Metal to die for??

Is metal music really something to die for? Yes, I’ve heard the term “metal to die for” thrown around but do people actually live by that? Sure the all black clothing adorned with metal spikes suggests hardcore and maybe even violent mentalities but I thought the saying was just an exaggeration… According to Keith Kahn-Harris in his novel entitled “Extreme Metal”, “The strongest charge made against heavy metal was that it caused murder and suicide”(Kahn-Harris 27). “In a number of US murder trials, heavy metal was cited as the “cause”, and on occasion, being under the influence of heavy metal was accepted as a “diminished-responsibility” defense in criminal trials”(Richardson 1991). So, does metal encourage and/or nurture teenage suicidal tendencies?

Lets take a real life look at a case involving a teen suicide in North Dakota. Raymond Kuntz's teenage son committed suicide in 1996 while listening to a CD by the heavy metal group Marilyn Manson. Kuntz testified November 6, 1997 stating that,

“Heavy metal music glorifies death and encourages violence and suicide among teenagers. The offensive lyrics found in heavy metal music contradict community values, harm society, and endanger the nation's children. Music corporation executives should take responsibility for the harm that comes to their impressionable listeners. Furthermore, parental advisory labels should be mandatory on the covers of all violent and offensive music.”

Let’s also take a look at the lyrics to the supposed song that Kuntz was listening to as he reportedly committed suicide on that fateful day.

Marilyn Manson's "The Reflecting God" from the CD titled Antichrist Superstar.

Your world is an ashtray
We burn and coil like cigarettes
The more you cry your ashes turn to
mud
Its the nature of the leeches, the Virgin's feeling cheated
You've only spent a second of you're life
My world is unaffected, there is an exit here

I can certainly see how the title of the track alone is so scary to parents all over the world. That being said, it seems unfair to undoubtedly connect the teens suicide to the mere fact that he was a Manson fan. Did this kid have suicidal tendencies anyway? Would it have been a different outcome if he were blasting Hanson on his walkman? Questions that everyone accusing metal (or not) should ask. Maybe metal music saves kids from violence or maybe it creates it. Whatever your opinion on the matter maybe, listen to what Marilyn has to say about it in the video below.