Are metal fans social misfits?

Toxic Fame · 11-11-2010, 07:15 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.

LoathsomePete · 11-11-2010, 10:34 AM

I think it was Rob Zombie who said in the 2005 documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey that "metal is outsider's music for outsider people" and it's a claim that I definitely rings true. One thing people often forget or overlook when it comes to metal is that by and large it's a geek genre first and foremost. I mean just look at power metal and viking metal for proof of that, the former is usually about a fantastical world, great epic battles and dragons, while the latter is celebrating the history of the Scandinavian countries. Then you've got bands like Nile and guys like Karl Sanders whose knowledge in Egyptian history rivals any history teacher I've ever known, hell he even sings in the Egyptian language occasionally. Also don't even get me started on the number of H.P. Lovecraft references you'll find in various metal songs, and if you ever want to make a geek cream his pants start talking about Lovecraft.

On the other side you've got some of the genres like grindcore or death metal which started off featuring incredibly grotesque lyrics (and some still do). It pretty much seemed like anyone who happened to be a fan of the really gory horror movies of the late '70's and throughout the '80's decided to form a metal band to talk about their mutual love of the macabre sights presented in those films. Some of these people I wouldn't trust with anything sharper than a crayon, but for a lot of these kinds of people, they don't know why they like gore, they just do.

Then of course you also have the knuckle draggers or goons as you referred to them as who also populate the metal ranks. I can't really say for certain cause I try to avoid those people like the plague but I'm sure it's the aggressiveness of the metal sound that attracts them to the genre. From my observations it seems that metalcore and deathcore attracts the largest amount of these types of people, which is why I think so many metal fans dislike those two subgenres. That said it's all conjecture based off observations I've made, maybe a lot of people who like metalcore/deathcore are really nice and smart, and I'm just being a prejudiced asshole.

Rainard Jalen · 11-11-2010, 12:36 PM

Good topic.

I think the issue here is that the sorts of inner urges and sentiments that draw people toward metal music have the tendency of occurring in the jaded more so than in others. Of course, plenty of entirely socially normal folk also listen to (and love) metal music. Such people listen to metal due to a love of music rather than some emotional complex. But they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. The music appeals primarily to those on the fringe, and is usually also created by those people.

Then there are others who are somewhere in the middle. As an example, I would consider myself as being entirely mainstream on an external social level. But I probably share a lot of views with metal folk on the inside. I listen to indie and pop music mostly, but sometimes I just want to listen to metal. I feel it gives a certain emotional satisfaction that I don't find in other music. I find it to be a good outlet for feelings I don't share with those around me.

CHCl3 · 11-11-2010, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Then there are others who are somewhere in the middle. As an example, I would consider myself as being entirely mainstream on an external social level. But I probably share a lot of views with metal folk on the inside. I listen to indie and pop music mostly, but sometimes I just want to listen to metal. I feel it gives a certain emotional satisfaction that I don't find in other music. I find it to be a good outlet for feelings I don't share with those around me.

That's exactly why I started listening to metal. Whenever I hear a good metal song it relieves stress instantly. I'm also drawn by the amount of variety that is in metal that I feel isn't present in most forms of music I've ever listened to.

But I think the biggest draw of metal has to be that it can give this

to society so well. People have always gravitated towards genres that challenge society for a long time. Especially now that popular music has become so monotonous, boring, and sanitized of any real bite that they gravitate towards harder music scenes such as metal, punk, and underground rap in order to get that rawness that many feel is missing from MTV and VH1.

~~James~~ · 11-11-2010, 02:15 PM

I sure am.

LoathsomePete · 11-11-2010, 02:20 PM

I largely got into the more extreme styles of metal because of their cathartic nature. Freshmen year in high school really sucked hard for me because everyone I knew went to a different school that I wasn't in the zoning for and the school wouldn't let me exchange in so I was forced to go to a new high school completely friendless. If it wasn't for Strapping Young Lad's 1997 album City I don't think I would have lasted, I seriously wore that album out on my CD player both during school and on the bus ride home.

Hank The Drifter · 11-11-2010, 03:32 PM

I would say yes and no.

To begin with I'd like to say I'm a social misfit. I talk but very, very little. I'm just a very shy and reserved person. I'm perfectly content with being all by myself and honestly I prefer it to being around people most of the time.

I certainly don't think its a bad thing, honestly. I think its what causes a lot of misconceptions about metal listeners, though. Because if someone is quite and doesn't talk much they are normally going to be looked at as different and weird.

From my experience of talking to other metal listeners many of them are interested in things the general public aren't and usually have a different view of things than most. That's certainly not a bad thing, in my opinion because that's what makes the world interesting. With that being said I can only speak from experience on the internet because nobody I know outside of the internet listens to metal.

At the same time a lot of the more accessible bands are listened to by people that AREN'T social misfits. Not a lot I can say about this though.

I think a majority of extreme metal lovers do seem to be a little less social than other people. Mostly because they have a different way of thinking than most people.

Personally, I just have a love for music. That's why I listen to metal, because I like it. Not because I feel any different from anyone else, just simply because I like it.

Toao · 11-11-2010, 07:10 PM

Compared to what, those goth & emo people?

MagicMan · 11-11-2010, 07:41 PM

I never understood the stereotypes that are given to people who listen to particular kinds of music. I love metal and all it's various sub-genres and I would like to think I'm just a regular music-loving individual. I think most people listen to fringe music such as extreme metal, experimental electronic, or screamo to get away from the overly-produced and uncreative pop music mainstream society churns out on a regular basis. I think that the stereotypes that are labeled on to genres such as metal are stupid and only attract troubled individuals or outcasts who want to fit in to a group identity and so enact the false stereotypes to the nth degree. I'm sure if you talk to most metal-heads, you'll find they are actually pretty normal people with families and careers.

Just my opinion of course.

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra · 11-11-2010, 07:50 PM

No, absolutely not. It's about as outsider as dying your hair black. Heavy music has been popular since the mid 80s, and extreme metal forms popularity exploded in the early 2000s due to the internet.

You can go to any small town anywhere in probably any country and find metalheads. Just because you find twenty people who are into Katy Perry for every one who listens to Behemoth it doesn't mean that metal is an outsider music. Just Insider music for a very different group of insiders.

11-11-2010, 07:15 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.

11-11-2010, 10:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I think it was Rob Zombie who said in the 2005 documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey that "metal is outsider's music for outsider people" and it's a claim that I definitely rings true. One thing people often forget or overlook when it comes to metal is that by and large it's a geek genre first and foremost. I mean just look at power metal and viking metal for proof of that, the former is usually about a fantastical world, great epic battles and dragons, while the latter is celebrating the history of the Scandinavian countries. Then you've got bands like Nile and guys like Karl Sanders whose knowledge in Egyptian history rivals any history teacher I've ever known, hell he even sings in the Egyptian language occasionally. Also don't even get me started on the number of H.P. Lovecraft references you'll find in various metal songs, and if you ever want to make a geek cream his pants start talking about Lovecraft. On the other side you've got some of the genres like grindcore or death metal which started off featuring incredibly grotesque lyrics (and some still do). It pretty much seemed like anyone who happened to be a fan of the really gory horror movies of the late '70's and throughout the '80's decided to form a metal band to talk about their mutual love of the macabre sights presented in those films. Some of these people I wouldn't trust with anything sharper than a crayon, but for a lot of these kinds of people, they don't know why they like gore, they just do. Then of course you also have the knuckle draggers or goons as you referred to them as who also populate the metal ranks. I can't really say for certain cause I try to avoid those people like the plague but I'm sure it's the aggressiveness of the metal sound that attracts them to the genre. From my observations it seems that metalcore and deathcore attracts the largest amount of these types of people, which is why I think so many metal fans dislike those two subgenres. That said it's all conjecture based off observations I've made, maybe a lot of people who like metalcore/deathcore are really nice and smart, and I'm just being a prejudiced asshole. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

11-11-2010, 02:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I largely got into the more extreme styles of metal because of their cathartic nature. Freshmen year in high school really sucked hard for me because everyone I knew went to a different school that I wasn't in the zoning for and the school wouldn't let me exchange in so I was forced to go to a new high school completely friendless. If it wasn't for Strapping Young Lad's 1997 album City I don't think I would have lasted, I seriously wore that album out on my CD player both during school and on the bus ride home. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

11-11-2010, 03:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
Hank The Drifter Take it easy, but take it Join Date: May 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 213	I would say yes and no. To begin with I'd like to say I'm a social misfit. I talk but very, very little. I'm just a very shy and reserved person. I'm perfectly content with being all by myself and honestly I prefer it to being around people most of the time. I certainly don't think its a bad thing, honestly. I think its what causes a lot of misconceptions about metal listeners, though. Because if someone is quite and doesn't talk much they are normally going to be looked at as different and weird. From my experience of talking to other metal listeners many of them are interested in things the general public aren't and usually have a different view of things than most. That's certainly not a bad thing, in my opinion because that's what makes the world interesting. With that being said I can only speak from experience on the internet because nobody I know outside of the internet listens to metal. At the same time a lot of the more accessible bands are listened to by people that AREN'T social misfits. Not a lot I can say about this though. I think a majority of extreme metal lovers do seem to be a little less social than other people. Mostly because they have a different way of thinking than most people. Personally, I just have a love for music. That's why I listen to metal, because I like it. Not because I feel any different from anyone else, just simply because I like it. __________________ “If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams

11-11-2010, 07:41 PM	#9 (permalink)
MagicMan Groupie Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 37	I never understood the stereotypes that are given to people who listen to particular kinds of music. I love metal and all it's various sub-genres and I would like to think I'm just a regular music-loving individual. I think most people listen to fringe music such as extreme metal, experimental electronic, or screamo to get away from the overly-produced and uncreative pop music mainstream society churns out on a regular basis. I think that the stereotypes that are labeled on to genres such as metal are stupid and only attract troubled individuals or outcasts who want to fit in to a group identity and so enact the false stereotypes to the nth degree. I'm sure if you talk to most metal-heads, you'll find they are actually pretty normal people with families and careers. Just my opinion of course. __________________ The problem with now is no matter how much we want it to, it doesn't last forever.

11-11-2010, 12:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
Rainard Jalen Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 2,221	Good topic. I think the issue here is that the sorts of inner urges and sentiments that draw people toward metal music have the tendency of occurring in the jaded more so than in others. Of course, plenty of entirely socially normal folk also listen to (and love) metal music. Such people listen to metal due to a love of music rather than some emotional complex. But they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. The music appeals primarily to those on the fringe, and is usually also created by those people. Then there are others who are somewhere in the middle. As an example, I would consider myself as being entirely mainstream on an external social level. But I probably share a lot of views with metal folk on the inside. I listen to indie and pop music mostly, but sometimes I just want to listen to metal. I feel it gives a certain emotional satisfaction that I don't find in other music. I find it to be a good outlet for feelings I don't share with those around me.

11-11-2010, 02:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
~~James~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,483	I sure am.

11-11-2010, 07:10 PM	#8 (permalink)
Toao Groupie Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Fountain Valley Posts: 29	Compared to what, those goth & emo people?

11-11-2010, 07:50 PM	#10 (permalink)
Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra \/ GOD Join Date: May 2010 Location: Nowhere... Posts: 2,179	No, absolutely not. It's about as outsider as dying your hair black. Heavy music has been popular since the mid 80s, and extreme metal forms popularity exploded in the early 2000s due to the internet. You can go to any small town anywhere in probably any country and find metalheads. Just because you find twenty people who are into Katy Perry for every one who listens to Behemoth it doesn't mean that metal is an outsider music. Just Insider music for a very different group of insiders.