In 1986, a remarkable phenomenon took place. A culture called heavy metal was just taking its roots - a world changing revolution that was to determine the lifestyle of young people for generations to come. But this has been one genre that has been continually stereotyped and condemned. Why is it that metal heads all across the world are considered nothing but a bane of society? Why is it that there is so much opposition to a form of entertainment which helps a certain section of people to forget about their worries and move on with their lives with the mind numbing sound of heavy metal in their hearts. Heavy metal has and always will act as a source of release for all the bent up frustrations that culminate inside a young teenagers psyche. Never has the world seen so many young people come together under one umbrella and work out their issues.
Inspite of all, this extreme form of music has been continually condemned by the presumably responsible parent groups and religious groups who have made their sole agenda to deface the artistic aspect of metal and replace them with images of drug abuse, sexual immortality, Satanism and so on. How do I know all of this? Because I am one of them. For me, heavy metal in particular and rock music in general has always played an important part in defining the person that I am. I can still remember all the opposition that I had to face back home while defending my love for this extremely unconventional form of music. To me, it was a spiritual force because through metal, I could clear my mind of the problems that I had in my life and I could see it as a pipeline to god himself. And when I write this piece, I write it from a first hand experience about the passion experienced by the fans when it comes to this particular form of music. Metal heads are always passionate about things they believe in. Heavy metal gives them a sense of belongingness. Most of these metal heads are troubled teenagers with problems at home or school. Metal gives them a sense of bonding to other people with the same problems. And so for them, to realise that they are not alone and that there are thousands of other kids going through the same kind of pain, makes them have a certain sense of hope about their lives.
The freedom that this music offers to young people is beyond the comprehension of people outside this community. Another great thing about this community is that, its huge; spread all over the globe with millions of followers but then again there seems to be a lot of people who don’t have a clue that heavy metal exists. The metal community can be compared to a tribe fiercely vicious about their beliefs. Their attitude of not confirming with the set norms of society is what makes them a direct target from the supposedly responsible social and religious groups. The one question that every metal head would have in their mind is this, “why is it so wrong to be extreme? If it only means the expression of your true self”. Sure, there have been metal bands for allegedly influencing their fans to commit suicide or such other heinous acts of immortality, but has any of these charges been proven; not even a single one. Inspite of this, the slandering of this masterful form of art continues. This just goes on to show the hypocrisy that can be associated with people, who is society to decide that this particular form of music is too violent or too controversial for children when it is society itself that provides the daily bloodshed in front of the breakfast table every morning. Don’t you think that instead of blaming it in the poor bands, society should have a look at itself and provide a better atmosphere for the kids? Is it not because of the horrifying social conditions that young people of a particular era had to go through, that heavy metal first originated? Heavy metal became a movement that attracted huge followers of youth. This happened because it was raw, angry, violent and radical; and these are aspects of life that young kids of the modern age are most familiar with. And this familiarity is due to existing social conditions that young people experience.
The psyche of a heavy metal head is mostly formed during the teenage years. A future metal head always ends up being the weird kid in high school or college. An influence of the culmination of problems being faced by young teenagers in their formative years contributes enormously in shaping the mentality of a normal 15years old. What this music provides for young people is a solace from the constant parental and social pressures to grow up and become an ideal part of the society. It offers them an alternative universe and a life of imagination where they can forget about all their problems and feel empowered by the music. There is no denying the fact that certain extreme metal gigs can be quite brutal but don’t you think that parents should be happier that their kids are working out their problems in the moshpits of the concerts than going out and hurting people and ultimately themselves. It acts as medium through which they can express their freedom to be themselves. It is a non confirmatory statement towards the established norms of society. It acts as a means of rebellion through which they can choose a world and a lifestyle of their own. Metal fans have a total scheme of their existence. The general view that society has a heavy metal fans is that of being dead end kids with no hope of a happy life, but the thing is; nobody listens to heavy metal to feel unhappy. They listen to it in order to feel empowered and alive. There are certain aspects of our life that only we as individuals can understand and maybe for us metal heads, heavy metal is one such.
There is also a section of society that tends to tarnish the name of metal by calling it unsophisticated music or deafening noise. I just fail to understand as to how certain people can just put down the name of an art form that truly deals with the real problems that exists in this music. The effort that goes into the workings of a metal musician’s mind and the creativity of the musician are qualities that have to be appreciated. Metal music when compared to classical music is always thought of as something for the disoriented with problems in their lives but there is no way of denying the fact that heavy metal is the one form of music that truly derives its sounds from classical music. The influences of Vogner or Beethoven in metal artists are quiet obvious. Classical metal is always associated with education and university while heavy metal is never brought even close to these words. However, do we realise that one of the greatest classical musicians in history like Johann Sebastian Bach or even the great composer Mozart never went to college. This just goes on to show how society without knowing anything about the real meaning of metal music goes on degrading it.
Another aspect about metal that has provoked a lot of controversy is its alleged links with satanism. There is no denying that there are certain bands that do believe in Satanism but is it fair to brand the whole genre as satanic; because that is exactly what many social groups seem to be doing at the moment. Most of the mainstream bands that have been accused of Satanism have confessed that their dark imagery is just a way of getting a better exposure, and if that imagery shocks a lot of people; then it’s just another way of showing rebellion, which is after all the main attitude that rock n roll in general has always propagated. The string of incidents that happened in the 1990’s where some of Norway’s oldest churches were burnt down by black metal artists has done a lot to instill the image of satanic ideology, the general scene of black metal has started to lose touch with its pagan roots. And I use the word pagan here because even though the media uses the word Satanism while referring to these incidents, the main aim of these people were to remove the traces of Christianity from their native land and go back to their ancestral pagan roots. However, inspite of this, I nor any other metal head can neither defend nor stand up for these extreme actions that were carried out.
Inspite of all this opposition that heavy metal has had to endure, the fact remains that the fan base for this extreme form of art remains strong and unmoved. For them, it remains a spiritual force which helps them to leave their problems behind at least for a few moments and enter a world of peace and tranquility. No matter what anyone has endured during the course of the day, for a metal head, the music will always be there to provide a cushion of comfort from the sorrows and frustrations of our daily social life. So when people decide to slander this form of music which means so much to our lives; they not only condemn us as a community but they also put down the only solace that most of us have from the cruelty of this world.
Imlisanen Jamir
Christ College, Bangalore
