What is metal for you?

[JohanV]

Still listening metal even though my dad once told me that I would grow over 'it' when I become an adult. I was 16 at the time. I am either super stubborn not wanting to give in to him even while passed the age of 50 or I never grew up. Possibly a combination of both is true.

I relate a lot to what @GoatmasterGeneralsaid. Including the Simon and Garfunkel comment... but also the divorce tapes. I have them too.  I am having plenty memories when I listen to older music.

[NokturnalBoredom]

Metal is just one of the many styles of music that I listen to. I don't think that it affects me any more than the hardcore punk or jazz that I listen to. Do they have cooler Tshirt designs than a lot of other genres? Absolutely, so the argument could be made that metal affects the way that I dress but that's really about it these days. Maybe when I was younger metal influenced the way that I behaved and acted to a small extent, but when you're younger and less jaded about society and the world around you, you tend to place a higher value on "authenticity" because you haven't figured out yet that everyone is full of shit in one way or another, so you think that the songs that bands write and record really reflect them as people rather than just being mere artists who are making art for you to enjoy (and hopefully get paid doing it).

It doesn't make me angry or depressed. I'm naturally kind of an angry person but we won't get into that here. As far as it making me depressed goes, metal actually makes me happy because I enjoy the time I am able to listen to it. There's nothing that I love more than coming home from work, jumping in the shower, and then putting an LP on my turntable and just chilling out.

I've found that listening to metal helps me to regulate my emotions in a way. I know that this doesn't make much sense, but without metal I'd be overthinking things too much and be thinking about all of the horrible shit in the world that is never, ever going to change for the better & then I would legitimately be depressed.

[Sardonicist]

On 5/3/2021 at 10:45 AM, JohanV said:

Still listening metal even though my dad once told me that I would grow over 'it' when I become an adult. I was 16 at the time. I am either super stubborn not wanting to give in to him even while passed the age of 50 or I never grew up. Possibly a combination of both is true.

I relate a lot to what @GoatmasterGeneralsaid. Including the Simon and Garfunkel comment... but also the divorce tapes. I have them too.  I am having plenty memories when I listen to older music.

I've been wondering what an adult is lately. I think an adult does not listen to much music. The ability to be comfortable inside ones incredibly boring self seems to be adulthood. No requirements for external stimulation. Disdain for everything life has to offer. I think adulthood is losing interest in everything that seemed magical when we were young and being comfortable with having no interest in anything. I managed to spend a whole day sitting at the kitchen table with nothing going on, only getting up to do chores. The following day my childish tendencies get their revenge. Metal prevents people from being adults.  I'll never grow up. 

[machinewolfheart]

its in my blood after a short period of rap and house music i live and breathe metal!

[AlSymerz]

A diet of heavy metals is not something doctors would recommend.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

2 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

A diet of heavy metals is not something doctors would recommend.

Dentists don't recommend it either.

[Dead1]

For me metal is a lot of things:

- Entertainment.   Riffs and more fucking riffs 

- Emotional outlet/resonnance.

- Ideals and attitudes towards society

- One of the cornerstones of my identity (the others being a socialist, a Yugoslav,  a Tasmanian(not Australian), and a history nerd).

As the Entombed lyrics on Masters of Death go:

"I love it like you love Jesus.  It does the same thing to my soul."

 

 

[markm]

On 4/25/2021 at 6:56 PM, Hungarino said:

Literally an addiction that seems to release metal-enjoyment endorphins into the blood stream. Pressure release, a middle figure to life's frustrations and a celebration of mortality and a way to rage against and embrace the absurdity of the void. 

Wow, that's pretty good. Yes, it makes us feel alive with the knowledge our time is short so make it count. Feel something while you are here. We will all be six feet under soon enough.

This shouldn't be a hard question. Uh.....

In the early 80's metal for me was a middle finger to the establishment, it was rebellion. Today, it's my wife saying "can you turn that down"-haha.....the more things change the more they stay the same. 

In the modern era, I see metal as this secret little corner of my life that allows me to embrace all kinds of extremity and  feelings that aren't easily expressed in other settings-antisocial, pathological, primal feelings of hostility, rage, insanity, existential dread and the embrace of all manner of genre defying creative expression....metal taps into lizard brain.

Piece of Mind is one of my favorite 80's metal albums. Metal is the secret of the hangman, the smile on his lips. 

Or as Nails recently wrote, you will never be one of us. That's metal. The middle finger. 

[Thatguy]

'It's just entertainment, folks.'

[GoatmasterGeneral]

12 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

'It's just entertainment, folks.'

I know, it's only rock and roll, but I like it, like it, yes I do.

[AlSymerz]

1 hour ago, Thatguy said:

'It's just entertainment, folks.'

So is pole dancing, but if both are combined is there more entertainment?

[Thatguy]

1 hour ago, AlSymerz said:

So is pole dancing, but if both are combined is there more entertainment?

I think pole dancing is just silly...so, no, just the music please.

[AlSymerz]

The way you do it it is silly, you need to listen to the instructor.

 

[thrashinbiker]

First of all, I just want to say thank you to all contributors here for what has been a very interesting, touching, funny and insightful read.  

I'm also thicker than a mustard and beefsteak sandwich, however, I will try to explain what metal means to me.  

I posted extensively about how I was introduced to metal in the "Music that shivers me timbers" thread https://www.metalforum.com/topic/28247-music-that-shivers-me-timbers/?do=findComment&comment=389982&_rid=10938 - but its a long read, so, to sum up, I was introduced to metal (at first Slayer and Metallica) by my uncle when I was 11 or 12 and I was pretty ambivalent toward music until that moment.  I was amazed at the heaviness, the heartiness, the aggression and the super-prevalent fuck-you attitude of these bands. 

In those formative, pre-teenage years, metal was like embarking on a truly foreign land.  It taught me that music can find those parts of your personality that are hidden away and bring them out into the open.  It taught me that the melting pot of emotions we experience on a daily basis was normal and that music could be a safe but thoroughly enjoyable outlet for the daily pressures of life, whatever age we may be.  

 

I was already an outcast at school so finding metal made no difference, but it helped me to come to terms that being different to the norm was no crime, indeed, that it was fun.  Rather than looking on in envy at cliques of people who appeared to be enjoying themselves, but, as I later discovered, were probably far unhappier and dissatisfied with life than I was, I quickly learned to not give a fuck about who was good at sport or who was popular - these achievements, if you can call them that, were fleeting.  Thirty-five years or so later, I am still here and so is metal.  And, overall, I am still just as happy as the person all of that music helped me to become as I ever was.

As I advanced through my teenage years, my passion for metal never waned.  My tape/cd collection grew, and so did my appetite for music.  Sure, I got funny looks at school and some shade thrown for growing my hair and wearing band tees, black jeans and my leather jacket, but, despite being an introvert, metal had instilled in me some confidence (and that middle-finger attitude, of course) so any insults just rebounded off me and often resulted in a demonic, braying laugh that put the wind up students and teachers alike.  It was immensely liberating to realise that I just didn't care what anyone thought and I realise now that being comfortable in my own skin from an early age was a huge benefit to my emotional wellbeing and state of mind.  

Despite being a loner, sneaking out at night to go to one or two of the few venues in my city that played metal were some of the best I had.  I had very little money, but could afford the price of a ticket and would take two hip flasks filled with whatever concoctions I could glean from the drinks cabinet.  Heading into the sweaty, belligerent, aggressive mess that is the pit, I felt right at home.  At home because of my fellow metalheads, the brotherhood as some might say, and at home with the prevailing emotions of the pit, releasing that anger, the frustration and just succumbing to (and adding to) that massive ball of energy that you only truly get in the pit.

I don't mind admitting to you guys that, at forty-five, this year, for the first time in my life I have suffered with some mental health issues.  I don't want to sound like I am canvassing for violins, but I live with a good deal of chronic pain due to growth spurts I had when I was 12 and 14 (I'm 6'7") and having to take opiates/nerve-blockers makes me tired and strung out.  

I have only just returned to work (4 December) after having five months off work due to depression.  For the first time in my life, I didn't want music, I didn't want to play on my PlayStation.  I was numb, emotionally, for the first time in my life.  Even simple things like brushing my teeth and showering felt like the hugest obstacles to overcome.  I live with my parents as I have been their carer for a number of years.  My mother has mobility issues and had a stroke in September (fortunately it was mild and she is doing well) so (if this doesn't sound ironic) I am grateful that I HAD to get up and make sure the house ticked over with things like cleaning and making meals.  

I was fortunate to have a sympathetic doctor who provided me with medication and a place to go for support, which I still attend regularly - a centre for men with mental health problems, where you can do activities, anything from jamming nights to yoga, cookery, gardening, playing games.  And more besides.  

Round the end of September, I thought fuck it, let's have some tunes.  I returned to the music of my childhood, when I first found metal (or did it find me?) all those years ago.  I spent a day listening to Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, and many more besides.  While I can't claim the music instantly healed me, as the next few weeks went by, probably combined with the medication bedding in, I began to feel those familiar feelings again.  The energy, that fire in my belly, that spirited rejection of society and I-don't-give-a-fuck spirit that had eluded me for so long.  

I am now doing well and I finish work this Thursday for three weeks off (I always take three weeks off at Christmas, I don't tend to go away due to caring responsibilities so my "big" block of leave tends to be at Christmas), and, just like it is every day, metal will be right at the centre of enjoying every day.  

Apologies for the long post and if you made it to the end, thank you for reading.     

[MacabreEternal]

10 hours ago, thrashinbiker said:

 

I don't mind admitting to you guys that, at forty-five, this year, for the first time in my life I have suffered with some mental health issues.    

I hear you brother, it has been a familiar plague for me in recent years (although not on the scale that you describe).  Brother-in-law has some severe physical and mental health issues and so supporting him sort of makes my issues more manageable.

Glad you are on the recovery road and thanks for sharing.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I’m glad you’re doing better as well, having struggled with my own mental health Demons for a number of years I can certainly empathise a couple of our older members have an idea of the total shit show that was my life from 2011-2016, the brief respite that was late 20 16–2018, and the living hell that was 20 19–2020. In the interests of brevity, I will simply say that to me, metal is, and always has been, first, and foremost a means of escape, sure for the most part I had to listen in secret, even mostly having to wear headphones when I was playing my guitar, but if anything that just added to the sense of escapism.

[thrashinbiker]

1 hour ago, MacabreEternal said:

I hear you brother, it has been a familiar plague for me in recent years (although not on the scale that you describe).  Brother-in-law has some severe physical and mental health issues and so supporting him sort of makes my issues more manageable.

Glad you are on the recovery road and thanks for sharing.

 

13 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

I’m glad you’re doing better as well, having struggled with my own mental health Demons for a number of years I can certainly empathise a couple of our older members have an idea of the total shit show that was my life from 2011-2016, the brief respite that was late 20 16–2018, and the living hell that was 20 19–2020. In the interests of brevity, I will simply say that to me, metal is, and always has been, first, and foremost a means of escape, sure for the most part I had to listen in secret, even mostly having to wear headphones when I was playing my guitar, but if anything that just added to the sense of escapism.

Thank you for your kind words, my brothers.  ME, really glad to hear you have been supporting your brother-in-law.  It's difficult when you are dealing with your own struggles, but utmost respect to you for doing that.  

RO, I am genuinely sorry to hear you have had what is clearly an extremely difficult time over the last 10-12 years.  Obviously it would be impertinent to ask questions, but whatever went/is going on, I hope you are in a better frame of mind, now.  

May the future be a happier and metal-filled place for us all. 🤘 🤘

[RelentlessOblivion]

12 hours ago, thrashinbiker said:

 

Thank you for your kind words, my brothers.  ME, really glad to hear you have been supporting your brother-in-law.  It's difficult when you are dealing with your own struggles, but utmost respect to you for doing that.  

RO, I am genuinely sorry to hear you have had what is clearly an extremely difficult time over the last 10-12 years.  Obviously it would be impertinent to ask questions, but whatever went/is going on, I hope you are in a better frame of mind, now.  

May the future be a happier and metal-filled place for us all. 🤘 🤘

Yeah i’m doing so much better these days, mostly because I am free to openly pursue my passions, these days. I don’t see the point in letting past traumas define my life any more.

[thrashinbiker]

7 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Yeah i’m doing so much better these days, mostly because I am free to openly pursue my passions, these days. I don’t see the point in letting past traumas define my life any more.

I'm really glad to hear that.  I was lucky, in the sense that my parents, while not fully understanding, were always fine with me choosing the music I wanted to listen to and the clothes I wanted to wear (I'd get the odd comment, but more in jest than anything, so it was never an issue).  

Even though other family members made comments (the usual stuff), it rolled off me like water from a duck's back because my uncle (who introduced me to metal) had taught me that I could (and should) be confident in myself if I was being my genuine self.  So, even though I wasn't (and am still not) the most confident person, being a metalhead in my hometown (which was a rarity in those days and still isn't exactly commonplace now) didn't cause me to have any crises of confidence.

Even becoming a biker (another family first, save for my aforementioned uncle), while it drew the usual "ooh they are SOOOOO DANGEROUSSS" comments from relatives, I was confident enough in my own skin to let that wash over me.  

I am so glad you are comfortable with your passions and that you don't let the past determine the future, brother.  I have "known" you (in the terms of a forum and in so much as I can know someone in this situation) for such a short time, but you are clearly someone of great intelligence and an inspiration.

Thank you.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Cheers mate, and can I just say it’s great to see You diving right into the conversations around you diving right into the conversations around here,here,

[thrashinbiker]

21 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Cheers mate, and can I just say it’s great to see You diving right into the conversations around you diving right into the conversations around here,here,

Thanks RO!  It's genuinely great to be here and the welcome I have received and the interactions so far are a true reminder of why the metal community are a bloody great bunch of people.

[Miss_Teala]

Rock with a intense, rebellious edge to it.