Metalheads: Misunderstood?
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor
Music - is it a physical outcome in the form of sound waves created by acoustics and other auditory elements, or is it a sacred art form that transcends all known borders as it seeps into the hearts and minds of listeners?
Every individual has his/her own definition of the term “musicâ€, but in general it represents the final products of a singer, an instrumentalist or a band and it has been in the knowledge of man since the beginning of history. Music is just as important in popular culture as other forms of art; hence its ability to sculpt and influence the minds of millions of people worldwide.
Recent times have seen the popularity boom of the most extreme form of music known to man - Heavy Metal. Since the late 70s to this day, this label best represents all the other sub-genres of Metal - from the melodic sub-genres of Power Metal and Symphonic Metal to the eardrum-shattering Death Metal and Thrash Metal styles. Heavy Metal bands that tour and perform today owe everything to the pioneering Metal bands of days gone such as Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer. Some even consider Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple to be the first Heavy Metal bands, but that claim is highly arguable as Black Sabbath (first known as a Blues band by the name of Earth) laid the foundations of what was to become the signature sounds of Traditional Metal, Doom Metal, Thrash Metal and Death Metal.
That’s an all-too-brief summary of Metal music, class, and the fans of this form of music are called Metalheads. Write that down, kids.
I’m a Metalhead, first and foremost. Why this word isn’t recognized in dictionaries and thesauruses evades me, as it best represents a true fan of Heavy Metal. Hell, even “bootylicious†is a recognized word, and how that happened escapes me.
Right…back to the topic.
Heavy Metal is the genre of music that has the worst stereotypes and generalizations - and no, we don’t want a makeover, thank you very much. I can see you emo assclowns handing over your makeup!
Firstly, everyone looks down upon a Metalhead. You people are afraid of us, or think we’re a posse of uneducated troublemakers. Why? Is it our black band t-shirts? Or perhaps it’s because we live in a conservative society that’s always suspicious of Western influences?
No one outside the Metal community (no, we’re not a deviant cult of Satanists - really, we’re not) understands the commitment, dedication and loyalty we have to this form of music we’ve made our own; and this results in Metal fans being closer and friendlier (homosexual emo guys aside) to each other than fans of any other genre of music. My best experience of this was when a friend of mine forgetfully left my handphone on the roof of our car after using it right before we were about to leave the venue of a gig some years back. As we got in the car and were driving off, a bunch of guys started signaling and shouting at us - this got our attention, and we proceeded to stop the car. One of the guys took the phone from the top of the car and happily passed it back to me, when they could’ve easily kept it for themselves or sold it. After a quick exchanging of our devil’s horn hand gestures, I felt proud to belong in a sub-society that cares for our fellow brothers and sisters as much as we care for the music that binds us.
But as with all families, we do have our own share of bastard sons - the Nu Metal fans. Let me employ a metaphor we Metal fans use to describe this forgettable and embarrassing sub-genre: If you can imagine Metal, in general, as being a house; then Nu Metal is the toilet of this metaphorical house. The best examples of Nu Metal bands are Korn and Limp Bizkit - and there’s nothing to be proud of when the size of their egos are even larger than the size of their hideous baggy jeans. When you see a guy in a Korn t-shirt, give them a swift kick in the nuts for me - I’ll pay you back in Starbucks sugar packets.
See, I told you we’re not mean people!
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