Heavy metal is inarguably the most misunderstood and controversial genre of music ever created. It’s been accused of inciting both murder and suicide, and is completely shunned by mainstream audiences. However, fifty or so years into the making, metal music is more popular than ever with a devoted worldwide fanbase, despite being a constant underdog in an endless sea of culture competing for our attention. Nevertheless, the vast majority of people still harbor a strong distaste toward metal and will readily dismiss it as trash. Well, they’re wrong, so let me refute some commonly levied arguments against the genre and make the case that metal is a valid art form deserving of recognition and acceptance.

Since its inception, heavy metal has been accused of glorifying violence and death, with bands even having been taken to court for supposedly causing young people to commit suicide. It’s certainly the case that metal, more so than other genres, covers topics that are taboo or controversial, such as death, struggles with addiction, loss of loved ones, religious dogmatism, environmental destruction, nuclear war, societal decay, political tyranny, the holocaust and, of course, giant killer slugs. However, the notion that portraying these events is the same as condoning them is an inversion of reality since culture is a reflection of the world rather than its creator. Nobody is arguing that murder mystery novels condone killing and people seem to have finally gotten over the idea that violent video games cause mass shootings, so it’s about time we extended the same reasoning to music. I’m by no means saying that people can’t be inspired by art, or that parents shouldn’t monitor what kind of culture their children consume, but art is no more responsible for the axe murderer than the axe is. Otherwise, if this argument made any sense, we’d need to censor or ban all forms of communication that mention these dark topics, including the news. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who are eager and willing to do just that. To the extent that heavy metal can fight this totalitarian impulse, it is by far a force for good.

A point that is often raised is that metal music lacks melody and just sounds like noise. This claim could only come from someone who’s never bothered to actually listen to the genre and is akin to saying that electronic music is just a bunch of R2-D2 beeps and boops. Metal can be divided into many distinct subgenres ranging from symphonic metal with orchestral arrangements and operatic vocals, to death metal that can best be described as an attempt to summon demons. It’s true that some bands emphasize rhythm, speed and technicality, and that the vocals can be aggressive, but that’s a feature, not a bug. Heavy and powerful instrumentation coupled with low guttural growls and high piercing screams are a way of expressing anger, dread, loss and exhilaration, offering an intensity that is difficult to convey through singing. There’s plenty of happy and cheerful music that makes us want to dance, but metal provides catharsis for dark emotions in a way that other genres just can’t compete with, and for that I think it deserves credit.

Another criticism directed at metal music, particularly the extreme kind, is that the harsh vocals are unintelligible. First of all, this is not always the case. Metal vocalists vary in their diction, just like in all other genres, and some growling and screaming is actually quite easy to understand. It all depends on the vocalist. But, since when do we need to understand what’s being said for us to enjoy the music? Many people have deep appreciation for opera without knowing the words being sung (which are often in Italian, French or German). Similarly, Korean pop music has gained massive international audiences despite most people barely understanding a single word (except that one mandatory English phrase that every song seems to have). Likewise, plenty of people listen to mumble rap where artists intentionally are trying to be unintelligible. All of these vocal styles have their merits and it’s frankly meaningless to compare them because they are inherently different techniques intended to evoke different feelings. It’s like arguing whether eggs are best poached, fried or scrambled. It misses the point. They’re aiming for completely different textures, and you certainly don’t have to like them all, but they’re eggs nonetheless.

Another claim that is frequently made about heavy and aggressive metal is that it’s just a phase that troubled adolescent boys go through. You’re supposed to grow out of these childish things, just like playing with LEGO or watching cartoons. In other words, just grow up. Belittling others is a common tactic for people to assert their self-perceived status over those they deem inferior, but it’s not an argument. Setting aside its arrogance, all it takes to discredit this claim is to attend one metal concert. As someone who listens to everything from classical music to death metal, I’ve been to a wide variety of live shows, and from my experience the average age of an audience member is the same, if not higher, at a metal show than at many other concerts. One could argue that the ticket fees will select for adult audiences and skew my observation, but if that were so then we wouldn’t expect to see so many kids attending Taylor Swift concerts given that her tickets cost a fortune, as is the case for most mainstream artists. It is true, on the other hand, that the majority of metal listeners are male, but the ratio is nowhere near as skewed as people might think. Besides, nobody seems to be making the case that swifties (the majority of whom are young women) are just going through a phase, which seems like a double standard to me. I guess it must be one of those male privileges to be denigrated and mocked for simply enjoying a genre of music. No wonder they’re so angry.

Nevertheless, for the sake of argument, let’s grant the premise that metal appeals predominantly to angry young men. Even if that were the case, why would the demographic of listeners have any bearing at all on whether or not the music is any good? If it did, why would the opinion of teenage boys, in particular, be less valid than that of any other group of people? Also, which population is supposed to have the ultimate say on what constitutes true art? Whose taste is superior? Perhaps middle-aged Dutch women know best. Or could it be Lebanese jews? No, wait, maybe it’s elderly Brazilian gay men? Or, just maybe, we ought to recognize that no group of people has a veto on what is or isn’t good music. Come to think of it, we should probably apply this principle to all human affairs. You know, we used to call that equality.

I suspect that extreme metal will never be accepted by mainstream audiences, despite my best efforts. And, you know what? That’s ok. Heavy and aggressive music certainly isn’t for everyone. Most people don’t enjoy horror or slasher movies either. Even so, these genres are unequivocally valid art, and we needn’t judge others for enjoying them or for not conforming to our own tastes. We all get pleasure from different things and there’s no way to rank our subjective experiences. For instance, I will never attend a rave, which would be torture to me, but I can still recognize that those crowds are experiencing the same feelings of euphoria that I do when I attend a metal concert, or any other concert for that matter. At the end of the day, it’s just sound waves entering our ears and triggering neural pathways that release dopamine and change our mental state. Speaking of, it’s time for me to listen to a song about axe murdering. Let’s hope that I’m not too impressionable.