Who/What gives metal a bad rep?

metalinmyveins wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Stender wrote:

Hot topic and Hollywood.

I have no idea why more metal fans don't support Hot Topic. To get shirts and stuff when I was a kid, we had to do mail-order from the back of Rip and Metal Edge and stuff. Man, I would have killed for a damn store in the mall!

Hot Topic is a great store. Just ignore the turds that work there, thinking they're cooler than you.

I never had to do that. There used to be a cool rack of Metal T-shirts at Karma record stores in the Indianapolis area, and then when I moved to Rockford, IL they had the same type of setup at Appletree Records. I guess I thought that was common place, or maybe I was just fortunate.

My local Soundshop still gets a pretty good selection.

My biggest peeve is how folks argue/debate as to what is metal and what isn't. Then you go and visit the local record store and laugh at the selection you find in the metal section. My .02

SpectreFate wrote:

Growing up in my tiny shittown, we actually had a store in our mall that sold metal shirts. Plus they sold them at a local department store. I remember buying Savatage, Great White, Metallica, and Great White shirts at that department store. Now WE were lucky. The stuff they sell at Hot Topic is of poor quality, but something is better than nothing, plus if I want a big baggy pair of pants adorned with a cornucopia of zippers, I know where to go.

I have bought plenty of shirts at Hot Topic, and they're definitely not of poor quality. The shirts won't last you 10 years, but the quality is far from bad.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Fans.

This video is a classic example of getting a combination of both the good and the bad or the ugly if you ask me. There's a question posed to the kid with the Testament hat on at about the 2:15 mark of the vid.

He's asked by the interviewer, "If they (Metallica) are talking about real serious issues, how are they going to reach the individual who don't know what's happening?" His answer, "They (Metallica) already have" . Thank God for the next kid who steps in. He's at least coherent enough to deliver an answer. Unfortunately these are the stereotypes we've had to deal with for a very long time. Some of it's justified, and obviously some of it's not. I just wish those that can't sound articulate at all, would just have the common sense to step aside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i3zSq_8t9s

This is more along the lines of what I'm talking about.

Clueless mall rats.

There is no way Satanists/Hedonists/Atheists give metal a bad rep. I guess 90% is giving it a bad rep then.

The sub-sub genre hags, the endless categorizers, the elitists, the radicals (Those who align themselves with such things as "Norwegian Black Metal" or "Christian Metal" and take those ideologies to far), those who take lyrics seriously etc etc etc.

Basically anyone who takes this "Heavy Metal" thing too seriously and doesn't approach the music with perspective and humour.......because when you step back from it all, "Heavy Metal" and even Rock N' Roll is quite ridiculous when you look at it from afar.

rattpoison wrote:

even Rock N' Roll is quite ridiculous when you look at it from afar.

Alright. Now you've gone to far. Do you mean to tell me that the bands I've idolized like the Pink Fairies, Alex Harvey, Slade, etc. were anything other than serious highbrow art? Blasphemy!

Lurideath wrote:

There is no way Satanists/Hedonists/Atheists give metal a bad rep. I guess 90% is giving it a bad rep then.

SatanISM, HeadonISM, and atheISM are giving it a bad rap. Not the people in their totality. Just those practices, not every single thing those people do.

detuned wrote:

Atheists give metal a bad name...that's got to be the silliest thing I've heard in quite awhile. What about all the atheists in other genres of music? Do they give all those forms of music a bad name as well?

See response to Lurideath. AtheISM, not atheISTS. Very important distinction.

I guess Temple of Blood is talking about how the devil and all things evil are often incorporated in metal lyrics in a not-so-subtle way. You don't really see that in other types of music. It does pigeon-hole metal as 'anti-Christian'.

Of course you have to remember lyrics cannot be satanic AND atheistic at the same time. Atheists don't believe in the devil. So I surely don't think atheists give metal a bad rep.

There's atheistic lyrics too, talking about how there are no Gods, but not too much, and it doesn't really get as much attention as all the (mostly tongue-in-cheek) references to evil and the devil. It's the pseudo-satanic and pagan lyrics that somewhat get attention.

Eyesore wrote:

SpectreFate wrote:

Growing up in my tiny shittown, we actually had a store in our mall that sold metal shirts. Plus they sold them at a local department store. I remember buying Savatage, Great White, Metallica, and Great White shirts at that department store. Now WE were lucky. The stuff they sell at Hot Topic is of poor quality, but something is better than nothing, plus if I want a big baggy pair of pants adorned with a cornucopia of zippers, I know where to go.

I have bought plenty of shirts at Hot Topic, and they're definitely not of poor quality. The shirts won't last you 10 years, but the quality is far from bad.

Ive gotten some great Iron Maiden shirts from Hot Topic and the selection is wide ranging enough (Ive seen Megadeth, Maiden, Slayer, In Flames, Pantera, etc. as well as he other junk). That being said I still prefer websites like Star 500 because they have more of the bands I like and their prices are reasonable (there is S&H but it's not much).

Maybe the fans but I think even that is a generalization, this genre has been around 40, 41 years (I consider Zeppelin, Purple, Sabbath, and Cooper metal bands) and fans like the genre itself cuts across many age groups, social and economic brackets. I donot think any one artist or the fans give metal a bad name, I think it is the media, when something like Columbine happened for instantance instead of looking at the real reason this two kids did what they did, they immediatly started blaming the music of Marilyn Manson, which was had nothing to with the tragedy and also ignored the fact that these two murders were not even fans of his music.

I was originally going to say any band that wears the following items: codpieces or fur boots. Then I realized there was a picture available.

I got what you are saying, although I still strongly disagree with what you are saying Temple. Why would Atheism, Satanism, or Hedonism be giving it a bad rep, when Christianity is not?


Another bad rep is what commercialism is doing and has done to metal in general.

Lurideath wrote:

I got what you are saying, although I still strongly disagree with what you are saying Temple. Why would Atheism, Satanism, or Hedonism be giving it a bad rep, when Christianity is not?


Another bad rep is what commercialism is doing and has done to metal in general.

Because the misconception that metal is evil was brought to us by the ISM's Temple provided. NOT by the Christians.

Temple of Blood wrote:

Lurideath wrote:

There is no way Satanists/Hedonists/Atheists give metal a bad rep. I guess 90% is giving it a bad rep then.

SatanISM, HeadonISM, and atheISM are giving it a bad rap. Not the people in their totality. Just those practices, not every single thing those people do.

This sort of thinking gives Christianity a bad rap.

Eyesore wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

SatanISM, HeadonISM, and atheISM are giving it a bad rap. Not the people in their totality. Just those practices, not every single thing those people do.

This sort of thinking gives Christianity a bad rap.

If I thought those practices were good, then I would be an atheist, hedonist, or satanist. It's just common sense. If I thought Islam was great I would be a muslim.

If I thought all religions were equal, then I wouldn't exclusively choose one to believe in over the rest.

retarded fans who are only into it because its "evil".

Temple of Blood wrote:

If I thought those practices were good, then I would be an atheist, hedonist, or satanist. It's just common sense. If I thought Islam was great I would be a muslim.

If I thought all religions were equal, then I wouldn't exclusively choose one to believe in over the rest.

Must....hold back tasteless comments...

Well there is nothing wrong with those practices whatsoever. In fact I love it when its evil. The more evil the better. I'm not into the worship of anything, I just love stuff that sounds evil.

If you are talking about the burning of churches, murder, suicide, etc... then I fully understand your view point. I amy not fully agree with your view point, or with what they did. But it doesn't give metal a bad rep per-se. Its people on the outside that make it seem like it has a bad reputation.

As for the religion aspect, some of the most religious people I've ever met are metal fans.

Some of the most anti-religion people despise metal as much as or more than the "Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children?" types.

But I've met some very devout Christians who like secular metal bands with Satan/occult themed lyrics, and even atheists who enjoy some Christian metal bands.

Eyesore wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Lurideath wrote:

There is no way Satanists/Hedonists/Atheists give metal a bad rep. I guess 90% is giving it a bad rep then.

SatanISM, HeadonISM, and atheISM are giving it a bad rap. Not the people in their totality. Just those practices, not every single thing those people do.

This sort of thinking gives Christianity a bad rap.

Agreed.

Ignorance.

Misfits that choose metal for the fashion "clique" aspect more than the music.