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My final feature article on how awesome heavy metal is. It will go into the paper. Read it.

Heavy metal will be coming to Worcester, MA on the third weekend of April in the form of the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, but don’t expect a legion of fans in colorful tights, teased hair, and running mascara. The times they are a changing, and so too are the anthems of the times.

Fast music at abrasive volumes has often been the ridicule of the tactful and the tasteful. A legion of rockers caught in a frenzy sporting their favorite band t-shirts are banging their heads in unison to the beat of the drums and the rhythm of the guitars. To you they might look like uncivilized pseudo-barbarians with no morale character. Okay, so maybe a few of them do have a third world education, but by and large the extreme metal counter-culture has invited some of society’s brightest young adults.

In an age where the world seems to be crumbling down around young people due to the mistake’s of past generations, it’s no wonder why so many youths are becoming increasingly angered by the status quo. The next time you spot a long haired rocker in crotch hugging jeans and a Motorhead t-shirt, you should consider what he (or she, believe it or not) may have done for their community in the last few years. Patrick Keefe comes from scene of anarchists and libertarians fed up with the system. This year will mark his eleventh year going to local shows. Patrick is a MASSPirg student activist and has attended several rallies since the 2004 Republican National Convention. Loud music and adrenaline keeps his skin tough enough to deal with riot cops shooting at him with tear gas and spraying him mace. He says that many of today’s bands have been put together by kids who already had an interest in politics. Music is just a powerful means of spreading a powerful message. Since the mainstream media isn’t talking about important issues, younger people are taking it upon themselves to spread information through music.

Cam Mancini thinks somewhat differently. Cam is an eighteen year old student of Bristol Community College and is active in the Rhode Island hardcore punk scene. He says that he came upon his beliefs on his own, and fell in love with hardcore punk music because it fit his political beliefs. “A lot of people in music are complacent these days.” Cam said. “It’s not the same way as it was in the 60s.” Cam would like to see more changes in heavy music culture, and feels that right now that fans of his preferred style of music are either black or white. “You get two kinds of people in punk. They’re either really active or they’re complete nihilists.” Cam would like to see more people active, but admits that there is a lot going of social awareness right now with hardcore music compared with generations past.

Political and social consciousness has existed in the lyrics of metal bands since it’s early days in the early 1970s. Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” written in 1970 is perhaps one of the most famous and widely recognized of the genre‘s social satires. However; it wasn’t until the late 1980s that the music started to turn from anthems of sex, drugs, and the devil. Ironically it was an attack by members of Congress on the genre that resulted in a trend started by bands like Megadeth who sought to expose the hypocrisy of the P.M.R.C, a censorship committee started by Tipper and then senator Al Gore. “One” by Metallica kicked things off further as an anti-war ballad about a crippled war veteran who has suffered the loss of his arms and legs. Bands that got their start playing to the tune of generic adolescent rebellion began targeting the evangelical right-wing that had come to dominate American society during the Regan-era. With the rise of MTV and Headbangers Ball, many music videos were used as visual pieces of protest. Anthrax’s “Indians” and Nuclear Assault’s “Handle With Care” were about the dangers of global warming and the desolate life of a Native American.

The same sense of protest has continued today. Bay area band TestAmenT’s 2008 album “Formation of Damnation” include lyrics that attack the Bush administration and attempt to recapture the chilling experiences of 9/11. If anyone has benefited from the Bush era, it’s Virginia rockers Lamb of God. Their entire discography since 2001 has been a relentless assault on conservative America. Lamb of God vocalist, Randy Blythe, has even stated in an interview that one summer he wore the same anti-Bush t-shirt to every show of the Ozzfest 2005 tour. “This is a way to wake kids up to the fact that things are not okay right now. This is not time to turn on American Idol and forget that fathers and sons are dying for a lie. The only bombs in Iraq are the bombs landing on the homes of teachers and doctors.”


“The greatest weapon of a fascist is the tolerance of the pacifist” says Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies of the band’s song entitled Give It Revolution. The song is about the complacency of the general public during times of oppression. In an age that has introduced the Patriot Act as well as several other sacrifices of American liberties, Muir’s stance couldn’t ring louder. “The greatest crimes that history has saw were the crimes defended by the law.” The Nazi party extinguished the lives of six-million Jews because Adolf Hitler made it legal to do so when he signed off the Final Solution. Perhaps Mike Muir is on to something. Simply because the government says that it’s okay to do something horrible, does it really make it okay?

The most interesting fact surrounding all of this is that people are tuning in. Metallica charts in as the 18th highest grossing musical act of all time in the United States. That’s higher than U2 and Queen. Britney Spears, the poster-woman of the last decade, isn’t even in the top twenty. If you were to count their merchandise sales and gross from concerts, Metallica is the seventh biggest selling act in America history. Metallica’s recent album “Death Magnetic” was the sixteenth best selling album on the Billboard charts last year. Testament’s “Formation of Damnation” charted in it’s debut at fifty-nine on the Billboard 200. Megadeth’s “United Abominations” did one higher at number eight on the list. Slayer came out even further than their peers with their recent album at number five in 2006, selling over 62,000 copies in one week. With so many fans listening to this music, more and more people are becoming aware of the problems we face as a country and are equipped with the tools to make a difference in their communities. Although heavy metal doesn’t gain the attention of pop artists, the underground in America remains one of the ripest markets in the music industry. Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany draws over 70,000 men and women from all over the world and sold out a year in advance this season. Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest remains one of the highest grossing tours in American history. Maryland Death Fest has featured 160 different bands in the last five years to sold out crowds. The numbers continue to grow.

“It’s the sound of power.” says Steve Souza, an English major from Emerson College. “When you want to say something meaningful, you need to say it loud enough for everyone to hear it. What is louder than heavy metal?”