Philadelphia was a

Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal, or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian-themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band-members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

band from

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. The ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music'' describes them as having been unjustly condemned by "the slings and arrows of

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...

bigotry Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that pers ...

" for their musical style and lyrics. Their name is a reference to the church of Philadelphia in

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

3 verses 7-10. Musically, the band was characterized as being "Harder than Rez and more intense than Daniel Band and

Barnabas Barnabas (; ; ), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christians, Christian, one of the prominent Disciple (Christianity), Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jews, Cyprio ...

Background

The band was originally a general market band called Survivor. After breaking up in 1981, the members found Christianity through independent experiences. They reunited in 1982 as a Christian band and produced their first LP, ''Tell The Truth'' in 1984. Their styling was not well received by the entire Christian community, for which metal was still a fringe sound. While one publication found that the band emphasized "ministry and outreach through their direct and hard hitting lyrics," others saw the same as inappropriately descriptive and judgmental. For their lyrics and style the band garnered the scorn of some national religious media. In 1985 the band appeared at

Cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

and released a second album entitled ''Search and Destroy''. Its lyrics were controversial as well, as the release tackled social issues such as

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

and

runaways Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

through the eyes of a character named Bobby. One reviewer called the result an "overly serious tone and

melodramatic A melodrama is a dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on dialo ...

feel." Brian Clark responded to the bands critics, stating that "Bobby is part and parcel of all these American tragedies, and Jesus is shown to be real and relevant." A third project entitled ''Warlord'' was planned, and tracks recorded, but never released. Some tracks from the project, along with a few newly recorded ones, were rereleased by M8 Records along with their studio albums in 2000. In 2016, ''Warlord'' was released on the band's own label, Philly Music. Members are the original core trio, Brian Martini on drums, Phil Scholling on guitars and Brian 'Wulfie' Clark on bass and vocals. The title track is the same one written 30 years ago, recorded in the studio for the first time, with the balance of the release all new material written by Scholling and Clark.

Members

*Brian Martini - drums *Brian Clark - bass, vocals *Ronn Flowers - guitar *Phil Scholling - guitar

Discography

*1984: ''Tell The Truth'' (Patmos) *1985: ''Search and Destroy'' * 2016: ''Warlord'' (Philly Music)

References

* {{Authority control American Christian metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Louisiana Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 1982 establishments in Louisiana 1987 disestablishments in Louisiana