The left literally doesn't exist in any meaningful capacity in contemporary politics, where is this leftist establishment you claim to rebel against? You are in an echo chamber read some theory.
The Satanic Panic was conservative. The reaction against rock has always been conservative. Conservative social misfits like metal because it’s angry. That’s as deep as it gets.
I am a conservative musician who loves good music. You don't have to be angry necessarily. And many conservatives 'reaction' is enjoy rock very much. It's best to judge individuals based on their individual actions and individual character, not on a group that they get lumped into.
I'm a Christian and a thrash fan. Not excited about almost every thrash band having to have at least one anti-God song on every album. But I have been a thrasher since it has been around. Both listening to it and playing it myself...
Listening to classic thrash as a teenager honestly helped me discover my own personal political and religious beliefs. It wasn't exactly academic literature, but hearing perspectives opposing the way things were caused me to think more deeply about the world. That's why conservatives and fascists in metal confuse me so much, they stand against everything that drew me to the genre to begin with. Thrash (and everything else) moved me to the left.
@@glitchedoom You make some good points. But a lot of music and movies actually help me to strengthen my religious and conservative convictions. I personally disagree with many statements made in lyrics from many of my favorite songs. I can maintain my strong beliefs and still listen to things and people that are in disagreement - or even polar opposite of my beliefs. There is nothing to be confused about. I find that as a Christian and conservative, many people I deal on a daily basics with don't see things the way I do. I still have good friends, run a business, play in bands, and go to shows, and it is not a problem. If everyone chose to get along with people they don't agree with on various things, we would have a much better country! Basically, everyone who likes music should enjoy it. So what if it doesn't agree with what you believe exactly? I would have to be extremely picky if I chose only music that agreed with my exact beliefs. Also, as a person ages, their beliefs sometimes change a bit. I personally choose to avoid some music that is very Satanic or anti-God, of if it is full of left-wing lectures. We all make our own choices, and we should respect each others choices made as individuals.
They were also the enemies of Punk and Hardcore, but in the last decade or so they want to hijack that now. These people claim they are the true punk rockers because they see themselves as rebels against the left. It's so cringe and them hijacking metal I just find funny.
@@Dal-user ohh yes... the britts... Hating on tatcher was popular back then but the toris did't launched that anti-satan metal movement like the wife of Ronald Reagan. Or maybe it was just funnier the american way so it's the one remembered.
@@toedrag-release Ah yes, the conservatives with their famous anti-big government stances like banning books, banning reproductive health care, banning student protests, war on drugs, attempts to enforce "Christian values" in governance and the legal system, and operation of the largest military empire the world has ever seen. Super duper small government, dude.
@@hydrophobia936 Progressive causes tend to challenge established ideas, mores etc., so it's kind of close tbh. Not that the bands/lyrics themselves might be speaking about present-day causes or whatever, but their spirit rather often aligns quite easily with the "progressive spirit" - individuals standing up for what they believe and who they are, challenging norms and the society etc. That said, there are so many metal is such a large 'movement', that as an almost inevitable result you'll have some conservative-leaning folk (people neither particularly able and/or willing to learn, and therefore cautious/suspicious of new things, though they might not be obsessively homophobic etc. as such) as well as properly shitty reactionaries, racists, sexists etc., as well as the edgelords, who may or may not believe in any or all the nonsense they spew. Thankfully their numbers seem to be dwindling (I remember getting into atmospheric black metal way back, and trying to find [especially Ukrainian/Russian] bands WITHOUT associations to neonazi or somesuch bands/individuals was like playing a reverse form of "where's Waldo?"...) I mean, there are nazi punks, which might be even more absurd. (Heck, there are even white power/neonazi hip hop and reggae groups iirc. - stuff that would've certainly been considered "entartete" by the OG dumbasses.)
Thank fuck, finally a chill metal channel. Subbing. I think I’d best describe my thoughts on the matter as that metal may not be inherently political in the same sense that punk is, but its working-class roots, anti-commercialism, inclusivity, and anti-authoritarian attitude resonate strongly with leftist values, especially in the modern political climate.
@@radoslavdimitrov7505 yeah I don’t know why people have associated these terms like liberal and conservative for something they were never meant in the first place, over the last 10 years for some reason. liberal means to be open minded and to have free expressions and thoughts, and Conservative means to have traditional values and being averse to change. Yet over the last 10 years, so called “left” wing people want to censor everything because it might hurt someone’s feeling’s yet that is not being liberal at all and actually against everything that the word actually means. And “Conservative’s” are now the voice for free thought and open mindedness. What the fuck has happened?.
what a strange claim. for example, i can easily imagine someone who will do my laundry for me. in fact, that just happened today. they picked it up and dropped it off 8 hours later. heavy metal won't do my laundry for me.
Metal has always been anti establishment counter culture music, and you can damn well find any band in any scene, in any country, against any side of any politics or religion or for it. It is this freedom to express that makes it appealing to people worldwide. For every nationalist socialist black metal band there are radical leftist black metal bands condemning them while still using the same imagery and sound. Theres anti-communist black metal bands in indonesia, as well as pro communist black metal bands in the west. Theres anti islamic bands in the middle east and christian black metal in the US. Anyways Black Sabbath and the early bands were all just hippies into the blues. The older heads will all tell you they are either indifferent or against the idea of politics being used in their music.
I hate to be the one to tell you, but being anticommunist in indonesia is very much proestablishment stance, since being communist in Indonesia got thousands brutally murdered.
@@jessieeermit4599 Music Genre's are a construct of music publishers for marketing purposes. Audiences that care about these construct are playing into the Marketed Tribalism. It is okay if you care. I just know what I like and the less I care about Genre and labels the more music I find that I like,.
@@1eviledy What does that have to do with my comment? I also like many different types of music, but there's no such thing as "Christian Black Metal," the name is White Metal.
@@jessieeermit4599 When I looked up Christian Black metal it says they call it UnBlack metal. They being those in the marketing dept. lol Nothing personal just find it hilarious when people get all bent about labeling their music based on the tribe they identify with.
Yo, anyone who's gonna talk about Bathory and F. D. Signifier in the same video gets my sub. Awesome video. Edit: Panopticon is the shit. As someone who records alone and also hails from appalachia, its probably the black metal project that has influenced me the most.
Years ago i was really bummed because it seemed like all extreme metal was plagued by racist, white supremacist nationalist. The i discovered Panopticon and the rest of the bands under the umbrella that is Red Anaachist Black Metal, and i was amazed by the quality and the existence of like minded metalheads.
I've always had one foot in the metal scene, and one in the hippie scene. They both have a similar problem: they started off as counterculture, but the progressive traits are stripped away when the dominant culture adopts the music meant to rebel against it. What's why you have Paul Ryan claiming to like RATM, and Tucker Carlson being a huge Deadhead
Its course not completely conservative, but its a hell of alot more conservative/right wing than it used to be. Like in black metal circles, people often get mad when you call out nazis, but then bands that are openly condeming nazisim, are heavily critisised for "bringing politics into metal."
Metal is a place for those of us who dont feel like we have a place in the status quo (another reason it sucks to see metalheads not appreciating the few women in the scene). It's also weird how people can "love" a thing and entirely miss the message of it, Paul Ryan being a RATM fan is a particularly greigious example. Great work
@@Johnmrobinson-vb5vd when you're as far left as I am, any defense of the status quo is conservative and rightwing Edit: in American politics/economics anyway. Other countries do a much better job
What are you talking about with missing the "message" of metal? Is this not upholding a status quo of your own? To say that there is an inherent meaning or message of metal as a whole? An individual band or artist has their own songs, with their own message, if they even have a particular message to begin with. It could be for their own enjoyment and self expression. To me your views aren't consistent.
@Napalmthrower well, you're the one asserting that I claimed metal as a genre has a message. The example I gave was extremely specific: the third most powerful person in American politics at the time "loves" a band with truly radical leftist messages. It's an entirely different thought to the first sentence in my comment. But I suppose you can dislike a thing and entirely miss the meaning as well
@@billmozart7288 I get it now. I was under the impression that you were talking about metal as a whole and giving the example of that band and that person (to represent someone missing the point of metal, rather than missing the point of a specific artist). That being said, in art of any form, be it music or something else, the only time it is possible to even miss the message of something is if the artist has explicitly laid out what it is they want to be conveyed, and furthermore, asserts that they have a desire for people to think like they do. I absolutely disagree you can miss the meaning of an entire "thing", in this context. Metal, and the majority of genres of music and art in general, is way too broad for that.
Punk also has the same kinda fan base; but for some reason the older "punks" are tending towards Maga and nationalism now?! (Not all of them; but enough to raise eyebrows).
similar to megadeth, pantera used to scream anti-authoritarian lyrics back in the 90s as well...only for the frontman and a lot of the bands fans to support modern-day conservative rhetoric; it's a shame. either way great video, you've earned a sub.
@@AlexHalt100 meh, screaming white power, having a history of white pride speeches and throwing an infamous dictator's salute still seems pretty hypocritical to me. spewing nazi rhetoric is blatantly pro-authoritarian so he'd have to be pretty stupid.
As a veteran and a life long metalhead it's not surprising to see the power and aggression generated by METAL attract it's fair share of right wing conservatives.
@clarencespangle2599bro is quoting funny mustache man unironically lmao You’d be getting thrown into the meat grinder if he was in power. “No I wouldn’t, I’m a pure alpha euro patriot 🤓” go outside and throw football or something
we've all seen pump up the volume, suburbia def looks like a hell all its own. those spoiled little kids get everything given to them so they prob hate everyone and feel that Metal aggression. metal might have even started in the suburbs.
There were real victims of the satanic panic. I was one of them. I was relentlessly harassed by cops & put on probation or in jail by a judge in the small rural town I grew up in. The judge told my mom once that he was gonna put me in jail for 6 months when I turned 18 because I was a "devil worshipper." It was terrifying as a kid & teenager.
As it does with all dissenting art, the filthy lucre of capitalism seeks to swallow heavy metal whole. I wish I could leave a like but mine would be the 667th #hailsatan
Capitalism is Satan so you need to sort out your incoherent ideas. Either you think money should be the only source of power and thus the wikied shall rule the earth, or you are a Right-Winger that oppose the power of money and wish to combat the power of money using the more noble forms of power such as faith and the sword.
I walk into a video like this from a creator I’m not familiar with, with a finger on the eject button, but this one was a delight. Any time Unc shows up it’s a good sign
Being political in metal music is totally okay. The thing is, is your music good enough to be actual entertainment or is it just there to cash in on virtue signaling or culture war nonsense. Politics have been a thing in metal since the beginning. These albums from the top of my head alone are ridden with political messages. - Metallica's - ...And Justice for All - Megadeth's - almost entire discography - System of a Down - same as above - Death - Spiritual Healing - Panopticon - idem, but Kentucky especially - Napalm Death - Their entire existence is a political statement - Carcass - mostly about bad practices in the food and medical industry This is also true for the more....distasteful politics: sigh....Burzum
@@cesarpietrocalathaki9539 that's the problem with Burzum and some other black metal groups (Nokturnal Mortum being another example). They have quite a bit of music about general history, folklore or nature but sometimes also some works that touch upon some very no bueno ways of thinking.
Metal is more outlaw than anything its not right or left its about individualism hence the overlap with outlaw biker culture and aesthetics. 70s metal especially if you trace it back through the hippie subculture it sort of sprouted from.
Metal outlaw? Also a simplification. The core of metal is clearly not "lawlessness" but more clearly post-hippie rebelion which absorved more pesimistic, dark and tougher themes and personalities from centuries of western culture than hippies did. Not every person that rides a bike is an "outlaw" either and Halford from Judas Priest even borrowed elements from gay leather culture when pioneering standard metal dress style
Yep, the original metalheads were basically quasi-hippies that got sick of the flower power crap and wanted rock music with heavy guitars and rhythm section , lyrics about the darker side of life that they were picking up on while hippies were ignoring because it gave off "bad vibes, man".
I think the right is currently attaching themselfes onto Metal for a very simple reason: Masculinity. The predominant cultural war is a lot about gender and I'm not gonna lie. A lot of metal heads are friggn ripped as hell and that's pretty damn badass. So it makes sense to me that the right is seeing this as a positive representation in media where masculinity is positivly displayed and try to use it to their advantage. But generally thanks for the video. A lot of informations about metal I never really thought about. So I kind of was like that kid in the metallica shirt, which was a very good representation how I felt listening xD
Ill be honest i went into this thinking it was going to be borderline unwatchable, just going on and on about nsbm bands or five finger death punch or what not but instead got a really well researched video essay regarding the absolute stupidity that was the satanic panic along with a pretty scathing call out of society as well as proving that metal is very anti-conformist... not bad... liked and subbed
Metal, of course, is neither inherently conservative nor progressive. You just need to understand that the main point here is not any rebellion. This is deeply escapist music and even socially/politically engaged topics are presented through this filter of escapism. Of course, there are exceptions and of course I'm not talking about poor metal-like products like core and nu. That said, despite being an ideologically neutral genre of music, metal, especially in its classical variants and black metal, is perfectly tailored to the sensibilities of certain types of right-wingers. Metal is, especially in the above-mentioned subgenres, the musical equivalent of fantasy/sci-fi and testosterone-charged action films from the 1980s. It is absolutely no surprise that it reaches circles with an above-average concentration of fans of Tolkien, Howard, Lovecraft, old Stallone movies and historical military nerds.
Exactly, there hasn't been any real sense of rebellion in metal for like 40 years (and that rebellion was only a response to the panic it had already caused by merely existing), because nobody actually cares about it as a moral issue anymore. People thinking of metal's existence as a political statement rather than escapism, dumb fun, whether in the form of heavy metal's classic fantasy, black metal's gothic mysticism, or slam's gory perversion, misses the mark in the same way that people claiming metal as inherently "horror music" does. Metal isn't scary, it never really has been, except for the handful of bands which would go on to genuinely attempt that.
Well the Metal derived from Punk in the eighties like Thrash could be very political. That includes Metallica as well, no matter how much James Hetfield tries to gaslight people about it nowadays
WHere I live, most people associate antifa with ski maks wearing people just vandalizing cars and shops during what is supposed to be a peaceful protest. So, alot of people dislike them and would say that they're anti antifa because it's so associated with vandalism.
There has been an attempt in recent years by conservatives to coopt metal, mainly because of the overlap with both lonely white young incels and aging Gen Xers who have gotten more conservative over time. But from its early days with Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, metal has always been anti-consumerist, anti-conformist, anti-militarism, and not interested in your ethnic background or sexual orientation as long as you can dig the music. That explains its popularity in Latin America, Asia, and even Africa (with scenes in Botswana, Mozambique, and Angola, among others). By the way, Iron Maiden and Saxon are anti-war and take an ironic view toward ethno-centric nationalism at best. "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "Power and Glory" should tell you all you need to know, respectively. The conservative attempt at usurpation is doomed to fail.
But I will argue that metal as a subculture have a tendency to be alluring to conservatives or makes people that way (Im not sure how it really works) Im from a latin american country and that is how I've perceived it here. I like metal music but I dislike right wing rethoric so that is why I abandoned my social life around metalheads in my country.
@@Diogolindir I think it has to do with the aggressive imagery and macho posturing. Here in North America and in Europe, though, women and racial minorities have made inroads into metal, even in "extreme" subgenres like death and black metal, and there is even an entire scene of anti-fascist death metal here in the States. Add to that the fact that conservatives love religion, and metal challenges religion, can lead to some hard choices for any right-winger trying to coopt a scene.
@@xbfdx988 Crusader was ironic. Biff's no dummy! Iron Maiden did have some pretty ra-ra-Britain songs (or however they cheer in Britain), influenced undoubtedly by Bruce, but they weren't as conservative as some on the right would like.
I mean dude, grindcore was literally revolutionised by a british band making an album about how much they hate Margaret Thatcher. How the fuck did people think it was conservative? Of course yes an establishment did form with the anti-establishment music but that's the way it goes. Blah blah, industries, capitalism n shit.
If I hear a riff that knocks my socks off, I really dont care what the players politics are. But Im a musician, so I guess Im listening for different reasons.
Everyone can enjoy music as they wish, that's the beauty of it. If you're a musician and you love the technical aspects of music, that is awesome. Personally I listen mostly to punk and what I seek from this genre is the message. All I need is some simple riff and a few power chords with a strong message and I am hooked.
I really don't think metal fits very well into the modernist framing of good vs evil, left vs right, old vs new, conservative vs progressive. Philosophically it's kinda it's own thing, with it's own community, with it's own economy, viewing things from it's own perspective and have it's own morals. If you view it from the perspective of a modernist philosophy with a lens filtering anything I just listed you'll find it rejects pretty much everything you throw at it. This is because metal is such a wide and developed subculture that it could actually transcend to rival institutional religions and political factions if organized to do so.
Tbh left vs right is a stupid terminology anyway, it's just a different way of saying team 1 vs team 2, when actually there are several teams creating alliances and rivalries.
@@Arthur_-xv4ytThe notion that any culture can create a uniformity at all is rediculus. The belief in that have created so much problems for humanity. Even if we go back to ancient small tribes theres always been this necessity for specialization to be able to perform tasks for the group. Even with such small societies you would have had different interests colliding within these tribes due to the distribution of specialties and how each member views the importance of those specialties to the groups. This is the foundation of idealogical politics.
@@Arthur_-xv4yt Agreed. Left and right are huge oversimplifications. There's a layer of division both on the ideological/theoretical level and another when it comes to the practical/political level. Two people might have similar ideals but differ radically on how to implement those ideals.
99 percent of what I listen to is underground hip hop and prog metal. Hip Hop is far more reactionary and it's not even close. The only exception is Black Metal which is infested with N*zis. But, overall, if anything, metal has become one of the most diverse genres. Bands have a lot more female members and POC. When lyrics are "political" its usually left leaning like criticizing religion, war and climate change. Gojira is a goods exmaple
I feel like metal as a whole could use a bit more representation of POC and women, as they are still quite rare in what I'm seeing. Same goes for hip hop, which a substantial portion of the metal community seems to hate (for example, think about the hate rap metal and nu metal have received). I think it's a good thing that these things seem to be changing though and personally I can appreciate both genres of music as well. But as far as I'm concerned, they could be changing a bit faster. I like Gojira, which you mentioned, but although their music is great and the guys seem to be quite wholesome, it unfortunately does not contribute too much to change in that sense as they are still all white dudes. (I don't see this as a huge issue as it is just one band, but it just goes to show y'know)
yes but They only criticize christianity cause its the low hanging fruit and noboby has to fear consequences. Imagine metal starts criticizing Islam (like wtf yes it should cause its fucking metal and it gives zero fucks). And yes, Black Metal got its Nazi subgenre but its not generally "infected". Actually its full of Misantrhopes, Nihilists and mainly punks
@@KlaireMurre yeah I prefer punks attitude it's just tough sometimes with "true" punk how damn simple it is sometimes (less is more though I admit that) but if you e got some good punk bands a metal/core head could enjoy I'm down to try more
@@Ridgegetsreal777yet so many metal fans are Trump supporters , or the ones I know anyway. What's odd is back in the 80s , conservativism was the enemy. Religion is heavily intertwined in conservatism and they definitely wanted it cancelled.
Metal is niether liberal or conservative. It's about rebelling against all sytems of oppressions in the world. I myself asa Metalhead am left wing because the right did everything to push me to that side, with their intolerance, plus people on the left have been more nicer to me in comparison to people on the right, though both have their flaws ofcourse.
Metal is a microcosm of society and therefore mirrors the social and political attitudes of society at large. I dont think the metal communiyy s more conservative as a whole than socoety at large. I would like to think it is more progressive than society in general, but the truth is probably somewhere in the middle as it is with most issues. The beauty of metal or art in general is that it transcends the pedestrian views of culture.
Don´t know how it goes in America, is too chaotic there. In Europe you can never label metal in any way because there is so much variety but most important, is viewed as artform and got absolutely nothing to do with politics.
@@Stable_GeniusI was on my way to making a business of making metal artwork, but I couldn't stand the backwards ideology that aligned with racist and conservative values so I gave it up. I still love the music but I can't in good conscience endorse these types anymore. The ingredients were certainly there for this shift to happen though and I saw it 15 years ago. I think they are gravely mistaken if they think they will be more accepted in a Christian nationalist society though so I don't really get it.
@@ElizabethIversen-db6vo I think that the Dems are doing it to placate to their Jewish voter base but the Republicans are fully on board with the genocides in Palestine. One is still definitely worse than the other and you kinda have to go with that over possible dictatorship that will be worse for them and us. Trump turned a sick world to one that's even sicker. We can't afford to sit this one out no matter how we feel about the current situation either and that's the sickest thing of all.
Dude, great video! Love it, and glad this popped up in my recommended. Instant sub from me. Not to self plug, but I genuinely wonder what the conservatives that are trying to co-opt metal think about the kind of modern Satanic panic I'm currently documenting. In my state of Tennessee, an overwhelmingly conservative and religious state, a local, grassroots metal festival was nearly shut down due to religious and conservative protest. Down here, there's no discussion of metal being conservative. It's quite literally the satanic panic all over again when it gains any sort public of platform. Just goes to prove all your points. Keep up the videos, comrade.
Overfixating in conservatism as the bad guys is also an issue. People forget that liberals are also right wing, and both are equally establishment. True revolution is against the wealthy and powerful, even against "civilized" norms of the aristocrats of culture, as exemplified by the rebellious, anti establishment and unapologetically working class early metal. And that culture exalted the macho man's man or "holding on to pride an tradition" (as said by Anthrax, a left wing, Bernie supporting band). This may upset intellectuals who see everything as progressivism vs conservatism, but instead of idealizing we should observe and respect how the actual workers of the world who aren't afraid to raise their fist and rebel act.
The real battle isn't "progressives" vs "conservatives", but one of a rebelling working class against those who uphold the bourgeois establishment. And even a (sadly) nowadays right wing Bruce Dickinson still knows this, denouncing the bourgeois every time he can.
Liberals are left wing Conservatisves are right wing this is established from the onset of the terms in politics. You are confusing right and left for authoritarian and libertine. There is also the horseshoe theory that says the further to the extremes you go, the greater the likelihood to find similarity. See the anti-vaccination crowd, a mix of crunchy granola anti-corporate, and God-fearing anti-government.
Agree. The problem is the US where there is no left wing parties in its congress, unlike most democracies around the world. Liberals in most of the rest of the world tend to be seen as right wingers, but almost only in the US they are seen as "progressive" or even left wing. It is the general right wing tendency of US politics when compared to european and latin american politics
I don’t think metal is necessarily conservative, but it does have a certain libertarian aesthetic. Also, metal music promotes a certain “tough guy” mentality that can, in some instances, inspire listeners to follow those whom they perceive as counter-cultural “Rebels,” eg., Trump. Take Mustaine - a closer retrospective of his lyrics, even on the early records, reveals these very traits. Methinks he didn’t “turn” conservative; he always, deep down, was. Also, anyone from anywhere along the political spectrum will admit that society, culturally, HAS moved “leftward” (to use a very broad, amorphous sense of the word, detached from its etymology). Women, people of color, gays, etc., have unquestionably advanced, while traditional hierarchical systems like religion and racial stratification have faded in influence. Metal has always been counter cultural, and when it started, with Sabbath in the late 60s, society was more conservative. So it stands to reason that as society becomes more liberal, it’s “cooler” to then be conservative, to trigger the “squares.” Lastly, do not ignore the racial politics. As cities diversified and expanded, culturally, other forms of music have taken root in them - hip hop, avant- guard jazz, electronic, indie/alternative rock, punk, etc. Metal as a culture then retreated to suburban/rural areas, as those populations wanted to distinguish themselves from “the city folk.” Those places tend to be conservative, so the music followed suit.
Why metalheads support Trump of all people doesn't quite track though, not with the anti corporate narrative that is common in metal. I guess it's rebellious in a certain way, but you can't make any reasoning behind it not sound stupid. You can't be rebellious in this way without sounding extremely dumb at the same time. Plus the fact that there are so many others doing it makes it inherently not rebellious, it makes it status quo. I'm not so desperate to be rebellious that I want to throw all reason and logic to the wind. Which is definitely rebellious but it's also branding you an idiot in the process. Congratulations you're a rebel, all it cost you was all dignity and pride and respect for yourself.
@@DeathBYDesign666 Hey, I'm not supporting Trump here, lol. I'm just trying to understand why some would see him (falsely, IMO) as a "counter-cultural hero." When society goes one way, the counter culture will go the other, rightly or wrongly. When A is popular, it's "hip" to go for B. It's a weird thing about human nature.
@@Andyanddiana467 I didn't mean you per say, I was just commenting on the perplexing question of why some of us fall down that rabbit hole. The risk and stigma you get for doing so far outweigh any possible reward that you might get from it.
@@Andyanddiana467 What I'm saying basically is that sentiment only works if you stop using reason and logic. I'm all for rebelling against the system, but to say that it requires you to align with the dumbest most backwards people imaginable only further empowers such people. You have to be slightly dumb not to realize that they are using it against you. His tactics are so obviously designed to appeal to the worst and dumbest aspects of human nature, and as metal heads we should know better.
I think tipper gore inadvertently sold a lot of records with that explicit lyric sticker. But, it turns out a lot of metal had some useful warnings embedded in the music.
Great video! I grew up in the 80's and the notion that thrash/death/black/speed metal is inherently conservative is laughable. Granted some of my friends are conservative/right wing now, but they certainly weren't when we were teenagers. Reconnecting with some of these people as an adult has been quite a shock, lol.
People think traditionalism is the new anti-establishment counter culture in America. Which I'm kinda iffy about, considering those ideals are STILL very kinda mainstream even among American "liberals". So eehhh... They're not as "counter cultural" as they think they are. 😂
@Octavian2 lol how honest of you. I'd say that counter culture worked when conservatives were in control, up until the 90s w the evangelicals. That's why people like Howard stern got so popular. Now the last has taken over and are also policing language to the same degree as the evangelicals but with a different ideological spin, the left wing or counterculture is the establishment now. Both conservatives and liberals seems to get extreme and want to ban language when they attain power.
@@Octavian2 a lot of liberal still don't support the LGBTQ community, quite a few feminists are terfs, a lot of liberals are kinda iffy about abortion or at the very least it's not a top priority for them. Liberals are still very supportive of traditional family units. You know the basic traditional stuff. Liberals aren't as liberal as people make them out to be.
@@BigBl0ck-r9y mostly authoritarian bootlicker shit. The clueless guy in a blue line shirt at a fucking Kreator show was a recent one that was hilarious. Confederate patches (in a northern state no less). Some absolutely wild takes being tossed around in the smoking sections, anything from homophobia to racism. I will say it tends to be more of a thing at like the mid size club level and up. The smaller bar shows around here not so much. But those crowds are mostly girlfriends, and maybe some parents lol.
His arguments doesn't make a lot of sense until you realize that he's dogwhistling about the music genre's majority white demographic. It's not overtly queer or feminine as pop, disco, or electronic music either.
The entire reason why metal scenes get filled up with conservative values nowadays is exactly this. Even in countries that suffer the consequences of establishment and colonialism to this day, we get to hear the words "metal is manly, non-f4g music" Wonder what Rob Halford would think about that lmao
Though appearing menacing and the violence of mosh pits, the metal genre and community is BY FAR the most welcoming and inclusive cultures in the last several decades.
It's pretty clear that you have a bias. Punk would take that from metal. Also, metal is not even second. Punk isn't even first. We have pop music deeply infiltrated by such divisive stuff, politics. Metal never let politics divide it, and even though it was anti-establishment, there were plenty of right-wingers at the time against certain societal norms stemmed from the right. A lot more people were against the government and the norm than thought on both ends. Of course though, everybody would like to use a confirmation bias to prove a point so they can keep listening to music. Music was never made to divide but to bring together...
Partly true but it might not be because of an "essence of metal" but rather because metal has been lucrative and massive since the 1980s, and discrimination along racial gender lines is not good for the simple commercial criteria of "as long as you pay the ticket we dont care about your race or gender"
@@EclecticoIconoclasta Yes, but metal falls outside of traditional marketing sectors. Iron Maiden barely got play and blew up bigger than Metallica ever was.
My Dad raised me on Metal and Blues rock, the heavy and dark themed music. I volunteer at the church around the corners food pantry, I take care of their community garden. I see someone roll up on some ladies or girls walking down the street, I get alert and paranoid. I don’t see too many Conservative Religious people following the teachings of Jesus as much as I follow the Words of Ozzy, Geezer, Dio, and so many Christian Men who where preaching radical love, kindness, and empathy with many of thier lyrics. Kind of like that Jesus dude who Conservatives like to pretend to follow the teachings of. I am an atheist, a socialist, I love gay people, trans people, I respect women at my equal. I’m everything conservatives claim to hate.
Good thing I mostly stay with punk. Any band saying they are punk but spewing right wing garbage would get their asses kicked on stage if they attempted to play to a punk audience.
@@riffcrypt8438 RAC is not punk though. You can take the sound, it's not hard, punk is hardly unique when it comes to sound, it's all about the whole picture, the emotions, the message.
@@Cavi587 Bro...what? Punks always expose themselves as the most gatekeeping conforming posers so damn fast. By your logic the sound is irrelevant and what makes a punk band is if they hold all the right ideas and live up to a certain image. Lul.
@@riffcrypt8438 Well that's exactly what I am saying, but I don't think you understand me well. You call it gatekeeping, fine, you do you. But in reality punk has always been about uniting people so it's natural that nazis and other fascists who are anti-people are not welcome (The reason I am saying that is that you mentioned RAC). If you call it gatekeeping then I don't care, I'd rather be called that then be associated with nazis. There is no right message and no right image for punk. Just look at The Descendents, half of their songs are about stupid shit and their frontman looks like a nerd, but these songs are genuine and 100% punk. The way I define it is that punk is mucis BY people FOR people. Doesn't matter if it's about politics or about a bad breakup, if it's relatable, it can be punk. To me values held by nazis, fascists, nationalists etc are inherently anti-people, that's why I can't ever consider them punk. It's not like RAC guys want to call themselves punks anyways, so what's the issue here?
Meh. I'm more of an individualist and libertarian and I don't hear a lot of metal praising collectivism victimhood and dependency, but this evaluation seems to be based more on whether metal is Socially conservative, which I would agree it is typically not. The nice thing about being an individualist is not caring if people disagree with me though, and metal is big enough for people who believe whatever. I've played in many bands and we almost never all agreed on politics, and almost always agreed that it didn't matter. (Edit: cool vid for sure, cheers!)
I'm libertarian too, and it's funny to me seeing that a lot of lefties don't think that political correctness and cancel culture are the new "Rock n Roll is satan!" and that they are somehow not the new status quo when every corporation and the president supports them.
if the idea of one human depending to another in need instead of a system of antagonism and power accumulation is collectivism, then i happily am a collectivist. Jokes aside, the left ideals couldnt be further from collectivism so lets stay to the argument that they are good but propably utopic.
"Too bluesy" is code word for "black" Also, the anti- Beatles rant was more or less due to Christians turning on them from a quote Lennon said about them being more popular than Jesus. A comment he said in jest due to his being uncomfortable with how kids would scream and cry when they played.
A lot of Asatruars I've met love the viking shit because of how they fought the christians. My favorite story is how they'd land at a town on Sunday, knowing most of the people would be in the church, block them inside, pillage with ease, and torch the place. Using the religion they hold against others against them.
@@slickleg6066 democrats are not metal I agree nothing metal about corporate bootlickers. BUT you will never find more of a corporate bootlicker than those who are in charge of Maga and trump the born wealthy baby oligarch who cares more about big profit business than the American working class. Being pro big business pro greed is the opposite of metal as fuck.
Interesting watch!! Nice to see this among all the bullshit I see sadly and insidiously creeping into the Metal scene and even, to a lesser extent, the Punk scene with nauseating fence-sitting with regards to right-wing reactionaries. As someone who's listened to both of those genres from over three and a half decades, I'm glad to see more people making vidoes on here like this. Glad ye mentioned Panopticon too! I only discovered them recently, after being in a state of despair at all the bland, corporate sludge I've been hearing being passed off as "Metal" or "Punk" in hipster nightclubs etc. 🤦🤮 You've also gained a new subscriber in the form of this communist Irish diaspora Punk Rocker in the UK. Thanks for this!!
Like, what the fuck. Venom, the guys who started it all, always went to church on Sundays. Black Metal was always meant to ve a harder, more provocative sub-genre of pubk that it ripped off generously.
It is not preserving a national identity, it is preserving a regional history which dates back to the Delta River Blues and has been permutated by changes in technology and influences from other sources of music. When you consider that some of sludge's biggest direct "metal" influences were bands like Sabbath, who were influenced by Delta blues artists like Son House and Robert Johnson, it becomes a little bit more clear just how much this music was influenced by a specific region and history, rather than the "American pride" image the south has been stereotyped into. I would also recommend looking into some of the anti-establishment/anti-capitalist/anti-racist history of the deep south, it goes much further than people expect because they have been taught to believe otherwise.
@@jaun4862 I apologize if the text did not communicate the tongue-in-cheek tone I was trying to communicate. I love sludge, and I love it as someone who lives in the American south and how the lyrics and even the composition styles keep the anti-establishment snd anti-capitalist elements. The American pride I hear in sludge is much more a pride for your neighbors and less for your nation, if that makes sense.
What I find funny about that one man's comment about The Beatles and Communism being is how the Soviet Union's government also found ways to hate on rock and metal music. Calling it imperialistic, degenerative, and also using the whole it's influencing our people argument and all that showing their anti rock music stance.
This is the arrogance of some groups who believe they own the entire genre.Metal can be left-wing or right-wing, it can be religious or anti-religious, it can even be for children or adults.
I'm only 2:44 into this video and thinking none of these "Christian " conservatives have never read the book of Genesis, even death metal is not as messed up.
That's a judgement made completely out of ignorance. Maybe you should actually ask a Christian conservative your questions instead of assuming that you know what a person would say.
I wasn't expecting this level of depth tbh! Awesome video + love the aesthetic. As an actual Satanist, I can add that yes, there is definitely an element of fascination and identification with the pre-modern in Satanism. We recognise the fact that modernity tends toward the meek and the essentially Christian. HOWEVER, to all the dumb conservative "Satanists" and "metalheads" who apparently haven't read enough gothic literature to quite catch it: this has NOTHING to do with any kind of nationalism or reactionary conservatism. It has to do with a kind of romanticisation and identification with the Other, often times the *racialised* Other such as in Dracula where the titular villain is not only a bloodthirsty pre-modern, but also a Romanian savage with obvious deep ties with the Romani who serve him. We try to inject mystery and otherness back into the world, to re-enchant it for our own purposes of rebellion and self-affirmation. We try to stoke the fires of the psychopathic and irreverent side of human nature, not to resurrect some idealised glory that we pathetically whine for. Yes, it's anti-liberal, but NOT pro-fascist, and I honestly have no idea what these imbeciles are doing in our spaces.
There were some people on the right that took it too. Alot of guys bent the knee and took the first 2 early on to avoid job loss, potential missed time at work and hospital bills or because they saw other people die or get injured from the virus. Refusing vaccination doesn't makes you a libtard, nor does it mean you're some kind of badass free thinker. It made sense to listen to scientists at the time ( or at the least the majority of them ) that recommended it. Unfortunately, they turned out to be wrong about a lot of sh*t. I know Alice Cooper, King Diamond and all the guys in Saxon and Maiden are vaccinated. And they all lean right. Just sayin'. I know a lot of people ( coworkers, family members ) that refused it that are total NPC's. A lot of you have hilariously convinced yourselves otherwise though.
Metal as a whole is neither Left or Right. Conservative nor Progressive. It's meant to be edgy and shocking to all sides of the political isle. It's libertarian and individualist. To assign it to purely left or right is asinine. There are metal bands of all political walks. Thats why it's down to the individual. Metal is what each band wants it to be to themselves.
@BrutusBathory I watched a couple of your other videos, and now realize you are a spastic lunatic. I apologize to myself for ever engaging with your awful content.
Metal always struck me as more conservative compared to punk and rock. The emphasis on escapism, the supernatural, christianity, individualism etc is closer to the right than the left wing. I don't say that as a negative btw even though I'm not conservative myself.
I share this sentiment. I feel like you're much more likely to run into a right wing metalhead than a leftist one. The leftist metalheads are the ones that are more likely to listen to punk outside of metal.
I don’t see how the super natural, individualism and escapism are connected to conservatism, individualism and escapism can be solidly connected to anarchist ideals. I also don’t see how Christianity is connected to metal
@@sadvillain3628Most metal fans in the 80s and 90s tended to be right wing. Guys like Phil Anselmo were basically the walking talking stereotype of your average metal fan.
Anyone who says “keep politics out of metal” is always a right wing dork who thinks the fact that people care about racism in metal is “some cancel culture”
There came a social reckoning in the late 2000s, where there was a major shift in terms of what was considered mainstream and what wasn't - Being gay, being black, being a woman, etc... these were things that held you back, and around then in particular, the culture said, "That's stupid, being a bigot isn't cool anymore." So nowadays, being counter-culture is being alt-right. Being conservative is considering being lame instead of being a fruity hippie, or whatever you wanted to call it. So yeah, if you're being a childish contrarian now, like a lot of metal has traditionally been, and you're doing things just to piss normal people off, it might look like the right is still metal. At the end of the day, the left will always have GWAR, though, so they win as far as I'm concerned.
17:00 for the past decade, most of my CDs have come across the Merch table. Lot of good metal out there. Support your small clubs and independent music.
Meanwhile they tolerated other OLDER music genres that they USED TO criticize even further back then (jazz, blues, etc). Now they're doing it again with Metal
Conservatism has nothing to do with patriotism per se. You can very much be a liberal, progressive etc., while still being patriotic. To give an example from the history of my country, at around the time of independence, the extreme far left wanted to align the country with Soviet Russia (the Soviet Union hadn't been founded yet), while the conservative right wanted to make us a satellite state of Germany - while the moderate left and liberal right were the ones pushing for an actually independent country.
@@nietzscheankant6984 As a left winger democratic socialist, I oppose both liberals and conservatives. In most of the world, liberalism is actually considered a right wing ideology. Aditionally, in most of the world there is a tendency of left wing nationalism which is opposed to western imperialism and racism.
Out of all the conservative revisionist wastes I've heard, this one is the most insulting as a diehard fan of 80s metal. They cherry picked pretty hard to avoid Venom, Slayer, King Diamond and the undeniable influence of Satanism in metal. Metal is often areligious or anti-Christian. Always has been Edit: sighhhhh I know Slayer are right-wing. They have blasphemous songs and albums though, hence they were included in a specific context
@@xbfdx988 Pro-life isn't an inherently conservative position, unless you'd argue hardline vegans are conservative. Sanctity of life is a concept that can be used to argue for a lot of positions conservatives tend to reject, like anti-death penalty, anti-militarism and non-violence, etc. Conservatives have a lot of arguments for why they reject a more consistent stance on sanctity of life, indicating they only consider it a priority some of the time. They're entitled to that, but it also is an admission that they don't hold a monopoly on pro-life values because consistent pro-life values aren't their priority.
@@xbfdx988 In the 80s?! That wasn't an unpopular position at that time. Even 90s hardcore bands were "pro life". Also I specifically named them alongside King Diamond and Venom because I was talking about blasphemous and Satanic themes. I didn't champion them as anti-right. Read the context
@@xbfdx988 Hardcore bands have always taken "conservative" positions alongside their leftist values. I just mentioned 90s hardcore, and it goes back to 80s hardcore. There were "pro life" hardcore bands. There were anti-drug hardcore bands. There were even bands who believed pre-marital sex was bad for weird Hinduist reasons. The "pro life" one was always a conservative issue, I agree, but it wasn't an uncommon one and it was treated as "nuanced" once upon a time. Pointing to any pro life song from the 80s doesn't say much considering the times. Weren't Bad Brains also homophobic?
@@xbfdx988 Also, again, I was naming them alongside bands who use pentagrams and talk about Anti-Christian stuff. Are you gonna bring up the fact one of the members is Catholic too?
God these comments are atrocious. I have never seen so many people completely miss what the video is talking about. F.D is in this vid which is enough for me. Im gonna watch your video on dave mustaine next because his early work is some of my absolute favorite.
Metal has always been anti establishment. Apparently some folks don't realize they ARE the establishment that metal is against.
Exactly
Like how Paul Ryan likes Rage Against the Machine
Like cops listening to be punk lol
based
The left literally doesn't exist in any meaningful capacity in contemporary politics, where is this leftist establishment you claim to rebel against? You are in an echo chamber read some theory.
The Satanic Panic was conservative. The reaction against rock has always been conservative. Conservative social misfits like metal because it’s angry. That’s as deep as it gets.
Kind of like how they liked killing in the name of but never understand the lyrics.
@@charion1234or fortunate son but vote for trump who is literally the fortunate son
Then came the moral panic from the left in the 90s. They just switch every other decade
sort of, but the history is still interesting.
I am a conservative musician who loves good music. You don't have to be angry necessarily. And many conservatives 'reaction' is enjoy rock very much. It's best to judge individuals based on their individual actions and individual character, not on a group that they get lumped into.
"metal is conservative and teaches traditional Christian society values"
Thrash metal: hello
I'm a Christian and a thrash fan. Not excited about almost every thrash band having to have at least one anti-God song on every album. But I have been a thrasher since it has been around. Both listening to it and playing it myself...
Listening to classic thrash as a teenager honestly helped me discover my own personal political and religious beliefs. It wasn't exactly academic literature, but hearing perspectives opposing the way things were caused me to think more deeply about the world. That's why conservatives and fascists in metal confuse me so much, they stand against everything that drew me to the genre to begin with. Thrash (and everything else) moved me to the left.
@@jefjaeger same I believe in god AND I am a Slayer fan!
@@glitchedoom I can't say enough how much I love environmentalist thrash metal songs
@@glitchedoom You make some good points. But a lot of music and movies actually help me to strengthen my religious and conservative convictions. I personally disagree with many statements made in lyrics from many of my favorite songs. I can maintain my strong beliefs and still listen to things and people that are in disagreement - or even polar opposite of my beliefs. There is nothing to be confused about. I find that as a Christian and conservative, many people I deal on a daily basics with don't see things the way I do. I still have good friends, run a business, play in bands, and go to shows, and it is not a problem. If everyone chose to get along with people they don't agree with on various things, we would have a much better country! Basically, everyone who likes music should enjoy it. So what if it doesn't agree with what you believe exactly? I would have to be extremely picky if I chose only music that agreed with my exact beliefs. Also, as a person ages, their beliefs sometimes change a bit. I personally choose to avoid some music that is very Satanic or anti-God, of if it is full of left-wing lectures. We all make our own choices, and we should respect each others choices made as individuals.
Conservatives was literally Heavy Metal's biggest enemy like wth
They were also the enemies of Punk and Hardcore, but in the last decade or so they want to hijack that now. These people claim they are the true punk rockers because they see themselves as rebels against the left. It's so cringe and them hijacking metal I just find funny.
@@deafworldstudios8644 and when did I say the opposite?
maybe in USA with that weird Reagan nonesense. But in Europe it was appealing to classic music.
@@gerardsotxoa Iron Maiden literally had a album cover where Eddie kills Margaret Thatcher
@@Dal-user ohh yes... the britts...
Hating on tatcher was popular back then but the toris did't launched that anti-satan metal movement like the wife of Ronald Reagan. Or maybe it was just funnier the american way so it's the one remembered.
Metal fundamentally was anti-establishment, so no it wasn’t conservative.
What's more establishment than liberalism wanting bigger government?
That doesn't make it progressive, either.
@@toedrag-release Ah yes, the conservatives with their famous anti-big government stances like banning books, banning reproductive health care, banning student protests, war on drugs, attempts to enforce "Christian values" in governance and the legal system, and operation of the largest military empire the world has ever seen. Super duper small government, dude.
@@hydrophobia936 Progressive causes tend to challenge established ideas, mores etc., so it's kind of close tbh. Not that the bands/lyrics themselves might be speaking about present-day causes or whatever, but their spirit rather often aligns quite easily with the "progressive spirit" - individuals standing up for what they believe and who they are, challenging norms and the society etc.
That said, there are so many metal is such a large 'movement', that as an almost inevitable result you'll have some conservative-leaning folk (people neither particularly able and/or willing to learn, and therefore cautious/suspicious of new things, though they might not be obsessively homophobic etc. as such) as well as properly shitty reactionaries, racists, sexists etc., as well as the edgelords, who may or may not believe in any or all the nonsense they spew.
Thankfully their numbers seem to be dwindling (I remember getting into atmospheric black metal way back, and trying to find [especially Ukrainian/Russian] bands WITHOUT associations to neonazi or somesuch bands/individuals was like playing a reverse form of "where's Waldo?"...)
I mean, there are nazi punks, which might be even more absurd. (Heck, there are even white power/neonazi hip hop and reggae groups iirc. - stuff that would've certainly been considered "entartete" by the OG dumbasses.)
Do you think it is the 1950s? The left are in charge of America. Who controls the culture?
Thank fuck, finally a chill metal channel. Subbing.
I think I’d best describe my thoughts on the matter as that metal may not be inherently political in the same sense that punk is, but its working-class roots, anti-commercialism, inclusivity, and anti-authoritarian attitude resonate strongly with leftist values, especially in the modern political climate.
In heavy metal there is all you can imagine
@radoslavdimitrov7505. You just described what the original term for liberal meant.
@@NuMetalfan1996 exactly
@@radoslavdimitrov7505 yeah I don’t know why people have associated these terms like liberal and conservative for something they were never meant in the first place, over the last 10 years for some reason.
liberal means to be open minded and to have free expressions and thoughts, and Conservative means to have traditional values and being averse to change.
Yet over the last 10 years, so called “left” wing people want to censor everything because it might hurt someone’s feeling’s yet that is not being liberal at all and actually against everything that the word actually means.
And “Conservative’s” are now the voice for free thought and open mindedness.
What the fuck has happened?.
Well said
what a strange claim. for example, i can easily imagine someone who will do my laundry for me. in fact, that just happened today. they picked it up and dropped it off 8 hours later. heavy metal won't do my laundry for me.
Metal has always been anti establishment counter culture music, and you can damn well find any band in any scene, in any country, against any side of any politics or religion or for it. It is this freedom to express that makes it appealing to people worldwide. For every nationalist socialist black metal band there are radical leftist black metal bands condemning them while still using the same imagery and sound. Theres anti-communist black metal bands in indonesia, as well as pro communist black metal bands in the west. Theres anti islamic bands in the middle east and christian black metal in the US. Anyways Black Sabbath and the early bands were all just hippies into the blues. The older heads will all tell you they are either indifferent or against the idea of politics being used in their music.
I hate to be the one to tell you, but being anticommunist in indonesia is very much proestablishment stance, since being communist in Indonesia got thousands brutally murdered.
"Christian Black Metal" is called "White Metal," not Christian Black Metal.
@@jessieeermit4599 Music Genre's are a construct of music publishers for marketing purposes. Audiences that care about these construct are playing into the Marketed Tribalism. It is okay if you care. I just know what I like and the less I care about Genre and labels the more music I find that I like,.
@@1eviledy What does that have to do with my comment? I also like many different types of music, but there's no such thing as "Christian Black Metal," the name is White Metal.
@@jessieeermit4599 When I looked up Christian Black metal it says they call it UnBlack metal. They being those in the marketing dept. lol
Nothing personal just find it hilarious when people get all bent about labeling their music based on the tribe they identify with.
Its pitch was too "bluesy"? Wonder what word he would sub out for bluesy once you got a couple of drinks in him lol
A color darker than blue, methinks 🤔
the n word
Yo, anyone who's gonna talk about Bathory and F. D. Signifier in the same video gets my sub. Awesome video.
Edit: Panopticon is the shit. As someone who records alone and also hails from appalachia, its probably the black metal project that has influenced me the most.
F.D. Signifier is 🐐
Years ago i was really bummed because it seemed like all extreme metal was plagued by racist, white supremacist nationalist. The i discovered Panopticon and the rest of the bands under the umbrella that is Red Anaachist Black Metal, and i was amazed by the quality and the existence of like minded metalheads.
I've always had one foot in the metal scene, and one in the hippie scene. They both have a similar problem: they started off as counterculture, but the progressive traits are stripped away when the dominant culture adopts the music meant to rebel against it. What's why you have Paul Ryan claiming to like RATM, and Tucker Carlson being a huge Deadhead
He's a deadhead alt right but they don't claim him. Jerry laughs from the grave
The dominant capitalist conformist culture will defang and coopt everything from MLK to punk rock to metal
It feels so good to not feel alone! Thanks for posting🤘
Is metal conservative? Metalheads are not a monolith. Different metalheads and different bands have their own opinions like everyone else do.
and conservative metal is a just like white facebook rappers. they do not really belong
Exactly
Its course not completely conservative, but its a hell of alot more conservative/right wing than it used to be. Like in black metal circles, people often get mad when you call out nazis, but then bands that are openly condeming nazisim, are heavily critisised for "bringing politics into metal."
26:45 metal is not a monolith.
Correct. Most metal bands politically are probably pretty classical Libertarian overall if I had to guess
Metal is a place for those of us who dont feel like we have a place in the status quo (another reason it sucks to see metalheads not appreciating the few women in the scene). It's also weird how people can "love" a thing and entirely miss the message of it, Paul Ryan being a RATM fan is a particularly greigious example.
Great work
@@Johnmrobinson-vb5vd when you're as far left as I am, any defense of the status quo is conservative and rightwing
Edit: in American politics/economics anyway. Other countries do a much better job
What are you talking about with missing the "message" of metal? Is this not upholding a status quo of your own? To say that there is an inherent meaning or message of metal as a whole? An individual band or artist has their own songs, with their own message, if they even have a particular message to begin with. It could be for their own enjoyment and self expression. To me your views aren't consistent.
@Napalmthrower well, you're the one asserting that I claimed metal as a genre has a message. The example I gave was extremely specific: the third most powerful person in American politics at the time "loves" a band with truly radical leftist messages. It's an entirely different thought to the first sentence in my comment. But I suppose you can dislike a thing and entirely miss the meaning as well
@@billmozart7288 I get it now. I was under the impression that you were talking about metal as a whole and giving the example of that band and that person (to represent someone missing the point of metal, rather than missing the point of a specific artist). That being said, in art of any form, be it music or something else, the only time it is possible to even miss the message of something is if the artist has explicitly laid out what it is they want to be conveyed, and furthermore, asserts that they have a desire for people to think like they do. I absolutely disagree you can miss the meaning of an entire "thing", in this context. Metal, and the majority of genres of music and art in general, is way too broad for that.
Punk also has the same kinda fan base; but for some reason the older "punks" are tending towards Maga and nationalism now?! (Not all of them; but enough to raise eyebrows).
similar to megadeth, pantera used to scream anti-authoritarian lyrics back in the 90s as well...only for the frontman and a lot of the bands fans to support modern-day conservative rhetoric; it's a shame. either way great video, you've earned a sub.
When people get a taste of wealth they often start developing political ideals to cater to their own lifestyle
Pantera has always been conservative, just conservatives pointing out government flaws
@@mauriceholmesiv1280 conservatives are pro government overreach, never forget that
they didn't change their stance on being anti authoritarian. only what they see as the authorities/ being authoritarian.
@@AlexHalt100 meh, screaming white power, having a history of white pride speeches and throwing an infamous dictator's salute still seems pretty hypocritical to me. spewing nazi rhetoric is blatantly pro-authoritarian so he'd have to be pretty stupid.
As a veteran and a life long metalhead it's not surprising to see the power and aggression generated by METAL attract it's fair share of right wing conservatives.
@clarencespangle2599 "I'm never board, when I'm a killin' for the lord."
Circle Jerks/Killing for Jesus
@clarencespangle2599bro is quoting funny mustache man unironically lmao
You’d be getting thrown into the meat grinder if he was in power. “No I wouldn’t, I’m a pure alpha euro patriot 🤓” go outside and throw football or something
@clarencespangle2599 sorry I don’t speak French
we've all seen pump up the volume, suburbia def looks like a hell all its own. those spoiled little kids get everything given to them so they prob hate everyone and feel that Metal aggression. metal might have even started in the suburbs.
Metal is definetely not conservative!
I remember the satanic panic!! 😂
Good times..I wish metal was threatening in that way again
Conservative and right wing aren't the same thing
@@jorgecaicedo1982 the closest thing to an actual "satanic panic" today are guys like this scaring themselves to sleep over nsbm
There were real victims of the satanic panic. I was one of them. I was relentlessly harassed by cops & put on probation or in jail by a judge in the small rural town I grew up in.
The judge told my mom once that he was gonna put me in jail for 6 months when I turned 18 because I was a "devil worshipper."
It was terrifying as a kid & teenager.
@@jorgecaicedo1982 Sing about Islam and Judaism like they do/did about Christianity and it will.
As it does with all dissenting art, the filthy lucre of capitalism seeks to swallow heavy metal whole.
I wish I could leave a like but mine would be the 667th #hailsatan
Capitalism is Satan so you need to sort out your incoherent ideas. Either you think money should be the only source of power and thus the wikied shall rule the earth, or you are a Right-Winger that oppose the power of money and wish to combat the power of money using the more noble forms of power such as faith and the sword.
Based, bro.
Ayyye, the Uncle FD reference!
I walk into a video like this from a creator I’m not familiar with, with a finger on the eject button, but this one was a delight. Any time Unc shows up it’s a good sign
Same 😂
Being political in metal music is totally okay. The thing is, is your music good enough to be actual entertainment or is it just there to cash in on virtue signaling or culture war nonsense. Politics have been a thing in metal since the beginning. These albums from the top of my head alone are ridden with political messages.
- Metallica's - ...And Justice for All
- Megadeth's - almost entire discography
- System of a Down - same as above
- Death - Spiritual Healing
- Panopticon - idem, but Kentucky especially
- Napalm Death - Their entire existence is a political statement
- Carcass - mostly about bad practices in the food and medical industry
This is also true for the more....distasteful politics:
sigh....Burzum
@@patrickbertlein4626 he does. Check the lyrics of some of his songs again. My Journey to the Stars for instance.
@@jw7500i always thought it was more about paganism and spirituality
@@cesarpietrocalathaki9539 that's the problem with Burzum and some other black metal groups (Nokturnal Mortum being another example). They have quite a bit of music about general history, folklore or nature but sometimes also some works that touch upon some very no bueno ways of thinking.
I can't say I'm a Black Sabbath expert but I present to you War Pigs.
One of Carcass's best songs is about deindustrialization of the first world.
Metal is more outlaw than anything its not right or left its about individualism hence the overlap with outlaw biker culture and aesthetics. 70s metal especially if you trace it back through the hippie subculture it sort of sprouted from.
Bingo.
Exactly. Metal is negative. If society is Christian, you become Satanist. If society preaches LGBT, you condemn it.
Metal outlaw? Also a simplification. The core of metal is clearly not "lawlessness" but more clearly post-hippie rebelion which absorved more pesimistic, dark and tougher themes and personalities from centuries of western culture than hippies did. Not every person that rides a bike is an "outlaw" either and Halford from Judas Priest even borrowed elements from gay leather culture when pioneering standard metal dress style
Yep, the original metalheads were basically quasi-hippies that got sick of the flower power crap and wanted rock music with heavy guitars and rhythm section , lyrics about the darker side of life that they were picking up on while hippies were ignoring because it gave off "bad vibes, man".
Never thought that FD Signifier would get mentioned here. Im gonna sub
I think the right is currently attaching themselfes onto Metal for a very simple reason: Masculinity.
The predominant cultural war is a lot about gender and I'm not gonna lie. A lot of metal heads are friggn ripped as hell and that's pretty damn badass. So it makes sense to me that the right is seeing this as a positive representation in media where masculinity is positivly displayed and try to use it to their advantage.
But generally thanks for the video. A lot of informations about metal I never really thought about. So I kind of was like that kid in the metallica shirt, which was a very good representation how I felt listening xD
Ill be honest i went into this thinking it was going to be borderline unwatchable, just going on and on about nsbm bands or five finger death punch or what not but instead got a really well researched video essay regarding the absolute stupidity that was the satanic panic along with a pretty scathing call out of society as well as proving that metal is very anti-conformist... not bad... liked and subbed
what do you mean I don't believe in god
talk to him every day
❤ Megadeth
Dave before he became a religious nut.
@@mikearisbrocken8507 No, he claims he meant that literally. He was a junkie religious nut.
Great video. Love to see f.d. signifier clip
Metal, of course, is neither inherently conservative nor progressive.
You just need to understand that the main point here is not any rebellion. This is deeply escapist music and even socially/politically engaged topics are presented through this filter of escapism. Of course, there are exceptions and of course I'm not talking about poor metal-like products like core and nu.
That said, despite being an ideologically neutral genre of music, metal, especially in its classical variants and black metal, is perfectly tailored to the sensibilities of certain types of right-wingers. Metal is, especially in the above-mentioned subgenres, the musical equivalent of fantasy/sci-fi and testosterone-charged action films from the 1980s. It is absolutely no surprise that it reaches circles with an above-average concentration of fans of Tolkien, Howard, Lovecraft, old Stallone movies and historical military nerds.
Exactly, there hasn't been any real sense of rebellion in metal for like 40 years (and that rebellion was only a response to the panic it had already caused by merely existing), because nobody actually cares about it as a moral issue anymore. People thinking of metal's existence as a political statement rather than escapism, dumb fun, whether in the form of heavy metal's classic fantasy, black metal's gothic mysticism, or slam's gory perversion, misses the mark in the same way that people claiming metal as inherently "horror music" does. Metal isn't scary, it never really has been, except for the handful of bands which would go on to genuinely attempt that.
This is perfectly stated. You have extremists in either direction, sure. But generally, metal doesn't have any inherent political leanings.
if you think that the dichotomy is between conservative and progressive, then you're a liberal. Metal is foundationally leftist.
Well the Metal derived from Punk in the eighties like Thrash could be very political. That includes Metallica as well, no matter how much James Hetfield tries to gaslight people about it nowadays
Describing metal as "ideologically neutral genere of music" - oh sweet summer child.
30:58 "Anti Antifa" 😂Well, that's redundant. Why not just "Fascism"?
WHere I live, most people associate antifa with ski maks wearing people just vandalizing cars and shops during what is supposed to be a peaceful protest. So, alot of people dislike them and would say that they're anti antifa because it's so associated with vandalism.
impeccable video! love to see the FD signifier quote, and you speak very candidly and well-informed.. also that last line is very based B)
The comments are great
I love when people willfully miss the point
There has been an attempt in recent years by conservatives to coopt metal, mainly because of the overlap with both lonely white young incels and aging Gen Xers who have gotten more conservative over time. But from its early days with Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, metal has always been anti-consumerist, anti-conformist, anti-militarism, and not interested in your ethnic background or sexual orientation as long as you can dig the music. That explains its popularity in Latin America, Asia, and even Africa (with scenes in Botswana, Mozambique, and Angola, among others). By the way, Iron Maiden and Saxon are anti-war and take an ironic view toward ethno-centric nationalism at best. "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "Power and Glory" should tell you all you need to know, respectively. The conservative attempt at usurpation is doomed to fail.
But I will argue that metal as a subculture have a tendency to be alluring to conservatives or makes people that way (Im not sure how it really works) Im from a latin american country and that is how I've perceived it here. I like metal music but I dislike right wing rethoric so that is why I abandoned my social life around metalheads in my country.
@@Diogolindir I think it has to do with the aggressive imagery and macho posturing. Here in North America and in Europe, though, women and racial minorities have made inroads into metal, even in "extreme" subgenres like death and black metal, and there is even an entire scene of anti-fascist death metal here in the States. Add to that the fact that conservatives love religion, and metal challenges religion, can lead to some hard choices for any right-winger trying to coopt a scene.
You sound like a newbie
@@CarlinhosDalvaCleide2050 Listening for 35+ years. Sorry, did I upset your breakfast?
@@xbfdx988 Crusader was ironic. Biff's no dummy! Iron Maiden did have some pretty ra-ra-Britain songs (or however they cheer in Britain), influenced undoubtedly by Bruce, but they weren't as conservative as some on the right would like.
I mean dude, grindcore was literally revolutionised by a british band making an album about how much they hate Margaret Thatcher. How the fuck did people think it was conservative? Of course yes an establishment did form with the anti-establishment music but that's the way it goes. Blah blah, industries, capitalism n shit.
If I hear a riff that knocks my socks off, I really dont care what the players politics are. But Im a musician, so I guess Im listening for different reasons.
Everyone can enjoy music as they wish, that's the beauty of it. If you're a musician and you love the technical aspects of music, that is awesome. Personally I listen mostly to punk and what I seek from this genre is the message. All I need is some simple riff and a few power chords with a strong message and I am hooked.
@RadioControlGuitaist... Same here... For example I like Arghoslent for the song writing and the music cause the riffs are killing
You are listening for the right reasons
I've once heard someone say that the riff from Pantera's "Walk" is "the most racist riff he's ever heard".
@@RÅNÇIÐ LOL
I really don't think metal fits very well into the modernist framing of good vs evil, left vs right, old vs new, conservative vs progressive. Philosophically it's kinda it's own thing, with it's own community, with it's own economy, viewing things from it's own perspective and have it's own morals. If you view it from the perspective of a modernist philosophy with a lens filtering anything I just listed you'll find it rejects pretty much everything you throw at it. This is because metal is such a wide and developed subculture that it could actually transcend to rival institutional religions and political factions if organized to do so.
Tbh left vs right is a stupid terminology anyway, it's just a different way of saying team 1 vs team 2, when actually there are several teams creating alliances and rivalries.
@@Arthur_-xv4ytThe notion that any culture can create a uniformity at all is rediculus. The belief in that have created so much problems for humanity. Even if we go back to ancient small tribes theres always been this necessity for specialization to be able to perform tasks for the group. Even with such small societies you would have had different interests colliding within these tribes due to the distribution of specialties and how each member views the importance of those specialties to the groups. This is the foundation of idealogical politics.
@@Arthur_-xv4yt Agreed. Left and right are huge oversimplifications. There's a layer of division both on the ideological/theoretical level and another when it comes to the practical/political level. Two people might have similar ideals but differ radically on how to implement those ideals.
@@Arthur_-xv4yt It's actually just 1 big team that pretends to be 2 teams
RUclips algorithm feeeding me good with this one, instantly subbed!!
Wow. Great vid, person. It really goes to show how insidious many of these rhetoricians are when it comes to metal.
99 percent of what I listen to is underground hip hop and prog metal. Hip Hop is far more reactionary and it's not even close. The only exception is Black Metal which is infested with N*zis. But, overall, if anything, metal has become one of the most diverse genres. Bands have a lot more female members and POC. When lyrics are "political" its usually left leaning like criticizing religion, war and climate change. Gojira is a goods exmaple
mhm, and that's not to even mention the explicitly on-the-tin leftist bands like Cattle Decap and whatnot.
I feel like metal as a whole could use a bit more representation of POC and women, as they are still quite rare in what I'm seeing. Same goes for hip hop, which a substantial portion of the metal community seems to hate (for example, think about the hate rap metal and nu metal have received). I think it's a good thing that these things seem to be changing though and personally I can appreciate both genres of music as well. But as far as I'm concerned, they could be changing a bit faster. I like Gojira, which you mentioned, but although their music is great and the guys seem to be quite wholesome, it unfortunately does not contribute too much to change in that sense as they are still all white dudes.
(I don't see this as a huge issue as it is just one band, but it just goes to show y'know)
yes but
They only criticize christianity cause its the low hanging fruit and noboby has to fear consequences. Imagine metal starts criticizing Islam (like wtf yes it should cause its fucking metal and it gives zero fucks). And yes, Black Metal got its Nazi subgenre but its not generally "infected". Actually its full of Misantrhopes, Nihilists and mainly punks
Maybe Hip Hop is as a whole more reactionary, but The Coup exists.
HipHop is reactionary now?
Well, if you think about it.... it became pop during the 90's... Yeah... makes sense.
Subscribed. It's hard finding fellow metalheads who are also progressive leftist haha
Totally agree!
That's part of why I've always preferred punk
@@KlaireMurre yeah I prefer punks attitude it's just tough sometimes with "true" punk how damn simple it is sometimes (less is more though I admit that) but if you e got some good punk bands a metal/core head could enjoy I'm down to try more
If you try to claim that metal is conservative, you know nothing about metal. 😂
Great video!
Metal is anti conformist. Voting for either party is conforming to the system.
@@Johnmrobinson-vb5vdthose two things do not mean the same thing. Please don’t talk about things you don’t know shit about.
@@Johnmrobinson-vb5vd aaaah, you’re 12. Got it.
@@Ridgegetsreal777yet so many metal fans are Trump supporters , or the ones I know anyway. What's odd is back in the 80s , conservativism was the enemy. Religion is heavily intertwined in conservatism and they definitely wanted it cancelled.
Metal is niether liberal or conservative. It's about rebelling against all sytems of oppressions in the world. I myself asa Metalhead am left wing because the right did everything to push me to that side, with their intolerance, plus people on the left have been more nicer to me in comparison to people on the right, though both have their flaws ofcourse.
A salient and well-thought editorial essay.
if hasan piker made a video on metal...
Metal is a microcosm of society and therefore mirrors the social and political attitudes of society at large. I dont think the metal communiyy s more conservative as a whole than socoety at large. I would like to think it is more progressive than society in general, but the truth is probably somewhere in the middle as it is with most issues. The beauty of metal or art in general is that it transcends the pedestrian views of culture.
Very good video and interesting debate spawning in the comment section. Props and hails, my brother
Don´t know how it goes in America, is too chaotic there.
In Europe you can never label metal in any way because there is so much variety but most important, is viewed as artform and got absolutely nothing to do with politics.
If only it was that way here in the states.
@@Stable_GeniusI was on my way to making a business of making metal artwork, but I couldn't stand the backwards ideology that aligned with racist and conservative values so I gave it up. I still love the music but I can't in good conscience endorse these types anymore. The ingredients were certainly there for this shift to happen though and I saw it 15 years ago. I think they are gravely mistaken if they think they will be more accepted in a Christian nationalist society though so I don't really get it.
@@ElizabethIversen-db6vo I think that the Dems are doing it to placate to their Jewish voter base but the Republicans are fully on board with the genocides in Palestine. One is still definitely worse than the other and you kinda have to go with that over possible dictatorship that will be worse for them and us. Trump turned a sick world to one that's even sicker. We can't afford to sit this one out no matter how we feel about the current situation either and that's the sickest thing of all.
Wish you were right, but I'm afraid politics, good thinking and politicaly correct are taking over metal (and rock) scene here in France
that's pretty much the same in every part of the world, though in LATAM it's pretty normal for metalheads to be left wing
Dude, great video! Love it, and glad this popped up in my recommended. Instant sub from me.
Not to self plug, but I genuinely wonder what the conservatives that are trying to co-opt metal think about the kind of modern Satanic panic I'm currently documenting. In my state of Tennessee, an overwhelmingly conservative and religious state, a local, grassroots metal festival was nearly shut down due to religious and conservative protest. Down here, there's no discussion of metal being conservative. It's quite literally the satanic panic all over again when it gains any sort public of platform. Just goes to prove all your points. Keep up the videos, comrade.
Overfixating in conservatism as the bad guys is also an issue. People forget that liberals are also right wing, and both are equally establishment. True revolution is against the wealthy and powerful, even against "civilized" norms of the aristocrats of culture, as exemplified by the rebellious, anti establishment and unapologetically working class early metal. And that culture exalted the macho man's man or "holding on to pride an tradition" (as said by Anthrax, a left wing, Bernie supporting band). This may upset intellectuals who see everything as progressivism vs conservatism, but instead of idealizing we should observe and respect how the actual workers of the world who aren't afraid to raise their fist and rebel act.
The real battle isn't "progressives" vs "conservatives", but one of a rebelling working class against those who uphold the bourgeois establishment. And even a (sadly) nowadays right wing Bruce Dickinson still knows this, denouncing the bourgeois every time he can.
Liberals are left wing Conservatisves are right wing this is established from the onset of the terms in politics. You are confusing right and left for authoritarian and libertine. There is also the horseshoe theory that says the further to the extremes you go, the greater the likelihood to find similarity. See the anti-vaccination crowd, a mix of crunchy granola anti-corporate, and God-fearing anti-government.
Agree. The problem is the US where there is no left wing parties in its congress, unlike most democracies around the world. Liberals in most of the rest of the world tend to be seen as right wingers, but almost only in the US they are seen as "progressive" or even left wing. It is the general right wing tendency of US politics when compared to european and latin american politics
I don’t think metal is necessarily conservative, but it does have a certain libertarian aesthetic. Also, metal music promotes a certain “tough guy” mentality that can, in some instances, inspire listeners to follow those whom they perceive as counter-cultural “Rebels,” eg., Trump.
Take Mustaine - a closer retrospective of his lyrics, even on the early records, reveals these very traits. Methinks he didn’t “turn” conservative; he always, deep down, was. Also, anyone from anywhere along the political spectrum will admit that society, culturally, HAS moved “leftward” (to use a very broad, amorphous sense of the word, detached from its etymology). Women, people of color, gays, etc., have unquestionably advanced, while traditional hierarchical systems like religion and racial stratification have faded in influence.
Metal has always been counter cultural, and when it started, with Sabbath in the late 60s, society was more conservative. So it stands to reason that as society becomes more liberal, it’s “cooler” to then be conservative, to trigger the “squares.”
Lastly, do not ignore the racial politics. As cities diversified and expanded, culturally, other forms of music have taken root in them - hip hop, avant- guard jazz, electronic, indie/alternative rock, punk, etc.
Metal as a culture then retreated to suburban/rural areas, as those populations wanted to distinguish themselves from “the city folk.” Those places tend to be conservative, so the music followed suit.
Great post and adds to a more nuanced discussion
Why metalheads support Trump of all people doesn't quite track though, not with the anti corporate narrative that is common in metal. I guess it's rebellious in a certain way, but you can't make any reasoning behind it not sound stupid. You can't be rebellious in this way without sounding extremely dumb at the same time. Plus the fact that there are so many others doing it makes it inherently not rebellious, it makes it status quo. I'm not so desperate to be rebellious that I want to throw all reason and logic to the wind. Which is definitely rebellious but it's also branding you an idiot in the process. Congratulations you're a rebel, all it cost you was all dignity and pride and respect for yourself.
@@DeathBYDesign666 Hey, I'm not supporting Trump here, lol. I'm just trying to understand why some would see him (falsely, IMO) as a "counter-cultural hero." When society goes one way, the counter culture will go the other, rightly or wrongly. When A is popular, it's "hip" to go for B. It's a weird thing about human nature.
@@Andyanddiana467 I didn't mean you per say, I was just commenting on the perplexing question of why some of us fall down that rabbit hole. The risk and stigma you get for doing so far outweigh any possible reward that you might get from it.
@@Andyanddiana467 What I'm saying basically is that sentiment only works if you stop using reason and logic. I'm all for rebelling against the system, but to say that it requires you to align with the dumbest most backwards people imaginable only further empowers such people. You have to be slightly dumb not to realize that they are using it against you. His tactics are so obviously designed to appeal to the worst and dumbest aspects of human nature, and as metal heads we should know better.
I think tipper gore inadvertently sold a lot of records with that explicit lyric sticker.
But, it turns out a lot of metal had some useful warnings embedded in the music.
Another left-wing metal channel? Just subscribed.
Metal is my favourite music. We need more channels like this.
Dave Mustaine didn’t initially understand killing for religion, but he figured it out later.
Great video! I grew up in the 80's and the notion that thrash/death/black/speed metal is inherently conservative is laughable. Granted some of my friends are conservative/right wing now, but they certainly weren't when we were teenagers. Reconnecting with some of these people as an adult has been quite a shock, lol.
Yesterdays liberalism is todays conservatism.
Very true here in America, where some of Eisenhower era policies are now deemed "far left".
Considering the fall of roe v wade, I think you have that backwards
21:26 ramstein, we're all living in america, highlights this point very nicely, especially when you consider the music video with it
I just subbed.
Just about every metal channel is reactionary as fuck.
I was vibing w this vid then FD pops up and I was like "yes, subscribe"
People think traditionalism is the new anti-establishment counter culture in America. Which I'm kinda iffy about, considering those ideals are STILL very kinda mainstream even among American "liberals". So eehhh... They're not as "counter cultural" as they think they are. 😂
the establishment is jewish and zionist so being a n4zi is punk
How is it mainstream when it’s condemned by the establishment? Traditionalism is dead in this modern society
Which traditional ideas or values would you say liberals possess. I'm just curious and trying to do a 'gotcha' on you.
@Octavian2 lol how honest of you.
I'd say that counter culture worked when conservatives were in control, up until the 90s w the evangelicals. That's why people like Howard stern got so popular.
Now the last has taken over and are also policing language to the same degree as the evangelicals but with a different ideological spin, the left wing or counterculture is the establishment now.
Both conservatives and liberals seems to get extreme and want to ban language when they attain power.
@@Octavian2 a lot of liberal still don't support the LGBTQ community, quite a few feminists are terfs, a lot of liberals are kinda iffy about abortion or at the very least it's not a top priority for them. Liberals are still very supportive of traditional family units. You know the basic traditional stuff. Liberals aren't as liberal as people make them out to be.
very interesting video essay!
Love this video, the amount of right wing bullshit I’ve been running into at shows has grown exponentially over the years and I’m sick of it.
@@BigBl0ck-r9y mostly authoritarian bootlicker shit. The clueless guy in a blue line shirt at a fucking Kreator show was a recent one that was hilarious. Confederate patches (in a northern state no less). Some absolutely wild takes being tossed around in the smoking sections, anything from homophobia to racism.
I will say it tends to be more of a thing at like the mid size club level and up. The smaller bar shows around here not so much. But those crowds are mostly girlfriends, and maybe some parents lol.
@@zedmore6977Allat in a KREATOR show!?
His arguments doesn't make a lot of sense until you realize that he's dogwhistling about the music genre's majority white demographic. It's not overtly queer or feminine as pop, disco, or electronic music either.
Never enough "diversity" to make them happy
The entire reason why metal scenes get filled up with conservative values nowadays is exactly this. Even in countries that suffer the consequences of establishment and colonialism to this day, we get to hear the words "metal is manly, non-f4g music"
Wonder what Rob Halford would think about that lmao
That might be true in North America and Europe, but not for most of the world which is neither anglo nor "white"
Though appearing menacing and the violence of mosh pits, the metal genre and community is BY FAR the most welcoming and inclusive cultures in the last several decades.
It's pretty clear that you have a bias. Punk would take that from metal. Also, metal is not even second. Punk isn't even first. We have pop music deeply infiltrated by such divisive stuff, politics. Metal never let politics divide it, and even though it was anti-establishment, there were plenty of right-wingers at the time against certain societal norms stemmed from the right. A lot more people were against the government and the norm than thought on both ends. Of course though, everybody would like to use a confirmation bias to prove a point so they can keep listening to music. Music was never made to divide but to bring together...
Partly true but it might not be because of an "essence of metal" but rather because metal has been lucrative and massive since the 1980s, and discrimination along racial gender lines is not good for the simple commercial criteria of "as long as you pay the ticket we dont care about your race or gender"
@@EclecticoIconoclasta Yes, but metal falls outside of traditional marketing sectors. Iron Maiden barely got play and blew up bigger than Metallica ever was.
My Dad raised me on Metal and Blues rock, the heavy and dark themed music. I volunteer at the church around the corners food pantry, I take care of their community garden. I see someone roll up on some ladies or girls walking down the street, I get alert and paranoid. I don’t see too many Conservative Religious people following the teachings of Jesus as much as I follow the Words of Ozzy, Geezer, Dio, and so many Christian Men who where preaching radical love, kindness, and empathy with many of thier lyrics. Kind of like that Jesus dude who Conservatives like to pretend to follow the teachings of. I am an atheist, a socialist, I love gay people, trans people, I respect women at my equal. I’m everything conservatives claim to hate.
Oh, are you THE Bathory? Very cool. Love your music
Good thing I mostly stay with punk. Any band saying they are punk but spewing right wing garbage would get their asses kicked on stage if they attempted to play to a punk audience.
Not necessarily. Also RAC is a thing.
@@riffcrypt8438 RAC is not punk though. You can take the sound, it's not hard, punk is hardly unique when it comes to sound, it's all about the whole picture, the emotions, the message.
@@Cavi587 Bro...what? Punks always expose themselves as the most gatekeeping conforming posers so damn fast. By your logic the sound is irrelevant and what makes a punk band is if they hold all the right ideas and live up to a certain image. Lul.
NU METAL > PUNK SHART
@@riffcrypt8438 Well that's exactly what I am saying, but I don't think you understand me well. You call it gatekeeping, fine, you do you. But in reality punk has always been about uniting people so it's natural that nazis and other fascists who are anti-people are not welcome (The reason I am saying that is that you mentioned RAC). If you call it gatekeeping then I don't care, I'd rather be called that then be associated with nazis.
There is no right message and no right image for punk. Just look at The Descendents, half of their songs are about stupid shit and their frontman looks like a nerd, but these songs are genuine and 100% punk. The way I define it is that punk is mucis BY people FOR people. Doesn't matter if it's about politics or about a bad breakup, if it's relatable, it can be punk.
To me values held by nazis, fascists, nationalists etc are inherently anti-people, that's why I can't ever consider them punk.
It's not like RAC guys want to call themselves punks anyways, so what's the issue here?
Meh. I'm more of an individualist and libertarian and I don't hear a lot of metal praising collectivism victimhood and dependency, but this evaluation seems to be based more on whether metal is Socially conservative, which I would agree it is typically not. The nice thing about being an individualist is not caring if people disagree with me though, and metal is big enough for people who believe whatever. I've played in many bands and we almost never all agreed on politics, and almost always agreed that it didn't matter. (Edit: cool vid for sure, cheers!)
I'm libertarian too, and it's funny to me seeing that a lot of lefties don't think that political correctness and cancel culture are the new "Rock n Roll is satan!" and that they are somehow not the new status quo when every corporation and the president supports them.
if the idea of one human depending to another in need instead of a system of antagonism and power accumulation is collectivism, then i happily am a collectivist. Jokes aside, the left ideals couldnt be further from collectivism so lets stay to the argument that they are good but propably utopic.
"Too bluesy" is code word for "black"
Also, the anti- Beatles rant was more or less due to Christians turning on them from a quote Lennon said about them being more popular than Jesus. A comment he said in jest due to his being uncomfortable with how kids would scream and cry when they played.
"Counter culture you can buy off a shelf"
A lot of Asatruars I've met love the viking shit because of how they fought the christians. My favorite story is how they'd land at a town on Sunday, knowing most of the people would be in the church, block them inside, pillage with ease, and torch the place. Using the religion they hold against others against them.
There is nothing metal about Maga.
😂 nothing metal about Democrats or anything about the left.
@@slickleg6066 democrats are not metal I agree nothing metal about corporate bootlickers. BUT you will never find more of a corporate bootlicker than those who are in charge of Maga and trump the born wealthy baby oligarch who cares more about big profit business than the American working class.
Being pro big business pro greed is the opposite of metal as fuck.
True that.
Surf Nicaragua!
@slickleg6066 we get told we are violating God for existing as trans individuals. That's pretty metal to Me.
Metal like any genre isn't inherently on one side. It is infinitely more productive to talk about individual bands
punk is
Punk as a genre was literally one-sided anti-establishment. It was never this neutrality slop you’re suggesting.
@@Summalogicae You could argue the same thing for Grunge tbh.
Interesting watch!! Nice to see this among all the bullshit I see sadly and insidiously creeping into the Metal scene and even, to a lesser extent, the Punk scene with nauseating fence-sitting with regards to right-wing reactionaries. As someone who's listened to both of those genres from over three and a half decades, I'm glad to see more people making vidoes on here like this. Glad ye mentioned Panopticon too! I only discovered them recently, after being in a state of despair at all the bland, corporate sludge I've been hearing being passed off as "Metal" or "Punk" in hipster nightclubs etc. 🤦🤮 You've also gained a new subscriber in the form of this communist Irish diaspora Punk Rocker in the UK. Thanks for this!!
Quorothon was the Goat🤘 he had the true black metal spirit. Black metal was always meant to be anti Christian and offensive.
Like, what the fuck. Venom, the guys who started it all, always went to church on Sundays.
Black Metal was always meant to ve a harder, more provocative sub-genre of pubk that it ripped off generously.
Heavy metal is whatever you want it to be, but it definitely isn't for confomists who want to live their life by a political label.
Metal is always against the establishment, being left or right
What happens when the establishment ROCKS???
@@TobiasC-mg4zk another sub rock genre appears (grunge when the glam was on the top for example)
No such thing as anti establishment right.
Everything the right does is in service of hierarchy and dominance.
@@pablosantander5739 Sure, but when has any major western power ever had a genuinely 'leftist establishment' though?
Sludge is as American south as it gets, is that preserving the national identity?
It is not preserving a national identity, it is preserving a regional history which dates back to the Delta River Blues and has been permutated by changes in technology and influences from other sources of music. When you consider that some of sludge's biggest direct "metal" influences were bands like Sabbath, who were influenced by Delta blues artists like Son House and Robert Johnson, it becomes a little bit more clear just how much this music was influenced by a specific region and history, rather than the "American pride" image the south has been stereotyped into. I would also recommend looking into some of the anti-establishment/anti-capitalist/anti-racist history of the deep south, it goes much further than people expect because they have been taught to believe otherwise.
@@jaun4862 I apologize if the text did not communicate the tongue-in-cheek tone I was trying to communicate. I love sludge, and I love it as someone who lives in the American south and how the lyrics and even the composition styles keep the anti-establishment snd anti-capitalist elements. The American pride I hear in sludge is much more a pride for your neighbors and less for your nation, if that makes sense.
The sludge will rise again.
By the way, Quorthon quoted GBH and other first wave punk hard core bands as inspiration sources, in the beginning.
What I find funny about that one man's comment about The Beatles and Communism being is how the Soviet Union's government also found ways to hate on rock and metal music. Calling it imperialistic, degenerative, and also using the whole it's influencing our people argument and all that showing their anti rock music stance.
I am pleading with the Americans to remember that the establishment in other countries is not the same as in theirs while watching this.
This is the arrogance of some groups who believe they own the entire genre.Metal can be left-wing or right-wing, it can be religious or anti-religious, it can even be for children or adults.
I'm only 2:44 into this video and thinking none of these "Christian " conservatives have never read the book of Genesis, even death metal is not as messed up.
That's a judgement made completely out of ignorance. Maybe you should actually ask a Christian conservative your questions instead of assuming that you know what a person would say.
I wasn't expecting this level of depth tbh! Awesome video + love the aesthetic. As an actual Satanist, I can add that yes, there is definitely an element of fascination and identification with the pre-modern in Satanism. We recognise the fact that modernity tends toward the meek and the essentially Christian. HOWEVER, to all the dumb conservative "Satanists" and "metalheads" who apparently haven't read enough gothic literature to quite catch it: this has NOTHING to do with any kind of nationalism or reactionary conservatism. It has to do with a kind of romanticisation and identification with the Other, often times the *racialised* Other such as in Dracula where the titular villain is not only a bloodthirsty pre-modern, but also a Romanian savage with obvious deep ties with the Romani who serve him. We try to inject mystery and otherness back into the world, to re-enchant it for our own purposes of rebellion and self-affirmation. We try to stoke the fires of the psychopathic and irreverent side of human nature, not to resurrect some idealised glory that we pathetically whine for. Yes, it's anti-liberal, but NOT pro-fascist, and I honestly have no idea what these imbeciles are doing in our spaces.
The right still hasn't stole metal. What are you on about
Edit: oh okay we are on the same page never mind. Carry on
I was about to comment the same thing, but wanted to come to the comments first.
Lil bro got triggered before watching the video lmao
Thanks for addressing this
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There were some people on the right that took it too. Alot of guys bent the knee and took the first 2 early on to avoid job loss, potential missed time at work and hospital bills or because they saw other people die or get injured from the virus. Refusing vaccination doesn't makes you a libtard, nor does it mean you're some kind of badass free thinker. It made sense to listen to scientists at the time ( or at the least the majority of them ) that recommended it. Unfortunately, they turned out to be wrong about a lot of sh*t. I know Alice Cooper, King Diamond and all the guys in Saxon and Maiden are vaccinated. And they all lean right. Just sayin'. I know a lot of people ( coworkers, family members ) that refused it that are total NPC's. A lot of you have hilariously convinced yourselves otherwise though.
you totally click-baited me and I DO NOT REGRET IT! Really good stuff :)
Metal as a whole is neither Left or Right. Conservative nor Progressive. It's meant to be edgy and shocking to all sides of the political isle. It's libertarian and individualist. To assign it to purely left or right is asinine. There are metal bands of all political walks. Thats why it's down to the individual. Metal is what each band wants it to be to themselves.
“metal is neither left or right”
“it’s libertarian”
jesus christ the liberalism in these comments is excruciating
@BrutusBathory I watched a couple of your other videos, and now realize you are a spastic lunatic. I apologize to myself for ever engaging with your awful content.
take all the other neolibs with you
Great video, sometimes the YT algorithm just works I guess.
Metal always struck me as more conservative compared to punk and rock. The emphasis on escapism, the supernatural, christianity, individualism etc is closer to the right than the left wing. I don't say that as a negative btw even though I'm not conservative myself.
I share this sentiment. I feel like you're much more likely to run into a right wing metalhead than a leftist one. The leftist metalheads are the ones that are more likely to listen to punk outside of metal.
I always felt like bm was counter counter culture on one hand It hated the christians on the other it hate left wing politics
I don’t see how the super natural, individualism and escapism are connected to conservatism, individualism and escapism can be solidly connected to anarchist ideals. I also don’t see how Christianity is connected to metal
@@sadvillain3628 criticism of Christianity isn't something the left invented and anarchism isn't compatible with leftism
@@sadvillain3628Most metal fans in the 80s and 90s tended to be right wing. Guys like Phil Anselmo were basically the walking talking stereotype of your average metal fan.
Anyone who says “keep politics out of metal” is always a right wing dork who thinks the fact that people care about racism in metal is “some cancel culture”
There came a social reckoning in the late 2000s, where there was a major shift in terms of what was considered mainstream and what wasn't - Being gay, being black, being a woman, etc... these were things that held you back, and around then in particular, the culture said, "That's stupid, being a bigot isn't cool anymore."
So nowadays, being counter-culture is being alt-right. Being conservative is considering being lame instead of being a fruity hippie, or whatever you wanted to call it.
So yeah, if you're being a childish contrarian now, like a lot of metal has traditionally been, and you're doing things just to piss normal people off, it might look like the right is still metal.
At the end of the day, the left will always have GWAR, though, so they win as far as I'm concerned.
17:00 for the past decade, most of my CDs have come across the Merch table. Lot of good metal out there. Support your small clubs and independent music.
rap took over by 1996 . I was there graduated HS 1987 former hair metal head went punk and thrash by '89
No. In the 80s it was attacked by fundamentalist of the far right.
And by tipper gore, whose husband Al went on to become vp under a democrat president. Learn your facts
Meanwhile they tolerated other OLDER music genres that they USED TO criticize even further back then (jazz, blues, etc).
Now they're doing it again with Metal
@Third-p0sitionist ya she was which is ironic.
holy shit he didn't say it wasnt, he said theres a strong rightwing current in it NOW
@@Third-p0sitionistdemocrats are on the right.
Awesome video essay. Subscribed.
I love that metal can be patriotic/conservative as hell on one end, and extremely contrarian/anti normative on the other
Conservatism has nothing to do with patriotism per se.
You can very much be a liberal, progressive etc., while still being patriotic.
To give an example from the history of my country, at around the time of independence, the extreme far left wanted to align the country with Soviet Russia (the Soviet Union hadn't been founded yet), while the conservative right wanted to make us a satellite state of Germany - while the moderate left and liberal right were the ones pushing for an actually independent country.
@@nietzscheankant6984 Yeah. I was referring to the US specifically. Maybe nationalist would serve my argument better
@@nietzscheankant6984 As a left winger democratic socialist, I oppose both liberals and conservatives. In most of the world, liberalism is actually considered a right wing ideology. Aditionally, in most of the world there is a tendency of left wing nationalism which is opposed to western imperialism and racism.
"Metal" isn't conservative OR liberal or anything. It's music, meant for anybody who digs it. Period. Who cares who likes it?
Out of all the conservative revisionist wastes I've heard, this one is the most insulting as a diehard fan of 80s metal. They cherry picked pretty hard to avoid Venom, Slayer, King Diamond and the undeniable influence of Satanism in metal. Metal is often areligious or anti-Christian. Always has been
Edit: sighhhhh I know Slayer are right-wing. They have blasphemous songs and albums though, hence they were included in a specific context
@@xbfdx988 Pro-life isn't an inherently conservative position, unless you'd argue hardline vegans are conservative. Sanctity of life is a concept that can be used to argue for a lot of positions conservatives tend to reject, like anti-death penalty, anti-militarism and non-violence, etc. Conservatives have a lot of arguments for why they reject a more consistent stance on sanctity of life, indicating they only consider it a priority some of the time. They're entitled to that, but it also is an admission that they don't hold a monopoly on pro-life values because consistent pro-life values aren't their priority.
@@xbfdx988 In the 80s?! That wasn't an unpopular position at that time. Even 90s hardcore bands were "pro life". Also I specifically named them alongside King Diamond and Venom because I was talking about blasphemous and Satanic themes. I didn't champion them as anti-right. Read the context
@@Johnmrobinson-vb5vd This is true. There's a legit Nazi problem though in some old metal bands, and in some vegan circles
@@xbfdx988 Hardcore bands have always taken "conservative" positions alongside their leftist values. I just mentioned 90s hardcore, and it goes back to 80s hardcore. There were "pro life" hardcore bands. There were anti-drug hardcore bands. There were even bands who believed pre-marital sex was bad for weird Hinduist reasons. The "pro life" one was always a conservative issue, I agree, but it wasn't an uncommon one and it was treated as "nuanced" once upon a time. Pointing to any pro life song from the 80s doesn't say much considering the times. Weren't Bad Brains also homophobic?
@@xbfdx988 Also, again, I was naming them alongside bands who use pentagrams and talk about Anti-Christian stuff. Are you gonna bring up the fact one of the members is Catholic too?
Finally a critical left-wing metal channel in the sea of hyperborea believer that is metal youtube
God these comments are atrocious. I have never seen so many people completely miss what the video is talking about.
F.D is in this vid which is enough for me. Im gonna watch your video on dave mustaine next because his early work is some of my absolute favorite.
In praise of shadows now gives takes on Metal.
Well shit thos is a good video im gunna like it
Oh shit FD! Well shit you got a new subscriber brother