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