{    Cnytr   }

{Friday, July 18, 2008  }

.:{Fratello Metello}:.


... the "metal friar".

Count this as one of the weirder things I've seen recently. And far be it from me to turn up my nose at the weird, but I seriously wonder how appropriate this is:

Dressed in his traditional brown robe, sandals and twirling the rope around his waist, 62-year old Friar Cesare Bonizzi is no ordinary heavy metal rocker.

But as guitarists around him grind out heavy notes, the long-white-bearded Capuchin, a former missionary in Ivory Coast, has no qualms bobbing his head and shouting lyrics about alcohol, sex, tobacco and life in general into his microphone.


And,

Bonizzi, who names bands such as rockers Megadeth and Dream Theater as favorites, also sings about God and faith but says he has no intention of converting listeners to Christianity.

"I never did it to preach, I did it because music is beautiful ... If I want to convert people, I simply want to convert them to life, to welcome life, to enjoy life," he said.

"I am religious and I am a priest but I am not doing this to convert people to Christ, to faith or the Church, but for them to try to understand life, to be able to enjoy it. Nothing more."



Hm. I raise my eyebrows to that. And:

"Gregorian has the same roots as (heavy metal)," he said.


No, it doesn't.

The article also tries to make the famous Chant CD sound scandalous or on-edge, which it absolutely is not:

In Austria, Cistercian monks released an album of Gregorian chants on the same record label as Amy Winehouse and Eminem.


I must confess THIS intrigues me:

Bonizzi sings in Italian and Latin, but "Misteri," his 18th CD, is being translated into English.


Heavy metal in Latin!? Sweet.

The jury's out, folks.
posted by Lauren, 12:18 PM

6 Comments:

How does Gregorian not have the same roots as metal? Rock in general stems from medieval polyphony.
commented by Anonymous Anonymous, 11:59 PM  
+JMJ+

Heavy metal just scares me. The last time I saw a metal band perform was when I watched Eurovision 2006. I had to change the channel.

Here is an image of the band members posing for a photograph:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4906784.stm#finland

It's not quite as bad as actually watching them perform--or as chilling as seeing the crowd cheering in approval.

I don't have any hard reasons for why this music cannot be compatible with Christianity, so I have to fall back on metaphors. If the awful massproduced bubblegum pop is just sugar, sugar and more sugar, then heavy metal is poison. I cannot see how this music can give glory to God, which I think would be any music-loving priest's primary concern.
commented by Blogger Enbrethiliel, 4:30 AM  
Rock in general stems from medieval polyphony.
Since it is hard to avoid using the "Baroque and Roll" pun, I have to point out that the music of the Baroque and Classical periods have had a big influence on Heavy Metal -- especially Bach and his fugues.
commented by Anonymous Will Elliott, 1:01 AM  
+JMJ+

I returned to add what Will Elliot has already said. =P

It's true that metal has those influences, but, oh, what it does with them!
commented by Blogger Enbrethiliel, 10:35 AM  
Interesting. Why would a PRIEST of all people try to convert anyone?! I mean, we can all be saved by just enjoying life, can't we?! I always thought that those who have the most fun in life get to heaven. I'm glad to see a priest of Holy Mother Church agrees.
commented by Blogger Ron, 1:28 PM  
I used to be into that stuff in my pre-conversion days.

Some of the fringe varieties of metal outside the mainstream - particularly doom metal - already include artists who have composed their lyrics in Latin. The only example that springs to mind at the moment is My Dying Bride, whose 1993 album As the Flower Withers contains a lot of Latin in the lyrics.

It's not good Latin, but at least they tried!
commented by Blogger Melancholicus, 8:07 AM  

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