A Catholic Reacts to Ghost

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Music provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com

Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

I feel the need to start by establishing my own bona fide as someone who has something to say on this topic because I, personally resent it, when people get on a soapbox and criticize phenomena that they don’t know very much about. I’ve said this about Catholic and Christian critics of Harry Potter in the past especially when it’s obvious that they have never read the books. In the case of bands and music like what Ghost offers, I can say that this is something I was heavily immersed in prior to my conversion to Christianity and then Catholicism. I don’t listen to music like that any more for, what I hope will be, obvious reasons, but I have enough experience to draw on to be able to sympathize with those who still do listen to this kind of music. One thing I noticed, when I was an enthusiast of heavy music was that there were two kinds of fans. There were those who liked the aggressive scene and the opportunity to get wasted and bang their heads and act disruptive to others and themselves. And then there were people who took the music and the art seriously.

I was the latter. I didn’t just casually listen to bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica, and by Metallica, I don’t mean the rocktallica phase… I mean the metal-lica phase of that band. I consumed every last drop of what they were offering. I bought all their albums, I went to their concerts, and I took it seriously.

#Ghost, if you’re unfamiliar with them, are an emerging Swedish #metal group descended from a long line of black Scandinavian metal. The term black, here is usually meant to denote the sinister character or persona that the band portrays in their lyrics, musical style, and stage presence.
 
It’s characterized by depictions of #satanism, evil, and a fixation on the demonic or whatever personification of evil you can conceive of. In the case of Ghost, though, they offer a slight variation, in that their music is catchier, more melodic, and, you could say, fun. It’s the kind of music you could dance to, at times, which is what rock and roll was invented for. And as someone who will, probably, always have an appreciation for various forms of heavy music, I can say that I can enjoy their sound. It’s original, it’s complex enough not to be boring, it’s well played – the band members are gifted musicians, and their stage presence is the kind of thing that will keep your attention. If I was an unthinking person, motivated purely by my passions, I would probably listen to them because I could easily enjoy their music. But we aren’t unthinking – our intellect and our reason is what makes us unique from all other life on this planet. We are able to make judgements about actions that can even help us forecast the potential effects of our choices. And that is why it is our intellect that should govern our choices, not our desires. If we were to predominantly rely on our desires, than we would be nothing more than animals. So, let me try to invite you to use your intellect to assess the role that a band like Ghost and the subculture that they perpetuate might have on you and your life.