For many years I was a hairy, bearded, denim-clad ape of a metalhead. I thought that was the way to go, as all I saw around me was the same image of people having a great time with some amazing metal. But having and maintaining hair that goes past the elbows is a long, sometimes annoying and often difficult job and, somewhat reluctantly, I decided to cut my hair. I have kept a smaller and more refined beard now and it's different, but I do feel as though I stand out at shows in a bad way (I fucking love headbanging, but it's a challenge with little hair).

So, I wondered, do most of you have that typical metal image? Refining my appearance has allowed me to become a little more accepted in my social life, for example, and most of my more "metal" friends have shorter hair. Is it important to keep the spirit of metal alive? Or is it more about a rebellious, "fuck the image" lifestyle, for you?

What is commonly considered a metal way to dress is one that appeals to me, so therefore I wear such clothing. At this time I have short hair because I'm fresh out of the army (we have compulsory military service here) so I had to cut my long hair, but I wear mostly black, I wear band shirts, I have combat boots, I'm making my metal vest... It's not because I wish to fit in to a certain style, or to belong to a group. Nor is it about wanting to say fuck you to anyone or their style. It looks good to me, so I wear it.

To me the image doesn't mean much. Sure, it's cool seeing bands all decked out in "metal attire" or sporting massive beards - indeed, I had a fairly bushy beard a couple years ago that I was proud to wear to gigs I was attending. But at the end of the day, your own personal style, your comfort (beards are great but can occasionally be a hassle), and your environment (your job, for example) should dictate how you dress and your appearance, not your love of metal. I once thought I had to have long hair because I was in a band, so I tried to grow it out. It didn't take but 6 weeks for me to start being annoyed with having to mess with my hair, so I cut it all off again. In my line of work, professional appearance is important, so having long hair would be a detriment for me in that area. I still keep a beard most of the time, though I am currently clean shaven due to some skin irritation issues. I think ultimately if you want the metal look, go for it. If having or maintaining that look isn't your cup of tea, don't stress over it. Too many people lament the "geek look" of metalcore bands or whatever, but remember that when the L.A. glam look was big, thrash bands were doing the jeans and t-shirts thing, which isn't really a look at all. Metal may have a "look" that defines it, but we as fans shouldn't be defined by it.

Exactly what I was going to say. The metal look appeals to me, and it did even before I listened to metal. Long hair and leather jackets works for me. Guess it just works that I like metal too.

Yeah, I guess. I have to say I still wear all my Metal clothing - the black jeans, the Esoteric shirt I'm currently wearing, etc - but I just thought without the physical look, most metalheads see you as a kind of poser. I don't really care what they think, but I'm just wondering what you all thought about it...

Some metalheads certainly do, but you shouldn't listen to them. You want to have long hair? have long hair. you want short hair? have short hair. I myself am walking around with hair halfway down my back, A band shirt on,and some jeans. and to tell you the truth, having long hair sometimes is the most annoying thing ever. Especially when you are sweating your ass of on a hot summer day. But I like my long hair, so I keep it.

I wear metal t-shirts because I like the designs and I like to support the bands and that's all I wear. I usually wear black jeans or cargo shorts depending on the weather. I wear basketball/bro shorts sometimes too actually because it is comfortable. I also like to wear colored flannels that match the design on my t-shirt. For example, I'm wearing a Black Dahlia Murder Nocturnal shirt with a blue flannel and it looks really cool I think. I currently have short hair unfortunately but I am starting to get into piercings. Right now I have my left ear gauged at a mere 14g and I'm trying to get that bigger plus pierce my right ear and eyebrow.

So do I dress metal? I guess so. I do it because I like it.

I don't really have the metal image at all. I just look like a normal guy, and many of the people I work with and my neighbors and family either don't know I'm into metal or they don't care because I don't make a big deal about it. For a while I grew a long Viking beard and started wearing a lot of pagan and black metal shirts, and I had a Windir sticker and valknut on my car windows, but I rarely wear metal shirts now and my current vehicle isn't decorated at all. I'm just a boring suburbanite with a wife and an office job, except that I buy and listen to a lot of metal and it's something that's very important to me.

I guess it doesn't matter too much. I don't exclusively listen to metal anymore, so I don't feel imperative to look the part.

My style has kept some of the basics of it though, like black jeans, band t, hi tops, growing out of hair and beard. But then again, those aren't exclusive to metal, though my the basis for it has been because of metal. I always swap out my Death and Emperor t-shirts for Bayside and Dance Gavin Dance shirts from time to time, so i never feel the need to always dress like that.

Simple: it doesn't really matter. I had for many years the hair and beard VERY long (beard like 15 cm, hair reached my butt), until I changed jobs and I got both hair/beard very short. Also, I lost a lot of weight, so I bought new clothes more akin to my new look (more like different jeans and jackets, I still wear my metal shirts often). Some people just think you're 'not metal' cause you don't look like a hobo, they're just a bunch of posers. I just miss my hair when I play live, cause headbanging alas Webster with short hair plain sucks.

Yes. I've had innumerable amounts of metalheads call me a hipster at shows when I run rings around them in metal knowledge. The reaon? I hate band shirts; I wear work shirts/flannel all the time.

I have long hair because I really like having long hair. That said, it doesn't grow very quickly and probably won't ever descend to the depths that some people wear with pride, and I'm ok with that. Like the beard, too, though I"m less attached to that and wouldn't be too fussed about getting rid of it. I simply enjoy the so-called metal image, but I don't go out of my way to stick to it and it isn't that important to me. A few people might guess from looking at me that I might be a metalhead, but I don't draw attention to it per se..I just think having long hair is amazing and I've grown so used/attached to it that to get a traditional haircut simply seems anathema to me.

Yes, I think it is. I like rocking up to a gig and seeing heaps of metalheads. We don't all need to have long hair and a beard (I've had a shaved head and a goatee for 15 years) - so if you want, cut it all off, but still dress metal. I don't wanna feel like I've walked into an accountants summit when I go to a venue. Plus, anyone with a shaved head will tell you, you can still headbang hard with no hair!

So, metalheads dress the way they do because our music means more to us than, say, the average Electro fan? I always thought that was the case...

Agreed, though I wouldn't say electronic music has much of an image. Image is important to some people, to others sometimes, and to others not so much. I'm up for band shirts, but beyond that I don't really "rock the look". I would like to have longer hair, but military service prohibits me from such, so I can't at the moment. If I was allowed to grow long hair, but another job requires me to have shorter hair, then the hair gets cut. Image isn't a priority. I'm more than happy with just the music.

I don't usually dress in the typical metalhead attire. I own no leather clothes, and less than 10 black t-shirts, two or three of which aren't even metal-related. I have short hair, no boots, and generally look nothing like what you'd expect a metalhead to look (except when I'm actually wearing a metal t-shirt, and even then only because of the t-shirt).

Basically, to me looks don't matter and are not what makes me a metalhead (please note I'm not saying that's why others dress like they do), so I see little reason to have that particular external image in my particular case. One of the reasons I do see, however, and the one that justifies those t-shirts I have, is supporting and/or promoting bands I like. Or when I go to a show and get a t-shirt there as a kind of portable "I was there" statement.

I used to have shoulder-length hair, and wore my battlevest everywhere, but I've realized that that just makes you look like a child to everyone else. Now I've got "long" short hair and just wear a leather jacket, jeans and cowboy boots wherever I go. Still look badass and metal, but with the added benefit of being taken seriously.

Image is important, but its extremes are not.

I always wear a band shirt and tight jeans, maybe a bullet belt if I'm feeling fancy that day. However, when playing a show or taking band photos I like to go nuts; bullets, studs, steel-toe boots, chains, spikes, gauntlets, corpse paint, and all that nonsense. I suppose you could say there's a certain roleplaying aspect to it that I enjoy, becoming the persona I've created for myself, an alter-ego of sorts.

I dress the metal, because I want to know what I represent. if you don't represent metal, then you are probably representing something that I would think is lame. choosing not to represent anything in your dress, usually means you are representing SOMETHING (that is probably not cool to me). though I don't currently have a beard, because I don't want it to be impossible to find a job.

I don't really care for the "metal look" outside of shows or festivals, as I dress up pretty casually. I don't own anything made of leather also, it doesn't feel like me. So how do I dress in everyday life? I dress the way I like to see myself, no matter what everyone else thinks!

With that being said, when I do go to a show or spend some days in a festival, I dress myself with black jeans and band shirts, because I like to pay my respects and homage my favourite bands among my fellow metalmongers. I like to go unnoticed mainly and wearing black to a metal show helps you achieve that. I see it as going to a football (soccer for US fellows) game and wearing your team's shirt in support. I wouldn't see myself wearing my club's shirt everyday, but I do get that some people like to do that, it's fine by me. I respect other people's tastes and they respect mine, that's the most important thing.

Fuck those who tell you you're not "metal enough" or that you "don't dress metal", they're the real poseurs and trust me when I say that many of them can't even argument and don't know shit about metal. I so love when people underestimate me and go all knowledgeable on me because I don't wear black everyday, only to wind up with stick up their asses because I know much more of metal than them! Ah, I love when that happens...

Nah, I look normal. I kind of despise the stereotypical metal look and I'm glad I don't have long hair anymore like in my late teenage years.

Music isn't a fashion show.

I must say I enjoy wearing the occasional Jethro Tull shirt to more extreme places. But no one could possibly have a problem with that.

And I have long hair and a patch jacket. I love my jacket, its a hobby. I may start another one soon.

But who gives a shit about image, really?

I feel compelled to add my two cents even though much of what I wish to say has already been expressed. I feel it is ridiculous to place too much emphasis upon the "look" of the typical metal fan, especially to imply that dressing a certain manner does or does not represent an artistic medium. I am 30, in graduate school, and am a working professional. I often wear suits, and I am very clean cut. I still wear my leather jacket/band shirts on weekends, but I am in no way the "typical" metal fan. I have to agree with the last post that music is not a fashion statement. I know people with epic metal vests that are really no so into the music, and people like me that look like total jocks but have a deep and profound love for this music. The is already plenty of divisiveness in the world without us turning on our own

This applies for me aswell. I'm seriously worried of balding due to the prospect of not being able to grow my hair.

I prefer my hair long and I prefer the band designs on shirts rather than various other slogans, sports logos, and whatever else people print on shirts. It's always awesome to meet metalheads who look completely unlike the image you would expect though. It's also quite entertaining when you see a large number of people who look like metalheads converge on an area for a show, so before and after the show the various local eateries and shops will have some people who are shocked by the number of people who look different.

The only metal aesthetics that I like are long hair and band tee shirts. I don't plan on getting a "battle jacket" with patches, or acting all tough and rough all the time. I don't even have an inclination to mosh at concerts.

I wore metal shirts exclusively from 1995 to 2007. After a while I was tired of wearing all black (except for my Cripple Bastard and Rot shirts which were white). I was also sick of feeling like a walking billboard. I still love the music as much as I ever did but I couldn't care less about maintaining any kind of "metal" image.

I've always had long hair (being a girl and all) so that isn't related to the music, it was just something that I always liked.

I look nothing like a metalhead. I haven't got long hair for over 10 years now. As far as clothes, on my day to day it's impossible to wear something remotely close to metal, since I have to wear a suit and a tie every single day.

On my personal time, it's hard to wear black all the time especially this time of the year with summer approaching and it gets really really hot.

On concerts my priority is comfort. So it's usually jeans, snickers and band shirt. To be honest, since i got past my teenage years I really don't give a shit about maintaining a "metal look".

What I wear or don't wear doesn't enhance the appreciation of music so I might as well be comfortable.

And wearing shirts made by, and potentially displaying logos of, large corporations doesn't?

I look terrible no matter what way I cut my hair or let it grow. And unless I'm wearing at least slightly tight shirts, I look like I'm wearing a tent (curse you, push-ups). I often wear band shirts, because I like the design on some metal shirts (a lot of metal shirts are very boring though - simple album covers or logos). Other than that, there's nothing to really indicate I like metal at all.

I used to have really long hair and dress the part, but I just cut it two weeks ago and stopped dressing like that all together freshman year of college. I still love metal beyond comprehension, but there's no way I could keep that look. I looked like an idiot most of the time, and that wasn't really cutting it.

It isn't just me then

I only wear metal shirts and that's pretty much it. Never had long hair, always short.

I don't have long hair. It makes me look like a girl, and that's just unacceptable for me. I just wear jeans or basketball shorts, depending on the weather. Jeans look better, but shorts are much more comfortable. For shirts, I generally just wear black metal and punk shirts (other than my white Black Flag shirt) with a good mixture of obscure and somewhat mainstream bands. I wear those as opposed to say, sports shirts, partially because I like wearing something representing what I'm really into, but also because I've met a good amount of people into the bands I wear because they comment on my shirts. I've never been interested in the "Metal Look", with bullet belts and jean vests and whatnot.

Like I touched on earlier, I never saw image to be as huge of a deal as it seems to be at times. I had long hair for about six years, but I cut it due to A) working on running machines and B) I didn't take the best care of it so it was a pain in the ass to make look nice. I've been told I looked really good with long hair by people who actually have some fashion sense, but I've also been told I was a rare case of somebody who could pull off a chrome dome and not look horribly foolish. I liked being bald and I liked the long hair, but both are a pain to maintain, so I've got just regular short hair now. I also typically have a beard because I look 28 when I have a beard and 16 when I'm clean shaven. I'd just rather not look so horribly young like that, so I keep a beard for that reason and because shaving every day is the bits. I keep it trimmed for the most part because my genetics apparently don't allow for the Billy Gibbons Face Waterfall that I've always wanted, so it just bushes out and looks all grody if I don't keep it under control. Plus my beard gave me the opportunity to make the joke I'm probably most proud of.

Her: Why do you keep that beard?

Me: Because it makes me awesome, duh.

Her: Look at it from a girl's view, I don't want to make out with pubes.

Me: Well then you'll be pleased to know that blowing me won't be a problem.


Horn tooting aside, I also wear band shirts exclusively and I'll admit that I do kind of succumb to the image conscious aspect of humanity in that respect. I love the artwork on most of them and it's a cool conversation starter, but there's really never a scenario in where wearing my Witchaven shirt depicting a bestial gangrape is appropriate to wear in public outside of a metal show. I still wear it, obviously, because I think it looks cool and there's some pride in being identified as a metalhead by what's on my shirt. Metal is obviously important to me, as I've been listening all my life and writing about it for years. But as I've said before, what makes you a metalhead is the music you listen to, not the clothing you choose to adorn yourself with.

No it's not particularly important to me. I wear band shirts sometimes and continue to buy more. However I absolutely despise when my hair gets long. Haircut tomorrow, finally (it's been over a month! ). You wouldn't think I like metal usually by how I look. You'd probably think I listen to alternative or something like that, i.e. i don't look "tough" in that "metal way" at all.

My current batch of tops are plain, solid colors with no logos of any kind.

I guess you could say I "look metal". Long hair (just past my shoulders), black shirt, khaki pants or blue jeans and black work boots, but in the end it's just my personal preference. I find the attire comfortably, and it looks good together as well. I'm currently working on a kutte now, however, to show my support to some of my favourite bands.. so I suppose then I'll be purposely trying to "look metal", but for a more or less valid reason than just "to look the part". Or so to speak, I'm sure you know what I mean.

I don't care, and I assume that most people here don't care, most metalheads in general don't care. I'm planning on growing my hair out and getting a metal vest, I usually wear a band shirt, but not to fit in with the other metalheads, I just think it looks cool.