He beme metal's first openly gay megastar 1998. Why is he still the only one?

Contents:

• GAY METAL MIC
• TOP 5 GAY METAL INS
• WHY THE ONLY OPENLY GAY HEAVY METAL SUPERSTAR, JUDAS PRIT'S ROB HALFORD, HID HIS SEXUALY
• “IN THOSE DAYS, YOU DIDN’T TALK ABOUT THOSE KD OF THGS”. ROB HALFORD'S REACTN TO BEG METAL’S FIRST GAY IN
• HE BEME METAL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY MEGASTAR 1998. WHY IS HE STILL THE ONLY ONE?
• WHY AREN'T THERE MORE OPENLY GAY HEAVY METAL MICIANS? TESTAMENT'S ALEX SKOLNICK WEIGHS IN

GAY METAL MIC

Back November, the Hell Bent for Metal podst (HBFM) put out their first episo, lled Gay Satanic Love Songs. If you’re worried that they played their tmp rd too early, this was followed by an edn entled BDSM Gear and Black Metal, and another named Horny German quickly beme clear what you were gettg: ’s gay, ’s about heavy metal, and ’s very, very funny.

As a gay rock fan, HBFM founr and -host Tom Dare’s hope was to be visible to other LGBTQ+ lovers of heavy mic, and to offer a queer perspective that he felt was missg om a scene that is still affected by one episo, they discs July by Swedish band Katatonia, a song whose genr-ntral lyrics chime more wh him than the ual heteronormative love songs. “I know some people thk Manowar look gay, but I n be more specific about , ” he says.

TOP 5 GAY METAL INS

“I n go, ‘This b looks gay, and that b looks gay, and those boots …’” He lghs. “Basilly, metal is really fuckg gay. “Before I started , I knew there were other gay metal fans out there, but I didn’t know who – I knew about three other people, ” he says.

The list of gay artists he uld ve on the show isn’t long, eher.

WHY THE ONLY OPENLY GAY HEAVY METAL SUPERSTAR, JUDAS PRIT'S ROB HALFORD, HID HIS SEXUALY

After namg Judas Prit sger Rob Halford, metal’s most obv and inic gay star (“He’s not jt gay, he’s ‘I like wearg assls chaps’-gay”, says Dare), most fans would probably stggle to name a the podst, a flashpot for fans to fd one another. “I don’t want to talk about homophobia, ” says Dare. ” But he felt there was no choice but to react to , an episo bluntly named Inter Metal’s Homophobia Problem, rerd followg the announcement of the but album by Man on Man, found by Fah No More’s gay keyboardist Roddy Bottum.

“To have someone om a band like Fah No More gog, ‘I’m gonna do a rerd about how I like fuckg my boyiend’ – for the gay muny that’s, like, ‘Y! ’”Fah No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum, whose new band Man on Man has sparked a homophobic reactn Photograph: Olly Curtis/Future/Rex/ShutterstockBut beyond that gay muny, the sight of two men embracg one another the vio for Man on Man’s sgle 1983 provoked a different reactn.

” And, really, what’s not metal about Horny German Werewolv or Gay Satanic Love Songs? Gay.

“IN THOSE DAYS, YOU DIDN’T TALK ABOUT THOSE KD OF THGS”. ROB HALFORD'S REACTN TO BEG METAL’S FIRST GAY IN

There are at least two artists wh the name Gay. Gay is a fun project by a swiss electronic producer. Sce the human sexualy analysis generally ns along the l of “that band is fuck’ gay, ” ’s no surprise that metal micians who self-intify as gay are difficult to e by.

HE BEME METAL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY MEGASTAR 1998. WHY IS HE STILL THE ONLY ONE?

So difficult to e by, fact, that our list isn’t so much the Top Five Gay Metal Ins as The Five Gay Metal Ins. Why Gay Is Metal: Pnick has sce spl om Christiany, and now choos to intify as “agnostic. ” Maybe he jumped ship bee beg gay isn’t Christian; maybe he did bee Christian isn’t metal.

WHY AREN'T THERE MORE OPENLY GAY HEAVY METAL MICIANS? TESTAMENT'S ALEX SKOLNICK WEIGHS IN

But if gay isn’t Christian, and Christian isn’t metal, isn’t gay kda metal?

”Why Metal Is Gay: Shamay’s mic is so aggrsive, has at tim rced male metal fans to whg over sexism.