The Forgiven

Bill Branstetter
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The Forgiven is real talk with Christian rock and metal artists. Bill Branstetter (Out of the Depths) and Kate Nardone (Rock of Ages on AscendFM) find emerging bands they love and get them on camera. We ask what fans actually want to ask: how they met Jesus, what church looks like for them now, how the band started, and the real life stuff behind the songs. Then we have some fun with the Lightning Round, band Superlatives, and fan questions. Past guests include Pipe Bomb, Drive Thru Society, and Poetry On Fire. New episodes twice a month. This show is a ministry. We're here to support, invest in, and pray for the artists making heavy music for Jesus. New here? Pick an episode with a band you love and hit play.

  1. Sep 30

    Former Army Ranger Goes Full EPH 6:12 | TONY VEDA

    Tony Veda grew up with witches in his family. He says witchcraft actually works, and that's the problem. His family held séances to protect him while he was deployed to Afghanistan. Years later, he and his wife ran a consulting company that taught business owners to use "the elemental spiritual forces of the universe" to hit their goals. He'll tell you it got results. He'll also tell you why it never filled him: "The nature of witchcraft is not necessarily presenting an untruth. It is presenting the truth untruthfully." What happened when a client walked into his studio is the rest of the episode. Tony grew up in Denver and lives in Lubbock, Texas. He went through Ranger selection, deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, and got out after three near-death experiences. He writes and produces his own songs and has been putting out metal versions of worship songs like Oceans and So Will I. ABOUT THE FORGIVEN The Forgiven is a community and ministry for artists making heavy music for Jesus. We share their music, tell their stories, pray with them and support the work God has placed in their hands. The show is hosted by Bill Branstetter, creator of Out of the Depths (a project setting every Psalm to metal, word for word), and Kate Nardone, host of Rock of Ages on AscendFM. This episode, we had a special guest co-host – Liv from Cuz’ God Made Music. Explore every episode, meet the artists and shop The Forgiven: https://theforgiven.co Hear Tony Veda and more of our favorite artists: https://theforgiven.co/playlist CHAPTERS 0:00 Show opener 0:46 Meet Tony Veda, with guest co-host Liv 1:45 Raised in a pagan household 2:06 What he saw at fifteen 4:15 Ranger selection and Afghanistan 4:39 Three brushes with death 5:54 Selling the spiritual forces of the universe 7:52 The client who walked into his studio 9:25 Googling "What is the New Testament?" 10:35 A mission trip to Thailand 13:12 Ayahuasca and "be ready to receive" 16:01 Does witchcraft actually work? 20:50 Why he won't join the worship team 22:15 Missionary training and the road to Portugal 25:37 Finding a church that teaches the Bible verse by verse 28:05 What God is teaching him about prayer 32:52 Fan question: the worship song that means the most 34:48 What success means for a Christian musician 35:25 What the church needs from Christian artists 37:17 Lightning round 41:44 New music on the way 42:56 What they'll do in Portugal 44:03 How to pray for Tony 44:38 Liv prays FOLLOW Tony: https://www.instagram.com/tonyvedaofficial/ Bill: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ Liv: https://www.instagram.com/thecgmmreview/ #TonyVeda #ChristianMetal #ChristianRock #Testimony #TheForgiven

  2. Sep 24

    Christian Metal Meets the Metaverse | P86:OMNI

    Andrew Schwab spent four years writing a novel about a tech company that offers to upload your soul and let you live forever. He thinks most people would take the deal. The question in the book started during COVID, watching the world his kids were going to grow up in. Take digital salvation with a guarantee, or trust a God you can't taste, see or touch. "I think most people would sign up for the first thing because it's guaranteed. And what if that is the great delusion?" He also told us something that didn't show up anywhere in our research. He isn't part of a local congregation. He leads a church on Discord every Sunday, and it doesn't even have a name. Why he built it that way is the rest of that conversation. Andrew started Project 86 in Orange County in 1996, signed with Tooth and Nail, and put out the first record in 1998. Ten albums later he announced a final chapter and wrote I Need Truth, a memoir about the whole run. Then came P86:OMNI, a darker, heavier double album with electronic elements, seven music videos and a companion novel. He's also 426 episodes into the band's podcast. ABOUT THE FORGIVEN The Forgiven is a community and ministry for artists making heavy music for Jesus. We share their music, tell their stories, pray with them and support the work God has placed in their hands. The show is hosted by Bill Branstetter, creator of Out of the Depths (a project setting every Psalm to metal, word for word), and Kate Nardone, host of Rock of Ages on AscendFM. Explore every episode, meet the artists and shop The Forgiven: https://theforgiven.co Hear more emerging Christian rock and metal: https://theforgiven.co/playlist CHAPTERS 0:00 Show Opener 0:43 Thirty years of Project 86 1:48 Two truths and a lie 4:57 How he met Jesus 9:51 The Crucified and the Christian bookstore 14:33 What Me Against Me meant to Kate 18:25 Can a touring musician have a local church? 20:04 Why his church meets on Discord 26:27 Where his high school friends are now 27:41 The state of the music industry 34:28 "If I know it's AI, I don't consume it" 37:04 What COVID started 38:47 Chasing the Drawing Black Lines dragon 41:27 Building P86:OMNI 45:46 Why keep the 86 47:57 Would you upload your soul? 49:59 Every song is a chapter of the novel 55:52 Lightning Round 60:08 Jesus' favorite Project 86 song 62:29 What's next for P86:OMNI 64:50 How to pray for Andrew FOLLOW Project 86: https://project86.com Bill Branstetter: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate Nardone: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ #Project86 #P86OMNI #ChristianMetal #TheForgiven

  3. Sep 19

    Pastor Gives Up Screaming for His Church | amen

    Someone in amen's church was uncomfortable with a pastor who screams. He doesn't think screaming is a sin. He gave it up anyway. Caleb makes music as amen, and he is on staff full time at his church as a pastor. When the call came, he didn't ask who had raised it or what they said. "All I needed to know is that they were uncomfortable with the fact that I would be in the pulpit." He told us he would have rather never made another song again than lose the ability to pastor the people in that church. Then he tried yelling instead of screaming, and that got him called into a second meeting. What his pastor told him in that room is the rest of the episode. This is Caleb's second time on the show. amen is a Christian metal project built on scripture, and he told us it turns one year old on October 8. He says he is too Christian for metal and too metal for Christians, and that both sides have a problem with what he does. He also says the conviction was never his: "I do not think the screaming's wrong. I was just trying to be obedient to the other person's conviction." ABOUT THE FORGIVEN The Forgiven is a community and ministry for artists making heavy music for Jesus. We share their music, tell their stories, pray with them and support the work God has placed in their hands. The show is hosted by Bill Branstetter, creator of Out of the Depths (a project setting every Psalm to metal, word for word), and Kate Nardone, host of Rock of Ages on AscendFM. Explore every episode, meet the artists and shop The Forgiven: https://theforgiven.co Hear amen and more emerging Christian rock and metal: https://theforgiven.co/playlist CHAPTERS 0:00 A call about the screaming 1:33 Why his congregation is not every congregation 2:19 Is screaming a sin? Paul and the weaker brother 3:21 Why the stronger conscience gives way 4:40 The local church comes first 5:33 What it cost him to lay it down 6:46 He tried yelling instead 8:01 Where do you draw the line? Tattoos in the pulpit 9:54 Stop screaming and stay, or leave the church? 10:30 The final meeting 12:04 "Caleb, are you still screaming?" 13:32 What his pastor told him 15:59 The weight lifted 16:48 Too Christian for metal, too metal for Christians 17:09 "This conviction is not mine" 18:52 Sleep Token shirts and the image 19:51 Christianity is sacrifice 20:10 Revelation 2 and his first love 20:53 Elijah's cave, or keep going 21:59 Kate: let the loudest voice be the Father's 24:04 Bridging the local church and the metal scene 25:16 An apology for his first video 27:16 Caleb prays FOLLOW amen: https://www.instagram.com/music.amen/ Bill Branstetter: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate Nardone: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ #amen #ChristianMetal #ScriptureMetal #TheForgiven

  4. Sep 17

    Bullied Pastor's Kid to Pop Punk Princess | Grace Graber

    Grace Graber says the reason you cannot forgive someone is usually not about that person at all. It is about someone you never forgave five years ago. She was assaulted by a group of girls in middle school, and it got bad enough that her parents pulled her out of school. What she has done with that since is the conversation. "There's been plenty of times I don't want to forgive so and so for doing that to me," she told us. "The reason why is because I haven't forgiven so and so five years back for doing the same thing to me." She walks through what therapy taught her about digging for the belief underneath the hurt, why she thinks those beliefs are less lies than things you were taught, and why letting someone go can feel unsafe. Grace is a Christian pop-punk artist in Nashville and a pastor's kid out of Sonoma County. A Hawk Nelson song stopped her from taking her own life at twelve, and her parents started driving her to Christian rock shows because they did not know what else to do. Every poster on that bedroom wall is a person in her life now. Her manager fronted Stellar Kart, her worship pastor spent fifteen years in Run Kid Run, and the drummer she met at church turned out to be Hawk Nelson's. A car accident took her ability to play guitar. The settlement paid for beauty school, and the job she got out of it ran the songwriting contest that took her to Nashville. We also asked how a touring artist does church, and she did not dress up the answer. ABOUT THE FORGIVEN The Forgiven is a community and ministry for artists making heavy music for Jesus. We share their music, tell their stories, pray with them and support the work God has placed in their hands. The show is hosted by Bill Branstetter, creator of Out of the Depths (a project setting every Psalm to metal, word for word), and Kate Nardone, host of Rock of Ages on AscendFM. Explore every episode, meet the artists and shop The Forgiven: https://theforgiven.co Hear Grace Graber and more emerging Christian rock and metal: https://theforgiven.co/playlist CHAPTERS 0:00 Opener 0:50 Who is Grace Graber? 1:47 Two truths and a lie 2:54 Grace's testimony 3:30 The Hawk Nelson song that saved her life 6:33 Forgiveness, trauma and the roots beneath the hurt 10:42 "Mental health is a hope issue" 14:07 False beliefs, truth and healing 18:32 The car accident that changed everything 19:35 Finding her way back to music 21:39 Trusting God through changing seasons 24:54 Church hurt 25:24 How touring Christian artists do church 28:28 Finding a church community that understands 30:09 Bible study, The Bible Project and AI 31:43 What Grace would tell her teenage self 33:47 Learning guitar and becoming a songwriter 34:20 How PUNK X PRAISE happened 38:36 Social media and refusing to chase trends 40:00 How worship songs become punk 41:33 Lightning round 44:26 Jericho and what's next 45:23 How to pray for Grace FOLLOW Grace Graber: https://www.instagram.com/gracegrabermusic/ Bill Branstetter: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate Nardone: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ #GraceGraber #PopPunk #ChristianRock #PunkXPraise #TheForgiven

  5. Sep 10

    Christian Metal in Skull Masks | BLOODLINED

    A church sign on the way to work read: the enemy cannot cross the bloodline. By the time Disciple 13 finished reading it, he had the whole band. He was not in church at the time. August 2023, driving to work, and a sign he passes every day had just been changed. "As soon as I read that, that's when the Lord spoke to me and gave me the vision for this and to use the name." Skull masks, numbers instead of names, Ezekiel 37. He says it took two to three minutes, start to finish. Then he had to go home and explain it to his wife, who asked how that was going to work. Bloodlined is a masked metal band out of North Carolina. Disciple 13 plays guitar and started it after a minister of music told him at fourteen to stop playing in the church band. Disciple 14 plays drums, came in to track one session as a hired hand, then called back and asked if there were more songs. Disciple 17 sings, and he is not in this one. The lore is Ezekiel 37, the valley of the dry bones. Their fans are the Army of the Awakened, the merch is dog tags, and they have four singles out, starting with a Mary Did You Know cover that first got them noticed. ABOUT THE FORGIVEN The Forgiven is a community and ministry for artists making heavy music for Jesus. We share their music, tell their stories, pray with them and support the work God has placed in their hands. The show is hosted by Bill Branstetter, creator of Out of the Depths (a project setting every Psalm to metal, word for word), and Kate Nardone, host of Rock of Ages on AscendFM. Explore every episode, meet the artists and shop The Forgiven: https://theforgiven.co Hear more emerging Christian rock and metal: https://theforgiven.co/playlist CHAPTERS 0:00 Show Opener 0:29 Who is Bloodlined? 1:46 Disciple 14: Stryper, and where music met God 4:04 Disciple 13: saved at seven, then kicked out of the church band 6:06 A tornado destroyed everything around the house, not the house 6:19 Driving to work in August 2023 when the whole band arrived 7:50 What church looks like for them today 14:27 Three members, and praying for the two who are missing 16:35 Mary Did You Know, and almost losing the band 18:09 The devil can make you busy 18:38 Where they want this to go, and the messages from Ukraine 20:46 Why the masks, and why no real names 23:29 Playing for thousands was easy. Church was terrifying. 23:52 Does your church know? Including the mom who does not get it 25:31 The Christian AI backlash 29:32 A pastor told an artist to stop screaming 41:14 Psalm 91 became Not Afraid, and why they changed the name 44:05 Where the name Bloodlined came from 47:18 Kate prays over both of them FOLLOW Bloodlined: https://www.instagram.com/bloodlinedofficial/ Bill Branstetter: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate Nardone: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ #Bloodlined #ChristianMetal #MaskedBand #Ezekiel37 #OutoftheDepths #TheForgiven

  6. Sep 3

    For Those Who've Lost Their Path | DIVIDED ME

    Divided Me plays Christian festivals and they play bars, and they walk into both asking the same question: how do we worship here? "When we get there, it's let's see how we can worship to bring someone closer to God." That's Spencer. Deanne takes it further. Before they play Unbound, she tells the room how many children were abused in that county, and then they play it. People wait around afterward to ask for prayer. Divided Me is a heavy band out of Amarillo, in the West Texas panhandle. Deanne sings, and learned to scream from Zahna, who ended up co-writing the EP. Spencer plays guitar because his dad started a messianic Jewish congregation at home and needed one. Clay plays bass, trained as a drummer, and has been through two church splits. Gio plays drums, services ATMs across three states, and asked to pray about it before he said yes. Four members, four different churches. WATCH, LISTEN AND DISCOVER Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/N-Yy46E2qJk Hear Divided Me and more emerging Christian rock and metal: https://theforgiven.co/playlist Explore every episode, meet the artists and shop The Forgiven: https://theforgiven.co ABOUT THE FORGIVEN The Forgiven is a community and ministry for artists making heavy music for Jesus. We share their music, tell their stories, pray with them and support the work God has placed in their hands. The show is hosted by Bill Branstetter—creator of Out of the Depths, a project setting every Psalm to metal word for word—and Kate Nardone, host of Rock of Ages on AscendFM. CHAPTERS 0:00 "I don't feel him as much as I did": the line that became Take Me Back 0:39 Who is Divided Me? 1:48 Deanne: saved at eight, surrendered at a DNow 2:47 Clay: a children's pastor's kid who walked away from the drums 4:09 Spencer: Southern Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist, then messianic Jewish 6:24 Throwing ceramic Santas in the dumpster 9:20 Clay on two church splits and where he put his focus 11:37 Four members, four different churches 15:12 The new album: someone broken, then redeemed, then back on the path 16:35 Can metal be worship? Bar shows, and reading the county's numbers out loud 17:32 Who writes the songs, and what changed when Gio joined 23:07 Blind: Zahna, a flooded studio, and learning to scream 27:42 Take Me Back, a love song about finding God again 31:21 Day jobs: APS, CASA, IT, and ATMs 33:51 How they all met, and the phone call to Gio 38:07 Superlatives 48:20 Where to start if you have never heard Divided Me 52:02 How to pray for Divided Me 53:22 Kate prays over the band Divided Me: https://www.instagram.com/dividedmeband/ Bill Branstetter: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate Nardone: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ #DividedMe #ChristianMetal #ChristianRock #OutoftheDepths #TheForgiven

  7. Aug 27

    TikTok Preacher to Christian Metal | amen

    One day amen is going to stop making music. No announcement, no farewell record and no goodbye. “One day this is gonna end, and when it does, it’s gonna happen suddenly. I’m just not gonna make another song again. I’m not gonna say bye.” amen is a twenty-two-year-old pastor and Christian metal artist from South Carolina. Every lyric is scripture. He built more than 100,000 TikTok followers before releasing a song, left nursing school on a full scholarship to pursue music and earned a plaque for one million streams—all without ever playing a live show. This is a conversation about calling, church, telling the truth and knowing when to let go. WATCH AND DISCOVER Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/--bWYSEJyM4 Hear amen on The Forgiven Playlist: https://theforgiven.co/playlist Episodes, artists and merch: https://theforgiven.co The Forgiven is a community and ministry supporting artists who make heavy music for Jesus. CHAPTERS 0:00 The day he stops making music 0:31 Who amen is 1:37 Two truths and a lie 2:09 He dropped out of nursing school on a full scholarship 4:40 Where his faith actually started 7:23 His worst years came after he got saved 10:26 Why he calls stage cues in church deception 11:19 A pulpit he knew he did not belong in 11:48 He excommunicated himself 15:45 Telling his wife the truth 18:47 How a teenager ended up on church staff 21:27 Forty-two hours preaching on a livestream 25:04 What discipleship looks like on a media team 31:06 The window, the prayer rug and the open Bible 35:24 What he would tell his eighteen-year-old self 37:44 Where the name amen came from 41:14 A plaque on the wall and three million streams 43:15 Why he will never play a live show 46:00 What his church thinks of the music 47:23 Collaborations with Tiffany Twisted and Poetry on Fire 51:50 Lightning round—and the socks 56:22 One song a month, on purpose 58:29 How he turns scripture into lyrics 1:06:52 Kate prays FOLLOW amen: https://www.instagram.com/music.amen/ Bill Branstetter: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate Nardone: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ #amen #ChristianMetal #ScriptureMetal #TheForgiven

  8. Aug 12

    You Don't Want To Get Better | MAGDALENE ROSE

    Maggie Rojas spent years asking God to fix her. It took her husband to point out that she might not actually want to get better yet. Maggie was saved at eleven but spent much of the next decade believing her problems weren’t dramatic enough to bother God with. Then Blaise told her, “I think you don’t want to get better, and I think you need to ask God to help you want to.” What she did with that is the heart of this conversation. Maggie fronts the Nashville Christian metalcore band Magdalene Rose. Blaise plays drums for her and for Seventh Day Slumber, whose frontman is his father. Their debut album, The Heart That Bloomed After Death, was released in 2025 after three years of work. They talk honestly about insecurity, depression, an eating disorder and Maggie’s difficult experience coming off medication during a tour when she couldn’t reach her doctor. She doesn’t give us a tidy ending. WATCH AND DISCOVER Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/XmKLvyyebxo Hear Magdalene Rose on The Forgiven Playlist: https://theforgiven.co/playlist Episodes, artists and merch: https://theforgiven.co The Forgiven is a community and ministry supporting artists who make heavy music for Jesus. Hosted by Bill Branstetter of Out of the Depths and Kate Nardone of Rock of Ages on AscendFM. CHAPTERS 0:00 Who is Magdalene Rose? 2:16 Maggie’s testimony: Do you want to heal? 12:15 The lie underneath it—and love she didn’t have to earn 15:57 The master’s in crisis counseling—and why she earned it 18:37 Kate on vulnerability, shame and being seen 22:31 Why sharing your testimony matters 22:41 How Maggie and Blaise met: a washer, a dryer and a favor 27:52 Blaise on earning the drum chair in his dad’s band 32:28 Maggie on starting at five and playing her first show at eleven 36:34 Lightning round 43:35 How to pray for Maggie and Blaise 45:15 Closing prayer FOLLOW Magdalene Rose: https://officialmagdalenerose.com Bill Branstetter: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedepthsmusic/ Kate Nardone: https://www.instagram.com/radiohostkatehartnardone/ #MagdaleneRose #ChristianMetalcore #ChristianRock #Beautycore #OutoftheDepths #TheForgiven

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About

The Forgiven is real talk with Christian rock and metal artists. Bill Branstetter (Out of the Depths) and Kate Nardone (Rock of Ages on AscendFM) find emerging bands they love and get them on camera. We ask what fans actually want to ask: how they met Jesus, what church looks like for them now, how the band started, and the real life stuff behind the songs. Then we have some fun with the Lightning Round, band Superlatives, and fan questions. Past guests include Pipe Bomb, Drive Thru Society, and Poetry On Fire. New episodes twice a month. This show is a ministry. We're here to support, invest in, and pray for the artists making heavy music for Jesus. New here? Pick an episode with a band you love and hit play.

Information

  • Creator
    Bill Branstetter
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Bill Branstetter
  • Show Website
    The Forgiven