Rob "the metal guy" Rants About Metal #8

    Right away I am just going to throw out that Sonoma State University is not on my good list right now. Thanks to the school’s ridiculous possibly for obtaining keys, I have had to cancel my radio show two weeks in a row. Also, they treat the radio station I work for like a diseased leper. After almost four years of hosting a hard rock and heavy metal radio show I feel like I get no respect. Rodney Dangerfield...I now know what you truly meant when you would say you get no respect...
    Okay, moving away from my radio show problems and onto topics in the world of rock and heavy metal. First off, Journey needs to get a new drummer. Actually, who cares about Journey! There are only a few original members in the band and their songs are overplayed on mainstream rock radio. However, their current drummer, Deen Castronovo is making them at least interesting to read about now. The guy is charged with assaulting some woman and then breaking a court order by excessively calling her and texting her. Now, there are reports surfacing that Deen was under the influence of meth during this time of horrible behavior. I am not surprised some rocker went crazy and is in the press for criminal behavior. These dudes tend to act up every three to four months. Their careers are based around nostalgia and some of them need to hang it up.  Just wait, next month it will be the drummer for an eighties hair metal band who got drunk and stole a golf cart...oh wait, that already happened.
    In positive metal news the band Malevolent Creation is putting out a new album. The album is expected to be out September 18 and is titled, “Dead Man’s Path.” I saw the album cover and was impressed. Of course, I have not heard the music so I can’t really make an opinion on how it will sound. Though if it is anything close to the stuff on second their album, “Retribution,” I will definitely be interested.
    I guess the last part of this rant is where I am going to express my opinions on how metal people are perceived by non-metal people. Recently, I was walking across my campus wearing a King Diamond t-shirt and happened to walk through a Christian Club seminar that was being hosted outside. As one girl was talking to her small group of professionally dressed teens, I noticed she gave me a displeasing look as if she thought that maybe I was a spy working for Satan. This is not the first time a person has given me a mean look while wearing a metal shirt. Is our society, which is supposed to be more understanding and tolerant towards different groups, still discriminating against the heavy metal culture? Just because someone wears a Morbid Angel or Exodus t-shirt does not mean they are a bad person, or someone you should be afraid of. They just happen to enjoy a certain style of music and wish to not hide their enjoyment. I find the whole situation unfortunate that people should judge another based on the music they listen to and by the shirt they wear.
    To wrap this rant up, we should all be proud to be a metal fans no matter where you come from or how you dress. Also, the few people in the rock and metal people who do partake in some outrageous behavior should not define the community. Overall, I believe metal fans are some of the most tolerant and respectful people on this planet.  Never be ashamed to be a metal fan and never let people who are against heavy metal bring you down!