There is a stigma around heavy metal and hard rock music around the United States that it is not truly music. With the meteoric rise of hip-hop and trap rap, the US population has consumed itself with the upbeat party style of music instead of the progressive and instrumental genres like rock and metal.

The consensus around the country is metal is not music, it is a bunch of loud noises and screaming that doesn’t have any substance, and supports violence, hatred and even satanism.

Not only are these statements completely false and ignorant, but the genre of metal is the complete opposite.

Metal music is all about expression and getting out those true feelings and opinions that everybody is scared to talk about. “Some metal songs bring out the dark of society, but these things are so real and need to be talked about,” senior Ben O’Donnell said about the lyrical and overall meaning of this genre. Whether it is the realization that death happens to everyone, or deep interpretations of current days society, metal music always has substance and meaning which cannot be said  for the majority of it’s hip hop counterparts that focus mostly on girls and drugs and alcohol.

This isn’t to say that hip hop is bad music. The genre has grown into a pop culture phenomenon for a reason, but the music and lyrics and overall meaning seems to lack. “It seems like a lot of music today is so churned out and simpler,” Nu-Metal band Korn’s lead singer Jonathan Davis stated in an interview a couple years ago on the state of music today.

The lasting impact metal has on everyone is always very different, but that is what is so great about music; the impact it has on people is always unique to that person.  “Heavy metal makes me feel like the rest of the world around me doesn’t exist, it makes (for me) all of the bad things in my life go away,” junior Dylan Byas stated when asked about his favorite genre of music.

That feeling that is felt by metal fans when they hear this type of music that brings the heaviness and darkness really is not understood unless you are a true fan of the genre. It gives the fans something to relate to with all the angst, anger, screaming and dark lyrics that are essential elements in most metal songs.

When dissecting metal and rock music there is a huge gap as far as technical ability. Whether it is the fast paced guitars and having to constantly change the tone, or the incredible vocal ranges the singers have to go from a high pitched scream to a dark growl. “It takes a tremendous amount of vocal and instrumental talent. The skill of metal musicians is amazing,” O’Donnell (‘19) said.

Metal truly is an art and for someone who did not grow up on it or is not familiar with the genre. It might be hard to see it that way, but for those who have grown up listening to this music, it not only gives fans something that we enjoy, but gives us something to relate to and connect with. “It’s a really really great way to get out your anger or hurt from being betrayed,” Jillian Evans, a junior, said on why she listens to heavy metal music, and what makes the artists write the way they do.

When looking at metal music, the emotional connection that it creates between the artist singing, and the fan listening is unparalleled and unmatched in any other genre. “It gives me a feeling of companionship, like someone actually understands the things I’ve gone through,” junior Grace McDaniel said.

There is a common theme between metal fans, a bond or feeling that all fans share with each other that makes the genre so special. They’re all outcasts. Every single metal fan feels out of place, feels alone, feels like they don’t belong. This feeling creates the special community of “metalheads”.

Being at a metal concert is unique. It is not just an event where you listen or experience music. Fans meet other fans and realize that they are not alone, there are people just like them and they suddenly don’t feel so isolated. So far from the normal.

It does not matter if you are a fan of old school thrash metal, nu-metal, metalcore, death metal or anything in between. You are all welcomed, loved and brought in by the metal community.

It may not be as mainstream as it used to be, or in the forefront of everyday culture. But, there is no denying the passion, dedication and heart of metal fans. And there is also no denying the amount of impact that this genre has on so many of its fans that makes it so much more than just noise.

Not only is it metal music, it is art. Metal might not be in the forefront of the news, but it is still changing lives everyday in the background and underneath the surface.