Investigating the 'death metal' murders

BBC News on line ^ | Novermber 23, 2005 | By Sam Bagnall, Producer, Death Metal Murders

[coloradan]

"If music makes itself an instrument of nefarious deeds and death it should be stopped," he says.

By that standard, written and spoken words are also instruments of nefarious deeds and death. Gotta ban all writing, and all speech.

[adam_az]

Ban Shakespeares Julius Caesar! It will cause people to turn on their stepfather and plot to stab him to death!

[tacticalogic]

And just how, exactly, does the music go about "making itself" anything? Attributing malevolent intent to music doesn't seem to be any less flawed than attributing the same to firearms.

[DGray]

We've got over 2,000 LPs and CDs, and metal is pretty well represented in this collection. We've yet to bow down to Lucifer as a result of listening to metal. We tend to laugh at the stuff that seems to be trying to be "evil" or "satanic."

[adam_az]

There are millions and millions of heavy metal fans, and only a small handfull have committed murder.

[IronJack]

Not to take this lightly, but a lot of "death metal" is just plain funny. Some boogered-up white guy screaming himself hoarse about loving the dead ... then hops into a limousine and runs out for a tot of espresso and a hot tub back at the hotel.

I don't see any of THEM rushing to embrace the Reaper.

[Fairview]

There are millions and millions of heavy metal fans, and only a small handfull have committed murder.

Perhaps so, but one is compelled to ask why they listen to something that is ugly both in its sounds and in its meanings. How How does it make one feel good and happy? No one can argue that the music sounds beautiful.

[yldstrk]

Evil is everywhere.

[DGray]

I can. Plenty of metal is gorgeous. Led Zeppelin, Metallica ... incredible stuff.

[OSHA]

Got this one?

[GOPJ]

And just how, exactly, does the music go about "making itself" anything?

It's like advertising. And yeah, advertising works. Companies pay hundreds of thousands for minutes. Music bypasses the brains logic filters. It's why ads often have loud music playing in the background. This type of music is for trashy lowlifes. Go to the average prison and you'll find adherents -- go to the average upscale function and you'll find none. Noise for losers.

[RoadTest]

"" n Norway fans of the even more extreme black metal, burned down more than 40 churches in the 1990s. ""

YIKES!

[RoadTest]

" By that standard, written and spoken words are also instruments of nefarious deeds and death. Gotta ban all writing, and all speech. "

Nobody knows where to draw the censorship line because all standards except self have been abandoned. Mankind is navigating without a compass or map.

[randog]

Not to take this lightly, but a lot of "death metal" is just plain funny.

I remember the metal of the 80's and how we took it so seriously. I recently bought a CD of of an old metal album I used to have (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell) and I laughed through the whole thing.

[thoughtomator]

If those evil SUVs hadn't invented heavy metal, none of this would ever have happened....

[Jhensy]

What these morons are into has nothing to do with "metal" as we know it. This is the "grindcore" scene, which is truly sick and demented beyond your wildest nightmares.

Autopsy album covers, mass slaughter fantasies, sadistic torture, etc... no one can be a fan of this stuff and NOT be affected socially. These are the stupidest depraved idiots on earth.

If you've got a strong stomach, do a Google search on "grindcore".

On second thought, don't. Trust me.

[tonycavanagh]

re :This type of music is for trashy lowlifes. Go to the average prison and you'll find adherents -- go to the average upscale function and you'll find none. Noise for losers.

Nice to know snobbery exists in America LOL.

[kanawa]

All Hail the Dark Lord

[Balding_Eagle]

There are millions and millions of heavy metal fans, and only a small handfull have committed murder.

Let me rephrase that:

There are billions of Islam fans, and only a small handfull have committed murder.

See how wasy that was?