences and why I’m a Christian and what Jesus means to me because I love to do that, but I’m only interested in doing that if you’re interested in doing that. I’m not interested in making you interested in that. Not all the guys in my band are Christian either. We’re super open about that. It is a good question and it comes up a lot. I’ve seen constantly that people don’t want to hear our music because of the Christian label. I think it’s a bummer that people are that closed off to music. Honestly, I love music too much. A band could be Satanist and I just want to hear the music.”
In an interview with John Boyle of Kerrang! Russell, talking about how his faith inspired his music stated:
“The main thing is probably my faith. Just being real, I know this band will be forgotten in the relatively near future…….. I know that so much of this is a fool’s errand, and I’m okay with that because my faith in Jesus leads me to believe life isn’t about what’s best for me or what’s most successful.”
Other members of the band have not made comments on their religious stance, but the frontman has mentioned that some members are Christians but the band does not operate as a Christian band.
Silent Planet Christian Songs
The band’s lead vocalist has reaffirmed his Christian beliefs and faith in Jesus Christ severally and this is often reflected in their songs. The band has mentioned that they are not a Christian band but their Christian background has significantly influenced their songs. Some songs by Silent Planet can be classified as Christian songs because of the explicit Christian lyrics. A perfect example among others is “Deluge.” Below are the song’s lyrics:
“The Sound and the Fury, the spaces between
All our distinctions you cast to the sea
Lord, how can this be?
How can this be?
Though we continued to sink down
everything is quiet, subsequently alive:
All this created and perpetually divine
Behold, you make all things anew
Die among us so we may die for you
Silence O Israel, see the light
Wait for the sound
The chaos of the Cosmos
You won’t relent until we have faces
From every side, endlessly you emerge
Make us whole”
“Piece our body to our puzzled soul
Guide our feet so we can wander no more
(Make us whole)
Let it be so – Christ Inshallah
Oh, Incarnation, make us whole!
Neither height nor depth could separate us from your Son
Neither life nor death could stand between what you’ve begun
As we expire we lift our eyes to you
Come wind, come weather
Churches in prison praising through the walls
You preach petrichor as the elect were meant for
We lost our lives, you took this war
You settled the score, oh you settled the score”
The song above by Silent Planet is a beautiful song about the power of Jesus and how he humbly gave his life to die on our behalf.
Is Silent Planet a Satanic Band?
No! Silent Planet is not a Satanic band. Satanism is a religion in which members believe in Satan, also called the Devil, who is believed to be the central figure of Satanism. One can easily identify a Satanic band from its songs, music style, beliefs, and practices. Songs by a Satanic band glorify the Devil and promote demon worship. Their songs contain dark themes and creepy lyrics that can evoke certain emotions in listeners.
Songs by Silent Planet do not possess the features listed above and band members have not associated with Satanism. As such, Silent Planet is not a Satanic band.
Final Thoughts
Silent Planet has always been addressed as a Christian band by some listeners, owing to the band’s use of Christian imagery and some members’ faith in Christianity. The band has mentioned that they do not intend to make songs for a singular audience, as such they do not operate under the Christian umbrella as a music band. The band wishes to reach out to as many listeners as possible with their thought-provoking lyrics. The band has mixed their knowledge of philosophy, history, and literature with metalcore to make unique songs that tell stories and address specific human issues. The band uses personal experiences and that of others to make songs that offer a thoughtful view of these experiences.
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