Odahviing475
Member
- Apr 12, 2023
- 58
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I only recently got into the metal and metalcore scene in 2023. My gateway bands were Sleep Token and Bad Omens.
Through my journey, I was very surprised to see what I thought was a progressive fanbase. Metalcore as a genre was very diverse with many people of color and women in a shared space that I believed was traditionally dominated by white guys. Many of these concerts would have lyrics that resonated with the people who didn't fit in elsewhere which made Metalcore right for them.
One of the bands I've come to love is Beartooth, with lead singer Caleb Shomo. His first few albums were when he was an alcoholic and when many of the fans got into his music, enjoying the raw anger and rage he put into his songs.
Lately, he's been better and sober. His music changed too, becoming more "poppy" and less "heavy" (it's still pretty heavy) and I've seen people comment stuff about how they wish he would be alcoholic again so his music would get better. At first I thought this was a funny joke, but then I saw that same statement being reposted on every Beartooth-related post ever. The hate just grew so massive.
The latest singles put out by Caleb & Beartooth are more expressive. Caleb dressed in a more feminine way, and sang about being free. The fanbase split in two, the crowd heavily in support and loves his music no matter what, and a not very small that thinks he's being performative and that his music is ruined.
This isn't some vocal minority. Every thread, comment section, news post about Caleb is met with a majority of these toxic reactions. They call him slurs and a traitor because he has a wife too. Even after his wife made a statement in support of him, they try to white knight for her. A lot of my friends I made through the scene are being bigoted about this too. It really hurt that people who knew I was gay would come out and say this about someone coming out in the scene.
I was really hopeful for the Metalcore community seeing so many diverse people. There genuinely are far more women and LGBTQ+ friendly people than I ever expected. But the hate for Caleb caught me so off guard that I was reminded that much of the space is still dominated by homophobic "traditionalist" gatekeeping white males. It is genuinely upsetting and disappointing to see this happen in a space that is otherwise considered progressive.
Maybe this is some sort of a vent post? I'm not sure. Caleb's anger and rage in the first albums only fits even more if he contended not just with his alcoholism but also being closeted and married, denying his true self. Him coming out made me love the message of his music more.
I only recently got into the metal and metalcore scene in 2023. My gateway bands were Sleep Token and Bad Omens.
Through my journey, I was very surprised to see what I thought was a progressive fanbase. Metalcore as a genre was very diverse with many people of color and women in a shared space that I believed was traditionally dominated by white guys. Many of these concerts would have lyrics that resonated with the people who didn't fit in elsewhere which made Metalcore right for them.
One of the bands I've come to love is Beartooth, with lead singer Caleb Shomo. His first few albums were when he was an alcoholic and when many of the fans got into his music, enjoying the raw anger and rage he put into his songs.
Lately, he's been better and sober. His music changed too, becoming more "poppy" and less "heavy" (it's still pretty heavy) and I've seen people comment stuff about how they wish he would be alcoholic again so his music would get better. At first I thought this was a funny joke, but then I saw that same statement being reposted on every Beartooth-related post ever. The hate just grew so massive.
The latest singles put out by Caleb & Beartooth are more expressive. Caleb dressed in a more feminine way, and sang about being free. The fanbase split in two, the crowd heavily in support and loves his music no matter what, and a not very small that thinks he's being performative and that his music is ruined.
This isn't some vocal minority. Every thread, comment section, news post about Caleb is met with a majority of these toxic reactions. They call him slurs and a traitor because he has a wife too. Even after his wife made a statement in support of him, they try to white knight for her. A lot of my friends I made through the scene are being bigoted about this too. It really hurt that people who knew I was gay would come out and say this about someone coming out in the scene.
I was really hopeful for the Metalcore community seeing so many diverse people. There genuinely are far more women and LGBTQ+ friendly people than I ever expected. But the hate for Caleb caught me so off guard that I was reminded that much of the space is still dominated by homophobic "traditionalist" gatekeeping white males. It is genuinely upsetting and disappointing to see this happen in a space that is otherwise considered progressive.
Maybe this is some sort of a vent post? I'm not sure. Caleb's anger and rage in the first albums only fits even more if he contended not just with his alcoholism but also being closeted and married, denying his true self. Him coming out made me love the message of his music more.
