Is the stereotype that progressives don't like hard rock/heavy metal true?
Last edited Mon Aug 31, 2015, 06:24 PM - Edit history (1)
My friend who is a hardcore libertarian told me most of the metal fans he encounters are anti-government, quasi-libertarian types. He doesn't know many pro-social justice, liberals who are very much into metal.
I was a bit taken aback, given that I'm a proud progressive, and metal is among my favorite genres of music. I love it, all of its derivatives, and subgenres, including traditional heavy metal, thrash metal, technical death metal, progressive metal, djent, symphonic metal, doom metal, power metal, rap metal, funk metal, melodic death metal, neoclassical metal and so forth.
But my favorite music genre has always been metal. Love the classics: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Ronnie James Dio, Pantera, Metallica, Rush, King Crimson, King Diamond, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Slayer, Death, Opeth, Atheist, Cynic, Dream Theater, Motorhead, Tool, Racer X, Alice in Chains, Mastodon, Meshuggah, Symphony X, Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Iced Earth, Guns N' Roses (first album), Diablo Swing Orchestra, Nightwish, Evanescence, Blind Guardian, Primus, Incubus, David Townsend Project, Children of Bodom, Yngwie Malmsteen and many others.
Apparently liberals don't like metal that much?? My friend said liberals are most likely to favor punk, latin, hip hop and rap, blues, reggae, R&B and soul, reggae, mainstream pop, electronica music, and electronic dance music. South Park even had an episode about a massive left-wing hippie infestation, and it was only "death metal" music (Slayer's Raining Blood song) that made them leave the hippie festival. I would have stayed and rocked out though!! Mainstream conservatives meanwhile like country and gospel apparently.
Anyway, I'm a proud liberal and progressive. Of course, I'm backing Bernie Sanders for POTUS. I love Elizabeth Warren. George McGovern, Paul Wellstone, Robert Reich, Paul Krugman, Barbara Lee, Judy Chu, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, etc., are my political heroes. I love the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and I'm a proud left-wing Democrat. I support social-democratic policies, so I want to expand the welfare state, have tuition-free college at public universities, raise taxes on the rich, have single-payer healthcare, have strong unions, invest in education, and oppose bad trade deals. I fully support LGBT rights and civil gay marriage, feminism and women's rights, disability rights, and so forth. My favorite TV show is "The West Wing."
We need to overturn Citizens United and have the public funding of elections. We need to reinstate Glass-Steagall. We need to invest in infrastructure, pass a carbon tax, and make the minimum wage a living wage. Income and wealth inequality are huge problems. I think we should stop mass incarceration, push for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, end institutional anti-black racism and police brutality, separating church from state, and ending the death penalty. We need to oppose the Republicans and their horrible racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and neoconservative hawkish agenda. And I think libertarians like Ayn Rand, Rand Paul, Ron Paul, etc., have crazy, inhumane ideas on the economy, and stupid ideas on other topics (they oppose gay marriage because they want to privatize it or something).
I'm a proud liberal. And right now, I'm cranking out Metallica: Master of Puppets.
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and ::
:: oldies in general.
I don't get into all of the sub-genres that you do. More mainstream metal like Metallica is what I like. (Who would ever have thunk that Metallica could be considered 'mainstream'?)
In the realm of goth-rock, Concrete Blonde is very progressive. I've been a fan since the early 90's. I caught a couple of their shows during GWB's presidency (AKA The Lost Decade), and bassist/lead singer Johnette Napolitano expressed fiercely anti-republican views throughout the concerts.
I'm also a 40-something mother of two. LOL
...and unabashed progressives, the lot of them...
Lost my big toenail in the Meshuggah mosh pit at the Wiltern last year and it just grew back...whew!!!
Going to see King Diamond do the Abigail album in November with Exodus as an opener.
well I moshed at a Meshuggah concert in Wiltern, but didn't lose a toenail!! Maybe we were both there 
Although I have heard of the stereotype.
I'm definitely one of those people who likes everything and anything. My kids are astounded at my collection on my ipod and how varied it is. However. I've pretty much always liked hard rock and metal more than the others. It's what I listen to most of the time. I have many of the artists on your list. In fact, just downloaded Master of Puppets the other day (it was on sale) and have also been enjoying it (enjoying it again that is, as I used to have the cassette lol) although ..and justice for all will always be my favorite. I've been playing a lot of Guns 'n Roses lately too. Just discovered Alice in Chains...downloaded a few songs and wonder how I missed them back then...back in my junior high days I was known as a 'headbanger'...and it never did wear off 
I'm pretty left wing. Vote mostly NDP here in Canada (social democratic party here in Canada). And I love hard rock and heavy metal