@nessisonett "metal’s very prominent ties to white supremacy"
That's quite a sweeping statement you're making there! I know there are a couple of extreme-rightwing bands out there, you'll find that the vast majority of metal musicians and listeners are quite emphatic and liberal-minded and won't have anything to do with such tendencies. They're quite vocal in condemning these bands.
@TheBrandedSwordsman Actually, the idea of metal listeners being more shallow-minded than people listening to other music genres is not something I've come across a lot. Sure, there are probably diehard Slayer fans out there or sixteen-year-olds claiming that it's not trve to listen to something non-metal, but on the whole people seem quite open-minded in my experience. Most people I know who listen to metal also listen to other stuff, eg electronic music, jazz, pop (even Coldplay!), classic etc. I don't think it's very fair to pigeonhole people like that.
@ShaiHulud I stand corrected, I was just basing it on personal experience where we were just 16-18 year old kids listening to rock and metal almost exclusively, at college, although I knew one guy who listened to the Beach Boys and loads of other stuff and I'm still in touch with him, we were even in a band together and the wide variety of music we listened to helped expand the sound of the band we were in. So yeah, in retrospect, there are actually a lot of open-minded metalheads.
"Man is the pie that bakes and eats himself, and the recipe is separation." - Alasdair Gray
@TheBrandedSwordsman Well, everything's in perspective of course - 16-year-olds might consider things differently nowadays but I've long since passed that age bracket
I have to say, I've known lots of metal fans who were totally closed-minded. I'm not sure if they're more or less or just the same level of closed-mindedness as non-metal fans though.
@ShaiHulud It’s not that metal fans are all white supremacists - it’s that metal as a genre does have ties to that mentality. You don’t get boy bands or DJs making songs about the Third Reich. I can only think of a couple of black band members as well, the guy from Animals as Leaders and... Ice-T I guess because of Body Count. The metal fans I’ve known have always been the sort that stick to their own and only listen to a very select group of bands, which is just a bit silly.
@ShaiHulud I agree it’s a pretty broad brush stroke but I gave him the benefit of the doubt and it came across to me as less accusatory and more just hypothesizing, and there’s a kernel of truth there.
I’ve frequented the metal scene for years, and being in a pop punk high school band playing battle of the bands and festivals where it was like, 12 metal bands and us, I have to say that the general reception from a lot of these people was...less than pleasant. I do know a lot of die hard metal listeners who are very open minded, I mean realistically metal is essentially classical with distortion. But unfortunately I have also known a lot who take a ‘metal or nothing’ approach and are pretty belligerent about it.
The last metal show I went to was August Burns Red and they were mind bogglingly awesome. If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend checking them out.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
My brother is a huge metal fan (he's nearly finished building his first custom guitar, from scratch) and as such, I've been introduced to many "metalheads" over the years... and generally speaking, they're some of the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met.
And this is coming from me, a shy nerd with an incredibly narrow view of music.
Most of the intimidating and obnoxious character traits associated with metal fans are surface-level theatricality, more often than not rooted in the same self-expressionist tendencies found in any other performance art. Like all of us, they're just folks looking for a place to belong, and many of them use the power and energy of metal to vent their negative emotions in a healthy way (like some of us would play an aggressive game, like DOOM, to expend excess anger).
Of course, some metal music (and its trappings) have been hijacked by unsavoury jerks, which has in turn created some explicitly provocative bands, but that isn't the fault of the music itself, nor the vast majority of its fans. Tracing metal back to its roots, the works of opera composer Richard Wagner (claimed to be the "Father of Heavy Metal" by Rammstein and Manowar, among others) have been, and continue to be, embroiled in a similar controversy. It's interesting how history repeats itself.
Anyway, this is just my two pence. Even separate from my brother, I once knew a mental health professional who was sweet, charming and put everything on the line for the wellbeing of his patients, then went and screamed in a mosh pit every other weekend.
Good people are good, bad people are bad, and stuff is just stuff.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@nessisonett I still think it's a bit blown out of proportion. Most genres probably have connection to more unsavoury things in society. Heck, some lyrics I hear on a general pop music station are so misogynistic they make me turn the radio off.
@Jimmer-jammer Sorry to hear about your less-than-pleasant experiences. As I said before, as with all things in life there isn't a black-and-white distinction here either unfortunately. Experiences can differ for everyone, but I've been to loads of metal festivals when I was younger and still frequent a concert or two nowadays, and I've always had good experiences. I'm not really into metalcore generally but I'm always willing to give it a shot so I'll check August Burns Red out later!
@ShaiHulud they are without question my personal favourite band. I’ll throw this up here in a whim, maybe someone can get something out of it. I’m not ashamed to admit that the end of this song has moved me to tears multiple times. Just raw power.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
@Jimmer-jammer I used to be a huge fan of 36 crazyfists (do you like them?) and loved Brock Lindow's ability to do both kinds of vocals, but he was a much better clean singer in the sense that he seems like such a nice person and a genuinely good guy, so coming off as heavy metalcore guy with the unclean vocals he did was a harder act to pull off imo, but still, both sets of vocals work really well, and, like he said in an interview, it's interesting to hear heavy music/vocals coming from a place of positive energy on their second record.
@TheBrandedSwordsman I do like 36 Crazyfists! I’ve never been a huge fan or anything but I appreciate what they do and feel they have their own thing going on. The potential emotional power of metal goes so well with positivity, I definitely gravitate towards that type of hardcore music. There can be a charming theatricality to metal that works both ways, but generally I don’t care too much for ‘rot the embalmed womb’ or what have you.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
I thought this video was a lot of fun. It appears to be recorded live, all in one shot. Cory Barlog would be proud 👍 such a cool location too. Hope it adds to someone’s day!
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
@Jimmer-jammer Guitar, I used to sing, but not so much now, I don't really do that any more. I was attracted to jazz by my former guitar teacher transitioning from metal to jazz, and, starting with fusion guitarists like Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin branched out to "purer" jazzers like John Scofield, Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell. I like the intellectual sophistication of the music and the fact that engages both my mind and my emotions when I listen to it - vocal jazz more for the emotional side of it. Why? Do you like any jazz?
N.B Metal guitar didn't really suit me in the first place, it was just a genre (classical with distortion, as you've said before) for loners and misfits so I felt like I had something in common with that crowd and that's why I started a band as a teenager, but we didn't get very far. So, jazz, as another outside and niche genre which was calm and melodic and emotional, reflective even for the most part appealed to me much more because I was able to identify with it much more on a personal level, but still able to be an interesting guitarist. Which jazz artists do you like, if any?
My cousin's daughter has just released her debut single. The language is rather strong so I won't directly post it, but if you'd like to give it a listen her name is Issey Cross and the song is titled "Who".
That’s awesome! I was just curious as I also play guitar though piano is where my passion lies. I mess about on the drums from time to time as well.
I like jazz but I’m pretty unfamiliar with it to be honest, outside of big names like Miles Davis. It’s never truly captured me and your obvious passion for it intrigues me 😊 I’d like to explore it and understand it a little more so I thought asking an obvious lover of the genre would be a good place to start. Thanks!
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
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