The first time I remember seeing another Black metalhead was several years ago, some time in high school. I don’t remember how I found them (probably googling “Black metalheads” to see if they existed), but it was love at first sight. Strikingly stylish, with dark skin and even darker clothes, these leather-clad death metal motorbike cowboys are an aspirational pinnacle of power and steez. While many misinterpret metal as inherently satanic, what I saw was heavenly, not hellish.
Most of the time one thinks of metalheads, or the phrase “Black Metal”, satanic visions of sweaty white men with long greasy hair screeching and growling in wintry Norwegian forests at dusk (or one of their basements) come to mind. But there have always been, and will always be, Black metalheads. We need to shift and expand our ideas of what a metalhead looks like, because Black metalheads are metalheads like anyone else, if not more stylish in this case.
Black leather jackets are to Botswanan metalheads as maize to their diet, men and women alike. In fact, the Gaborone-based heavy metal band Skinflint has a Black female drummer, which is something that validates my life and desires. In one video I watched researching this topic, I saw one man with several small animal skulls somehow affixed to his black leather jacket, something probably more metal than Per Ohlin sniffing crow carcasses before performing. In another, I saw two men with stud bedazzled shoulder pieces of sorts from their jackets, in what I could only describe as glam-gwar-biker, and bizarrely, a Black man proudly holding a confederate flag (fuck you Phil Anselmo, this is your fault). Oh sweet heart of hearts, I think I even saw a lesbian couple.
Though I am certain there are problems in the scene, as with everywhere, the Botswanan scene seems far more appealing and welcoming to me, with plenty of footage of people not just being dark and metal, but fun as well. It seems a far cry from the white male dominated genre, from gate keeping elitism where several years ago it was common conjecture that women were incapable of metal vocals, or making good metal. A far cry from a genre which, while I love it deeply, is also rife with white supremacy, especially among black and death metal sub genres. A genre where doing a cursory check to see if the band holds beliefs dangerous to the lives of Black people is just something I took up out of necessity.
Nowadays, Botswana has arguably the most well known predominantly Black metal scene in the “Black World”. Like many other places, the seeds of metal were planted in Botswana in the 1970’s with classic rock, that eventually evolved into heavier and heavier forms of metal. Bands such as Overthrust, Wrust, and Stane have come to prominence. When metal feels tired, or hostile in the wrong ways, let us look to those overlooked among the genre for unseen skill and innovation.
About Oualie (They/She)
My name is Oualie, like the beach, and I am an emerging artist and writer in Mohkínstsis/Calgary. In my final year of my BFA at AUArts, I work with what is close to my heart, and what fires my tongue. Of particular interest to me are Black and biracial experiences, mental health, anything related to arts and creativity, and critique for a better world.