The Score Magazine January 2019 issue | Page 29

KARISHMA D'MELLO A s a genre, metal in all of its extreme variations, has been baffling and inducing “non-fans” into a state of moral panic for decades. Notorious for its associations with the “darker” side of things, it has been mercilessly critiqued for its unabashed embracing of extreme imagery and lyrical content. It should come as no surprise that, what is often referred to as the “devil’s music” (albeit rather unfairly), values artistic image almost as much as it does the music itself. The image of an artist obviously plays a massive role in almost every genre, whether its hip-hop, punk rock or pop, but metal calls for a very different and darker front altogether. This is more apparent in heavy metal’s more sinister cousin, “death metal”. You know a band means business when they’re titled Agoraphobic nosebleed. It’s fascinating to watch someone react to their first encounter with death metal. Metal has been pushing its own very extreme boundaries for ages. But death metal as a genre truly comes alive at concerts (pun intended), with its symbolism and sometimes questionable on stage theatrics. From goat beheadings and self-mutilation it makes the age old adage of “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” seem like child’s play in comparison. When you have artists like Society 1, with their front man hanging from metal hooks, pierced through his bare back as he serenades the audience, you know you’re dealing with something else entirely. Even heavy metal bands like the German Rammestein often set themselves and the stage on fire for the benefit of the audience. Eventually these symbols and theatrics become so entwined with the band itself that it is impossible to imagine them without them. When you think of Slayer, you picture a pentagram, when you think of Slipknot, you picture men in their masks. But in comparison to Satanism, these little gimmicks are caricatures at best. Bands have been accused for inspiring suicides, violent behavior and vandalism for a very long time. Now, while most of these are nothing more than bare allegations, it would be ridiculous for even the most hardcore of metal fans to dispute the prevalence of unjustifiable violence in some extreme metal acts. Church burnings and sacrificial mutilations are carried out as an almost cult like practice in some countries. For black metal artists it is a matter of pride to be associated with Satanism and anti-religious acts. Nothing sums up the pressure on artists to be more “badass” than the last, than Alice Cooper’s interview featured in “Metal, A Headbanger’s Journey”, a documentary on metal and its roots. During the interview with Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn, he mentions his love for browsing through black metal magazines in countries like Denmark and Norway, spotting bands attempting to be more wicked and evil than the other. “And when you meet them at the mall, they’re all – hello, Mr. Cooper, how are you, nice to meet you”, he laughs. The black metal culture, largely celebrated in the Scandinavian countries, owes its roots to early Viking clashes with Christianity. In the early years, having had Christianity drilled into them, non-believers were brutally punished, leaving behind a host of vengeful individuals who vowed that they would someday be avenged. Now how much of what we see is the result of an age old vendetta and how much is for the benefit of “artistic image” is hard to say. Contrary to popular belief, most fans do not get more violent while listening to metal. In fact, most of us tend to find it cathartic and energizing. To the people who don’t feel it, it’s just noise or “angry music”, but to those who can, there’s nothing like that surge of excitement you get while listening to a good, metal album. So despite all the moral policing that comes its way, it still stands tall and on its own, like the indestructible force it is. The Score Magazine highonscore.com 27