Opinion - Metal’s Forbidden (Hidden) Fruit

“That’s White people’s music” or “turn that off, it’s the devils music”! These are some of the arguments that people make in the Black community towards heavy music. Contrary to what people say and or think, Hard Rock is not as bad as it seems. It is an outlet for people of every nationality. Music and lyrics that discuss love, hate, religion and even politics, help people cope with their life situations.
Lyrics such as “these thoughts that carry me through the darkest nights, while your eyes rest in mine, with one deep sigh scattering pieces of my restless mind, forgetting what we left behind,” from the heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, Deal with the effects of being lonely and having someone to help pull you from your depression. Like God, family or a close friend who is there to help you through your “darkest nights’. As I Lay Dying has helped me in my life to move forward and has inspired me to write more music.
It’s not only the aggression of the music that makes people quiver, but it is also the loyal fans, often referred to as metal heads or punks. These are two completely different genres of music and social scenes. Early metal heads wore black attire which symbolized danger, evil, and being a rebel to the norm, studded jewelry and high leather boots, which was pretty similar to punks except punks wore steel toe leather boots with wrangler jeans and one of their favorite band T shirts. Hard rock or heavy metal has been around for more than four decades, with over thirty million plus fans worldwide. Whether people like it or not, we metal heads are still going to be around.
“Real hardcore music is all about unity. It is not about fashion or how much of a girl you can look like. It’s really about positivity and brotherhood. I have no idea why this new stuff that people listen to is called hardcore,” said musician Stephen Terrazas. In a discussion about the art of heavy metal and hardcore music, and how the new sub-genres of metal such as Death Core, Emocore and etc. don’t meet up to early metal heads critter. This difference between the two genres of music is that hardcore or punk came before heavy metal. Early Hardcore bands such as The Sex Pistols, Ramones, and The Clash produced music in the late ‘70s that was against the norm of what everyone else was playing at the time.
During the era of disco and the birth of rap came a genre that was slowly rising in the underground scene called punk or what some may know as hardcore music. From 1976 through 1980, punk arose from the underground with the iconic ritual called the mosh pit or slam dancing. It was a way for hardcore kids to substitute the music that they couldn’t understand, such as disco and rap, and the dances they did, such as the bump. Metal came along in 1985-1986 during the great crossover, a time when non hardcore kids and metal heads came together and joined the scene of hardcore music.
Bands such as Slayer, Metallica, D.R.I, and Anthrax, came along with heavy music with punk sound. The two scenes were different and at the time didn’t like each other at all. Hardcore kids were more rooted in the rebellious society because they where outcasts at the time, apart from the metal kids, who were more aggressive and didn’t have the same roots and morals that punks had.
As time went on, the two scenes got along with each other to a certain level as they realized that music is what they all live for and then started to communicate more. Later on, more music was being produced, and these sub-genres gave and still give everyone a variety to choose from, Heavy Metal, death Metal, Grind Core, or even Death Core. Which gives you a variety if you like bands that play more breakdowns then you would go to metal core or hardcore. Or if you’re into a grind sound than grind core would be for you.

Whatever you are into there are a lot of genres for you to choose from. I love metal any and every genre or subgenre if it sounds good I am going to listen to it. Just have fun and enjoy the music, you guys. Rock on, and long live Metal!