Global Metal

Sam Dunn:
[about Slayer graffiti] Have you ever seen something like that in your country?

Metalhead:
[laughing] I've DONE something like that in my country!

Sam Dunn:
For metalheads, it's about more than just music. It's an identity.

Sam Dunn:
Metal is a way to connect to a global culture and break free from the restrictions they feel in their traditional society.

Sam Dunn:
Metal music has never shied away from controversy. It has always rebelled against authority and stood up against mainstream religion.

Sam Dunn:
Metal connects with people, regardless of their cultural, political or religious backgrounds. And these people aren't just absorbing metal from the west; they're transforming it, creating a new outlet they can't find in their traditional cultures, a voice to express their discontent with the chaos and uncertainty that surrounds them in their rapidly changing societies. And for metalheads all across the globe, metal is more than music, more than an identity. Metal is freedom, and together, we are now a global tribe.

Sam Dunn:
In a lot of the Middle East, conservative governments and religious authorities repeatedly censor and restrict metal music.

Rafael Bittencourt:
I wouldn't say that metal came to free us, but that it was something we were begging for: to have that atmosphere of freedom of speech, freedom of communication.

Max Cavalera:
Fans connect to third-world lyrics, because these are their lyrics. When I'm singing about inner self, growing up in these f***ed up streets and sh*t, the Indonesian fans reading some of those lyrics, they feel connected to it.

Max Cavalera:
They grow up in this shithole, and are pretty much going to die in this shithole, so, what do you do about it? Metal comes in.

Bruce Dickinson:
Kids are kids. Despite what culture you come from, at least a certain proportion in whatever cultural society want to get up and just go, "Agh!" And we provide that soundtrack.