Before we get into this, I should point out that I don’t care what you believe in.  That is between you and the deity of your choice. I, for example, am an Ordained Minster in The Universal Life Church, indoctrinated in The Temple of Satan, a follower of Jedi, and a member of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. So, as you can see, I don’t care much for religion, but I do care about good ideas, and The Global Order of Satan has come up with a doozy.

I should also point out, before we go any further, that they don’t give a shite about religion either and are more concerned with taking back music from those within genres who would rather use it for their own twisted agenda’s.

They say that they;

are noticing a rise in hatred and bigotry in the music scenes we hold dear. We’ve witnessed racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other hate crimes. We’ve seen the symbols we use co-opted into messages of hate. People have been made to feel shamed and unwelcome in what were once open and inclusive communities. No more. This is where we start to reclaim these spaces.

And this is something that I feel strongly about. Strongly enough that I am proud to announce we have joined them, and a ton of bands, venues, and other organisations, in their Satan Not Hatin’ campaign to offer a safe space for everyone involved in music.

From a personal perspective, this is unbelievably important to me. For years, rock and metal, especially Black Metal, has had a stigma attached to it due to it seemingly being acceptable to behave like an absolute bellend because you don’t like the color of someones skin, or you’re threatened by their sexuality, or you feel that women should be in the kitchen and not onstage and god help you if you were gay. Fortunately, over the many years of metal and rock I’ve been a part of, this has become less and less a problem as people have become more accepting within our tribe, but the problem is still as real as it ever was.

After all, all it takes is one moron with a Twitter account and a big enough following to hound a person to suicide, and I’ve heard stories over the years that have boiled my blood and made me cry at the same time.

Again, from my perspective, a lot of this is down to the Internet and people not being held responsible for the shit they say.

I’ve been around the freelance writing game and YouTube content making long enough that anything that is said to me is water off a ducks back, and this is because I understand that if you were to walk up to me and say your dickass comment to my face, I’d just break your fucking jaw, but not everyone feels the same and a lot of good people have been pushed to limits beyond limits and left us far too soon. And don’t get me started on bands who do this shit and their fans.

But as these fuckers are scumbags of the highest order and their fanbase all sleep with their own sisters, what else should you expect?

But I ramble, I digress.

If you are a fan of the Black Metal Archives, a fan of Black Metal or Metal in general, then you need to back the Satan Not Hatin campaign, regardless of your religious beliefs. It is time we took back what is ours, and it is time these bastards were kicked out of our music permanently.

Check out the Satan Not Hatin campaign here.