Metalheads are an odd bunch. And here is why that is beautiful
Last weekend I attended Rock Castle festival in Czech Republic. I was alone, so I had all the time to walk around and observe the metal community gathered together on the field.
All of a sudden, somewhere half way the festival program, it struck me - we are one hell of an odd bunch of people. And it is fucking beautiful!
Let me explain.
Despite the fact that many societies around the world are evolving and becoming more open to fringe cultures like metal (among others), many metalheads still feel they either need to hide their “metalness” or at least tone it down in order to feel accepted, keep their jobs, satisfy their parents, avoid the evil eye of their teachers, or not be immediately judged at the gate.
Metalheads don’t necessarily feel comfortable with these expectations of society and have an intrinsic desire to break away from them. Yet, many of us have no choice but to abide by them if we don’t want to be left out in the cold.
I am very aware that we are not alone in this. Society has a unique talent of putting people from all kinds of subcultures, religions or sexual orientations in boxes, judge them, disapprove of them and sometimes even outright shun them.
All these groups have found ways to escape and be with like minded people. For metalheads there exists events like festivals and other concerts. During these events the expectations of society seem to all fade away. They don’t mean anything anymore.
People from all walks of life come together. No one cares for the kind of work you do, what grades you got at school or if you have even finished school at all. No one cares how much you earn, how big your house is, or what car you drive. No one cares if you have a limp, a lisp, a speech disorder or if you miss an arm.
At events like these we dress the way we want to dress; act the way we want to act; scream the way we want to scream; headbang to our heart’s galore; and be who we truly want to be.
There is no pretending. There is no hiding. There is no judging. No prejudice. No weird looks. No disapproval.
After all, we are all there for the same reasons: enjoy the music, enjoy the community, be ourselves, release all our emotions (good or bad), feel free from any restraints.
As far as I am concerned, these moments are precious and I feel absolutely grateful for being part of that.