I’d say that heavy metal and rock music are both symptoms of perceived youth alienation and an escape from difficult realities. I don’t really think that music is a gateway to demise, so I find it interesting that so many Christians think music can serve as a gateway to salvation.
The quote above is from Religion Dispatches and in an article called “Christian Punk Meets American Pop; Evangelicals in the ’Burbs.” My beef with the post is that it doesn’t point out that there are similarities with movements in other religions, a comparison I think you have to make when talking about American society. Heavy metal and punk Islam are youth movements for instance that might coincide with the American view of secularism as a pluralistic vision. But, for consistency’s sake, I’ll stick with Christianity as well for now…