Are metal fans social misfits?

Toxic Fame · 11-11-2010, 06:15 AM

Or is this just a myth?

I won’t argue that lots of niche genres attract people who experience alienation from mass culture, which can also allow them to feel superior and hip in one social group when they are not in the other (think of the kid at school who feels ostracised by what everyone else listens to).
Consumer culture thrives on expressions of difference, novelty and authenticity but do you think metal music has become an instrument of empowerment for the disenfranchised more so than other genres? Maybe it’s the image; the ethos, the whole “**** you” devil horns, but at the end of the day, it’s just another style of music in a vast sea of genres.

I’m not intentionally having a go at metal fans, I love metal too, but what is it about the genre that attracts so many goons?

Maybe I have answered my own question, but I’d like to hear other people’s perspectives.

Discuss.

11-11-2010, 06:15 AM	#1 (permalink)
Toxic Fame Groupie Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 10	Are metal fans social misfits? Or is this just a myth? I won’t argue that lots of niche genres attract people who experience alienation from mass culture, which can also allow them to feel superior and hip in one social group when they are not in the other (think of the kid at school who feels ostracised by what everyone else listens to). Consumer culture thrives on expressions of difference, novelty and authenticity but do you think metal music has become an instrument of empowerment for the disenfranchised more so than other genres? Maybe it’s the image; the ethos, the whole “**** you” devil horns, but at the end of the day, it’s just another style of music in a vast sea of genres. I’m not intentionally having a go at metal fans, I love metal too, but what is it about the genre that attracts so many goons? Maybe I have answered my own question, but I’d like to hear other people’s perspectives. Discuss.