The metal community is known for being very welcoming in some cases and super closed-minded in others.
Gatekeeping in music refers to controlling access to a certain artist or band’s music, considering the potential new fans not worthy of listening to them.
A clip of one of my favorite films, High Fidelity, illustrates this…
This behavior occurs in many music genres, but especially in rock and metal, and the more specialized the subgenre, the worse it gets.
Old school fans get annoyed because, in a concert, these new fans only know the famous songs or the artist’s recent works.
This also happens when celebrities or influencers wear band t-shirts as a fashion statement, because they look cool, like a Nirvana or Ramones shirt, not because they are necessarily fans of the band themselves (although sometimes they’re too, as well). To be honest, sometimes I wouldn’t say I like this either. However, if this works as free publicity for the band and someone feels curiosity and starts to listen to the band as a result, I find it amazing, because the band gains a new fan then.
Here comes to mind, the recent case of Kanye West wearing a Burzum shirt. Or the typical meme of a girl wearing a metal band shirt and someone, out of nowhere, asking her for 3 songs of the band, to know if she’s worthy of using the shirt.
Social media has increased this, even though it has existed for as long as I remember. I like metal since I was 12 years old, and rock since I was born, thanks to my parents, yet I’ve always felt like I have to prove myself about music to other people. I’ve also had friends or acquaintances who look at me or other women interested in metal as posers. When I was younger this bothered me a lot, now I simply don’t care.
Genre-gatekeeping
This phenomenon happens to bands, too. If they don’t stick to the subjective parameters of a genre or subgenre. That’s why some fans do not consider them to be a part of the style, like what happens with Ghost, Sleep Token, or Bad Omens. Even though the base of their music is metal, since they add other elements like electronics, hip hop, or pop to their sound, many people don’t see them as metal.
This takes place frequently in subgenres like black metal, where more mainstream bands, like Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth, are targeted as commercial and looked down upon by black metal fans. Or they just like their first albums because they were not popular back then.
Elitists, snobs, trves vs. fakes, posers, it’s a never-ending discussion. I was guilty of being like this, too, when I was younger. However, now my idea with this blog is to promote my favorite bands, especially the ones that aren’t too well-known. If they become more famous, and not too niche, they will be motivated to create more music for all of us to enjoy.
Lastly, I can suggest to you, when you spot someone being interested in the same music you like, be a nice person and maybe tell them your favorite albums or other bands similar in style. In that way, you can gain friends, help in growing the community, and bond through the love of music, and there’s nothing better than that in my opinion.