Introduction
Pop quiz: Which genre of music has been involved in more court cases than any other? Which genre of music has been used in torture situations in other countries? Which genre of music has continually been battered and hit with haymakers from all sides and angles, and yet still is around today?
If you guessed "Heavy Metal" to all of those questions, then you would be correct.
Heavy Metal is a very broad genre of music that includes many different styles lyrically, sonically, and visually. These differences of the styles make Heavy Metal a bricolage of music that can truly offer something for everyone. One may see a White (Christian) Metal band one week, and then see a Black Metal (Satanic) band the next. This diversity of the genre, however, has its pros and cons.
Heavy Metal and its critics have been into a bar fight over their differences of opinion and whether or not the music is actually Satanic in nature.
If you guessed "Heavy Metal" to all of those questions, then you would be correct.
Heavy Metal is a very broad genre of music that includes many different styles lyrically, sonically, and visually. These differences of the styles make Heavy Metal a bricolage of music that can truly offer something for everyone. One may see a White (Christian) Metal band one week, and then see a Black Metal (Satanic) band the next. This diversity of the genre, however, has its pros and cons.
Heavy Metal and its critics have been into a bar fight over their differences of opinion and whether or not the music is actually Satanic in nature.
Unfair CriticismPeople ask, "If Heavy Metal has something for everyone, then why is it so highly
criticized by so many groups? It is almost always seen in a negative light, and carries a negative connotation. Why is this?" The answer is that many people including religious groups, congress, and parents have an irrational fear of Heavy Metal due to a splintered branch of Metal known as "Black Metal". |
Caption: Religious groups protest a Heavy Metal concert, even when the concert features no Black Metal bands.
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The video above, called "True Norwegian Black Metal", shows what Black Metal is like lyrically, sonically, and visually. The video illustrates the hatred that Black Metal often displays towards Christianity and Western culture as a whole. This also explains why religious groups, congress, and parents fear Black Metal. The topics that are discussed are how Christianity is the root of all evil and people should not believe its messages.
Varg Vikernes is the man that is being interviewed in part of the video. He was convicted of murdering one man and setting three churches ablaze, creating a fire similar to that of hell (Murderpedia). Heavy Metal activists point to him as the "leader" of the Black Metal movement. He has created fear in Norway that is great enough to have connections drawn between him and a political revolution because of his views (Peterson 520). The government has also claimed a fear of Black Metal spreading Socialist ideas along with their Satanic messages (Olson).
The truth, however, is that nearly all Heavy Metal bands do not condone actions of the radical members of the Black Metal community, such as Varg Vikernes. Even though admittedly there are some bands in Heavy Metal that practice Satanism, the genre as a whole does not condone the actions of the very few bands who give the genre a bad reputation. The genre of Heavy Metal is unfairly labeled as "Satanic", when in reality the genre does not posses these Satanic qualities that it is falsely accused of practicing.
Varg Vikernes is the man that is being interviewed in part of the video. He was convicted of murdering one man and setting three churches ablaze, creating a fire similar to that of hell (Murderpedia). Heavy Metal activists point to him as the "leader" of the Black Metal movement. He has created fear in Norway that is great enough to have connections drawn between him and a political revolution because of his views (Peterson 520). The government has also claimed a fear of Black Metal spreading Socialist ideas along with their Satanic messages (Olson).
The truth, however, is that nearly all Heavy Metal bands do not condone actions of the radical members of the Black Metal community, such as Varg Vikernes. Even though admittedly there are some bands in Heavy Metal that practice Satanism, the genre as a whole does not condone the actions of the very few bands who give the genre a bad reputation. The genre of Heavy Metal is unfairly labeled as "Satanic", when in reality the genre does not posses these Satanic qualities that it is falsely accused of practicing.