In an interview with Jim Windolf, the singer songwriter Rufus Wainwright commented, “Well, you know, I think the minute you mention death, people run for the hills—unless it’s heavy metal. People do not like death” (Windolf). Death and other attributes of metal are taboo to the general public. I have already written about on the lack of appreciation for metal by the populace and now will address what may cause them to avoid metal. With elements of grotesque imagery, growling or screeching vocals, and satanic references metal proves to be off-putting to the general masses.
Metal has an affinity toward the macabre and this becomes apparent by looking at some of these bands album covers. The most gruesome and brutal band in lyrics and imagery may be attributed to Cannibal Corpse. On their 1992 album, “Tomb of the Mutilated”, their album cover art shows some of their horrid imagery. The art depicts a woman sitting up against a tomb while she has her arms strung and abdomen split open with a look of lustfulness on her face. A man, or at least the top third of a man who has been mutilated as well, may be found between her legs performing cunnilingus (Locke). Cannibal Corpse is as brutal as metal comes and this picture can repulse even the occasional metal listener and most definitely the general masses. Death metal often contains unsightly imagery and another band who did this on their most recent album is The Black Dahlia Murder. In their 2014 album “Abysmal” they depict victims of Vlad the Impaler, the subject matter of one of their songs on the album, and a beast in the back holding a stake with a pentagram on it (Dae morph). For those who do not know Vlad the Impaler, he impaled heretics on stakes and was Bram Stoker’s inspiration for the character Dracula. Such vulgar displays of imagery do not entice the masses as much as it repulses them further illustrating how metal proves to be off-putting to the public.
Growling and screeching vocal are prevalent in most metal. Sometimes bands do both and sometimes they prefer to just do one or the other. The band Cattle Decapitation, mentioned in my last article on metal, use a couple different sounds and get extremely low growls that cannot even by understood by some of the most metal adjusted ears. In their song “Clandestine Ways," they turn to the cosmetic industry and the harm they do to animals. When talking about the side effects experienced by the drug krokodil at one minute and thirty seconds into the song, Travis Ryan has some deep vocals I cannot even understand (2015). The vocals in this song are deep and growly and inaudible further causing the masses to question why they would want to listen to metal showing how metal pushes away the masses. Screeching or higher pitched vocals also tend to send to be disliked by the populace. The black metal band Immortal utilizes these types of vocals in their song “Withstand the Fall of Time” off of their 1999 album “At the Heart of Winter”. They are not high in their pitch, but the vocalist, Abbath, creates a sound of curdled pronouncements that resemble screeching like tones (Demonaz). Most of the masses do not desire to hear these kinds of vocals because they find them off-putting. The populace does not like these sounds that sound dark or even evil because they find them to be disconcerting.
Metal music since its genesis has been associated with Satanism, even with the objection of many artists. There are artists who embrace the ideas of Satanism and nowhere is this more apparent than in black metal. The black metal band Behemoth, named directly after a name for the Beast, shows this in their song “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” which means “Prayer to Holy Lucifer” (Negral and Azarewicz). Many people in the United States are Christian making all references to Satan not only taboo but even disturbing. This further shows how metal has unpleasant elements that push away the majority of people. Another black metal band who often uses satanic lyrics and imagery is Bathory. In their song “The Golden Walls of Heaven” the lyrics describe ransacking Heaven and the lyrics for each stanza create an acrostic with the name Satan for each one (Quorthon 1988). Songs blatantly speaking about Satan are not something the populace would tend to take interest in. Emotions of fear and dread most likely are felt by God fearing Christians who hear music like this showing how the masses tend to dislike metal.
With characteristics of vulgar depictions in artwork, growling or screeching lyrics, and occult references metal pushes away the majority of people. With darkness and death always being a constant part of life we should ask ourselves why most of the populace fears metal which constantly deals with it as Rufus Wainwright indicated. Most people fear the primitive sounding vocals in metal but the question of why remains. The fear for Satanism is a logical one for the Christian populace but this element is not intrinsic to all metal so why such fear for the “unsettling elements”?
Windolf, Jim (2010). Q&A: Wainwright on Liza, Lulu, and Proposing. VF culture. Retrieved from: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/12/qarufus-wainwright-on
Locke, Vincent (1992).
Daemorph (2014).
Ryan Travis (2015). Clandestine Ways (Krokodil Rot). [CD]. Westminster, CO: Metal Blade.
Demonaz (1999). Withstand the Falls of Time. [CD]. Ludvika, Sweeden: Osmose.
Negral and Azarewicz (2014). Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer. [CD] Gdansik, Poland: Nuclear Blast.
Quorthon (1988). The Golden Walls of Heaven. [CD]. Stolkhome, Sweden: Hearenshore Studio.
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