Metal, socially unacceptable for its values?

[death metal black metal]

Metal is not acceptable for its views. It is masculine, assertive, and warlike. It does not use an accepted structure for controllable mainstream music. It does not attempt to distract. It's a war call. And socialized people don't like that.

Metal doesn't have political views, but it has ideological life values that conflict with modern society. Control is how we make money. Control is how we force other people to be our wives, friends, neighbors. Control is usurped by the independent, holistic-moral warrior.

Metal, socially unacceptable for its values? - death metal blog

I've found this to be somewhat true just from listening to people try to hear metal for the first time. If it's heavy metal, they're more relaxed. Death metal they don't even know how to follow. It sounds random to them, confusing and like its going in every direction at once. And then once they see the songs are about death and war, and aren't laments, they get worried. It doesn't fit into the moral paradigm, by sound or by sense. Metal is war, ideological values war against the sheeplike mentality.

 

[Seditious]

Avril Lavinge or Alghazanth, if you find guidance or support for your life in music, well good for you.

To me it's just music, and isn't remotely controversal.

 

[FerretallicA]

And then once they see the songs are about death and war, and aren't laments, they get worried. It doesn't fit into the moral paradigm, by sound or by sense.

It's not merely a case of conflicting ethics or culture shock. If offending someone's sense of ethics or morality was a driving force behind the rejection of metal, the majority of horse-shit word lists distributed under the banner of "rap" wouldn't have anywhere near the mass popularity that they do either.

 

[Norsemaiden]

I'm surprised that anyone can get someone who isn't into metal to sit down and seriously listen to any death metal. I don't think they would allow it to enter their consciousness. Most likely they would just assume its all some kind of fashion statement - some kind of cult for frustrated teens. Rap is mostly a poseur trend, although it's been around for decades now.
Rap is encouraged by the establishment. They don't encourage metal - although I think some like Cradle of Filth or Marilyn Manson suits the establishment just fine. (I'll explain if necessary). They'd rather have the youth into that than Burzum for sure!

 

[death metal black metal]

To me it's just music, and isn't remotely controversal.

That's the primal fallacy: that your world is unconnected to the world at large.

You will hopefully see past this view in time.

 

[Seditious]

That's the primal fallacy: that your world is unconnected to the world at large.

You will hopefully see past this view in time.

you make something of a fallacy yourself... namely inventing out of nowhere some idea that I think 'my world' is 'unconnected' to 'the world'.

But I'm sure you had fun pretending you were Yoda.

 

[incarnated-solvent-abuse]

you make something of a fallacy yourself... namely inventing out of nowhere some idea that I think 'my world' is 'unconnected' to 'the world'.

But I'm sure you had fun pretending you were Yoda.

Agreed, surely this would imply that 'Seditious' is the only individual alive who is afforded the privilege of perspective...

 

[waif]

okay...this is kinda of stupid. How many death metal bands actually eat babies? Death metal lyrics are about 97% bullshit. It's true that death metal generally seems to encourage violence and whatnot, but I don't think that most of them really mean it. With black metal, some of them are serious, and go off and kill people and burn churches and make necklaces out of brain fragments. But plenty of extreme metal bands don't have particularly unacceptable values; In Flames, Shadows Fall, etc. Basically, anything about war or violence needs to be taken with a grain of salt. That said, I agree that a lot of death metal bands have views that are socially unacceptable. But lets face it; you don't listen to metal if you're worried about social acceptance. So...fuck 'em.

 

[death metal black metal]

But lets face it; you don't listen to metal if you're worried about social acceptance.

Exactly.

This simple summary says what we need: metal is for those who recognize the constraints on reality/truth of social acceptance.

 

[Blowtus]

I listen to metal and social acceptance figures in to my actions.

 

[Nile577]

What are values? I fear this question will fall prey to the indecent haste of forum communication and my inadequacy with language but the following is an attempt to hint at a direction that might be pursued.

"Values" cannot be seized as externals. "Values" arise in culture not as willed impositions but as a conditioning, a stretching in the way in which beings show up. Gods might condition values. "Gods" emerge as that-which-IS-not; something that is not there, but which conditions the 'there' of how other things are. (Freud's Totem and Taboo provides a persuasive account for the emergence of the theistic god from a cultural mythology that reveals beings as being-toward-the-guilt-of-murder.)

"Values," mythology, gods, religion and culture are "flavours" of thought which condition the disclosure of Being. They shape the 'truth' of beings. These "flavours" are not epistemological 'modes' of understanding, but the decision of Being itself. What is meant by "decision"? The way in which Being shows up as beings in the clearing of the World. To make clear that we are not speaking of an epistemological, metaphysical understanding of being, "being" is written as be-ing. (Examples? Consider the be-ing of 'space' within the walls of a church, consider the be-ing of barley on a pagan altar, consider the be-ing of water in a christening bowl.)

Where metal treats values as commodities, as things to be imposed, seized and grasped, it abandons what is ownmost to values, and becomes an ideology or a worldview. There are no essential differences between the various worldviews, ideologies and philosophical idioms. A radical leap is needed into awareness of the truth of what is nearest and most hidden: the 'sway' (ontological essence) of Being. This leap is the abandonment of metaphysics, of worldviews and the beginning of mindful awareness.

 

[AbbyTritonus]

Metal is not acceptable for its views. It is masculine, assertive, and warlike.

I beg to differ But I know what you mean, it's not very feminine.

 

[death metal black metal]

Values are guideposts toward beauty, which is itself a union of pragmatism and aestheticism in the context of structure.

 

[10293847]

okay...this is kinda of stupid. How many death metal bands actually eat babies? Death metal lyrics are about 97% bullshit. It's true that death metal generally seems to encourage violence and whatnot, but I don't think that most of them really mean it. With black metal, some of them are serious, and go off and kill people and burn churches and make necklaces out of brain fragments. But plenty of extreme metal bands don't have particularly unacceptable values; In Flames, Shadows Fall, etc. Basically, anything about war or violence needs to be taken with a grain of salt. That said, I agree that a lot of death metal bands have views that are socially unacceptable. But lets face it; you don't listen to metal if you're worried about social acceptance. So...fuck 'em.

Metal lyrics are purely metaphorical. It's a powerful way of expressing their ideologies. If you can't read between the lines, than I'm sorry for you.

 

[death metal black metal]

I beg to differ But I know what you mean, it's not very feminine.

Yeah, I agree, and in retrospect would rather have used the word combination vir-tuous, despite it being rather cheesy. Virtue in the modern sense is stripped of virile, meaning morally assertive beyond concerns for human life.

 

[the-southern-viking]

i live in a mostly black neighboorhood (im white) and all i have to say is look at those who listened/listen to metal and look at those who listened/listen to rap doesnt take a genius to figure out which does more social harm

Metal lyrics are purely metaphorical. It's a powerful way of expressing their ideologies. If you can't read between the lines, than I'm sorry for you.

very well put, i have to agree

 

[zoidberg]

indeed

 

[EerieVon]

In the metal vs rap question I think that metal, not all of it but most, encourage their listeners to think outside the box--different concepts about race, religion, politics, etc. Whereas rap tends to be about the same topics--"rolling" in pimped out cars, killing cops, drugs, etc.

 

[Vimana]

In the metal vs rap question I think that metal, not all of it but most, encourage their listeners to think outside the box--different concepts about race, religion, politics, etc. Whereas rap tends to be about the same topics--"rolling" in pimped out cars, killing cops, drugs, etc.

Not all Rap, RATM doesn't make anything about that stuff, they are political.

 

[challenge_everything]

To me it's just music, and isn't remotely controversal.

That's because you are within the scene. To an outsider, it is a threat - I agree with the OP about control. It's not something that can be harnessed by institutions either for keeping the population in order or to produce large profit. Therefore, it is labelled a threat. This is evident in the way that invariably metal musicians get blamed when there is a school shooting. It is easier to blame those outside the bounds of acceptable society than it is to look within the society for the true reasons.