One thing had long prevented me from getting into metal and that's the whole satanic worship thing of a lot of metal, especially black metal, and also the whole dismemberment/murder thing, especially found in a lot of death metal.

I just don't get it! Maybe it was because I was raised an atheist and remain one - all this 666ism seems either ludicrous or dangerously bonkers.

I do love the fantastic enraged intensity of metal - bands like Mastodon, Meshuggah, High on Fire and Opeth are among my fave bends ever.

I am just wondering if any metal fans could shed some light on why this common obsession with death and the occult so often dominates metal.

Apart from the budding serial killers and genuine satanic zealots out there, what's the attraction for the rest of you to such particularly dark obsessions?

Just spitballing here, but I think a lot of it has to do with the imagery pairing well with the aggressive nature of the music.

As for how many of these bands are actually Satanic, rather than just using the imagery for some kind of aesthetic motif, is hard to say. Someone else will have to chime in there.

quote:

Originally posted by cuneyt81:
Just spitballing here, but I think a lot of it has to do with the imagery pairing well with the aggressive nature of the music.

As for how many of these bands are actually Satanic, rather than just using the imagery for some kind of aesthetic motif, is hard to say. Someone else will have to chime in there.

Thanks for the feedback - I saw a doco featuring 2 kinds of death metal fan - one was an otherwise sweet kid who just got off on the aggro and also the guitar wizardry in the music; the other, undoubtedly rarer, was actively using his music as a platform for spreading the black gospel. I guess I am curious how far the more extreme side of satanic murderous mayhem can be embraced and still remain just an aesthetic choice; you know, without gradually but radically depressing/brutalising someone.

There are plenty of bands that practice/believe what they preach...

I think that whole aspect is entertaining so I just kinda ignore it/enjoy it.

A lot of the more satanic/br00tal metal comes from cold, dark places that have long been dominated by christianity. So, there's also the rebellion and shock factor to factor in..

quote:

Originally posted by jack(gl)ass:
There are plenty of bands that practice/believe what they preach...

I think that whole aspect is entertaining so I just kinda ignore it/enjoy it.

A lot of the more satanic/br00tal metal comes from cold, dark places that have long been dominated by christianity. So, there's also the rebellion and shock factor to factor in..

Cold and dark origins makes sense - after all Scandinavia does only get 6 hours or so of daylight for much of the year! The whole rebellion against constrictive religion makes sense too in an abstract way - abstract to me since organised religion has never been a part of my life, good or bad - what I have experienced of spirituality in a more mystical sense has led to me to always be most alarmed by any careless dabbling in the occult - so maybe this is why I am less able to get distance on the 666 train...

i dont know about the mentality of the metal bands members, but what i like about metal music is that it's appeasing. Metal (especially black metal)free you from all things you are supposed to feel guilty about. Metal shows the brutal thruth and the beast that lives inside us. That's maybe where the black metal mentality is opposed to christianity: one shows a powerful and terrible world filled with weak and dependant creatures versus a beautiful world filled with humans that must elevate themselves and be good. Personnaly, i prefer this black metal view i just described. But i think this black metal mentality can also be opposed to the Philosophie des Lumières and their thoughts about Reason. anyway......

quote:

Originally posted by eggtweedyegg:
i dont know about the mentality of the metal bands members, but what i like about metal music is that it's appeasing. Metal (especially black metal)free you from all things you are supposed to feel guilty about. Metal shows the brutal thruth and the beast that lives inside us. That's maybe where the black metal mentality is opposed to christianity: one shows a powerful and terrible world filled with weak and dependant creatures versus a beautiful world filled with humans that must elevate themselves and be good. Personnaly, i prefer this black metal view i just described. But i think this black metal mentality can also be opposed to the Philosophie des Lumières and their thoughts about Reason. anyway......

Great comments - you show great insight and have given me a handle on how to make sense of the blacker aspects of metal.

I get what you are saying about the limits of reason and the illusions of progress and perfectibility - this is what attracts me to a lot of music that celebrates our human frailty/mortality or recognises our capacity for destruction in the face of so much sanitising and fascist denial of our limits that goes on in "the west". This may not mean I will ever relate personally to satanic dismemberment - but you have helped to make sense of its appeal.