Greek priest uses doom metal to challenge church's music views

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, July 2, 2026

Father Dionysios Tabakis, a Greek Orthodox priest, has released *Paradise Metal*, an album that fuses doom metal and other modern genres with traditional spiritual themes, challenging the church’s usual skeptical stance on electric guitars and secular music. His work has attracted critical acclaim and sparks debate within the Orthodox community about the boundaries of religious expression through contemporary music.

Father Dionysios Tabakis, a 53-year-old priest of the Greek Orthodox Church, is challenging longstanding views within his religious community by blending doom metal and other contemporary musical genres with traditional spiritual themes. Based in Nafplio, a coastal city on Greece’s Peloponnesian peninsula, Tabakis has garnered attention for his home-recorded album *Paradise Metal*, which combines doom metal, Christmas carols, and religious dubstep.

Tabakis said the electric guitar, his instrument of choice, is a divine creation rather than a symbol of evil—a belief that runs counter to the conventional stance of the Greek Orthodox Church. Traditionally, the church has regarded instruments like the electric guitar and secular music styles with suspicion, often associating them with the devil and viewing them as corrupting influences on family and community life. “The electric guitar is a bit misunderstood in the church,” he said, explaining that many see it as “of the devil.”

Despite the controversy, *Paradise Metal* has received critical acclaim, including a 7.6 score from the music review site Pitchfork, which placed it above renowned albums such as Aphex Twin’s *Drukqs* and Daft Punk’s *Discovery*. Yet, the musician-priest remains reclusive, turning down numerous media invitations since releasing the album in April and maintaining a minimal online presence beyond a YouTube channel.

Tabakis has served as one of approximately 8,000 ordained presbyters in the Greek Orthodox Church. Married to his wife, Foteini, for 32 years, with whom he has three children, he balances his clerical duties with a deep personal connection to music and his cultural roots. He makes annual pilgrimages to Mount Athos, a monastic site with significant religious authority in Orthodox Christianity, and expresses admiration for ascetic priests, including his grandfather-in-law, who lived in harsh conditions near the Albanian border.

Born in 1972 in the port city of Piraeus, Tabakis grew up in a family marked by poverty and hardship. His parents had sought to terminate the pregnancy twice but were unsuccessful. His upbringing was steeped in the legacy of Greek refugees from Smyrna, a city set ablaze in 1922 during conflict with Turkish forces. This background, he says, deeply informs his identity and musical expression, rooted in Byzantine tradition introduced to him during his youth by local priests.

As he continues to navigate the intersections of faith and modern musical experimentation, Father Dionysios Tabakis endeavors to broaden the Orthodox Church’s cultural boundaries and challenge perceptions about the role of music in religious life.

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