What is the first thing you associate with “Heavy Metal”? Screaming? Violence? Satanism? Gorey? Too loud? Just “noise”? Metal music has developed a stigma throughout its near 50-year existence due to its more aggressive musical style, themes and lyrics, as well as a series of real-life controversies which have ultimately tried to prove that Metal music incites violence, pessimism and hate.
A recent study at the University of Macquarie investigated the psychological impact Metal music has on its listeners, specifically in relation to how it affected their sensitivity to violence. The investigation aimed to measure how much the participants’ brains took notice of violent scenes, and to compare how their sensitivity was affected by the musical accompaniment. The study used the song ‘Eaten’ by Death Metal band Bloodbath, with ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams as a comparison. Overall, the study concluded that there was no relation between the two, with Professor Thompson stating that their findings should be “reassuring to parents or religious groups” concerned about violent music.
This is where this study becomes particularly interesting, as parents have been worried about the effect Metal music has on their kids since the genre’s inception. In the early days of Metal, bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Venom were all accused of being satanic. At this time, however, religious groups generally had more prominence and authority than they do now.
70s face-paint wearing garish rockers Kiss received similar criticism due to their distinctive look and stage antics, especially bassist Gene Simmons who adopted the “Demon” persona. He’s known for his infamously long tongue, fire-breathing, blood-spitting, and of course, his massive black leather codpiece. There was even an absurd rumour that he had a cow’s tongue grafted onto his own.
Whilst all this may not seem quite as shocking today, it created quite the controversy at the time, with many religious groups gathering and burning Kiss albums (which they didn’t mind because they were at least buying the records first).
In 1985, Tipper Gore, wife of US Vice President Al Gore, formed the Parents Music Resource Center, in which they aimed to increase parental control over the access of children to music deemed to have violent, drug-related or sexual themes by labelling albums with ‘Parental Advisory’ stickers. The committee would release a list of songs deemed the ‘filthy fifteen’, which contained 15 songs by bands such as Def Leppard, AC/DC and Mötley Crüe, that they deemed inappropriate for children. However, this backfired as it only made children want to hear those songs even more than they originally did. Amongst others, Dee Snider, singer of Glam Metallers Twisted Sister, would protest in court, baffling the committee with his unexpected level of sophistication and poignancy in explaining how his music has been misunderstood, despite showing up in tattered double denim with giant curly bleach blonde hair, and reading from a crumpled note pulled from his back pocket.
In 1990, the parents of two teenage Metalheads sued Judas Priest after the two boys drunkenly attempted suicide in 1985, with Belknap being successful, and Vance dying from injuries sustained that night three years later. The parents claimed that the two boys, both of who were fans of the band, heard subliminal messages within their song ‘Better by You, Better Than Me’ that they listened to the night of the suicide-pact, telling them to do it. Comedian Bill Hicks would criticise the trial, pointing out the absurdity of the notion that a successful band would make music with the intention to kill off their purchasing fanbase.
As the music seemingly became heavier throughout the 80s with the rise of more extreme subgenres of Metal such as Thrash Metal, and subsequently Death Metal and Black Metal, the lyrics, themes, imagery and overall sound became much darker, gorier, gruesome, and generally just more extreme. In 1995, US Senator Bob Dole accused Death Metallers Cannibal Corpse – known for their overtly graphic album covers and cameo in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective – of undermining the national character of the United States, with other senators requesting for labels to “dump 20 recording groups…responsible for the most offensive lyrics”, including Cannibal Corpse. However, this again would only boost the sales of the band’s albums, making them the best-selling Death Metal band of all time.
Similar to bands like Iron Maiden, who were not actually satanic and just played with its aesthetics, Death Metal bands were not actually murderers. Paradise Lost/Bloodbath singer Nick Holm calls their lyrics “basically an aural version of an 80s horror film”, and that “the lyrics are harmless fun, as the study proved.” He added that “the majority of death metal fans are intelligent, thoughtful people who just have a passion for the music… It’s the equivalent of people who are obsessed with horror movies or even battle re-enactments.”
Black Metal however, whilst it remains more underground than other subgenres of Metal, has had some less than “harmless” consequences in real life. The Norwegian Black Metal scene is notorious for its corpse paint, church burnings, suicide, and the genuine murder of Mayhem vocalist Euronymous from Varg Vikernes of Burzum, all of which is documented in the new biopic Lords of Chaos.
Despite this, the traumas of the early Black Metal scene never really got much mainstream attention and never caused much retaliation from parents. Put simply, the idea of these bands actually being Satanists is far less prominent than those bands with distinct commercial success.
In late 1999, Metal music was again diverted as a scapegoat for tragic real-life events when Marilyn Manson was blamed for the Columbine High School Massacre which forced him to move away from the spotlight at the height of his controversial career. It seems that parents and politicians often wished to create “a bogeyman” in which to blame for the shortcomings in society which, in Manson’s case, was the staggering rate of US gun crime.
Today, whilst still fairly disregarded, Metal isn’t seen as contentious as it once was, perhaps due to the whole world becoming more desensitised as horrific world violence is continually perpetuated. Despite the evidence, however, many still possess a sense of stigma and prejudice towards the Metal community. Perhaps it’s time we recognise that the violence and gory aesthetics associated with the genre is not only performative, but an expression of creativity.