"Headbangers' Church" brings heavy metal to the German Catholic Congress. The worship of Metal GodZ supported by Catholic diocese.

"We Need Volume"

The heavy metal services of a Catholic pastoral assistant near Bruchsal regularly cause a stir and fill the church. Now the band project "Headbangers' Church" is also celebrating a service at the Catholic Congress.

They're a little nervous about how their shouted "Amen!" amidst a brutal sonic onslaught will be received by the congregation.

The heavy metal service on Friday at the Catholic Congress in Würzburg will last an hour. "We have no idea what to expect there or whether people will like it," says Simone Hingst, singer of the Bruchsal-based band project "Headbangers' Church."

She and her bandmates from northern Baden and the Palatinate are preparing in their rehearsal room for their performance at the Catholic gathering: It will be a Catholic service with a sermon, prayers, intercessions, the Lord's Prayer, a blessing, and heavy metal live music.

It gets loud. During the rehearsal, the drums churn the air, the bass rumbles, and the guitars scream. "Metal Gods!" shouts singer Bernd Mader into the microphone. The ten-member group "Metal GodZ powered by Gelbsucht and friends" takes its name from the song by British heavy metal legend Judas Priest.

They came together two years ago at the initiative of Catholic pastoral worker Mathias Fuchs. The vision of the 48-year-old theologian, heavy metal fan, and band member: to prove that heavy sounds and the Christian message of love harmonize well.

No contradictions between faith and metal

Heavy metal and the church: For a long time, this seemed about as compatible as the proverbial devil and holy water. Conservative Christians, in particular, have reservations about this genre of music, rejecting it as "satanic," glorifying violence, or simply "provocative."

The metal community, often clad in black and sporting tattoos, disagrees. These self-proclaimed "headbangers" are quite ordinary people—peaceful, supportive, helpful, and often open to spirituality and faith, says Fuchs.

With the blessing of his local priest ("Give it a try, it might be good") and the financial support of the Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg, Mathias Fuchs has so far invited people to the "Headbangers' Church" three times in a church in the Obergrombach district of Bruchsal. And each time, it was packed.

Around 400 people traveled to the service, which is probably unique in Germany, some from quite a distance, Fuchs explains. "It got a little out of hand." He also organized services for motorcyclists with "bike blessings" and a tattoo event with blessings in a pub. Fuchs himself had the metalhead "devil horns" sign with a cross tattooed on his calf shortly beforehand.

He says the heavy music is supposed to have a "liberating" effect.

"Everyone is welcome at the services, and the numbers are growing," says Fuchs, who swaps his black "Wacken" T-shirt for a white robe, the "Albe," for the occasion. Many fans of heavy metal music are open to faith, but often want nothing to do with a church rigid in its rituals.

Metal church services, with their power and vibrancy, could also have a "liberating" effect on a church "where the human element sometimes threatens to be lost," according to Fuchs. The "Headbangers' Church" would love to perform at the world's largest heavy metal festival in Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, this summer in a Protestant church. "If that were to happen, a big dream would come true," says Fuchs.

For the "Metal GodZ," who will be playing songs by AC/DC ("Let There Be Rock") and Kiss ("God Gave Rock and Roll to You") at the Catholic Congress event, it's clear that faith can also be expressed loudly. "We need volume," says guitarist Harry Weber. The musicians fully support their pastoral assistant's pioneering effort to make heavy metal suitable for church services.

"It's about respecting one another and the freedom to believe what and how you want," says singer Bernd Mader. "And now we want to deliver in Würzburg."

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