A reply to Dr. Azly Rahman's article "To Malaysian music fans -- is Black Metal a threat to our mental security?"

My friends wouldn't expect any less from my reaction to Dr. Azly Rahman's article in his column at Malaysia today, A Republic of Virtue, entitled To Malaysian music fans -- is Black Metal a threat to our mental security

Yes it is true about Aarseth from the band Mayhem took a picture of Dead's blown up corpse as a picture for their album Dawn of the Black Hearts. In fact , what also happened was, Euronymous, another band member, was said to eat some of the fragments of Dead's brain (Dead killed himself by shooting a shotgun to his head). I don't know how far that's true, but either ways, its pretty sick of them to even make up a story like that and be glorified for doing such a thing. Nonetheless, Mayhem's fans do not listen to Mayhem because of what they did when Dead died...sheesh. That way, we should say that all Eric Clapton's fans (before the awful death of his son) liked his music because he was always high on cocaine. Or, Queen's fans enjoyed their music because Freddy Mercury was swinging on the other side of the team. To those fans of Mayhem's who like Mayhem cuz of what Aarseth and Euronymous did, they are what metalheads like to call "posers". They don't like the music, they just like the fact that black metal is all bad-ass and etc. In fact i would agree that many poser "black metal"-heads out there think they are so cool because they are grim and necro but its not the music they are truly enjoying, just the "attitude" they think people who enjoy such music have.

It is heartbreaking when i get remarks that " ooo metal is unsophisticated and noisy so it is bad...and yeah it has evil messages in its music too, so its evil...". Music doesn't need to be all complex and sophisticated, like Dream Theater(who are by the way my favourite), to be nice. It is a matter of individual opinion. Popular music is utterly unsophisticated, so does it mean that it sucks? Well, of course if one asks me if pop sucks i would say yes. But that's me. I used to be that person who thinks that just because a piece of music doesn't have weird time signatures and complex solo's, it is shitty music. Thank God i've finally matured out of that nonsense and realized that music is something where, truly, its beauty is in the eye of its beholder. That's the reason not EVERYONE appreciates the same style of music. We listen to whatever music that ignites our senses whether it is jazz, classical, pop, rnb, world, traditional, trance and yes...metal. An individual who really likes certain kind of music listens to it because he or she likes the music and not necessarily the conduct or personality of the musician. I have a friend who really enjoys hip hop but he looks nothing like those "brothers from the West-side" with the huge pants and over-sized shirts, talking like he's from the "hood". I am a metalhead but i don't have locks running down my back or chains around my waist. I listen to death metal but i don't have the desire to burn anybody or start a massacre to glorify "Almighty Satan". NO! Once again, my point is, its not the music that makes the character but its the character who finds him or herself akin to the music. And if the only reason he or she listens to the music is to because its all violent and brutal, then that is just sheer bullocks and its not the music he or she truly enjoys. Say a violent person listens to death metal because its brutal and "grraaawww" then maybe in another life, that same person would be listening to gangster rap instead..who knows.


Threat to mental security?- Indeed the titles and lyrics of metal bands might raise a few eyebrows especially in an extremely conventional society like ours. If we were to analyze other works of art the same way, then works like David and Creation of Adam by Micheangello Bvonarotti should be considered pornographic and blasphemous to God. Music like any other form of art is a form of expression. Now metal bands are just really blunt and frank when it comes it to their music. (I'm reiterating)Metalheads listen to metal because they like the music not just because its demonic or kvlt(cult). In fact, if one wanted occult music, metal isn't the only genre which plays such music, but so does the nursery rhyme "Hot Cross Buns". In witchcraft, the covens give out hot buns to everyone after the Great Rite which has a cross on it which is the symbol of Thamuz the Babylonian god who was the son of Baal(weird huh..). Metalheads listen to metal because we like the style of music. Art isn't suppose to be about the matter being expressed but the expression itself. Thus one can't blame music for a society being plagued by decadence. It is the decadence itself which gives rise to decadent individuals and if they turn out to be metal musicians, they would be expressing their decadence. In short, it is the man who makes the art and not art the man.

Besides, most metal bands have very poetic lyrics and beautiful(as i said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder) music to accompany them. Take lyrics from bands like Opeth, Kalmah, and Dark Tranquility for example(if you're really interested, go to Dark Lyrics). Yes their music may be dark and lyrics quite disturbing, but once again, it is not about the matter being expressed but the expression itself that makes an artwork.


A Culture of Thrash- Metal is not an effective way to invade the minds of the masses....not anymore. It would be a much more profitable and effective to use a form of music that appeals to a bigger portion of the young population. Metal is now labeled as alternative and underground especially in Malaysia reason being most young Malaysians do not listen to metal. Hip hop and RnB are even bigger in Malaysia and everywhere around the world. Pop is called pop for a reason. The reason is because, well , its popular. Hence if anyone wanted to poison the minds of the youth, it would be through these channels. And for argument's sake, 'mainstream' music is no different than metal when it comes to its message and etc. Its just that mainstream is much much more subtle. Its all about the presentation and packaging. Like a capitalist would say, "Its half sold when it has a good packaging". So why all the fuss about metal....isn't mainstream, in that sense, a bigger threat to the minds of our youths?

All this stereotype about metal is just a result of a lack of understanding metal or, as a matter of fact, art in general. Enough said...i'm hungry after all this typing...and i can't think now when i'm hungry.