Many people think about metal like a savage bland and aggressive musical style with no substance. However this could not be further from the truth. Sure some bands out there are making music about hollow unimportant everyday stuff. But many bands use their stage to share their opinion and view about many important world matters.

Everyone likes some "I Fucking Hate You" by Godsmack every once in a while. It can be a nice way to channel all that frustration. And what genre is more suited for that then Metal. Yes with a Capital, because this genre is just so awesome. And we wouldn't be basing an entire webzine around it if it wasn't. Anyway, back on track. 

There are hundreds of bands out there singing about many social and political issues. Often dedicating songs or entire albums about it. Many serious metalfans already know this. If you've ever looked up lyrics of NoFX or Rage Against The Machine. You'll clearly see they are quite much anti-capitalism for instance, anti-system might be a better term. 

So let's explore some of them and the themes they address. Hop along and lets venture into the wild!

We have the usual suspects that a lot of us know already, the big bands. Take System Of A Down for example. They handle Armenian Genocide, corruption, the media, and activism. The one and only Boss, Bruce Springsteen has made an album donning picks and torches for the evil corrupt Bankers on "Wrecking Ball". Neil Young is livid with anger rallying about the destructivity of GMO's in "The Monsanto Years". 

Those last 2 artists are not really metal but still use their music to make people aware. So it's safe to take them into this discussion. Then we still have the plainly obvious "American Idiot" by Greenday which delivers sneering critics on the Iraqi war and George Bush. By now it should be clear that these type of subjects are not exclusively reserved for the anarchistic punkers among us. But still, fuck the system!

So lets expand this much further and point to some really big truly metal ones. We got Corporate Avenger who sing about the evils of religion and the English settlers atrocities against the Native Americans. The band also sings about police corruption, and the horrors of organized religion.
The beloved and befamed Soulfly & Sepultura. Song themes include excessive use of force, police states, bio-technology, ecology and native tribes. Lamb of God is motivated by the greed and hypocrisy of politicians.  Almighty Megadeth, Having a frontman who describes himself as a political and environmental activist is a plus at getting your band on this list. The band has penned songs pointing out deficiencies in the United Nations for its' many failures to act in times of crisis.
OTEP is a band that preaches self-awareness. The band levels a sonic fury at the Bush administration and war machine along with the dismantling of our civil freedoms.

Inspired by the Anarcho-punk movement, Napalm Death spewed it's toxins at anyone and anything in power. The bands political leanings tend to skew towards the leftist socialists. We also have Belgian homegrown talent like Belgian Associality and Fleddy Melculy. The first one is old skool punk with short no bullshit songs. And the second one takes more like a metalcore approach with subjects of various nature all involving critics on society. For example the hyping of metal subculture by hipster people wearing a "tshirt of Metallica", or criticism on the inability of BMW & Audi drivers to use their turn indicators.