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Here’s something out of the all-ordinaries. A recent report by City Lab has suggested that countries with higher wealth also have more metal bands per 100,000 residents. Basically, the stronger the country’s economy, the more metal bands reside within that country. Unsurprisingly, Scandinavia has the highest concentration of metal bands per 100,000 residents and also boasts a high level of “relative wealth, robust social safety nets and incredibly high quality of life”. Australia, North America and the rest of Anglo-Europe all have roughly the same amount of metal bands per 100,000 and share similar economies.
The City Lab report also quotes an article by Mark Ames, who hammers home the point by saying metal’s greatest popularity is found in “the most advanced, most tolerant and knowledge-based places in the world”.
But what does it really mean when a well-off country begins spawning loud, abrasive, exciting, intelligent and pissed off metal bands? Through the eyes of the global community, metal bands could be seen as the little whingeing and whining children of well-to-do parents; spoilt brats that have been raised in relatively cushy environments who have too much time and money to do anything except whinge and whine loudly.
Perhaps these little children didn’t like being lied to and didn’t like the hypocrisy of their government parents. Perhaps they didn’t like their intelligence undermined, didn’t enjoy being lied to and not being told the whole story or just being made to listen to shallow stories by their parents’ nanny, the media, at bedtime. Perhaps the countless rules and regulations and red tape erected by their government parents has made their lives too safe and too mundane that any excitement or risk has been completely sucked out of everything they do. Perhaps these little children have learnt enough and can now see that the house they grew up in isn’t the paradise they were told it was.
Whilst most of Africa is reported to have zero metal bands per 100,000 people, and most of Asia and the Middle East has very few metal bands per 100,000, it’s hard to determine if that figure is based entirely on the economical factors or cultural factors.
In other news…
Sydney metallers As Silence Breaks shall henceforth be known as Daemon Pyre and will release their self-titled album later this year.
Psycroptic and Aborted will play The Hi-Fi on Saturday, June 14.
Chelsea Grin are set to release their third studio album entitled Ashes to Ashes on Friday, July 11.
The Midyear Mayhem Tour featuring Buried in Verona, Antagonist A.D. and Stories will be held at the Phoenix Youth Centre, Melbourne for an all ages show on Friday, July 25 and for a licensed show at the Evelyn Hotel on Saturday, July 26.
Opeth will release their new album Pale Communion on Tuesday, August 26.
Veruca Salt will play The Corner on Friday, September 26 to a sold-out audience, but another show has been added at The Corner Hotel on Tuesday, September 30.
If you have any news about local metal bands, shows or albums, let THTH know by emailing to [email protected] or get in touch via Twitter at @TooHeavyToHug
Written by Paul S Taylor