Christian Metallers AS I LAY DYING Want To Play With 'Satanic' Metal Bands

Way Too Loud! recently conducted an interview with AS I LAY DYING drummer Jordan Mancino. An excerpt from the chat follows.

Way Too Loud!: You've toured with Satanic bands before, more specially BEHEMOTH twice, and I've heard you've had a good time hanging out with them, and they even put you on the thank you list in the back of one of their albums (more specifically in "Demigod"). Do you think you're sending a different kind of message, a good message, by touring with bands who have such different religious views?

Jordan Mancino: Yeah! I think we're sending the right message, whether or not it's different from what other bands have said, I don't know. I think there's a portion of the Christian community that's very un-accepting to that kind of stuff. They'll say, "Don't touch it, don't get near it, don't be involved with it, don't affiliate yourself with it," but as a band and as Christians, it doesn't matter to us whether they're a band, whether they're a Christian band or a Satanic band. We want to play with those bands! If we happen to create a friendship, that's awesome!

Me personally, I've had several very good conversations [with BEHEMOTH] about Christianity, and what they believe, an anti-Christian viewpoint from [BEHEMOTH frontman] Nergal. We've talked a lot, and as far as philosophies of religion and life go, I don't think there was much progress on either of our ends, but we were able to understand each other, and where we were coming from. I understand his viewpoint a lot more, and I understand where he comes from, and at the end of the conversation, we still had a mutual respect for one another. We come from opposite ends of the spectrum, and we still want to play music with each other.

You don't necessarily have to agree with someone to be their friend and accept them. As a Christian as well, what good does it do to preach to the choir? And the same thing with them. If they were to go around and play for instance, only in Satanic churches every day, what good would their message be? They're passionate about what they do, so they want to go play to a different audience, where they can express what they believe to that audience. It's up to the audience to whether or not they look into what their beliefs are, and the same thing with us. They're looking for opportunities to look out for what they believe in and share what they believe in, and they're passionate about it, the same way we are.

You can read the rest of this interview at Way Too Loud!