Is Heavy Metal Gay-Friendly?

Is Heavy Metal gay-friendly? One might think so with the teased hair, makeup, and leather outfits reminiscent of a bondage film. However the sexist lyrics, shredding guitars, and screaming vocals have never appealed to the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender) community in mass numbers. With musical talents like Rob Halford (Judas Priest, Fight), Otep Shamaya (OTEP), Roddy Bottum (Faith No More), Doug Pinnick (King's X) and Gaahl (Gorgoroth) being openly gay, one would expect more musicians to come forward and represent.

The liberal metal scene has taken a few hits though over the years. In 1989, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Sebastian Bach was spotted wearing a shirt that read "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" backstage at a L.A. Guns show. "That was really stupid and wrong for me to wear that for one-half hour in my life" stated Bach.

As recent as June of 2008 at the Norwegian Wood 08 Festival, Queens of the Stone Age front man, Josh Homme, lashed out at a fan who threw something on stage. Homme's anti-gay rant began with him calling the kid a "little chickenshit faggot!" From there, Homme encouraged the crowd to "Lift him up so I can kick him in the fucking face!" Although Homme later apologized, the damage had been done to himself and teh metal scene as a whole.

1994 saw Korn fans embracing lead singer Jonathan Davis over the controversial tune "Faget" where Davis screams "All my life, who am I? I'm just a faget! Faget!" Although the lyrics were about high school name calling, many listeners jumped to questions his sexual preference. Fans of the band stood by their idol. The rumors did little to suppress interest in the band.

In 1998, Rob Halford became the first openly gay metal star. Rob ended years of speculation around the metal community during an interview with MTV. At the time, Tim "Ripper" Owens was the vocalist for the iconic Judas Priest. When Halford later rejoined the band in 2003, he was embraced by fans and critics alike. It quickly became evident that the fans were more interested in the music than his lifestyle. "There are still stereotypes that all gay men are effeminate and weak and queeny," Halford has said. "Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, which is why I think it's unfortunate that this type of portrayal is still given to the straight general public. In my world, you couldn't have anything stronger or more masculine and intense."

The year 2000 saw the rise of OTEP, led by the outspoken front woman Otep Shamaya. Otep is the metal scenes only 'out' lesbian, although she was never 'in'. "With me, it wasn't like I was ever 'in'" stated Otep. "I was never hiding who I was. I never hid that portion of my life. Others are. They make it clear when you are around them that they don't want anybody to know. I think that is so disingenuous because they aren't hiding because it is nobody's business, but they are hiding because of what it might do to there career. That is the same reason teenagers are being killed in schools for being open and being themselves."

Gay themes have also worked there way into metal songs. Ever listen to the lyrics for "Be Aggressive" by Faith No More? The song is about a dude getting a blow job from another guy and swallowing. "I Swallow, I Swallow, I Swallow, I Swallow!" Do yourself a favor and read the lyrics if you already haven't. Do you feel the same way about the song?

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Tags:  gay, heavy metal, rob halford, gaahl, otep

Jason Fisher    May 13, 2010