Some people just don't understand. You know, they can tell me about my "punk ass bitch gothic t shirts", they can tell me everything I listen to sounds the same, they can say just about anything in the book and I'll gladly set them straight if they allow me the time to explain to them. But nothing pisses me off more than when people tell me that it's just a phase or that I listen to metal music because I'm angry. I live in a part of the city where I'm the only metal head I really know so maybe this is new to you guys but I get this erroneous comment all the time. So just to get the conversation stirring, which people just go through a metal phase and which people (like myself) plan on devoting their whole lives to metal?

I can understand where people are coming from though. I went from a normal kid, to a sports kid, to a Rap kid, to a grunge kid, and finally to a Metalhead. I changed like the seasons. However, I found living Metal music to be a much more suited lifestyle to my current ideals and feelings and I have proudly been a metalhead for over three years. That might not be long compared to some people, but considering I changed my style and attitude every school year before High School and been into metal since my freshman year and never looked back, I'd say I'm doing pretty well. From Metal I have found so much more, but unlike the other "styles" I haven't left Metal for something bigger and better, because there really isn't.

Not sure where I went with that, but I'm only saying that for a lot of people it is just that, a phase that people stereotype. People do it with everything, you just have to ignore it.

They can't really say anything unless they know from their own experiences, if they are just making accusations without evindence to say it is a phase, then who are they really to say anything at all? People must learn first, then judge.

Metal has stayed with me so far, I can't see it changing in the future either, mainly because it is something I enjoy and am addicted to, although not in a bad way . I also believe that metal is part of what I am as a person, regardless of what others think that constitutes who I am. It has taught me too much to reject or deny, in comparison to anyhting else.

Ah well, yet another problem concerning the public about metal, not much you can do but ignore it like C-Dub said.

Well, for some people metal is a phase. Just like some people have gone through other musical phases in their lives.
As for me metal turned out NOT to be a phase in my musical taste life. Started listenign to it in 1979 and am still going strong. You wouldn't to knwo the number of times I've herad that it was just a phase, some peole even tell me that today (apparently forgetting abotu the fact that I am into this music for 27 years now)

Quote:
Well, for some people metal is a phase. Just like some people have gone through other musical phases in their lives.

This says it all. Some stay, some go. I might go, in a few years. You never know, so there is no point in saying I will not change anymore.

I agree with Ozman entirely. Metal is a phase for some people, although for others it is not. I mean, I haven't been listening to metal for 27 years or anything. But I've been listening to the music for 5-6 years now and I've had many people tell me it's just a "teenage phase" that I'm going through and that once I get older I'll get over it. It's annoying hearing it over and over again, but you learn to live with it eventually.

Written by Eternal Flames on 02.11.2006 at 12:43

I've had many people tell me it's just a "teenage phase" that I'm going through and that once I get older I'll get over it.

Well, then just give those people me, Lordofthemosh and Hellish Star as an example that this is not always the case. In the case of Lordofthemosh he was even out of metal for some time and eventually returned again.

I think it's a phase for the people who don't listen to it, because they love metal, but because they need something for their present mood and so after some months or a year, they forget about metal and try something else...

I don't consider it a phrase in my situation.

I hope I turn out like me old man and listen to it for more than 37 years. He started out with the classic stuff...Sabbath, the doors and all that at the age of 12 back in 1969. My oldest brother started out with 13 and now he's 27 and still going straight. I'm very sure that I' gonna turn out as an rockin' grandpa.

I'm the only True Metallian in my city too.......But Dude I've been dwelling within the Metal realm since i was 12/13 years old so what are the chances that I'll change? It's music that I can best relate to and what suites me, why should I leave it?

and not all Metal is angry......like Power Metal for instance.

Written by Guest on 02.11.2006 at 14:46

I've been dwelling within the Metal realm since i was 12/13 years old so what are the chances that I'll change?

The chances you'll change are very very very slim because it is proven that the music which is favourite during 10-16 years old (the so-called musically formative years) is the music you'll always come back to.

Theres lots of metalheads in Jerusalem, lots of them are really cool, so there isnt that much prejudice except from religious people. Metal as a phase depends on what kind of person you are too, alot of people like the indentity of being a metalhead and the ideologies it presents, so 100% for them, metal will be a phase, but people that arent looking for an identity and are settled in their taste in music will most likely stay there.

Only the strong survive!


BTW: I'm into metal since 1981-82 and became more addicted to this kind of music every day.

Written by Hellish Star on 02.11.2006 at 15:34

Only the strong survive!


BTW: I'm into metal since 1981-82 and became more addicted to this kind of music every day.

You're a poser... only into metal since 1981-1982? And that for a 37-year-old? You bandwagoneer.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 02.11.2006 at 15:38

Written by Hellish Star on 02.11.2006 at 15:34

Only the strong survive!


BTW: I'm into metal since 1981-82 and became more addicted to this kind of music every day.

You're a poser... only into metal since 1981-1982? And that for a 37-year-old? You bandwagoneer.

Played too long with my 'matchboxes' and 'playmobil' before I discovered the music and the girls....

Written by Guest on 02.11.2006 at 05:18

So just to get the conversation stirring, which people just go through a metal phase and which people (like myself) plan on devoting their whole lives to metal?

I'm not going to dedicate my life to metal,there are just many things that are more important than metal, like family, tho it will be a part of my life (family member ), hoping so. And you can't just get tired of metal, it's like a whole universe of music to explore, you got shtload of absolutely different metal sounds. IMO.

I only discovered metal after my worst teenage years, so I think it is to stay. Or at least I hope so... My sister gets to hear "it'll go over" time after time and I don't think she knows anything more annoying. At first our mum was proably hoping it'd go over, but now she has slowly started to accept that this is a more permanent stage in our lives. For me metal is the music genre that has given me the most and at the moment I really can't imagine going back to listening to the crap I used to like for 10 years ago...

After couple of first years of listening to metal loudly, my mum asked me if i'm a metalhead, when i put leather jacket on, that was quite funnny
Well maybe she did not noticed coz she was a rocker, some years ago She left rock behind after my bro was born... Was hard for her, so now only classical POP or just pop...

If doubt I'll 'grow out of' metal. Yes, there are people who get drawn to it and then drift away, but that's mostly because they never really anchored themselves in the community. I think that, once you start digging down through the strata of different bands, genres, and connections, you find new ways that metal can be played, with many different instruments (most of them found in Haggard ) and in many different styles. I don't think I'll ever move out of metal-I may change my perceptions about it a bit, but I think I'm here to stay, however you feel about that!

I've never been criticised about me listening to metal. Metal is not a phase, metal is something that always will be there for me ... how can the thing I love the most be a phase?

Written by Warman on 02.11.2006 at 20:18

I've never been criticised about me listening to metal. Metal is not a phase, metal is something that always will be there for me ... how can the thing I love the most be a phase?

How come people break up all the time?

Not only people outside metal tend to see it as a phase, but also the truest metalheads around admit it could be just a phase when shouting "Stay metal!!!"

I agree 100% with Ozman, metal is different for every person, for some ones metal is a phase, for some others no.
And like RavenLord said, it deppends if you got in the community or not, it deppends also of how much it touched you, if it was only an entertainment or if you took it as a part of your life.
As for me, I don't know if metal is a phase, I've been listening to metal for 2 years, I still like it a lot, but recently I discovered that I'm not only into metal, I can enjoy a lot of music genres as well, like rock, industrial, classical, some old school, new age, even nu, reggae and electronic!!
I think that I'll listen to metal for many time, but who knows... maybe one day I can leave it... though hope not, because I owe many things to metal

I started listening to metal in the later years of high school. Before that I was listening to Hip-Hop and R&B...quite a change if you ask me lol! At one point, I listened to Green Day, back when I started listening to rap. Eventually though I started listening to Metallica and stuff like Linkin Park, and a lot of the nu-metal bands.

Then one day while I was watching one of those music video's that people create using a video game and music (something I used to do), I heard an instrumental that I thought was absolutely awesome and I kept listening to it a lot. I learned that it was by In Flames, and it was the song Man Made God. Ever since then, I started listening to the metal that I listen to now.

I think for me, Rap and R&B and what not was just a phase. I really listened to it because I wanted to fit in during the early days of high school and even before that. I wanted to be popular, I didnt want to be picked on, so I started listening to that kind of music.

Ive been listening to metal I guess for about 3 years now. Is it phase? Maybe (I hope not!). I cant really say though. I dont know for sure. I do know that music is in my blood and that I will always love music. I was raised up listening to classical music. Maybe I will end up listening to classical music (I still enjoy classical music, I enjoy Rock and Blues, and even a little bit of Jazz) when im older or maybe I will become one of the oldest metal heads to ever live. Maybe I will start listening to blues...who knows. Time will tell....but for now, I will stick to metal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Written by Guest on 02.11.2006 at 20:23

Written by Warman on 02.11.2006 at 20:18

I've never been criticised about me listening to metal. Metal is not a phase, metal is something that always will be there for me ... how can the thing I love the most be a phase?

How come people break up all the time?

Metal won't fuck with you friend, and won't tell you that you bring not enough money home.

you know what? Yes, I'm a Metal head, and even though I listen to all kinds of music, Metal Will be first and formost in my life always. It is a way of life for me, and any kind of music is just as guilty as Metal for spouting out any kind of uninteligable bullshit, No one, and I mean NO ONE has the right to tell me that I just listen to metal because I'm angry or that it's just a phase or Just a trend or what the fuck ever. Long live music of all kinds, and most of all, long live metal.

Written by Arian Totalis on 02.11.2006 at 23:55

No one, and I mean NO ONE has the right to tell me that I just listen to metal because I'm angry or that it's just a phase or Just a trend or what the fuck ever.

Who says that, are just loonies, they can't see farer that theyr own nose, ignoring this kind of 'kids' are the best way to keep you nerves
Tho kicking some asses would be a lesson to 'em, still... Anger leads to doubts, doubts leed to pop culture

and pop culture, leads to the dark side lol.........

Written by Eight on 03.11.2006 at 00:07

Written by Arian Totalis on 02.11.2006 at 23:55

No one, and I mean NO ONE has the right to tell me that I just listen to metal because I'm angry or that it's just a phase or Just a trend or what the fuck ever.

Who says that, are just loonies, they can't see farer that theyr own nose, ignoring this kind of 'kids' are the best way to keep you nerves
Tho kicking some asses would be a lesson to 'em, still... Anger leads to doubts, doubts leed to pop culture

But more seriously, I realize that actually, but it still does piss me off, don't worry though, I keep my cool.

Metal is definitely not a phase for me. I've been listening to this music for 3 years, and its strength has not deteriorated one bit. Before I started listening to metal, I was the type of kid in that I was always switching trends on a yearly basis. I've gone through pop, electronica, japanese anime music, video game music, rap, R&B, techno, and a whole slew of other genres, and they have never stuck with me. Then I started listening to metal back when I started middle school, and to my absolute astonishment, it has stayed with me to this very day. No other genre of music has stayed with me for so long. I might sound naive saying this, but I think metal will stay with me for as long as I live. I love metal with all of my heart, and that bond, as I see it, will not break any time soon.

regarding metal as a phase vs. 'lifestyle'

First off, while I enjoy a lot of metal music. I am not a metalhead, nor would I want to be labeled as such. While there is a subculture associated with it, I find it too envelopig for people. I would not want the totality of my being compressed into a single definition.

As for 'phasing' - I think you might find things change as you get older. It's not necessarily a 'betrayal' of your metal roots - it's simply that you will find as you grow older things change. Things which used to be important to you five years ago might not be as important now. And things that didn't matter much then, suddenly do.

I suppose some people might stagnate and not grow/evolve, but 99% of you here will.

Various things will happen which will directly impact your connection with metal.

First off is the cyclical nature of the music and subtrends within it.

Genres will stagnate... what used to be new and creative will beomce filled with a quagmire of stagnant, boring, color-by-number bands that never should have been let out of their garages, never mind let into a recording studio. Witness the decline of Death Metal in the mid-90's.

This will effect your connection with the music. When your subgenre of choice becomes bloated and stale.

Your favorite bands will grow older. They will most likely either break up or get boring.

I know this first hand. I got bored with what happened to Death Metal in the mid-90's. I went about five years without purchasing any new albums outside of the occasional Morbid Angel release... I would listen to my old discs, but didn't bother to pick anything new up. It wasn't a conscious choice or anything - just what I was being exposed to no longer moved me.

Additionally, the adolescent desire to either "CONFORM AT ALL COSTS" or "REBEL AT ALL COSTS" dies when you age. Once you leave the school yard, things change. There is far less pressure to 'FIT IN' to any particular crowd and it's easier jut to be comfortable being yourself. The urgency of it is gone. You no longer have the need to define yourself by any particular interest. My friends just know that I like "angry Scandanavian music" (as they call it) - they don't like it, they don't ridicule me for listening to it, and they don't define their image of me by the Darkthrone they heard wafting out of my office. To them it's just another facet of me...


Who knows, some of you will be the "Ozman" and "BitterCOld" of the web (or whatever replaces it) in 20-25 years, talking about the old days of metal, listening to the 'nooblets' - and arguing with them when they say things like "Death Metal wasn't metal!" because whatever genre's arise in the coming decades will make our DM albums sound like Motley Crue in comparison. You'll roll your eyes, try to correct them, and mostly laugh.

Most of you probably won't be nearly interested, concerned, or as devoted in 20 years as you are now. Some will still listen to your old cd's/tapes/mp3s. Some will just outgrow it altogether.


And if you think differently, the next time you go to a concert to see a band that's been around since the 80's, check out the average age of the concert goers. See how many thirtysomethings are around compared to young er fans.

That's just the way it is.