Metal Up Your Mass

Just a series of barely related blog posts. But a trend nonetheless. Where does your denomination stand on MMMMMEETTTTOOOOOHHHHL? First up, because they've got the most recently chosen leader, are the Catholics, and, pace Stereogum, they're not keen. "instrument of the Devil" was the phrase Benedict XVI used when he was praying under the name Cardinal Ratzinger, not realising that that title had already been taken by the cowbell:

He called upon members of heavy metal bands to "purify themselves" and posited that AC/DC "referred not to alternating current or even bisexuality, but to the satanic phrase 'Antichrist, Death to Christ.'"

Either that, or he felt that the guitarist dressing up a schoolboy was dangerously provocative.

Satanists? 'nuff said. On side, despite Benny-boy's attempts to rock the Corpsepaint style.

Next, the Jews, what with it being Passover and all that, who are, according to Gothamist, well up for it. Gothamist (RSS makes for easy relapses) manages to mention Twisted Sister, and Anthrax, but not Kiss, who delivered the fastest smackdown ever to the idiot-childs who said that the "SS" bit of their logo was anti-semitic.

But we kind of peter out when we go any further. Arab rapping we heard of, although Islam in general is apparently less than tolerant of metal.

We could delve into the Beasties and Buddhism, but we'd rather tootle off into the sun for lunch, and wish you a very metal weekend, wherever you stand on transubstantiation and foreskins.