A Certain Taste

Metalheads are no stranger to lyrics in languages other than English. From the more mainstream such as the German Rammstein and the Japanese Babymetal to more niche Icelandic and Finnish black metal acts like Misþyrming and Havukruunu, there is a lot of music popular within the wide genre of metal not performed in English. And we don't shy away from it. In fact, bands singing in their own tongue are often seen as more authentic . This idea of authenticity and thus worthiness of attention or respect is a big thing in metal. We are no strangers to gatekeeping in metal, after all. And what better way to stamp your authenticity than with your native language? While English itself is a bastard language with a number of different influences making up what we recognise as modern English, the UK also has a number of native languages: Scottish and Manx Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, Scots and of course Irish. You're more likely to hear music sung in these languages in folk music, but the sens...

A lot is made of the idea that metal, specifically black metal, should be dangerous. Those who talk the talk but shy away from walking the walk are branded as posers, merely adopting the aesthetic and notoriety of others; the true believers, the church burners, the blasphemers. The kvlt. After that first wave, not much has been truly dangerous in black metal. Sure, you might see Adam from Behemoth accused of blasphemy in deeply Catholic Poland (does this coincide with Behemoth announcements?), and then there are those who flirt with or fully believe in neo-Nazi or fascist ideology who see this as forbidden knowledge and thus dangerous. But being told to stop saying stupid shit isn't the same thing as being dangerous. Back in September I bought an album titled Eternal War on Bandcamp by an Iranian blackened death band, Death Squad. Yes, the same Iran that sees musical instruments as haram - banned. Metal musicians have previously faced blasphemy charges in Iran, for which one of the...

I've been thinking a lot about this recently, reflecting on my own choices and decisions and that of others I look up to. I've tried to structure this so that my incoherent thoughts are a bit more coherent or structured. I'm not an expert here, so I'm more than happy to hear what others think. Things that happen on Twitter are often blown way out of proportion by those for whom tweeting is like a sport. I know a lot of people who spend a lot of time on social media and don't have a Twitter account. At the same time, I think it's also fair to say that Twitter does influence other aspects of our culture. An example of this is the recent furore where the "Nazis in metal" debate came to somewhat of a head. I'm sorry (not sorry) that this will be a bit of a deeper dive into group psychology to understand why I don't think certain tactics are desirable, and what we should do instead. This article by the fantastic Kim Kelly covered how to spot Nazis ...

Doom had never really been on my radar. Sure I'd heard some Black Sabbath, and a few Candlemass tracks but I never sought out more. What a fool! My favourite release of January was Garganjua 's Toward the Sun. I thought of it more as post-rock than I did doom. Listening again, upon hitting the halfway point of the first song, The New Sun, I believe any doom fan will appreciate the absolutely massive riffage. I bought it instantly after my first play-through and it's up there with my most played vinyl. My collection is small but that doesn't diminish my point. Toward The Sun by Garganjua   Earlier this year Loviatar released their debut album, Lightless, after a string of EPs and singles. I don't know what convinced me to hit play on a doom record, but the purpose of this project is to listen to new music so why not also dip my toes in a new genre, right? While only six tracks long, this clocks in at close to 40 minutes. I didn't realise this pattern is common in...