Heavy metal.  The world of headbangers and one of the most misunderstood music communities out there.  As a metalhead myself, I would like to shed some light on our community.  People call us “satanic devil worshipers”, “dangerous”, “bad influences”, and “violent”, when in reality most of us are laid-back, slightly nerdy individuals.  So what’s the deal with these labels?

First, let’s examine the one thing people do best: judge others.  Those who claim to be “non-judgmental” do it sometimes too.  Your mind probably has a label or judgment for pretty much everything: movies, books, jobs, people, clothes, beliefs, and everything that exists.  It’s usually a “good” or positive label or a “bad” or negative one.  For example, most people would be more accepting toward an individual dressed in a “normal”, not easily noticed outfit than they would toward a goth girl or guy.  Why?  Because their mind puts the plain-looking individual in the familiar, “good” category and the person who dresses more noticeably into the “bad” one.  It’s just what people do.

Let’s examine the labels placed on metalheads.  We mentioned “satanic devil worshipers”, “dangerous”, “bad influences”, and “violent” previously.  There are, of course, more than that, but these are the most common and untrue.

Satanism and “devil worshiping” are often (and not rightly) associated with heavy metal.  Now, a few metal album covers do feature the devil on them, but does that mean that the members of that band worship the devil?  Not necessarily.  Most metal artists are not particularly vocal about their religion.  They lay aside their personal beliefs and write about what fascinates or inspires them.  Take Johan Hegg (vocalist for Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth), for example.  Hegg has stated publicly that he is an atheist.  However, almost all of Amon Amarth’s songs are taken directly from Norse mythology and the Prose Edda (somewhat comparable to the “bible” of Norse religion).  He does not believe in the Norse gods, but he is fascinated by this part of his heritage and writes songs that reflect this interest.  Most metal artists do the same thing, writing about things that interest them, but that they may not necessarily follow or believe in.

Many of metal’s opponents will claim that the music is satanic.  This is only really true if you are referring to black metal (a very non-publicized sub-genre of heavy metal) which is, for the most part, satanic.  Most metal songs are about thoughts, feelings, subjects that fascinate the author, and sometimes fantasy or mythology.  Well-known band Iron Maiden often write songs about historical figures and events as well as literature.  Many metal artists are quite well-educated, making their lyrics diverse.  For example, Heri Joensen from Faroese band Týr is capable of fluently speaking seven languages and has a degree in music theory; Bruce Dickinson, vocalist for Iron Maiden, has a commercial pilot’s license and has started a successful air travel business; Ronnie James Dio, vocalist for Black Sabbath, Dio, and others, went to college for one year and majored in pharmacology; Tom Araya, vocalist and bassist for Slayer, is certified as a respiratory therapist and worked as one before joining Slayer; and Nicko McBrain, drummer for Iron Maiden, has an engineering degree.  Metal artists have much more to say than “bow before Lucifer”.  The best thing to do when in doubt is to take a listen or read the lyrics.

What about the “dangerous” and “bad influences” accusations?  Why are metalheads accused of such a thing?  We do sometimes look a little different, but if you look beyond the leather and into typical metalheads, you will see that many of them have one thing in common: most of them are misfits and outcasts.  Often no one notices the outcasts until they begin wearing skull shirts and spiked bracelets.  This does not make them violent, dangerous, or bad influences.  It is interesting to note that in sociological studies, the results show that metalheads are quite the opposite to what people think they are.  For example, a study done by The Guardian showed that metalheads and classical music fans have very similar personality types.  Surveys have also shown that metalheads and members of other subcultures are often the “smart” students at school.  Thus metalheads may actually be a good influence on others.

Some will insist that metal is violent, which makes the listeners dangerous.  Some metal is violent.  For example, Cannibal Corpse and Autopsy have been heavily criticized throughout their careers for their use of extreme, graphic violence in their lyrics (which you may have been able to guess by their names).  Now, for comparison, sit down and watch a modern horror movie or play one of many popular war-simulating video games.  All three are on similar levels of violence.  Are horror-movie viewers and gamers perceived as violent individuals?  Not usually.  So, by that logic, a Cannibal Corpse fan should be treated no differently than a gamer or horror-movie viewer.  Brian Figueiredo, guitarist and vocalist for Disgust (Canadian death metal band) mentioned, “I’d say society looks at death metal as glorifying hate and violence, which is not necessarily what it is about — unless you say horror films do the same.”  There are also metal bands and songs which do not have any violence in them at all (which is actually the great majority of well-known heavy metal).  When looked at more closely, metal is not as violent as perceived.

As a metalhead, I’d like to see these myths about us die.  Not only are they untrue, but they are also demeaning and insulting.  When given a second glance, metalheads appear as they are: normal people with slightly eccentric tastes.