Image from forcesofgeek.com
Perhaps I’m wasting my time bringing this up and trying to counter the arguments of fanatics but the ridiculousness of what’s presented as fact in “Exposing Metal Bands (satanic illuminati) PART 1,” a video that surfaced on YouTube this week bothers me enough to call attention to it. I still can’t decide if the creators of this video, under the username AprilandWayneShow, are genuine or Internet pranksters. Their channel description states the following: “JESUS is the ONLY way to HEAVEN, no other religion, philosophy, or belief will save you from HELL… We are trying to wake people up. We are trying to reach all nations. We may seem harsh but we really care about people and we use tough love and the truth.” Tough love, indeed. “Exposing Metal Bands (satanic illuminati) PART 1” makes drastic accusations that seem like they belong in the last century, when the parents of the baby boomers didn’t know what to do with their children, who took to protesting to make their voices heard, listening to rock music and experimenting with drugs. I thought that this era of hyper-conservatism and restricted thought had ended but apparently not.
The video begins by calling on an idea that was used back in Elvis Presley’s day, but with “Rock N’ Roll” replaced by “Metal.” Accompanied by ominous music, white text on a black background reads, “Metal destroys the lives of many youth and leads millions of souls to Hell.” The following messages say, “Metal has caused many youth to turn to drugs, become rebellious, and become sexually promiscuous (including bisexuality). Metal promotes self-destruction (including suicide)… The core of metal is sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. Metal artists have sold their souls to the Devil.” These ‘facts’ are never supported with statistics and allow AprilandWayneShow to easily craft a blanket statement, a favorite tool of extremists.
The video goes on to show clips of metal music videos divided into various categories like “Demonic Possession and Rage” and “Witchcraft and Satanism” and makes an example of bands like Suicide Silence, who have shirts which feature the phrase, “Pull the trigger bitch.” The themes of rage, suicide, and drug use are present in some metal. I agree that they are objectionable and that concerns about them in our society are justified. But the purpose of metal music is not to propagate a negative message. There is no agenda. Metal bands explore the ideas that no one else does. Metal tries to provoke thought and produce an intense feeling or emotion, as all art does. Metal happens to do that with a non-traditional combination of guitars, drums and vocals. The songs and bands selected by the creators of this video produce an unflattering and convincing argument for viewers who may have little experience with metal.
The little validity that was present in the video is gone by the time a lengthy section on how “metal artists are under demonic control during performances” starts. It quotes artists from the 80s ‘admitting’ to being possessed by demons with statements like, “I just go crazy when I go onstage” and “It’s like a mysterious energy that comes from the metaphysical plane and into my body,” but any of these can describe excitement for a performance or creative energy as well as they can indicate the presence of the paranormal. This argument hits close to home for me when the video attacks Lyle Cooper, the drummer of the Faceless, a favorite band of mine, showing his intense focus during a performance of “Planetary Duality.” His eyes are closed and his face is contorted into a grimace. The video claims that a demon was the cause of his drumming skill, not hours of practice and musical ability. Also according to the video, demonic chants and incantations are present in the background of metal recordings for the purpose of mind control to “not only give the listeners understanding of the messages about Satan conveyed to them by the music, but also prevent them from realizing their need for Jesus and the Salvation He died on the cross to give us.”
My biggest gripe with the video is the idea that Christianity is the only acceptable ideology and that metal’s aim is to make listeners question their faith in Jesus and God. Born of Osiris’s song “The Accountable” is used as an example of this. One lyric reads, “We all hold the power to trust and have faith in ourselves… Now is the time to believe in yourself.” AprilandWayneShow interprets this as a suggestion that the Christian God should be abandoned. They repeat their main idea: “The Bible teaches to deny yourself and to put trust only in Jesus the Savior of the World.” Religion is an extremely valuable part of society but the close-minded assertion that it cannot coexist with other philosophies and beliefs is obsolete. Today’s metal does not aim to breed Satanists and criminals. It examines concepts like space, time, existence, mortality and natural order, in some cases better than any other genre of music. I end this with some lyrics from The Contortionist’s “Exoplanet I: Egress.” An excellent example of modern metal’s purpose, this song encourages us to open our minds to new ideas, which whoever was behind this video refuses to do.
Exoplanet I: Egress
By The Contortionist
We are among the stars
Who are the operators of this boundless array?
The expedition takes us to our new home…
Systems re-align
Speculation based on calculated reason leads me to believe we are not alone
Seeded by a greater race, we only hope to find the answers now embedded into the fabric of our minds
Are we moving forward?
Guided by the maps of progress
Imperfect perfections allow existence
A link to “Exposing Metal Bands (satanic illuminati) PART 1”:
