Supremacy? Possibly. I prefer to call it securing a small chasm of our own in an already over-populated sty. Call it what you will, but metal has always been a thinker's music, for except for classical music metal music is the cerebral fix for music fans that understand it.
That said, I was reading a post by two men who call themselves Gaahl and King ov Hell formerly from the Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth, with King now fronting his new band, Ov Hell. They were informing the fan base of the current developments of an ongoing lawsuit they had with Regain Records, who illegally distributed a live album by the band a couple of years back. Well, to save any long-winded explanations of that showdown, I was reading the comments below from "fans" and saw a few posts denigrating Gaahl and calling him a "faggot," and a host of other manly names issued without care when securely safe behind some monitor screen. Considering Gaahl's past indiscretions and general intolerance for stupid people (a trait we certainly share) safety, however cowardly, was the smartest recourse.
Now, while I espouse to any ears willing to listen the virtues and solidarity of metal fans, why does a small "redneck" bunch of walking, talking diseases mar this happy place? Is homophobia such a rampant epidemic? If I wished to label the multitude of musicians that are gay or bisexual your minds might implode. Rob Halford, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, the late Freddie Mercury, Liberace were and are all amazing performers, all openly gay, and there's a few more "quietly gay" metal men out there you'd certainly love to know, but don't wish to hear about, right? My question is who the flying fuck cares about who's gay or straight? Does it really hinder your love for the musician's music to find out they prefer one sex over another? Does their choice of life partner really diminish the musician's body of work?
Sadly, to some metal fans it does.
While heavy metal music if the most cerebral music next to classical compositions, it's also the most bigoted and uninformed. I'm not the most liberal guy on the planet, that's for sure, but as long as I've been a Judas Priest fan (dating back to 1980) I had suspicions that Mr. Halford might be gay, but it never bothered me. Who the hell am I to care, and why the hell should he care that I do or don't care? In the realm of metal music, no one genre holds such high values and low tolerance like black metal. In servitude to Satan and all of the trappings associated with such subjugation, this band of renegade fans prides itself on free-thought, pissing on the Christian doctrines and beliefs at any given opportunity, and personal enlightenment. I don't necessarily mind bashing the living entity of weakness known as organized religion, but purporting service to Satan is trading one crutch for another, yes? Again, I digress...As a fan of black metal music myself I know very well the lineage and history of the genre, more so than most of my contemporaries today since I lived through both the original phase from the early 80's with Venom, Mercyful Fate, Bathory and Celtic Frost to the current Scandinavian wave of the early 90's with Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor and Vinterland. It's a vibrant, fascinating study of the solitude and inner workings of an alternative point of view from some highly astute and educated people. Black metal nowadays is branching itself out into Pagan roots, ambient folk tunes with dark themes and nature as a living entity. The evolution is fascinating and rich in itself. Equally rich is the arrogance and brutality of such narrow-mindedness when it comes to our supposed heroes being "flawed" or having lifestyle choices perceived as flaws.
(Collage made by Vregak_666) I've never seen such animosity like I've seen in the metal community. So Gaahl is gay, so fucking what? He's still a fine black metal musician, a fine writer of thought-inducing lyrics and an accomplished painter. He also has a family, friends, beliefs, loves, wants, needs and dreams...like all of us! So why is it so imperative that his life partner be one we must accept? Why must we exclude him from the party? He was invited before most of these idiots spreading such nonsense! It's not for us to decide who one person falls in love with or who another prefers as a life mate. The one thing I find necessary to point out to some of our more ignorant and mentally-complacent friends is that being gay does not center only around sex. Why is it that some people cringe when they find out that a person is gay? Because they automatically picture them in bed with a member of the same sex and immediately become disgusted. Being gay does not center around sex, you self-righteous automatons! And if you read about some of the lurid details in the tabloid papers about the sex lives of some of the straight stars you'd cringe just as hard, believe me! Love and feelings are what drives attraction in most people, as does a shared love of certain hobbies and beliefs. The fact that I have had to turn by rant against bigoted metal fans into a crusade for gay rights impedes on my personal time...you select ignorant few should know better!
I love my metal brethren, and I am proud and honored to be among the elite few that call this form of music my home and my lifestyle, but for too many years this bigotry and self-serving idealism has been raping the base of its natural intention. Metal music is free-thinking, self-preservation, and protection from the "normalcy" of a world that doesn't understand or accept us. We were and still are shunned, looked down upon, cursed at, ridiculed, unfairly categorized and labeled, ostracized and ignored. For years we stood up and spat in the face of such arrogance and claimed for the gods to hear, "We don't need you...fuck off!" And we did it! And we rose above and exceeded all predictions of our generation wasting away in a haze of dope smoke or suicide. We managed to overcome bigotry and hypocrisy by being simply what we are: metal fans and caring people who guard what we hold dear for all it's worth.
Now imagine the metal fan or musician who happens to be gay.
He or she suffered right along with us, and he or she is also family by putting in the hours and laborious efforts to keep our genre strong. Who the hell are we to care about their love preferences?
Grow up!
