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Fashion

10 Frightening Futuristic Fashion Pieces

By Julia Pugachevsky on

Fashion designer Anouk Wipprecht and software developer Daniel Schatzmayr recently debuted something quite unusual indeed: a robotic spider dress, where the limbs writhe immediately at any detection of movement. While it certainly falls under the category of high fashion (as any outfit requiring a microchip should), it’s also, well, kind of terrifying. And while some designers like Alexander Wang opt for a clean-cut, prettier version of the future, looking at the post-apocalyptic/radioactive/anthropomorphic vision can be a lot more fun. Here are some of the spookiest futuristic looks we found on the web. … Read More

Music

Watch Fascinating Documentary “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey” on YouTube

By Tom Hawking on

Happy Saturday! It’s a beautiful sunny day, in NYC at least, and if such things make you feel like nothing more than holing up on the couch for the day, then you could do a whole lot worse than spending today in the company of 2005 documentary Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, which has recently surfaced in its entirety on YouTube. The film is a pretty great exploration of what it means to be a metalhead, and features interviews with a load of metal luminaries, including Alice Cooper, the late Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy, Tony Iommi, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, the frankly terrifying Gaahl of Gorgoroth, and the similarly terrifying Necrobutcher of Mayhem, who provides the film’s most memorable quote in answer to a question as to whether he has any comment on the idea that black metal is losing touch with its roots: “Yeah, I got a comment. FUCK YOU.” Watch the film in its entirety after the jump. … Read More

Photography

Surprising Photos of Metalheads from Around the World

By Judy Berman on

Especially in the 21st century, music is a lingua franca, transcending ethnic, religious, and cultural barriers to unite vastly different people from all over the world. For no genre is that more true than metal, whose adherents range from suburban American teenagers to Scandinavian black metal fanatics to Latin American rockers to Japanese noise worshipers. German photographer Jörg Brüggemann documents many of these subcultures in his forthcoming book Metalheads: The Global Brotherhood, for which he spent three years traveling to nations as diverse as Egypt, Austria, Brazil, and Indonesia, and Switzerland, discovering many metal lovers who don’t quite fit the popular stereotype. We’ve collected some of our favorite shots, from veiled Muslim teens throwing the devil horns to Dio’s youngest superfan, after the jump. Those about to rock can visit Brüggemann’s website to see more. … Read More

Pop Culture

A Field Guide to Recognizing 21st-Century Subcultural Tribes

By Judy Berman on

You know you’re not a teenager anymore when you can walk down a city street and be entirely baffled by the costumes of the subcultural tribes you pass. What, for example, do you call a woman with bright green and purple dreadlocks who wears eight-inch platform boots and a gas mask as an accessory? Or a mustachioed fellow in Victorian garb who can’t decide between a monocle and a pair of goggles? When we spot a guy in black-and-white face paint and leather armor carrying a fancily embellished axe, should we ask him for some music recommendations or run the other way? Thankfully, Rob Dobi has all the answers at a website called Your Scene Sucks, which features annotated portraits of groups ranging from Juggalos to the “Apple Store Indie” crowd. Click through for some of our favorites from the site, then be sure to visit Your Scene Sucks to see the rest. If you’re especially amused, you can own the pictures in book form. … Read More

Music

Christmas Songs for Metalheads

By Margaret Eby on

On the metal-o-meter, Christmas ranks pretty low. Yes, there’s the possibility of dark and icy nights, but then there’s the whole Bing Crosby crooning thing that is fairly incompatible with metal. Sweetness and light is all well and good, but there’s not a lot of thrashing to be done in a rendition of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Luckily, the inventive minds behind metal bands both popular and obscure have combined Christmas cheer with some bonkers guitar shredding, to populate our list of twisted metal holiday anthems. Have yourself a totally sick Christmas, why don’t you? … Read More

Books

A Is for Anarchy: ABC Books for Hipster Spawn

By Toby Warner on

Forget about Baby Mozart, it’s time for Baby Angus Young. Does that send a shiver of revulsion or a twinge of delight down your spine? If it’s the latter, then you may be the target audience for Soundscreen Design‘s twist on the classic children’s ABC books. They come in three musical flavors — metal, country, or punk.

Get a headstart on teenage rebellion with Never Mind Your Ps and Qs — Here’s the Punk Rock Alphabet. Nurture the next frontman for your Morbid Angel tribute band with M is for Metal. Or cultivate that high lonesome sound in your wee one with ABC&C: The Country and Western Alphabet. Billed as “perfect for every hipster child,” they’re just as appropriate for the aging music obsessive who wants to remember how to read. Each volume is filled with charming illiustrations and 2-year-old-ready doggerel. See a selection of our favorites after the jump. … Read More