Brothers in Harm

Written for SA Music News August 2011 

I can’t speak for the rest of the world but I do know that in South Africa the metal community (or most of them at least) likes to think of themselves as a family. You will always see people greet each other with a smile and a ‘Hey my metal brother / metal sister’ particularly on a certain social networking site. This sense of camaraderie is great especially considering that the metal scene, although growing, is not exactly what I would term massive. Friday night rolls around and we flock off to one of the few local watering holes that cater to our music needs and entering the venue, hugs and kisses abound. We bang our heads and raise our horns together to the sounds of something we all love. This is our family. This is our passion. Why then all the bullshit? It might sound like I am whining here but bear with me; you might find you feel the same way...

People in general like to complain and metal-heads are no different. I was messing around of Facebook no too long ago and I saw that a well-known concert organiser had put a poll up asking people what their favourite bands were and which bands they would like to see in SA as there was talk of said organiser putting together a metal festival with a few international bands. I immediately went through a few of the comments and I was shocked. For every few band suggestions there were one or two people who, instead of having their say by voting, insisted on telling the previous lot of voters how ‘crap’ their band suggestions were and as would be expected, arguments broke out. What is the point of that? Why not rather vote for the bands you want to see and leave it at that rather than lambasting another voter with rude comments just because they don’t like the exact same bands that you like? I wonder.

Shortly after that debacle, the concert organiser posted a line-up for this hypothetical music festival based on the bands that had been most requested in the poll. The list included Slayer, Disturbed and two or so other bands that I can unfortunately not remember the names of. The very first comment I read was negative. Now the naysayers had turned their attention and were attacking the organiser saying that this was a pathetic line-up with only one decent band and they would not bother to come to the festival if it happened. The funny thing is, it’s those same people that like to bitch and moan about the lack of international bands that come to this country. What exactly is it that they think they are achieving? Nothing positive, I can assure you. Another thing worth considering is that an SA band might be given an opportunity to open for the international act thereby greatly helping them with their music careers. A little positivity can go a long way.

On the 11^th of February this year, Johannesburg welcomed well-known German band, Rammstein into its concrete, smoggy bosom. The tickets sold out extremely quickly (I took a little sabbatical from work so that I could run around town looking for mine) and the atmosphere at the venue was electric. Our heads were still reeling from the show a while afterwards. Although Rammstein is not everyone’s cup of beer, even the non-fans agreed that their visit to this country would do a world of good when it came to getting other bands here. Why then the negativity when a metal festival was suggested? It baffles the mind. A few international acts have reached our shores but not nearly enough to satiate the ravenous appetite of the thousands-strong metal horde.

By all means, support your favourite bands local and international, if you don’t then you cannot call yourself a fan but don’t try to ruin it for the rest of us because in the end, we will all benefit. You are a part of this family too, my brothers.