State of the Union: A Good Time for Metal

As I glance around the world today, I can't help but think that, while it may be a sick, horrible world we live in, it is a great time to be a metal-head. With all the political bullshit, the drama of life, the economy, the judgments of religious radicals, and the tortures of pop music, we metal lovers will always have this vast, deep ocean of metal to survive on. It is our Mana in the desert, an oasis of reason in a world gone mad - and I thank God for it, I really do.

The fact is that metal's had a rough history in the 30-some-odd years it's been in existence. From that first brilliant lightening strike that came with Black Sabbath and gave life to a new, perfect genre of music, it's been an uphill battle for us. In the early 80's, the establishment found its latest scapegoat in metal, blaming bands like Judas Priest and Twisted Sister for any and all of the world's evils - murders, rape, violence ... all of these things no longer became a matter of personal responsibility, but a result of listening to a particular type of music. From this battle, arose that giant, perpetual enemy of metal (and free speech) - the Parental Advisory board (also known as the Parents Music Resource Center).

The Parental Advisory label banned kids from buying up their Pantera records their souls so ached for, while pop music (which openly encourages objectification of women and hedonism) was readily available. This plunged metal into a Dark Age, a time when commercial, dumbed-down music was presented as the only proper entertainment for growing adults, the only media worth listening to, and most egregiously, the only acceptable thing for people to be into - and as such, if you were a metal-lover, you were an outcast, a devil-worshiper, even evil.

As a result, for the better part of the 90's, metal survived essentially as an underground counter-culture movement. The drama of the previous decade gave rise to bands like Death and Cannibal Corpse; And the result, as is the case with most counter-culture movements, was an extremist view of metal. They don't like violence in music? We'll give them raped nuns, decapitations, and Satan worship like they've never seen.

Fast-forward to today: Now, after an apostasy of so many years, metal is back, and it's badder than ever. Fueled by a new medium in the internet and a world sick to death of pop music, metal has made a comeback unlike anything we've seen in history. Especially power metal, with legends Iron Maiden still going strong and relative newcomers Dragonforce, Rhapsody, and Hammerfall gaining massive followings, has proven to be formidable. Obituary, Daath, and Gorgoroth continue to push the envelope when it comes to black and death metal. And, the recent reformation of one of the greatest metal bands of all time, Black Sabbath (in the form of Dio's Heaven and Hell) is an omen of great things to come.

While the hangover still lingers from those drab days of nu-metal and rap-metal, the developments of the last few years should give every one of us hope - hope in a more accepting, inventive tomorrow for the world of heavy metal. For everyone, a metal band, and for every metal band, an audience. There may be no better definition of Utopia.

I sincerely hope that, as it develops, Throw the Goat can become a part of the reinvention of heavy metal. I predict big things ahead for my beloved heavy metal, and I can only hope to be a small part of the oncoming storm.