Love and Death with Brian Welch

I went to a concert with my son Brandon last night at the Cannery Ballroom here in Nashville. He wanted to see "Red". He listens to their songs on Way FM all the time and has their latest album. Little did he know just how heavy they can get live. It was actually quite a comical thing to see. Other bands playing were "Icon For Hire", "Love and Death", and "P.O.D.". If you don't know who these last two are in particular, it's gonna be hard to explain. P.O.D. stands for "Payable On Death". They are a Christian heavy metal band based out of southern California. Now before anybody thinks of flaming me over the word "Christian" paired with the phrase "heavy metal" let me say this...don't even think about it. I've been a "metalhead" since I was a young teen listening to the secular stuff like Iron Maiden, Dio, Metallica, etc., as well as the Christian flavors of REZ, Jerusalem, Stryper, Bloodgood, Whitecross....it goes on and on. The message of REZ in particular, helped solidify my beliefs as a teen. If there is one thing I am absolutely convinced of, it is that the body of Christ is infinitely diverse. So long as the message they present is redeeming, reconciling and Christ-focused, I'm in. Let's not kid ourselves though. There are posers. Even in church. Shudder the thought. I know. Now to push on and make things even more weird for those suit-and-tie people among us, let's introduce "Love and Death". This band will make Mrs. Miller in the front pew of the First Church of The Frigidaire pass out cold in the isle. There is a back story here that is second to none. The front man is Brian "Head" Welch. Those of you in the know...already know. He's the former lead of "Korn". Brian had a conversion to Christ and an immediate deliverance from crystal meth as he was at the end of his rope and near death. His conversion caused him to quickly walk away from fame and fortune and focus on raising his daughter and taking the message of Christ to a group of people that most just want to discard. Say what you want but I pray that Brian's new direction will be an effective method of reaching those lost whom only he can relate to. Check out his short video from the "I am Second" series here.


http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/brian-welch/

In One Peace, Eric