...Two Years Later
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I’ve maintained a black metal fan club for two years. It’s the best decision of my life, but I wouldn’t recommend embarking on such a journey without a lot of money and patience. I’m not going to say it’s thankless work, because it certainly is not. I regularly hear from members how happy they are to have stumbled upon our neat little crew, and that’s become my primary driver to keep going. Unfortunately, being the primary recipient of the imparted importance has become a double-edged sword. It seems banding together metal’s most staunch fans can present some challenges.
The Good
We keep growing, slowly but surely. Our Discord group reached over sixty members and our Instagram has over four hundred quality followers, mostly locals and businesses. Metal Mondays are a weekly rotating roster of five-to-ten people, usually being the bulk of the crowd present in the bar (it is on Mondays, after all). We’ve been doing weekly events since the very beginning of 2024, so I’ve long stopped counting. I can only hope my vinyl collection can grow at a converse rate, as our new vinyl-centric format is inherently costly. I hardly consider it an extraneous cost. I was going to waste my money on music anyways.
The recognition the club has begun receiving around town is quite enthralling. Savannah is a small city, but dense. Throw in the presence of a famous art school and the inspirational setting, the result is a world-class hub of creativity. The downside of all the worldly influence migrating into this town is that a large number of SCAD kids seemed to have learned everything they know about metal from TikTok. Apparently, they also never learned the differences between metal and hardcore, or, for that matter, any hardcore dancing beyond the two-step.
Enter the local black metal club, the snobby group of offensive metal purists who are happy to tell you, “No, your music sucks, and that stupid dance you’re doing – you’re completely out-of-time.” Or “Juggalo paint isn’t corpse paint.” Sure, nobody likes elitists, but I contend that black metal is inherently elitist, tilted towards the radical preservation of traditional metal culture. It is the reaction to metal’s ever-flowing reform. We don’t seek to stop the reform altogether, only make sure that shallow idiots two-stepping to blast beats don’t corrode away at metal’s iron heart. Many agree, but aren’t belligerent enough to say anything about it. But not us. Not us.
Emerging from the muck and mire…
Another benefit I’ve enjoyed is my inclusion as the drummer of a band. I didn’t start this club with the intention of starting a band, but somewhere amidst my reasons would be the desire to play music and to see more extreme metal in this town. Most of our members were driven here by the same longing. A handful took the obvious next step. We are called Mired. I think our music sounds great.
We hosted a festival…
In August 2024, we partnered up with the local Sabbath-worship project Space Coke to host a farewell festival dubbed Junkyard Dogs. The expectation is that the band will be relocating, and as friends, we were happy to help send them off. Reno, the frontman, needs no help in organizing shows, so our involvement was angled towards vendors, set-up, and promotion. Numerous hands came on deck to assist. Creating art for merch, creating the merch itself, promoting, and showing up early to help set-up were all handled on a volunteer basis. I am extremely humbled by the enthusiastic support. Overall, everyone who turned out (that I could speak to) lauded the festival, and I personally consider the event a success. Doubly so, when considering that a generous donation towards t-shirts by Elate Apparel enabled us to walk away with cash in the bank.
We intend to host Junkyard Dogs again this year. We want to bring back all of the same bands and vendors, sprinkled with a little more. I have no doubt we can carry the torch being passed to us. Nonetheless, we’re very grateful to Space Coke for taking a chance on us, as well as Starland Yard for allowing us the festival space.
More to come…
To build up some funds as a backstop for the next fest, I’m hoping to get a metal zine put together. Unfortunately, still being the sole organizer of the club, I’m skeptical I will find the time. Between my full-time job, being a band member, and keeping the club afloat, my time is stretched very thin. I seldom have time for my other responsibilities and interests, much less taking on another out-of-pocket venture for the club. In the short term, I intend to pull back heavily on maintaining the club. I’m hoping this allows attacking the next Junkyard Dogs with some fervor.
Overall…
The effectiveness provided to one by such a valuable web of minds is immeasurable. Each of us harbor their own talent, and likewise have additional talents a shoulder-tap away. Our most active members are musicians of varying skill, allowing many newbies the opportunity to learn an instrument. Some are experienced in the technical realms of music, acting as resident sages of audio engineering and production. Two of our members regularly offer up space for practicing music. On the fringes, we avid black metal listeners continuously serve up recommendations and friendships form in their own macro- and microcosms. If one were to wonder what they have to gain from participation, they needn’t look far for an answer.
The Bad
We’ve had some bad seeds crop up, but the worst of them we ousted almost immediately. These types have included a homeopathic medicine salesman, a junkie, a malicious gossip, a floor-stealing egoist, and a firebrand. Except the first two, none of these people are barred from the group. Most show themselves out. Only two amounted to my direct intervention, much to some members’ humor. I prefer not to get involved with the reprimanding of other members, because I am not as nice as a lot of others, and likely never will be. My tendency towards brusqueness can be intimidating at best, insulting at worst. For that, if I’m getting involved, the matter has likely already gone too far.
Ask not what your black metal club can do for you…
Sadly, most of our personae non gratae are actually black metal fans. In hindsight, I feel badly for having ousted members who actually contribute to discussions about music when other members of this club are using us for their own vanity, neither caring for black metal nor its culture. These members skirt by largely because they are more charming, escaping my ire by being a friend. As an individual, I am happy to have more friends, but this can conflict with my being a fair organizer. I strive to be a friend to all of our members, but within the scope of our events, my primary role is that of an organizer, not a friend. While I will try to be less heavy-handed, where I fail, I will still strive to err towards an even hand before a lighter one. I apologize to anyone I may react harshly to; I implore understanding of the unique position I’m in.
The Ugly
A year ago, I wrote that a club exists to serve its members. Since embarking on the doomed venture to please everyone, I’ve learned to recognize who contributes more than they take, and vice versa. To call out that we have members contributing more-or-less than others begs the question of what I consider a valid contribution. I am happy to spell it out:
We are a black metal club.
During our events – currently only Metal Mondays – discussion is to be centered around metal music and topics of immediate relevance. The discussion should be kept as diplomatic as possible, because black metal is full of dark corners that strike fear and revulsion in fans of mainstream music. Detracting from the value of the club for others purely to make it more valuable for yourself is downright unacceptable.
You vs Us
The most common way an individual detracts from the group is stealing the floor to rant about a recent crisis. Some will call me insensitive, but on the contrary, I consider floor-stealing for such reasons to be egotistical and inconsiderate of those who might likewise be going through a crisis and need the club as a place to forget. Some of our members are going through incredibly difficult problems with utmost poise, patience, and stoicism, whereas some of our members treat the club as a gossip column or a support center. To add insult to injury, there are those who only come around during a crisis, and never any other time. Making the club about you hurts the function it serves for us, which is, once more, to be a black metal club.
Us vs Them
Another issue is the continued descent of American political rhetoric into populism. In this club, populist takes (e.g. The Deep State, MSM, The Patriarchy, “Eat the Rich”, etc.) are unwelcome, plain-and-simple. The beliefs harbored by black metal fans can be as extreme as they are various and nuanced. What’s more, longtime black metal fans are accustomed to quelling the cognitive dissonance created by enjoying the art of someone they hate. Calm detachment is the lingua franca of this scene.
Populism – more simply, “Us versus Them” – is the antithesis of the stoic interpretation of music’s shadowy underbelly and thus has no place in a black metal club. This doesn’t mean you can’t harbor your own extreme beliefs; it means to consider the pantheon of extreme beliefs gathered around the table and demonstrate the appropriate humility.
Speaking frankly, the average political take I hear is regurgitated tripe that could only permeate into the most insignificant corners of the Internet. I know for a fact that less than a handful of us are learned enough to extrapolate greater value from the Web than what is spoonfed to us, and truthfully, those aren’t the ones prattling on about their respective political bogeymen. If both the most extreme and the most informed members of this club exhibit enough tact to not bring populism to our forum, I expect the same from anybody else.
If you find yourself unable to keep the discussion angled towards black metal, either because of stress or because you don’t know enough about the subject, consider using our events as a place to practice listening.
That’s all I’m going to ask for. These guidelines only apply in our hosted spaces, whether at Metal Monday or in our Discord channels. I could not care less what conversations occur to the side. However, at the table, we are a place of diplomacy and discussion – for black metal fans – in a world with less-and-less every day. In my eyes, the detraction for infringing upon this core idea is greater than any contribution. Some members will disagree with my staunch position, but they also haven’t maintained a black metal fan club for two years.
For a Few Dollars More
I’m going to keep it up. To enable the continued growth, I’ve begun pruning away non-essential elements of the club. I’ve driven down the cost of the website to practically free and piled up our funds in an isolated bank account. I’ve taken down the Meetup, and don’t plan on renewing my organizer license. Instagram will remain our primary means of online outreach for now. Metal Mondays will continue in the vinyl-centric format, and will continue as the core of our club.
About Discord…
Pruning non-essential elements included axing most of the Discord. We trimmed away the #general channel altogether, as well as #blasphemers, #market, #show-off.
Likewise, we removed all members accept those who
use the #recommendations channel
are active in select hidden channels, e.g. #jam-sessions
are demonstrably active community organizers or musicians
joined recently
Those who posted in #recommendations were left, regardless of the nature of the post. The #recommendations channel is probably the most apt channel for the purpose of this club.
Our most popular hidden channel — #jam-sessions — was trimmed down to a very select few. We can’t afford the risk of that channel staying so populated. Another popular hidden channel — #coven — was removed altogether, in favor of direct texts. The remainder of hidden channels are intact.
To be explicitly clear: if you ONLY posted in #general, #blasphemers, #show-off, #market, or #coven you were removed. Furthermore, nobody is banned. Getting back into the Discord is as simple as requesting access from a moderator directly.
If you were removed, I assure you it was not for any personal matter. The measures used to determine continued membership were very specifically targeted to preserving the portions of the server that run themselves. Any members contributing to that autonomy were left to continue doing what they already were. There were a couple members that I was surprised to see fail to meet the criteria, and some I expected to fail who did not.
A Fistful of Dollars
Going forward, we will be playing with our cards closer to our chest. There’s a strong potential for this to develop into an enterprising venture, heavily contingent on the success of the next Junkyard Dogs festival. My immediate goal afterwards will be to craft a set of legs for this operation so that it can walk on its own. Long term, I intend to mint the club as, first, an LLC, and later, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. As an LLC, the primary goal will be crafting a set of books for continued events. Once the appropriate accounting and tax guardrails have been established, it will be easier to argue for non-profit status to the IRS.
To mint a 501(c)(3), you must appoint a board of advisors. I intend to rope our most able-and-willing members into board roles, as well as other members of the community acting as organizers in Savannah’s art scene. Once the club acquiesces to the public, I will be allowed the peace of mind I seek. In such an arrangement, I can be certain the torch we’ve ignited will remain lit, but I will no longer have to be the one to carry it. My arms are tired, and I’ve got drums to play.
See you next year.