“They wouldn’t bat an eyelid at Wagner, who believed the church was linked to the downfall of civilisation. But metal is ‘wrong’?”: The metal band who made history by playing one of England’s biggest cathedrals – despite accusations of ‘blasphemy’

Plague Of Angels posing for a photograph outside York Minster.

Stand in the centre of York Minster and look up, and it quickly becomes clear why so many people find God. The vaulted, timber-arched roof, the graceful stone pillars raised by long-forgotten craftsmen, the sunlight streaming in through the ornate stained-glass windows – it’s a spectacle that will have all but the most dug-in atheist questioning their place in the universe.

A church of some sort has stood on this site since the 7th century, though the Minster itself – the second-largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe – dates back to the 1200s. During that time, it’s witnessed all manner of events both godly and ungodly: fires, lightning strikes, murders and heaven knows what else. But there’s one thing this venerable building has never seen: a metal gig.