Jerusalem is a Swedish

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band, founded in 1975 by Ulf Christiansson. It was one of the first bands to combine

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

lyrics with a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

and heavy metal sound.

History

Jerusalem's message was primarily aimed at youth, with their lyrics describing the band's relationship to

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

in an ordinary, but radical way. The band's purpose was expressly

evangelistic In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...

. Their concerts have been described as a series of

revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come ...

s which often included

altar call An altar call is a tradition in some Christian churches in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because the supplicants gather at the altar located at the fro ...

s and occasionally

exorcisms Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

. Over time, Jerusalem gained broader acceptance, and after three years of touring record companies began making offers to record the band. The Christian record company

Prim Prim may refer to: People * Prim (given name) * Prim (surname) Places * Prim, Virginia, unincorporated community in King George County *Dolní Přím, village in the Czech Republic; as Nieder Prim (Lower Prim) site of the Battle of Königgrätz ...

signed Jerusalem, without much expectation of success. However, the band's self-titled debut album, ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

'', became an instant hit among Christian listeners, and within the first six months the record sold 20,000 copies, unheard of within the genre of

in Europe. From the Christian

Greenbelt festival Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown out of an evangelical Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young people into its current form, a more inclusive f ...

in England, where Jerusalem participated during the summer, Americans brought the record to the United States and

Glen Kaiser Glenn Kaiser (born January 21, 1953) is a Chicago-based Christian blues musician, singer, songwriter and pastor. He was the leader of Resurrection Band and is currently the leader of The Glenn Kaiser Band. Personal life Childhood Kaiser's ol ...

, leader of

Resurrection Band Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for t ...

, one of the most prominent Christian rock bands in the US. Kaiser gave the record to

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

, who owned Lamb & Lion Records. Lamb & Lion subsequently released Jerusalem's records in the United States and Canada. With the fourth album, ''

Vi Kan Inte Stoppas (Can't Stop Us Now) ''Vi Kan Inte Stoppas (Can't Stop Us Now)'' is the fourth album by the Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱ� ...

'', Jerusalem changed their style to a more melodic rock sound with lyrics that were not as overtly God-centered. Eventually, however, this all became too much, and the members of the band tired out. In 1985, Jerusalem quit touring and enrolled in the Word of Life Bible School. In 1987, Jerusalem released ''

Dancing on the Head of the Serpent ''Dancing on the Head of the Serpent'' is the fifth studio album, and the sixth album overall, by the Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem. Unlike their first four studio albums, it was recorded only in English, although there are two different vers ...

''. Reidar I. Paulsen played the keyboards. The record sleeve depicted jeans and boots-clad person (the standard attire among skinheads) jumping on a person's head who appears to be half human/half lizard. This radical image proved too shocking for Swedish Christians. Some record stores banned the album, while others still stocked the album, but sold the record under the counter. After this album, the band took a six-year hiatus.

Members

;Current ''Jerusalem currently has two line-ups'' * Ulf Christiansson - vocals, guitar (1975–present) * Anders Mossberg - bass (1978? - 1981?, 1996–present) * Dan Tibell - keyboards (1975–1985, 1996–present) * Klas Anderhell - drums (1979? - 1981, 1996–present) * Peter Carlsohn - bass (1981–1995, 2003? - present) * Reidar I. Paulsen - keyboards (1986? - 1995?, 2006–present)* * Michael Ulvsgärd - drums (1981–1995, 2003? - present) ;Past * Bertil Sörensson - bass (1978?) * Danne Gansmoe - drums (1978?) ''A lot of different musicians were at one time or another part of Jerusalem. These are just the ones who recorded with Jerusalem.'' *''Reidar Ingvald Paulsen'' changed name in 2007 for ''

Reidar Ingvald Paasche Reidar is a Scandinavian male given name of Old Norse origins. As of 2013, there are 6,850 people with this name in Norway, 1,519 in Sweden and 108 in Finland. In Estonia there are 5 Reidars and in Italy there's only one. The namesday is July 28 in ...

Discography

''For albums released in both Swedish and English versions, the English titles are in parentheses.''

Studio albums

* '' Jerusalem (Volume 1)'' (1978/1980) * ''

Volym 2 (Volume 2) ''Volym 2 (Volume 2)'' is the second album by the Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem, released in 1980. The Swedish version was released on Prim Records. The English version was released on Lamb & Lion Records in the United States and on Word Reco ...

'' (1980/1981) * ''

Krigsman (Warrior) ''Krigsman (Warrior)'' is the third album by the Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem, released in 1981. The Swedish version was released on Prim Records. The English version was released 1982 on Lamb & Lion Records in the United States and on Word ...

'' (1981/1982) * ''

'' (1983/1984) * ''

'' (1987/1988) * ''

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

'' (1994) * ''Volym 3 (Those Were the Days)'' (1996/1997) * ''Volüm Fyra (R.A.D.)'' (1997/1998) * ''She'' (2010)

Live albums

* ''In His Majesty's Service – Live in USA'' (1985) * ''

Live – På Ren Svenska ''Live – På ren svenska'' is the second live album, and the fourteenth album overall, by the Swedish hard rock band Jerusalem, released in 1999. It was Jerusalem's first Swedish-only album. It was recorded on the 1997 "Korståget" tour in Sca ...

'' (1998)

Compilation albums

* ''10 Years After'' (1988) * ''Klassiker 1'' (''Classics 1'') (1993/1996) * ''Klassiker 2'' (''Classics 2'') (1993/1996) * ''Classics 3'' (1995) * ''Tretti'' (2006) * ''Greatest Hits'' (2006)

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerusalem Christian rock groups Swedish Christian metal musical groups Musical groups from Gothenburg