A story about my radicalised friend

When I was a teenager I knew someone who was radicalised by certain metal bands and their supporters. He had two sides. I always preferred his humane and comical side.

He basically fell into the old "Blasphemy and Burzum" trap. Around 2001, when we were 16, he started talking about "Aryans", racist stereotypes and clearly promoted bands with fascist inclinations. The third band was Graveland. I was aware of the racism in some areas of metal, but I usually only heard the music. "Heaven Shall Burn" by Marduk featured the Waffen-SS sign but I didn't know anything about it.

Marduk has been using the Waffen-SS sign in their artwork since the mid-90s. It's incredibly specific. They can't always use the World War II excuse. If you're only listening to mp3s and don't look at the artwork, the connection might seem too obscure. Throughout the years Marduk's Nazi obsession has become more and more obvious. I've never been a fan of them.

Waffen-SS was not voluntary. Young people were forced to swear oaths and no one could criticise it in any way. Young people are looking for a direction these days. I've seen racist graffiti and stickers everywhere.

Many bands in the early 90s were clearly reading about esoteric Nazism. Savitri Devi wrote a book called "The Lightning and the Sun" and she claimed that Hitler was the incarnation of Vishnu. If you go to Twitter right now, you will find far-right people who are writing that exact same crap. Impaled Nazarene was one of the first Finnish bands to include fascist references without discussing them in an intelligent way.

Almost everything my friend used to recommend musically had some sort of connection to neo-Nazism. I always thought those bands were incredibly stupid and didn't reinforce his initiations. But I wish I had explained my views more. You can't just blame his descent into extremism on stupidity and laziness. Our interactions ended 20 years ago. As far as I know my friend never became a neo-Nazi.

This has to be an ongoing conversation in the metal world. You can't just ask, "Are you a Nazi?" People can always say no. The key question is this: how would you criticise the far-right, the fascists or the Nazis? If you're denying all connections to these groups, you should also criticise them. Critical thinking is vital. If they refuse to express any kind of disapproval, you should always have a follow-up question.

Much like some autocratic politicians, some of these far-right bands frequently have the same safe interviewers who don't challenge anything they say. Neo-Nazis would love to be mainstream, but as they slowly creep towards their goal, it's important to remember this: they also love silence.