Giving Back to the Fans

One thing that separates metal from the other facets of life is how close-knit the community is. To see this, you need not look farther than the bands. Metal artists love their fans, and if they don't, well, they're probably angsty teenagers playing metalcore and you should pay them no heed. Or money for that matter.

I bet it's full of sunshine and lov

YouTube is the easiest and probably most popular way for bands to interact with fans. It also keeps them a safe distance from the crazy ones so they won't end up with a lock of their hair on Ebay. Bands like Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Korpiklaani, Sabaton and Eluveitie all have channels that they (usually) keep updated with tour videos, recording sessions, or general shenanigans. Many official channels even respond to video comments occasionally. I'm sure it's just when they find a comment that isn't a religious battle or about Justin Beiber. So you, the viewer, get to have a personalized message from the roadie who got put in charge of shifting through a pile of dog crap. It's this extra bit of effort that makes it so much more satisfying to watch music videos on the band's channel as opposed to the record label (damn you NuclearBlast, stop posting bad music).

Some bands have even taken their fan service to other parts of the interwebs. Mysp- I mean.. Facebook is a great way for bands to post updates, pictures, snippets of their songs and links to websites that will actually make them money (i.e. br00talmetalmerch.com). There's one band in particular that's been spamming the hell out of my Facebook lately though: Pathfinder. They're a small band from Poland with a large amount of things to say. For the past couple months, they've been posting pictures of very non-metal-looking people holding their newest album. Awkward smiles make my day. So does sitting. I love sitting.

The internet is great and all, but nothing compares to the real thing. Which in this case means concerts. Bands that genuinely enjoy what they do put on the best shows. I may be getting a little sentimental here, but it's great seeing bands go that extra little bit. I could get all sentimental here, but I'm just going to post a video instead. It's less writing for me, and this is already a sizable post. Thanks for reading this far by the way. You're great. Anyway, this next clip is of Manowar, you may have heard of them. Sometimes they allow fans to come up on stage and play with them. I just can't think of any better fan service than this. Take a look for yourself.


Just take a moment and appreciate the pure awesomeness of that song. Listen to it a second time if you need to.

-Zombie Viking