Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence contributing writers Langdon Hickman and Colin Dempsey. The focus is on notable new music emerging from the unconventional metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels, or even releases from unsigned acts.
Do you remember when you were 16 and got into metal for the first time? Remember when metal was new to you and your body was a grainy stew of hormones? How many of your first experiences in metal were linked to live shows? Remember the first time you saw a mosh pit, the first time you were more interested in the opening band than the headliner, or the first time a musician signed an object of yours. Through old eyes, these experiences are mundane. Now you see musicians for who they are and how their shifts at the merch tables are both labors of love and financially necessary. Sometimes, they are not cool and mysterious, like you imagined them when you were younger. They're just shy.
Metal is both an old man's game and a hungry young dog's world. With age comes wisdom, and some of metal's best acts are its longest-lasting. This year alone, Judas Priest, Darkthrone, Ihsahn and Rotting Christ have released quality albums. They may not be essential, but they reward the fans who follow them. Their continued activity shows young fans that there is a future in metal. Your investment in this stock will not be in vain. At one point, the artists we hold in such high regard were also teenagers who wanted to be as bold and heavy as possible.
This all revolves around the importance of all-ages shows because they are the truest way to experience metal. They're places where weird teens can meet other weird teens and bond over battle vests that only see the light of day for these shows. They can witness someone dive twice and bomb the ground both times. People are young, their bodies will heal, but those initial steps to a new place will crystallize. They will foster devotion for what is to come. Plus, their friends are likely to check up on them if they are worth friends. They don't need to hear how bad Sleep Tokens are; Their classmates have already roasted them for listening to them.
But there won't be any controls here, just the eight best underground metal albums from the past month.
– Colin Dempsey
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