Sam Carter, vocalist for British melodic metalcore outfit Architects has weighed on gatekeeping in the metal scene. Taking part in a fan Q&A with Metal Hammer, a fan asked if he agreed with a statement made by Willow Smith about metal and rock being gatekept by ‘older white men’.
During an interview in September of last year with guitar.com, Smith stated:
“I am always hoping to spread more joy. I think the only reason why it’s older, white men mostly listening to this music is because metal has been gatekept for a long time by these people. [Now,] new people of colour are coming to say that that’s really not the way that it should be. Rock is for everyone [and] I’m gonna bring my people to the space and we are gonna vibe it out like we always do… hopefully the old white dudes vibe it out too.”
Replying to the fan mentioned above, Carter offered:
“Yes. For years I wanted to wear a little bit of make-up, express myself and put on a show. But I didn’t do it for ages because I was like, ‘People are gonna take the piss out of me and I don’t want that.’ And then they did. Not only were people horrible, they were using homophobic slurs as an insult.
I felt like this scene when I was growing up and when I was in school was such an inclusive scene for the outcasts. How did it become this world where it’s like, ‘You can’t do that if you’re a woman… You can’t do that if you’re gay’. Like, what the fuck? There’s a lot of gatekeeping around artistic freedom.”
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