I am a big heavy metal fan. When I say heavy metal, I dont include stuff like iron maiden and judas priest which is just too mellow for my tastes. I much prefer the more extreme side of things, old school metallica, slayer, and numerous death metal bands. Aggressive music has always appealed to me, even before I learned the term "heavy metal". I think I was born a metal head.
Aside from my genuine appreciation of the music, theres also an element of my personality that gravitates towards the "fuck the mainstream" attitude that pervades the scene. I remember back in high school when I really embraced the lifestyle that is metal, I rejected all things even remotely "hippie". It made me feel powerful and way more cutting edge than all of the kids who suddenly came to school one day with pink hair because greenday was getting 24-7 playtime on MTV.
As I grew older and started paying attention to politics, it became clear that I am very much a conservative independent sort of fellow. I felt that heavy metal and conservative, pro-war ideologies complimented one another quite nicely.
Unfortunately, it seems my heavy metal idols dont share my views. It seems that every metal band that dares sing of political issues inevitably shares the same politics with the fucking grateful dead. If its not anti-war, anti-bush, or pro-choice, its some other wimpy peace and love sentiment.
It seems so backward to me. Heavy metal fans are usually very traditionalist, often accused of being narrow-minded. We dont like it when bands change their styles too much, as when metallica went mainstream they earned the wrath of die hard thrash fans who felt betrayed.
As a conservative independent, many of my heavy metal biases seem to translate directly into my world view. I believe in good and evil, some people deserve no compassion or pity and should die as they lived, that war and violence are natural and sometimes necessary. I believe that successful formulas, like the US constitution should not be tampered with. I believe in the exceptionalism of America!
I can only guess the reason that metal bands (and musical artists in general) always lean so far left is because anyone who becomes a professional musician must be a lazy buffoon who takes the easy way out rather than actually working for a living. Its easy to be a liberal, being conservative is tough.
Any thoughts on the subject? Even if you are not a metal fan, Im sure you can think of something to add to the discussion.
Aside from my genuine appreciation of the music, theres also an element of my personality that gravitates towards the "fuck the mainstream" attitude that pervades the scene. I remember back in high school when I really embraced the lifestyle that is metal, I rejected all things even remotely "hippie". It made me feel powerful and way more cutting edge than all of the kids who suddenly came to school one day with pink hair because greenday was getting 24-7 playtime on MTV.
As I grew older and started paying attention to politics, it became clear that I am very much a conservative independent sort of fellow. I felt that heavy metal and conservative, pro-war ideologies complimented one another quite nicely.
Unfortunately, it seems my heavy metal idols dont share my views. It seems that every metal band that dares sing of political issues inevitably shares the same politics with the fucking grateful dead. If its not anti-war, anti-bush, or pro-choice, its some other wimpy peace and love sentiment.
It seems so backward to me. Heavy metal fans are usually very traditionalist, often accused of being narrow-minded. We dont like it when bands change their styles too much, as when metallica went mainstream they earned the wrath of die hard thrash fans who felt betrayed.
As a conservative independent, many of my heavy metal biases seem to translate directly into my world view. I believe in good and evil, some people deserve no compassion or pity and should die as they lived, that war and violence are natural and sometimes necessary. I believe that successful formulas, like the US constitution should not be tampered with. I believe in the exceptionalism of America!
I can only guess the reason that metal bands (and musical artists in general) always lean so far left is because anyone who becomes a professional musician must be a lazy buffoon who takes the easy way out rather than actually working for a living. Its easy to be a liberal, being conservative is tough.
Any thoughts on the subject? Even if you are not a metal fan, Im sure you can think of something to add to the discussion.
