Metal Jew

Metal Cartogram

I blogged recently about the extraordinary History of Metal  project. Now here's another strangely beautiful attempt to map the metal world - the Metal Cartogram

Native Australian Metal

One of the most interesting things about global metal is how, generally speaking, it is rarely the music of the poor and oppressed. There are exceptions of course, particularly in South America, but metal is generally eschewed by the most marginal.

However, the latest issue of Vice has an interesting photo journalism piece on an Native Australian town in the Northern Territory which is split into gangs pledging allegiance to different metal bands. As with everything Vice does, there's a whiff of patronising exoticism to the story. But there's no denying it's an interesting phenomenon:

At the beginning of 2008, the Australian national news reported on a small, isolated Aboriginal community deep in the Northern Territory, aka the middle of nowhere, aka Satan’s Asshole, aka East Bumblefuck.

Violent riots had erupted between two of the town’s largest gangs and for a moment it looked like the Australian Army (because there really is such a thing) was going to have to be brought in to settle the fighting. But what really blew us away was that the town, which is named Wadeye (pronounced “Wad-air”), was split up into gangs named after heavy metal bands. There were the Judas Priest Boys, the Evil Warriors, and the Slayer Mob. We immediately dropped everything else we were working on and embarked north from Melbourne to Wadeye to see it for ourselves. Nothing could have prepared us for what we found.

Link

Global metal movie

Global Metal, the sequel to Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (in which I have a bink-and-you've-missed-it appearance) will be out soon. By the looks of the trailer, it will look at metal in the Middle East (including Israel), Japan and China at least.  Looks interesting.

Israeli metal - 10 years on

Ten years ago, as part of my PhD research, I spent a memorable month doing research on the Israeli metal scene. What I found was a scene that was not only highly marginal in the country's musical community, but also marginal in the global metal scene. Scene members were acutely aware of their location in Israel and many of them thoroughly resented their perceived marginality. At the same time, the scene still had a certain vibrancy. There were some good bands, most obviously Salem and Orphaned Land, but also long-dead groups like Betrayer and Dalmerot's Kingdom. Heller productions (now metamorphosed into Raven Music) put on gigs, club nights and ran a good distro. 

I met some great people during my period during research and had some great experiences. Most memorably, the band Melechesh (then unsigned, now on Nuclear Blast and living in Holland) took me into the west bank to see the desert scenery that inspired them. I also watched them and Arallu (then just getting going as a one-man project) rehearse in a converted air-raid shelter in Jerusalem's Independence Park.

I've tried to keep in touch with the Israeli scene ever since, including during my year living in Jerusalem and on several subsequent trips.  I'm not as connected as I once was but one thing is clear to me - the scene has come a long way in the last 10 years. Salem and Orphaned Land go from strength to strength, both on respected labels, both playing out of Israel (which no Israeli band had done 10 years ago). Betzefer had a shot with glory on Roadrunner. My favorite Israeli band of all time Rabies Caste (now sadly no more) were signed to Earache for a time and toured the UK a number of times. My sparring partner (ie she doesn't like me very much) Aviva at Metal Israel does great work promoting the scene. Most impressively, Israel is going to have its first metal festival this summer, featuring Dark Tranquility, Opeth and Within Temptation.

The Israeli scene is still small in global terms, but it has a well-established infrastructure and produces bands every bit the equal of those anywhere else in the world.  I have to confess though to a certain nostalgia about the  time I spent discovering the scene ten years. It felt underground and counter-cultural and the anger and resentment felt by many scene members was thrilling to witness at times. I'm not in touch enough to know how veteran scene members feel now, whether they too are nostalgic for the old days. Certainly, when I was around 10 years ago, many scene members looked back fondly to the early 90s scene.

There's an excitement that comes from obscurity. But when all is said and done, but I would guess that most Israeli scene members prefer things to be easier. In a country where things are often tough, I can't say I blame them.

More on 'Black' Metal

Following my post on metal in Botswana, I was contacted by a woman from Kenya and we've been corresponding on rock, metal and punk in that country. Here's what she has to say (with permission):

Well kenya has more of a rock scene than a metal scene, since bands are just beginning to arise. metalheads know each other through exchange of music or online like the facebook group kenya metalheads. it's usually hard to convince a dj in a club to play a metal song. there are still many misconceptions about the music, but most consider it noise or satanic. these are the ignorant ones. as for bands there's a mixed category, but mostly indie and alternative. none that sound like the Botswana bands, or really metal. there are mainly two dominant yahoo groups that people get info on about gigs and stuff.

http://www.groups.yahoo/kenyapunk

http://www.groups.yahoo/kenyarocks

Check out the article on this site, it has a review of a recent show.
http://www.the-booth.com/index.html

The first gig i ever went to was largely a white crowd, the blacks were countable, but that was because there was no awareness among the black fans that there was a local rock scene, but now there's more black fans and band members than white, with just one band which has all white members and im afraid they're gonna phase out coz of being the minority which shouldn't be right. the problem then becomes how can we intergrate the white fans back into the scene. other wise right now it's a black rock scene, as for the metal scene, its mainly male, i've just met two females who listen to metal, and when the guys realize that, it amazes them, at which point i wonder why. hope that answers the question somehow.

So there we have it. I'm keen to hear from anyone else who has information on metal in majority 'black' countries.

Mini documentary on Middle East metal

Last week CNN aired a mini-documentary on metal in the Middle East (viewable online). It contains interviews and footage of Jordanian and Saudi Arabian bands. What comes through really strongly is how far the internet is providing a boost to these metal scenes. Fascinating stuff. [via Blabbermouth]

'Black' Metal

I just got back from a great week with the family in Barbados (thank you benevolent father-in-law!). I can't say I had a terribly deep exposure to Bajan culture but all the local music I heard was reggae, soca or calypso. No rock at all. Looking in the CD shop at the airport only confirmed this.

Since getting back I've been thinking about the complete invisibility of Metal in the black Caribbean and black Africa (as opposed to South Africa, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Cuba etc).  I simply have never heard any mention within the global Metal scene of bands or even fans from these areas.  I did some digging around on the net and only found one black Caribbean act of any significance - Orange Sky from Trinidad who have apparently toured with Yngwe Malmsteem. I also found a homemade video from a Barbados Death Metal band called Zenobite (pasted at the end of this post).  As I wrote on this blog before,  Botswana does appear to have a black-dominated scene and it has produced at least one globally-connected band called Wrust.

Am I missing something? Are there other scenes in these places? The absence of Metal from black Africa and the black diaspora is something I have never adequately explained. I've resisted doing so partially out of a fear of resorting to racial stereotyping; partially because of a fear that there is more going on that I know about.

Anyway, here's the video: