Heavy metal fashion has become as distinct as the screeching guitars and thunderous drums that define its songs. When you walk down the street wearing your patched-up denim jacket and favourite black t-shirt, it doesn’t matter what band logos you’ve emblazoned all over yourself: every passerby will know from a mile away that you like your music intense in volume and obnoxious in spirit.
As much as some fans pretend that metal is immune to conformity – so much of its appeal comes from how it rejects the prevailing order, expectation and tastes – it’s still one of the largest subcultures on planet Earth. That popularity will inherently, and paradoxically, bring with it its own rules and hallmarks of ‘belonging’. But how did ours specifically become what they are: not just the black and the denim, but the leather? The corpse paint? The bullet belts and the patches?
