2020 has to be the year that metal no longer tolerates the “separate art from artist” bullshit justification for supporting racist, fascist, & otherwise bigoted bands. You love Burzum for the racism & “edginess” b/c the riffs fucking suck.

“But it’s a slippery slope!” No it isn’t.
“Who decides which bands are bad?” Does the band embrace fascist thought and imagery? Do they have lyrics about harming/killing POC? Do they praise the Holocaust? These are simple questions to ask. Ask them.

“But nobody should tell me what I can listen to!” Stop. You’re free to listen to whatever you want. You’re not free from the repercussions of supporting hate. You don’t get to feign ignorance. You’re supporting those belief systems and legitimizing them with your support.

“SJWs don’t want metal to be dangerous.” The group w/ power and resources punching down is so far from dangerous it would be hilarious if not for real world consequences of implicitly or explicitly supporting literal fucking neo N*zis.

“See? You won’t even type the word!” Because idiot trolls have alerts set up for those terms. This message isn’t for them and their dog whistle bullshit tactics to summon hordes of likeminded racist trolls. It’s for you, the metal fan who needs the motivation to do better.

“But where do we draw the line?” How about between people who don’t support hate and those who do? That simple enough for you?

“But what if band X worked with photographer Y or label Z?” Then approach that on a case by case basis. IMO that sort of concern is secondary to simply PREVENTING FASCIST, RACIST, HOMOPHOBIC, TRANSPHOBIC, ETC. BANDS FROM USING METAL AS A PLATFORM FOR HATE. REAL. FUCKING. EASY.