Once You Wear Black, You Never Change Back

Pic related: My Amon Amarth shirt

As every metalhead knows, image is a very big part of the metal community. For lack of a better reason, it helps us find each other in crowds. The majority of us have long hair, band shirts, wristbands, spikes, jeans and leather, not crackerjack clothes. From the moment your first band shirt is put on, it's never taken off. Until it gets really smelly.

Pic related: My Arch Enemy shirt

I remember when I bought my first shirt, my Dimmu Borgir shirt, at a concert and threw it on right away. It's the reason I always carry $40 in my pocket to concerts (don't mug me!). Speaking of which, shirts are damn expensive. I could probably even custom make the same shirt for cheaper. I only do it because I love you guys! The bands I mean. The ones that aren't reading this.. Though while we're on the topic of bands...

Pic related: My Immortal shirt

Black metal especially has a very distinct image. Their use of spikes and corpse paint is so notorious that the mainstream media accidentally gives a crap about us. It's gotten to the point where black metal bands that don't have the whole image are immediately shot down. This of course does not apply to well known bands that don't use corpse paint. But go to any YouTube vid of a black metal band without white faces (if you can find one) and you'll see some angry comments.

Pic related: My Ensiferum shirt

So what are your thoughts on the whole metal image? You don't have to own a metal shirt or wristband to leave a comment below. I know there wasn't really much of a direction with this post, so I'm counting on you guys to flesh it out a bit.

-Zombie Viking