“IT’S A BROTHERHOOD. You could be dropped off in any random city, see some guy rocking the same shit you like, and as soon as you meet them, they’re your friend,” says local heavy metal DJ Jon “Chains” Grunstein Medina.
He’s referring to the immediate connection between metal fans. We’ve all seen them: those loner metalheads hoofing it down the street or sitting on the bus. There’s at least one in every country, every city, every village, every corner of the Earth. The proud ones wave their flags high. They rock patched-up denim vests or leather jackets, and the most indecipherable, offensive, and evil band T-shirt they can find. They’re not trying to rub squares the wrong way or make onlookers question their religious beliefs with the confrontational, satanic imagery littered on their person. They’re just being themselves. Since metal is predominantly an underground musical movement, one has to work doubly hard to find people who share their interests—that’s why it’s so common for metalheads to display their taste for all to see.
Whether or not you empathize with the metalheads roaming about, you must know they’re just like you. They’re looking for a place to belong, a place where they can congregate and converse with likeminded folks. They want to make friends, start bands, or put on their favorite Judas Priest record and bang their head until their lips turn blue in a room full of cronies doing the same.