Aaah, the clichés… Metal fans can’t get away with it, far from it! What are the biggest prejudices against heavy metal fans? How can we react to our attackers?
The entire Skull World team has come together to guide you in shattering the stereotypes that haunt you when you’re a metalhead yourself. 🎸
Metalheads are dirty, loud, drug addicts and stupid. The list of stereotypes is long. These stereotypes about rock fans are often wrong and meaningless.
In this article you will find out what the 20 most common stereotypes about metalheads are. And how to react rationally to someone attacking your image as a hard rock fan…
Let’s go 🤘
This week we spoke to Kris, a big metal fan, about the most annoying stereotypes rock and metal fans face. He also tells us how to deal with it. Here we go! 🤘
Cliché #20: “A metalhead inevitably plays an instrument”.
Of course, the number of rock and metal fans who play an instrument has increased over the years. This is mainly because there are quite a number of affordable tools and free online lessons available on the market to make learning easier. That doesn’t mean EVERY rock fan plays an instrument though…
Cliché #19: “They are social trash”.
For some people, the image of metalheads ends up being bums who have to cut their hair and find a real job… Of course there are also metal fans who are co**, people who have problems, or just plain brutes … But as in any community!
Many metal fans are also intelligent and hardworking individuals who have good jobs, go to college and even are entrepreneurs.
Cliché #18: “The metallers don’t exist anymore”.
« I thought they packed their bags in the 70’s or 80’s… »
Yes, rock and metal are still there. Unlike most “pop music” trends, which disappear just as quickly as they came. Metal has endured since its inception, and the greatest proof of this is surely the number of rock concerts and festivals, with more and more participants. The flame is more alive than ever. 🔥
Cliché #17: “Black people don’t like metal music”.
That’s just stupid…
We’ll get to that later, but rock itself is a sign of coming together. Metalheads come from all walks of life, and the “black people” community is as much a part of rock culture as any other. 🙋🏾
Clichés #16: « Metallers have no talent ».
Kris tells us: It’s really annoying when someone defines metal as crap with untalented musicians. Especially when the same person takes the praise of pop stars who don’t write their own music and applies a healthy dose of autotune-style studio tricks to get radio play and appeal to the general public…
As Ole’ Nessie put it: « Try time to learn to play the guitar, you ass. Then we’ll talk more ». ✌️
Cliché #15: “Words are meaningless”.
As Dick Rivers put it, “Some of the most powerful and provocative lyrics were written by metal musicians”.
It’s perfectly normal for someone completely unfamiliar with rock music not to be touched by the lyrics of certain sounds. You have to know the codes because rock music is an art form. Just like rap is not understood by everyone… 🎼
But the hypocrisy is also very big here. People hear “Gangnam Style” in Korean, they sing it and dance to it. Nobody understands it and nobody is disturbed. 🤷
Cliché #14: “They all look the same”.
« All metalheads look the same. » I also listen to these regularly…
We all have long hair, wear leather pants and denim jackets with patches on the back…
NO! Metal has been around long enough to say otherwise. Fashion changes and metal fans with it. Certainly, certain dress and hair codes remain in place. 💇 But everyone has their own style, choose their haircut, whether they want “”skull tattoos or not””. And the metal fan ranges from a 16-year-old high school student to a 60-year-old company boss, so it’s easy to understand that their style can be very different at times.
Cliché #13: “They are dark and angry”.
Listening to metal calms you down, science says…
A recent study by the University of Queensland in Australia concluded that metal music has a positive impact on nervous people as it helps them channel their emotions appropriately.
The study involved a group of 39 regular listeners of hard rock music , ranging in age from 18 to 34 years. It involved participants describing events in their lives that made them angry. They then either listened to music of their choice for 10 minutes or spent 10 minutes in silence before being observed again. The doctor in charge of the study explained: “We found that music increased positive emotions. Silence, on the other hand, stagnated bad vibes. People felt more reassured listening to the music of their choice, whether violent or not. 🧘🏼
Ask any metal fan who will confirm that music relaxes you. Just like an athlete needs sport, a metalhead needs metal. As simple as that.
Stereotype #12: “Your parents must disown you”
I don’t know about you, but my parents think it’s great that I listen to heavy metal. You see I’m happy. They don’t really care if I listen to rock music or classical music…
Cliché #11: “Metal fans are stupid”.
Sometimes we are defined as having little or no intelligence compared to fans of other styles of music… Let’s let a study do the talking again!
After spending a few years listing musical tastes using the average scores from various higher education institutions, computer applications developer Virgil Griffith has presented some rather interesting results.
Taking various factors into account, the study concludes that people with above-average intelligence primarily prefer the rock bands , while rap and pop are at the other end of the ranking. Still, there are good and bad people in every scene, and we’re not here to have a competition. But reducing a group of fans of a style of music to the status of idiots is fundamentally stupid. 🧐
Cliché #10: «They are all addicted to drugs».
Kris, what do you have to say about that?
-Ahah… huge cliché. Drugs are everywhere. Much more in everyday life and in the defense buildings in Paris than at a rock concert. I’ve been a metal fan since I was 15, I’m 31 and I’ve never touched it. ⛔️ I think this stereotype is fueled by the few rock stars who have abused drugs. And so people associate music with addiction to illegal substances? That’s sad!
Cliché #9: “Metalists are Sales”
No no we don’t wash our hair… I personally wouldn’t feel good walking out of a rock concert and not drenched in sweat ! This is rock ‘n’ roll. And would you say to a soccer player who just got back from a game: « Ah, but you are dirty, you are sweating… »? Never! That also applies to us. 🙄
Cliché #8: “All rock sounds are 11 minutes long”.
It’s not exactly a stereotype, to be honest. But not all sounds! Many albums feature tracks that are 3 to 4 minutes long, potentially getting radio coverage. But I just think it comes down to the simple fact that rock bands make music for themselves and their fans. Not to please radio stations and the general public. And when you love, you don’t count! That’s the difference to pop music. 🥁
Cliché #7: « It’s just a phase, you’ll get out of it »
It’s funny to see how the people who tell you this end up getting out of their “hot” music phase faster than we are out of metal/rock…
Metal accompanies the majority of people throughout their lives. And that is certainly the reason why you find yourself at festivals with 15-year-old kids and their grandfather in biker looks with a bond that almost makes you cry. 🤘
Cliché #6: “The Rock ends at Metallica”
I often hear: “Ah, you must be a Metallica fan …”. Or people who see the word Metallica as the name of a distinct genre of music and not a band.
This is of course a lack of culture and a pity. I have a lot of respect for Metallica, but luckily the Metal doesn’t stop there. Rock music is extremely rich and varied. 🖤
Cliché #5: “It’s just screams”.
I dare any sane person to say so. I challenge these people to read the lyrics of the Rolling Stones , Pink Floyd or even Nirvana . And come back and discuss it with me. 😃
Cliché #4: « Rock provokes violence ».
As already mentioned, listening to metal calms you down. The aspect of violence comes very close to that of drugs. Smashing an electric guitar c’est fun, pas violent ! Ahah. Et que celui qui ne comprend pas la nuance se tienne loin de nous. ⚡️
Cliché #3: “You don’t understand a word of what they say”.
Even if some rocker lyrics are very well written. I have to admit, when you’re out with friends, at concerts or festivals, you don’t always try to sing and listen to the lyrics. Sometimes we’re just there to let off steam and have a good time, and the poets ask us, ‘What’s he saying? ». We care little about it. 👀
Cliché #2: « The metalhead only hears metal
For some people that is true. And sometimes that’s a good thing! But not always. I personally listen to all kinds of music. But it’s true that I always come back to Metal several times a day, it’s just in my blood. 🩸
Cliché #1: “Metal fans are satanists”.
I am 30 years old. I’ve been going to metal shows since I was 16 years old. I’ve been to about 70 metal concerts in France and abroad. I have tons of metal friends and I haven’t met a satanist yet! To be honest, I don’t even really know what Satanism consists of. I don’t care, my friends don’t care and I think I can even speak for all metalheads. We just love our music, your devil stuff is not our home. 👹
Challenge the stereotypes of metallers too
We just sat down for a while to debunk the 20 biggest myths about metalheads . You now know exactly how to counter each of these prejudices and how to respond with distance the next time you and our community are attacked. 👊
After all, what defines us best is certainly our difference. It’s our very own way of keeping bad vibes at bay and recognizing each other. And for that, there’s nothing hotter than true metal fan style . The entire team at the Skull World has put together YOUR selection of the most popular skull t-shirts among metalheads. Just discover them by clicking on the image below.
Embrace true metal style with a skull t-shirt .
If this article has helped you change your attitude towards metal, “”you will love all the other articles”” on this topic to increase your knowledge of this unique music.