Christian rock musician John Cooper, frontman of the band Skillet, has pushed back against claims his hard rock music is demonic or sinful, arguing the criticism misunderstands Christianity and the gospel.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Cooper denied any musical style was any more evil than another and that making a judgement on that was about intention behind the lyrics.
He went on to say that music "belongs to God" and not the devil that people who dismiss entire genres such as heavy metal or hard rock were missing the point of the gospel.
The 51-year-old said he believed God made man in his own image which means humanity had been given the capacity to create. He called songwriting itself "an amazing gift of freedom".
The comments come as Skillet's 2009 single 'Monster'. recently became the first song by a Christian rock band to surpass one billion streams on Spotify, part of a catalogue which Cooper said "shocked" everyone. The band has sold more than 23 million albums.
Cooper also spoke candidly about his upbringing, revealing his late mother believed loud guitars and drums were "Satanic" and considered Christian rock "the devil's tool." Despite this, he described her warmly saying the experience shaped his patient approach toward protesters who still gather outside Skillet concerts today.
Skillet are often described as Christian rock or alternative metal, with Cooper using aggressive, shouted or screamed vocals in parts of many songs, though that's blended with clean melodic singing, especially in choruses.
Turning the tables on his critics, he suggested that if he were the devil, he would "probably would want to fool somebody and make it sound really, really nice and pretty and then insert something subversive underneath that .... That's probably how I would do it".
Skillet's albums have received Grammy nominations. Their 2009 album Awake was certified Platinum and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200. The band has been active since 1996, with Cooper the group's chief songwriter for three decades.