But you had other motivations - your love for the music. You didn't do it just to prove you loved it, did you? Sorry, I probably didn't explain properly.

OK, I see what you mean.

Which are? Really, they could be anything. From the braindead party animal to the ardent antisemite to the pagan tree hugger.

Basically you want to prove to be a metalhead by sticking to your individualism. Certainly better than another herd-minded dolt, but then that makes you more of someone that simply listens to the music and not a metal brother, manowarrior, whatever.

Boy ,all this culture stuff sound silly.Then aging the other subcultures have the same short of issues.


Maybe I should like the music.But i highly doubt that the long hair and band shirts are going to go becasue one long hair was the thing i always wanted since i was a little kid and two not a big fan of mainstream clothes.

I didn't say YOU don't try to find out what is good music and I don't know what made you jump to that conclusion. I said it is not as if 'non-metal' music listeners - even in more mainstream genres - don't look for good rather than just popular albums.

Why are you comparing me to a black kid listening to rap? I have long hair and wear leather jackets because it fucking rules dude. I'm sick of all these people telling me that I'm somehow LESS metal because of actually dressing like a metalhead?? As if I'm being too conformist or something?? WTF! I happen to like the clothing worn in metal culture; it is my favorite style of clothing to wear.

Would it make me somehow more metal to cut my hair and wear nice sweaters and dress pants instead?

It's just this ridiculous "not conforming to non-conformity" thing. Dressing like a metalhead for the sake of non-conformity is ridiculous, and dressing unlike a metalhead for the sake of non-conformity to the metal culture is equally as ridiculous.

Dress how you like.

Great point.

I'm 52 years old and I was Metal before it had a name. I had the pleasure of watching Metal evolve from Black Sabbath and Dio / Rainbow to what it is today and I never "outgrew" it. If anything, Metal is what keeps me young and alive. I'm very active in our Metal community here in Central Florida and I'm out just about every weekend attending or promoting Metal shows. Here's one of my Myspace pages. www.myspace.com/flmetal I also play bass and sing and am in and out of various bands (until they break up) and sometimes it will be a Metal band. Being an old fart, I grew weary of Blues, Jazz, Classic Rock, etc. , as it was the same old crap and very boring and mundane to me. Most of my friends are much younger than me and even though many say I look around ten years younger than I am, they still know my age and accept me, although I'm as old as most of their parents.

See now THAT is what metal culture is all about. Supporting the music, playing shows, getting involved with new releases, promoting local bands, etc. The OP makes it seem like metal culture is all about dress styles and angry attitudes.

its about a POSITIVE and GIVING attitude, not a hording, angry, self centered frame of mind!

it IS about supporting, spreading the word, helping out other fans-helping out the bands, showing true dedication and sincere love for the music!!!

the hair and clothes is your decision, but i do feel sometimes it adds to the whole thing, my hair is basically to my waist, i didn't grow it out or get into metal yesterday, i get my shirts mostly at shows-and yknow, to get your clothes at shows you DO have to go to 'em haha!

i can't be arsed to read this whole thing but trust me, not many of you will stick with it. but those who do-it's worth it!!!!!!!! i HOPE i still see some of you posting, buying, writing, trading, attending and LOVING 10 and more years from now!!!


speaking of which... WRITE to the bands!!!! TRADE!!!! (mix CDRs or originals however you wish) keep TRADITION alive and the fires burning bright and hot!!!!

I am a 30 year old female who has been listening to metal non-stop since the age of 14 and there were some hair bands I listened to when I was younger but didn't listen to them again until I got older. At first I started to listen to metal because I was pissed off and misanthropic and it made me feel better. I started with Slayer and then discovered death metal on a local college radio station. I now listen to metal because I simply like listening to it..I am no longer a pissed off teenager. I listen to all sorts of metal and I'm open to listening to new bands. I think that people grow out of it on purpose at times because society usually looks down on metal and metalheads. I have friends who recently contacted me on a couple of social networks who were freaked out by my page because I listen to metal. I don't have any satanic symbols or anything extreme on my page mind you. I even had an old friend delete me because of it. I also had a friend who used to listen to metal when we were in high school who doesn't any more because she "grew up and is above that now".

*shakes amencorner's hand*
Odds are if they grow out of it, they weren't into it to begin with.
Now if we're discussing growing out of the subculture yet still listening to the music, then it's most likely due to shifts in populous and trends and a disagreement regarding them.

Providing quality, anonymous doodoo to worthy individuals at your request.
www.mailpoop.com

Do you have their address? (the ones who deleted you that is)

Hehe..I do but I'm not going to give it out..it's her loss

Yes..I do think it was a phase. She used to be into death metal when it was more popular in the early 90's. My parents used to harass me all the time about getting out of the metal phase but gave up a few years ago..ha! You'll see me at a show when I'm 90 sitting in a wheelchair and drooling all over my self.

rock > Muse > Hammerfall > Jpop/rock > Melodic death metal > Brutal death metal > Banana Phone.


Raffie's Banana Phone is fucken brutal.

Sorry bout that. hahahaha

I'm got into metal due to complete lonileness, but since it was a great vent for most emotions, I learned to not give a crap. Im SO HAPPY NOW!!!

ahahahah

check out my videos, they should explain something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC0nzyzHxvw

They explain that you're a whelp.

A whelp, hmmmm never been called that before.

Im glad you liked it.

Get used to it, buddy, cause that's Nightgaunt's favourite insult!

woooooow, he used his favorite insult on me!!!! GLORIOUS VICTORY

Nightgaunt's, not WebOfPiss'...

My sister used to berate me for listening to "Skid music" (deliquents listening to metal who hocked loogeys- some of those same kids listened to mainly rap later though) and my parents probably saw it as a phase. Yeah, that was when I was 10-12 years old. About 20 years ago. Pretty long phase I'd say!

I was being sarcastic towards amencorner earlier, since all of you clearly missed it.

Agreed, there's this irritating notion floating around that it makes a person a poser/trying too hard to look metal or whatnot when they actually dress like a metalhead. Others associate it with immaturity. There also seems to be a dislike for the "low class/unintelligent/neanderthal" vibe it gives off to those who consider clothing style to be indicative of success or intelligence. Its almost as though people are becoming ashamed to be associated with the metal community and its sub-culture, and it seems the more popular metal gets, the more you get people who listen to metal but don't want to accept that there is a sub-culture behind the genre that many hold close to their hearts (whether those rejecting it want to be a part of it or not). For some reason it reminds me of the watering down of the music and various extreme ideologies with increased popularity, but that's another matter, I suppose.

This is the thing that always perplexes and amuses me about emos, or any trend for that matter. They really can't have too much happening in their top storey if they're thinking "I'm going to be deliberately non conformist, by... looking exactly the same as a bunch of other people."

I don't dress metal, or act metal, or do anything metal particularly. I'm just myself. Why is it so hard for people to just be themselves and for others to accept that without pigeon holing?

I mean if you like a band then it makes sense to buy a shirt that has their logo on it and wear it. I like metal so I buy T shirts of my fav bands to support and embrace them. Like how would that make someone sheepish I mean when people talk about "dressing metal" why would they have something against wearing a shirt that has a cool band on it? I don't know man I just think what t1337dude said was kinda stupid.

See the thing about this thread that is kinda misleading is that it depends on what someone's talking about when they say "metal culture". Metal culture could be as simple as listening to the music and buying CDs. Or it could mean that you have some kind of built up angst and hatred that you want to let loose on the world. I think that everyone kind of feels that way when they are young but for me the music still stays there because it still sounds good. I don't think I'll grow out of something that I am. It's like thinking that a fish will grow out of swimming...that won't happen because it's just what you are and what you do.

I don't see myself or most other proper metal fans moving back into mainstream music so I guess as I get older I will probably end up listening to a little less metal and instead listening to classical. However I think it will be a long time before I even consider reducing the amount of metal I listen to, I'm just getting started

As for 'dressing metal' at first I thought I should start wearing band shirts and wristbands and stuff, then as I go into proper metal I realised that it's mostly just the metalcore kids who do that. Instead I've gradually started wearing darker colours, then I started wearing a pair of boots because I had them in the house, thought 'why not?' then got used to wearing them more often. Now I've ordered a long black leather coat, which is partially because of my new listening habits, but to be honest I've wanted a long leather coat ever since I saw Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring when I was about 10 (long before I started listening to metal).

I beg to differ. People listening to metal; long hair, leather jackets, army boots, and **** like that is the equivalent of a black kid listening to rap (who will sags his jeans, wear clothes that are too big for him, bling, etc). It's very....sheepish. Not once when I started listening to metal did I think about growing out my hair and dressing like the typical metal head. If you want to prove that you're a metalhead, do it by sticking to metal ideals and actions.



I used to be like this, wear band shirts, leather and jeans and even the odd spike bracelet. But one day I realised what for?, afterall music is just music no matter what you wear.
Why should I have to justify myself belonging to a certain subculture just to be open to subjection and occasionally ridicule, at least having a "normal" image and being accepted is one way of spreading Metal's word. That way people wont think your a idiot for dressing in all-black and wearing 56 chains across your waist.
I know myself and who I am and thus I have nothing to prove to anyone, I dont need peoples reaffirmations that im a Metalhead to enjoy the music. Sure occasionally when im at a gig i'll wear jeans and a black shirt, but most times I dont look like a Metalhead at all.

To me the bolded sentence does not correlate at all. If you're dressing a certain way in order to justify something then, in my opinion, that's ridiculous, though in no way different from what the majority of the western world does when they dress up in increasingly formal wear to portray success, intelligence, a clean-cut look. I think its necessary to think about what "normal" dress styles today are meant to portray, and whether or not one agrees with it. For me it comes down to comfort and recognizing that I don't want to put on airs.

I also think your notion of "spreading metal's word" pretty ridiculous. Why? What for? So we can have the genre swamped even further with commercialization? You say music is music, but in the mainstream (and those who bring those values into metal) that phrase simply means that music is the accessible, music is the flavour of the month/the year, music is not something to be taken seriously in the least bit, that music cannot have values because it is "just music". Something for entertainment and that's it. Basically, what you seem to be saying is that you make yourself and your appearance more accessible to those who would not accept you, your appearance, or your tastes otherwise. Sometimes compromise is necessary in a person's life, but what is the point of compromise here? To make metal more mainstream, more popular amongst your peers who would otherwise look down on it? For what? To be accepted by people who would not be able to accept it otherwise? If you don't feel comfortable in clothing that is associated with the metal genre that's perfectly fine, but if you stop wearing the clothing you like and feel comfortable in on a daily basis because you think others will think you an idiot...well to me that's what "posing" means.

@agentsteel, metal culture can, indeed, be all these things. Personally, I tend to see it the way I see any culture, whether it be a national culture or any other sub-culture. If we look at culture itself it usually involves a general consensus among those it encompasses. So yeah, it really could be anything from listening/purchasing/discussing CDs, to the language used around that discussion, to dress, to the myriad ideologies adopted by its participants. Metalheads come from such vastly different backgrounds, but those dedicated and truly enamored with the genre can still come together and display commonalities on the topics they discuss (mostly music, but often other subjects as well), world views even though they may differ slightly, even language (not necessarily in the sense of national languages, but terminology), and the way they present themselves to the world. This is not to say metalheads are carbon copies of each other or that they should be, but just as a Frenchman will have certain traits that he will share with others who have grown up in the same nation as him, so often do members of the same sub-culture who have long been dedicated to it. In the case of nationalities, we sometimes don't even notice these similarities until we leave our nations and go forth into vastly different cultures. I think it is arguable that the situation is similar where sub-cultures are concerned.

If you don't feel comfortable in clothing that is associated with the metal genre that's perfectly fine, but if you stop wearing the clothing you like and feel comfortable in on a daily basis because you think others will think you an idiot...well to me that's what "posing" means.


I wear what I want to because it makes no difference to what music I listen to, I could wear a Tutu and still listen to Metal. Its this stupid notion that all Metallers have to look to the part to be "troo" which im against. I wear what I wear because I have the freedom to do so.
As for spreading the message of Metal, all I meant by that is to show people unfamiliar to Metal that its not all just about 15 yr olds in Slipknot and Korn shirts or Black Metallers wearing leather and spikes for the "shock" factor, and that some Metalheads are just normal decent folk like anyone else, who just happen to like Metal music.

First of all, what does your average metalhead dressing in band shirts have to do with 15 year olds in Slipknot shirts? Ignoring your Slipknot comment, I still ask why? What is the point? Why do you care? Who cares what people who don't possess enough interest in a genre to find out about it themselves think? I fail to see the point other than to try to gain a larger audience for the genre by watering down its aesthetic, which, in my opinion, is not a positive thing. That term "tr00" you like tossing around does actually have a meaning beyond all the internet butcherings of spelling and meaning. All your statements seem extremely concerned with what those outside the genre think of it, when it really should not matter at all. All it does is encourage the popular tendency to judge personality and credentials through a person's appearance rather than experience.

Extreme opinions are typically followed by equally extreme opinions on the opposite end of the spectrum. That's what looks to be happening these days. Suddenly everybody is carrying the opinion that dressing like a "stereotypical metalhead" is done simply in an attempt to avoid being labeled as a "poser". It's resulted in a hell of a lot of people looking down on metalheads and sporting their supposed "individuality" by proudly claiming not to dress like metalheads. Suddenly there are all these "liberated" individuals who "saw the light" concerning clothing style of all fucking things.

Honestly, I feel utterly ridiculous arguing about clothing of all things, I just can't help but get pissed off at the above tendency that seems to be rampant the last few years.

Personally, I got into metal while I was a happy 11 year old, with no peers or friends who listened to it. I was happy, fun loving, and not angry at all. My sister was ordering CDs, I was interested in getting into music, and I always liked her rock albums with the electric guitar. So in the catalogue I picked the heavier sounding bands that were described as rock and metal.

When I got them I loved them. Never looked back since.

Also, about at age 13 I ordered a death metal album without even knowing it was death metal and never hearing the genre. When I got it I didn't know what to think about the vocals, but I was floored by the music.

Eventually I started liking the vocals and got more death metal, and eventually into some black metal. I wasn't looking for anything angry or trying to be hardcore. It was purely because I enjoyed the music.

Norrmania speaks the truth ^^

ROBL250
Honestly, if you're dressing "normally" and cutting your hair just for the sake of showing people that some metalheads are actually normal decent people (how noble...), then you're the shallow one. You're implicitly buying into the whole stereotype of the metal listening, black clad, long haired, unwashed, beer drinking, unintellectual lout. A better advertisement for metal can be found if someone bothers to scratch beneath the surface to see the honest passion that metalheads have for their music, the widespread and intelligent debates that many metalheads engage in, the good actions of metal musicians and metal fans, and the lack of harm we, the metal community, pose to the rest of "civilisation". Your method of proselytising of "look, I'm a metalhead, but hey, I don't dress like one, so don't be scared of me" smacks of poseurism. If you're ashamed to dress like a metalhead (whatever that may be), then at least admit so. Dress in a tutu if you want, but only because you want to. Doing it for the approval of your immediate, judgmental circle of associates is just totally weak, and might I say, un-metal.

I'll add my input on the whole dressing metal thing as well. I'm not against the dressing metal. People should dress how they want. Honestly, I don't care.

I have never dressed metal because I could care less about how I dress. I've never been interested in clothes. I dressed like I do before I started listening to metal. Shorts and a T-Shirt or jeans. Usually American Eagle or something.

I did grow out my hair once, I wanted to try it, it was the whole look the kids have these days, not hair down to my back, just longer. I've also spiked my hair because it looked pretty good and the girls wanted me too (my sister mostly convinced me to.) I just wear my hair normal now.

I could wear metal clothes if I wanted to take the time and change my wardrobe, but thats too much effort and I'm used to dressing how I do.

Thats because anyone who would give up metal for their spouse is the biggest Chump/Choad/Wuss this side of planet NerdVirgin.

If any chick even HINTED at anything of such at any point in the relationship, she'd be out the fucking door.

Not barring teasing shit tests which all chicks give during the mating/selection process (well guys do it too in some ways).


I still wear metal shirts, but my hair is quite short now. I still wear metal-style, rivethead style boots, bracelets, and a thors hammer though.

I try to spice it up by wearing stuff like regular nice (but black) shirts, some other stuff that I didn't even know was super trendy like shirts with skulls and shit. I didnt even realize it was that trendy, but then again I did get some of the items at a department store. I've kind of refined my metal look, and dress professional too at times, but its still kinda metal, and most people around still define me as metal even though I've changed my look to some extent. I don't really give a shit though. I also have some piercings and want to get more inked, but I guess maybe you'd say I am dressing as a mixture of metalhead, goth, and trendy hipster or somewhere in between. i dont give a shit though because I like what I like, even if its somewhat trendy now. My Iron Maiden hoodie I think I got at JC Penney for crissakes.

And yeah...theres that Affliction tshirt, but don't ever tell anyone about that I got it because I couldn't resist the damn design ("Angels and Demons collection")- it was too cool but too expensive of course.

I don't watch any television btw, and most of my tv when i do is documentaries, unless you count the occasional youtube video. So I discovered that some of the stuff I like is somewhat trendy sometimes by accident, if that makes any sense. Not that it excuses 75 dollar tshirts though..