Heavy Metal and Metalocalypse Stereotypical Analysis

Marina Abate

MCO 220

Professor Cindy Vincent

Salem State University

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Introduction

The research question that will be analyzed is, how does the show Metalocalypse

stereotype people within the heavy metal culture and why does this matter? The show provides

multiple stereotypical references that are seen within the culture. Three themes have been

conducted while watching the show that emphasize on the negative stereotypes normally

associated with heavy metal bands and fans. Each theme is broken down with examples from the

show and backed up with scholarly information, either from the literature review or another

reliable source. The negatively associated with this culture is harmful and not always true.

Literature Review

This literature review is based on two studies that have to do with heavy metal music.

Both studies show results that can be acquainted with the stereotypes that people within the

heavy metal culture face such as, being a threat to themselves, having a negative attitude, the

way they look/dress, violence and being seen as isolated.

The study done by Carrie B. Fried examined the stereotypes that people have about fans

of heavy metal. Fried came up with the hypothesis that “heavy metal fans will be described as

harmful to themselves (e.g., references to drug abuse, suicide, and dropping out of school)”

(2003, p. 3). When beginning this research, she created an open ended free-response survey for

addressing the content of stereotypes. Ultimately, the two categories being analyzed were: self-

destructive behaviors and (lack of) achievement / motivation. The results of Fried’s survey

showed that 34% of respondents referenced anger when describing heavy metal fans and 82% of

respondents categorized them as being self-destructive. When describing heavy metal fans,

100% of respondents used the image category that had various image traits listed. The fans were

also “described using traits related to self-destructive behaviors” (Fried, 2003, p. 8). This
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analysis showed that people “think about fans of certain types of music” (Fried, 2003, p. 8), by

the way they look and act. Lastly, Fried states that “the actions of the musicians themselves may

have spawned or added to these stereotypes” (2003, p. 9). With “several heavy metal or “grunge”

musicians”, being involved in publicized suicides and drug overdoses, it seemed that “the

behaviors of the musicians undoubtedly influence the images of the fans” (Fried, 2003, p. 9).

The next study focused on the “associations between individual differences and

preference for contemporary heavy metal” (Swami et al., 2013, p. 378). It’s been reported “that

heavy metal listeners are more violent and are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as

using drugs and stealing” (Swami et al., 2013, p. 387). The results for this study were calculated

by using a scale point survey. The focus was on the Big Five personality traits and the “measures

of need for uniqueness, self-esteem, attitudes toward authority, and religiosity” (Swami et al.,

2013, p. 378). The participants were presented with 10 heavy metal tracks and asked to rate their

personal preference on a 7-point scale, (1- extreme dislike, 7 - extreme like). The results of this

showed that “the heavy metal clips [were] significantly correlated with higher Openness, more

negative attitudes toward authority, greater need for uniqueness, lower self-esteem, and lower

religiosity.” (Swami et al., 2013, p. 380)

Both studies have similarities when it comes to stereotyping heavy metal fans. Fried’s

results showed that heavy metal fans are seen as angry, self-destructive, very image based and

may cause harm to themselves. The authors of the other study got results that indicated people

saw heavy metal fans as having negative attitude, higher Openness, wanting to be unique, having

a low self-esteem and low religiosity. When comparing the two, the results of metal fans being

image based correlates with wanting to be seen as unique. The stereotypical heavy metal fan is

seem as having long hair, dressing in all black, men in makeup, spiked wristbands, boots ect.
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Usually people stare at others who look “different” from them and judge them based on

appearance which, the heavy metal community is seen as. Having a low self-esteem can be

related to causing harm to yourself as well as having a negative attitude. Both studies were able

to get results that can easily blend well with each other.

Method

The analyzation conducted was based on season one of the show Metalocalypse. The

show consists of four seasons. Season one has 20 episodes, season two has 18 episodes, season

three has 10 and four has 12. In total that’s a lot of text to analysis and season one has the most

episodes compared to the other three, which is why it’s the best choice. The methodology that

will be used for this analysis is cultural. Cultural analysis “is the study of how texts embody and

transmit ideology”. (Ott & Mack, 2010, p. 291)

Analysis

The show Metalocalypse is about the fictional death metal band Dethklok. The members

of the band include William Murderface, Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Nathan Explosion, Pickles and

Toki Wartooth. They portray dark and gruesome content such as topics about violence, death,

and the drawbacks of fame. Charles Ofdensen is the band’s manager as well as their lawyer. The

band needs him as their lawyer because they frequently make poor decisions, which has caught

the attention of the illuminati-style council Tribunal. The Tribunal is Dethklok’s antagonist in the

series who secretly monitor their actions.

Three themes have been identified while viewing the text: the bands influence on the

fans, stupidity and mental stability. The first theme relates to Fried’s study in terms of fans

endangering themselves and behaviors of the musicians influencing the fans. According to Fried

both of these are implied stereotypes that people have among the heavy metal culture.
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Hjelm, Kahn-Harris and LeVine also stated that “metal fans and bands have thrown themselves

into excess of all kinds and, on occasions” (2012, p. 14), extreme violence. Throughout the show

the band conveys a sense of dominance among their fans. Dethklok’s fanbase is made up of

crazy metalheads, who frequently endanger themselves. This is shown throughout multiple

episodes, but particularly in episode six. In episode two Dethklok recorded an album underwater

called “Dethwater”, which eventually was released to the public. The beginning of episode six

starts off with Dethklok in court. An attorney is standing in front of the judge defending his

clients, fans of Dethklok, who “tried to breathe water and nearly died because of [Dethklok’s]

underwater album” (Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay, 2006). He read out some of the albums

lyrics to the court, which said “Go into the water. Go into the water. Live there. Die there.”

(Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay, 2006) The attorney believed that Dethklok created this album

intentionally to cause destruction to human life and that they are “a danger to the human race.”

(Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay, 2006)

In the book titled “Heavy Metal: Controversies and Countercultures” it explains how

“metal bands explore themes such as sexual excess, the occult, death, violence and mutilation.

They revel in myths that explore humanity’s darker side, and in stories of human evil and

degradation.” (Hjelm et al., 2012, p. 14) The Parents’ Music Resource Center (PMRC) were also

concerned with the themes of heavy metal music. This group feared that the content of the music

“would drive teenage listeners to mimic these behaviors and promote antisocial behavior among

listeners” (Fried, 2003, p. 1). The content of heavy metal music is often viewed as being extreme

in which causes metal musicians partake in transgressive actions. However, both of these things

have placed “the genre and the culture as controversial and at the edge of the acceptable.” (Allett,

2012) Metalocalypse plays off this ideology with the example of their Dethwater album. Nathan
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tells the band that he’s thinking about the next album. Pickles chimes in and says, “you mean

how we’re supposed to top an album that made a million people accidentally kill themselves”

(Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay, 2006), which is in reference to Dethwater.

Another example seen in the show is the effect of young adults being raised on heavy

metal music. In episode 15, Toki becomes popular among children and a dying little girl’s final

wish is to meet him. The Tribunal becomes concerned with the thought of “a whole generation of

children being raised on metal.” (Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay, 2006) By the end of the

episode, a video that the girl made for Toki is given to him. In the video she sings about used to

wanting pretty things, but now she longs for murder and hate. This shows how the band has

influenced this young girl in wanting to do things that a heavy metal artist stereotypically

portrays.

The next theme that’s seen in the show is stupidity, mainly among the members of the

band. They are portrayed as incompetent at almost everything that's not related to being a

musician. Everyday tasks for the band are a struggle. For example, in episode one Dethklok’s

personal chef dies, so they have to go grocery shopping on their own. When they get there two of

the members believe that a grocery store is called a food library. Nathan tells the other band

members that they are in charge of putting together one dish. They all split off and shop for what

they need. Nathan’s dish included two cups of rice. Instead of buying the entire bag of rice, he

opened it up in the store, measured out two cups, then dumped it into his cart, causing it to fall

all over the floor. When they returned home, they realized they forgot all their groceries at the

store, resulting in a failed mission.

Another example that emphasis’s their stupidity is shown in episode 13, particular around

Nathan. At the beginning of the episode, Nathan is having a dream about working at a fast food
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restaurant in result of his band members dying. A customer comes in and asks if he can have four

number fives from the menu. Nathan struggles to understand what the customer is asking and

stumbles all over his words. The customer quickly recognized him as Nathan Explosion from

Dethklok and asked if he had “anything to fall back on” (Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay, 2006).

Nathan replied by telling the customer no because he never graduated from high school. Then the

manger shows up and calls Nathan “a complete idiot [who] can hardly function.” (Blacha, Small,

Schnepp, & Fay, 2006) A stereotype that Fried had mentioned in her study was that dropping out

of school was in relation to being self-destructive. This scene directly plays off that stereotype

because Nathan is portrayed as being dumb and not knowing how to do his job.

Lastly in episode 20, Charles asked the band if they had any ideas for merchandise they

could sell. They came up with the “Time Travel Face Bag” which is just a black plastic bag. The

band demonstrated how their idea worked. They put the bags over their heads and told Charles

that they were traveling through time. Nathan explained that they’ve “figured out how to travel

through time at the speed of regular time with plastic bags.” (Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay,

2006)

The last theme that's portrayed within the show is mental stability. In episode three it’s

William Murderface’s birthday. Fans are celebrating his birthday by bringing mass destruction to

the town. The Tribunal become concerned about this and bring a “Birthday Expert” named Dr.

Gibbits into their base. Dr. Gibbits had access to Murderface’s chart, in which he reveals

Murderface’s instability. He said that his “charts indicate a deep-seated rage which is split off

and repressed at its core. His self-loathing is expressed most publicly and unequivocally through

bodily mutilation, tattooing, alcohol abuse and Coprophilia.” (Blacha, Small, Schnepp, & Fay,
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2006) The use of self-destruction upon himself is what gives him validation against the voices he

internalizes.

In episode 6, the band tries to pick up comedy in order to take a break from being bleak

and dark all the time. When Skwisgaar and Toki are first up on stage to tell jokes, all they can

talk about is death. Skwisgaar starts the “joke” off by saying “so, I was thinking of killing

myself”, in which Toki replied with “that’s funny. I was thinking about killing you too.” (Blacha,

Small, Schnepp, & Fay, 2006) This part of the episode is playing off the stereotypically fact that

metal musicians only focus on subjects that include darkness and death. According to Hjelm et

al., metal music “tends to be dominated by a distinctive commitment to ‘transgressive’ themes

and musicality.” (2012) This places a false assumption in people’s minds believing the fact these

musicians are a bad influence.

Moving a little further into the episode, Pickles starts to have a breakdown. When he gets

on stage to tell jokes, he immediately gets booed. This messes with his mind making him believe

that he’s doesn’t have a sense of humor. As the other members continue doing comedy, Pickles

is shown at home sitting around and drinking massive amounts of alcohol. When he reunites with

the band, he tells them that he can’t play the drums anymore because of his mental state.

Conclusion

The show Metalocalypse stereotypes people within the metal culture by exemplifying the

assumed stereotypes that others have towards them. These stereotypes include the three themes

of: the bands influence on the fans, stupidity and mental stability. All these themes are shown

throughout multiple episodes of the first season. They are portrayed very negatively. This

matters because negative stereotypes cause others to view a whole group of people in a false

way. When it comes to heavy metal, not all artists influence their fans to be violent and endanger
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themselves. A lot of the times this music includes messages like hope, strength, overcoming

struggles, fighting through mental health and telling powerful stories. Metalocalypse show’s no

evidence of the positive portrayals of these musicians give to people, which puts them into a

bubble of negativity. As Fried’s analysis showed, people mainly judge fans music tastes based on

the way they look and act. This shows that no one would bother to interact with someone else

just because they may look “weird”. Ultimately, the show Metalocalypse gives audiences what

they believe is true about the heavy metal culture, based on what the mainstream media says.
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References

Allett, N. (2012). The extreme metal ‘connoisseur’. Popular Music History, 6(1). Retrieved 8

April, 2019, from https://journals.equinoxpub.com/PMH/article/view/14447

Blacha, T., & Small, B. (Writers), Schnepp, J. (Director), & Fay, K. (Producer). (2006, August

6). Metalocalypse [Television series]. Atlanta, Georgia: Cartoon Network.

Fried, C. (2003). Stereotypes of Music Fans: Are Rap and Heavy Metal Fans a Danger to

Themselves or Others? Journal of Media Psychology Online, 1-10. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228772092_Stereotypes_of_music_fans_Are_r

ap_and_heavy_metal_fans_a_danger_to_themselves_or_others.

Hjelm, T., Kahn-Harris, K., & Levine, M. (2012). Heavy metal as controversy and

counterculture. Popular Music History, 6(1). Retrieved 8 April 2019, from

https://journals.equinoxpub.com/PMH/article/view/14426

Ott, B. L., & Mack, R. L. (2010). Critical media studies: An introduction (1st ed.). Malden, MA:

Wiley-Blackwell.

Swami, V., Malpass, F., Havard, D., Benford, K., Costescu, A., Sofitiki, A., & Taylor, D. (2013).

Metalheads: The influence of personality and individual differences on preference for

heavy metal. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 7(4), 377-383.