What do evil-as-fuck seminal Norwegian Satanic black metal band Gorgoroth and early heavy metallers Judas Priest have in common? Aside from them both being metal bands, both had front men who declared their homosexuality long after they declared their allegiance to heavy metal and subsequently left their respective bands. And both of them lost a lot of fans because they came out of the closet. But that’s where the comparisons stop. Granted Judas Priest was pretty evil for its day and Gorgoroth is definitely evil for this day (or maybe any day). And so the accusation can be launched that as societal norms change so does what people consider barbarously offensive and evil. So that it is in fact quite easy to say that considering Judas Priest pioneered what could even be considered evil in a metalicious way in the late 70s, Gorgoroth just might be considered today’s version of Judas Priest. But again, and I stress this, that is where the comparisons stop.

In a straight up front man vs. front man comparison, Gaahl, formerly from Gorgoroth, is to Rob Halford, the singer from Judas Priest, what a German snuff film is to 70s porn. Yes, 70s porn is “scary” in its own way but that scariness is mostly relegated to the kind of trauma one gets from seeing a skinny white guy with a burly non-ironic mustache eat out a 35 year old lady with a full bush smoking a cigarette. Perhaps the trauma is related to the fact that it doesn’t seem out of the ordinary at all. But this “out of the ordinary” is nothing like the sick, depraved shit you will see in a snuff film worthy of calling itself a snuff film. Speaking of sick, depraved shit, Gaahl’s CV includes doing a couple of 9 month stints in federal prison for torturing people, including some prolonged episodes of gnarliness where amongst other deeds, he made someone drink his own blood. According to rumors and statements Gaahl himself made, these guys who Gaahl tortured were more than likely tough-guy haters who intentionally provoked Gaahl. And Gaahl, ever the faithful Satanist, relished the revenge aspect of punishing these douche bags for fucking with Satan’s representative on Earth. I mean, Gaahl would never say that, but he wouldn’t deny he was doing Satan’s work in torturing someone who had previously tried to straight up start shit with him. And as for Rob Halford? He was pretty much just a dude who wanted to be in a dope band who never really never did anything remotely evil, including starting a ridiculous band called Fight after he left Priest. I mean, Gaahl lives in a forest in Norway and burns down churches full of singing children in his waking dreams and Rob Halford injured himself by driving a Harley into a drum set on stage.

So why even draw a parallel at all? Because, both came out of the closet and both, despite the whatever discrepancy there might be in their perceived or actual status as “evil,” what could be less metal than being gay? In fact, aside from rap, and even then less so, there isn‘t really a music genre so defined by its aggressive masculinity. But Gaahl coming out of the closet last year and Rob Halford coming out of the closet in the early 90s were supremely metal acts.

Aside from a decent chunk of the 80s when metal gained mainstream acceptance and the style of music adapted to that demand, metal in the late 70s, when Priest was rocking at their peak, and today, when subgenres rule, is subversive. It did and still does hate conformist society. It exists as an antithesis to the pretty pop music and bright pastels that populate VW commercials. And as much as “being gay” has been brought into our lives in the form of Will & Grace and Queer Eye, homosexuality is not necessarily about being fabulous and it is still not an acceptable way to be as far as mainstream society is concerned. It is still possible to get beat to death by dudes who don’t like the way a person walks, if that walk happens to be what we consider excessively feminine. More than anything, Gaahl’s coming out is a big fuck you to all black metal purists who think that being into black metal and Satan is the same thing as telling modern society to go fuck off, when in fact fans who turned on Gaahl after he came out have the same jock mentality as the jocks who picked on them in high school. From Gaahl’s point of view as a Satanist, what could infuriate the modern Christian establishment more than proclaiming one’s allegiance to Satan? Answer: Proclaiming one’s allegiance to getting pounded by dudes.

Rob Halford has released two full lengths with Judas Priest since rejoining with them in 2005. Gaahl has appeared on two albums with two different bands in 2009: one with a band called Wardruna and the other is a band called Skitliv.

-JUSTIN ECKL

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