Nazism and Heavy Metal

Originally wrote & published on June 5th, 2002 by Mayhem Fetus

"The "bang your heads for Satan" childish games of the official, Politically Correct, castrated pseudo-"Black Metal" scene have come to their logical end. The circus performance is over and the clowns return to their homes. Now, only the true warriors will stand proud on the battlefield with their ancient banner of the Sunwheel raised high in the sky. The true warriors of National Socialist Black Metal are ready to fight, to bleed, and to die in the name of our Pagan Ideals, in the name of the survival of our Aryan Race. Churches still burn in Poland, Russia, North America, and other lands. The enemies and the betrayers of the White race are forced to pay their debts one by one. Slowly but surely, the proud flame of "illegal" Aryan Heathen propaganda spreads. It spreads ever more widely, enlightening the brave hearts of the young."

Since metal first began defining itself as a genre in the late 70s, it's bands have been experimenting with symbols implemented by the nazis. Kiss' logo had the 3rd Reich "SS" symbol in place of the 2 S's in their name. Motorhead was constantly using iron crosses in their logos, album covers, and apparel. Slayer, Saxon, and Manowar were all experimenting with eagles and other imagery reminiscent of the third reich at the height of their careers. Though none of the bands were actually racist (Motorhead & Slayer both had members of latin descent). Even the rhythmic "rigidness" of the standard metal sound suggested a lean towards the right side of politics. Lately though, there has been a chilling new addition to the "metal attitude".

National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM) is a sect of black metal that is determined to fight for the power of the "White Aryan Race". They tend to separate themselves from the neo-nazi movement by claiming to be a cultural movement rather than a political one. Funny thing is, they tend to refer back to the days of the Third Reich as if they lived through it, and how those were the glory days of Europe. There are many different discrepancies and contradictions in their ideology but I will not go through it. The point of my article is to educate people about this movement, not give my views on it.... I believe everyone has the right to believe whatever they want and speak out about it in whatever they choose, after all we are all human beings, and who's to say one person's idea is better than the next.

One thing I particularly like about this pseudo-nazi movement is the fact they have a disgustingly large amount of racial pride. Now, their racial pride is not what is good, but the fact that it influences their music is great. Many NSBM bands tend to include folk elements and traditional viking/northern instruments into their music, creating some of the most intricate and beautiful metal I have ever heard. A great example of a band that does this is Nokturnal Mortum... their albums Lunar Poetry and NeChrist have some of the most beautiful guitar melodies I have ever heard, mixed in with horns, fiddles, and other folk instruments, it makes for quite an interesting listen.

The most infamous/popular bands that are part of this movement are the German band Absurd, and of course Norweigan one-man project Burzum. Coincidentally both of these bands happen to have members in prison, one a well deserved sentence (Varg from Burzum) and then one very stupid (Hendrik of Absurd). Appearantly Hendrik Moebus decided to greet the crowd at a show with a cheerful "Sieg Heil". Problem is, in Germany it is illegal for there to be the display of any sort of "nazi" symbols (although the symbols of any other political party are OK). The NSBM bands are all having some big campaign to liberate Hendrik from prison. Although I don't agree with his views I think that it is wrong to imprison someone for their beliefs. I'd say this should be a case for the people at Amensty International but they'd probably be too distracted by the "nazi" label to see any value in him as a human being (Amnesty International are giant hypocrites).

I thought it was really interesting that recently in my American Studies class, my teacher passed out articles about the spread of recist propaganda through the internet. About a quarter of the article concentrated on one of the biggest distributors of "White Power" Metal, Hardcore, and Punk: Resistance Records. I had visited their site prior to reading this article and had learned that a lot of bands I listened to had albums for sale on that site, at decent prices too. I actually considered ordering from that site but did not want my name on a "list" (the government keeps individuals who financially support these organizations under surveillance). This article I read in class spouted out the biggest bullshit. They discussed how sites like Resistance Records used music to market Nazism to a younger generation. Now excuse me if I am wrong here, but last time I checked, there wasn't an overwhelmingly large number of young people into Black Metal and Skin Head Hardcore. At metal shows I go to, I am often the youngest person there (16). Most people my age are into the more "popular" genres of music like Pop, Techno, Hip Hop, Punk, etc. I don't know many teens who would be turned into nazis by the music Resistance Records has, because I don't know many teens who are into that music at all.

Most Neo-Nazis and National Socialists are older than middle twenties and look down upon the younger generations. These ideologies appearantly require one to "mature" before they can truly believe in them. Although I believe any sort of racial pride requires one to be very "immature", they're allowed to believe what they want.

The sole purpose of this article was to educate metal heads of the different ideologies associated with metal. If you already listen to some "nazi" bands, please don't be stupid and stop listening to them. Also, the disgustingly ignorant Turn it Down organization (against white power music) has a list of symbols frequently worn by Nazis on their website. Among those symbols, are symbols frequently worn by non-racist Metal Heads like the Iron Cross, Eagle, Suncross, Celtic Cross, Thor's Hammer, Life Rune, etc. I urge all metal heads who already do wear these symbols to wear them proudly because they ARE NOT actually racist symbols. If some ignorant punk asshole comes up to you and calls you racist tell them they are wrong and walk away, do not apologize, stop wearing them, or make them feel like they are right in any way. Just in case you are curious, here is a list of this 1/16 jewish, 2/4 black moor, 1/4 spaniard, 1/4 british writers favorite nazi bands:

Nokturnal Mortum, Burzum, Absurd, Kristallnacht, Thor's Hammer, Judas Iscariot, Abigor, Sunwheel, Behemoth, Vaginal Jesus, Iron Youth, Skrewdriver and Gontyna Kry

To be honest I actually have no idea if some of these bands are actually 100% nazi but they were bands I liked on Turn it Down's list of bands to NOT LISTEN TO UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. To all those trying to limit free speech... FUCK YOU!

Originally wrote by "Mayhem Fetus"