Metal, the harmless curiosity

Metal has its share of snobs, and the SF Chronicle did a nice write up of one of their locals. A record store owner gives his opinion on several new releases. Funny how the subject of whether a band is metal or not is always a hot topic among metalheads.

Is the tide of public opinion on metal finally turning to the positive? Seems over the past few years I’ve noticed more articles about journalists wondering “Hey, metal has been around for 30+ years, maybe there’s something to it.” This topic is fresh on my mind, as I’ve been reading a couple of books on metal lately, and both address the tendency of mainstream America (politicians, media, and general public) to vilify violent forms of culture when something bad happens. School shootings, suicides, etc., prompt people to point the finger at something superficial that influences children, instead of poor parenting or psychological instability in the individuals involved. Now that metal has remained underground for the past ten years, no one feels threatened by it anymore. Metal has turned into a harmless curiosity. I guess that’s a good thing. Anyway, here are two CNN articles taking a fresh look at metal:

Heavy metal and violence, more than a myth?

From the article: “So while upside-down crucifixes, homicidal zombies and lashings of blood might continue to fuel our preconceptions about heavy metal music, it’s worth remembering, appearances and reality can be very different beasts indeed”

My heavy metal makeover - A middle aged reporter talks about metal as if it (or she) came from Mars.

Finally, a random article about the history of German thrash. Why not?

~ by mikehill25 on May 30, 2008.