The world of hard rock and heavy metal is vast, and its citizens are often seen as a certain breed of obscure. They live on the margin of the musical world, and typically they like it there. Metalheads confront evil in the world every five minutes listening to songs such as “Metal Gods” by Judas Priest which depicts a world run by man-made sentient robots or “ Peace Sells ” by Megadeth proclaiming unrelenting individuality as the only way to fix the problems of conformity. Hard rock and heavy metal scream about what is wrong in the world and in ourselves. They confront what they see as unjust and look optimistically toward a future without prejudice. Progressive hard rock band Rush see a future with less cruelty in 1977’s “Closer to the Heart”:
“Philosophers and ploughmen, each must know his part
To sew a new mentality closer to the heart.”
Metalheads do not fear what appears evil (some even feign alignment with it, though this isn’t often the case), but they know what it looks like. It does not look like the devil: listening to Iron Maiden’s “ Number of the Beast” does not make a person evil. It does not look like Metallica’s sandman. Metalheads are aware of their imperfections and tend to be observant of others’. They are often critical of peoples’ lack of awareness in this regard and are not afraid to say something about it:
“I’m ripped across the ditch and settled in the dirt, and I’m
I wear you like a stitch yet I’m the one who’s hurt
Pay attention to your twisted little indiscretions
I’ve got no right to win I’m just caught up in all the battles”
“Before I Forget” — Slipknot
“I don’t want to believe I’m empty and I don’t want to admit I’m wrong,
I don’t want to regret who I’ve become, where I belong—I’m an American capitalist.”
“American Capitalist” — Five Finger Death Punch
Breaking the law, breaking the law. Breaking the law BREAKING THE LAW!
This analytical tone is often the one used in heavy metal. It is introspective and observational, and it is often satirical in its delivery. Heavy metal and its fan base has gained a notoriety for being hateful, mean, and blind to the mainstream when the opposite is true. The genre is like a research paper on culture norms and a critique of exclusivity and elitism. Metal is, above all things, inclusive. To the metalhead, everyone suffers when the world is misguided by individuals and driven by exclusivity. A perfect example of this sense of inclusion is the metalhead’s uniform, the concert attire as well as everyday couture, the sex-blind look on every person who dares to look at Lemmy Kilmister’s horrendous warts: the androgynous getup of a black band shirt and dark jeans.
Let me hear you scream.
