this post is my personal concern, because I'm still speechless about what some people understand under heavy metal and how people are treated, when they listen to the music or produce it.
Why I want to address the issue? Simply because currently a heavy metal concert in Egypt was accused by a lawyer as a satanic meeting and not for the first time ( the news article ).
This just makes me totally sad and speechless at the same time. His assumption is based only on the point, because the people there were dressed in black, flashy make-up and not to mention the occult jewelry and bang ... they are probably satanists. You think: "Okay, the man is a lawyer who must be educated enough to enter the words Heavy Metal at google." But no.
I was in early August for a week in Egypt, and have actually talked about "rock music in Egypt" with some locals, because pretty soon it was notable that neither the music stations played something rock/heavy metalish nor the people at home listens to it. Most of the time yout could heary only traditional Arabic music, or techno / house. Every time I was asked what I was listening to, I promt replyed "Rock and Metal!". This caused allways a smile and a OKAY-SHE-IS-CRAZY look in the face of the people. I was curious and asked, how the metal scene in Egypt is, the answer was sobering: "Something like this, people do not really listen to.". Ok. That was it, no explanation.
Arriving home in Germany, I was curious and wanted to know what the scene had to offer in Egypt. So I started googling and found some good bands, but one thing was clear to me very quickly, the musicians in Egypt are currently still at the point where the punk / metal scene was in the early 70s in the U.S. or Europe.
It is total underground music and who is committed to her is rather seen as a revolutionary. And I think that's exactly the point, they're afraid that these people bring new ideas into society and shake the structures.
This I can say: "Metalheads who I met at festivals are often the smartest people with whom one can talk. They are not idiots who shake just their hair. They deal with society and how one is perceived. These are educated people who do not close their eyes to the world. The music of these bands denounces these same grievances to their songs, more than any other genre of music. "
In ways should people who condemn such music, maybe just listen to the music first, and question what it is the musician talk about in their lyrics. I think it's important to write about it and not to sweep under the rug. Finally, I would let you participate in two of the bands that I've discovered thru my exploring:
p.s I find it very sad that actually none of the band has a record deal, they really deserve it
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