Entertainers are a vain lot. It’s not a criticism. This is fact. This is the beast of burden for the beautiful. To perform is to be visually appealing and to be visually appealing, a performer has to provoke their patrons with panache, personality or plastic surgery--sometimes, it's all the aforementioned. But beauty, whether natural or cosmetically tucked and tightened, is the be all, end all. 

And oh yeah, there's vitality, too, which usually comes in high heaps when you’re young. No wonder then that, in most cultures, to be beautiful is to be young. So it’s no shock that when it comes to entertainment--music, movies, etc--youth trumps talent and talent that is youthful garners a youthful audience. Naturally, the bigwigs pulling the strings give wrinkles, flab and anything grey the hook. . . and quick. Never trust anyone over 30? Okay. But that goes double for anyone over 30 who'd sell their soul just to know what a teenager thinks, buys, wears, listens to. 

 

One of the few areas of popular culture or entertainment that does not follow this recipe is Metal. Statistics show that the record-buying public consists of mostly adolescents and that holds true for Heavy Metal. However, more than any other type of music, veterans of the genre (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead and now, these days Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer) tour the circuit and find themselves in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans on a nightly basis. Their perseverance and longevity are not only respected, they are venerated by the Metal masses. 

Take any top-grossing tour in the last decade, whether Motley Crue, Metallica, Marilyn Manson or Maiden, the members are 40+, if not 50+. Of course, there’s the grizzled grinders Motorhead, led by the indefatigable and incomparable Lemmy Kilmister. Lemmy is legend not only because his band continues to produce top-notch, heavy-hitting rock and roll records (20 and counting), he continues to live the rock and roll lifestyle--from the bourbon to the babes. He oozes Metal. He’s 65.

 

My dad is 65. The only thing he oozes is ointment and gravy. By no means is he a Metalhead. He wouldn’t know Motorhead from Morrissey, truth be told. But, to his credit, he will join me in Kitchener, Ontario this week to catch Motorhead with Valient Thorr and Clutch. Why? Curiosity, mostly. He might not know much about Metal as a genre but he knows that a senior citizen fighting father time every inch of the way while sticking to his beliefs and spreading the rock-and-roll gospel like Lemmy does is something to be celebrated. Pops ( BTH ) Santerre was nearly an adolescent when rock and roll hit the airwaves for the first time. Yeah. He's that old. But like the wise old bastard that he is, he knows integrity and passion when he sees it.

 

But what about the rest of us? The record-buying, concert-attending diehards? 

Deena Weinstein, author of Heavy Metal: The Music & Its Culture asks a poignant question: What happens to Heavy Metal fans when they get old? Weinstein points to other sociologists and music scholars who feel "the metal subculture does not fully include those metal fans who are no longer in their teens. Heavy metal is consumed by one generation of teenagers after another; attending a concert, one would rarely find anyone over the age of 18 or 19. Heavy metal, with its deafening volume and proud hostility to cultural and aesthetic niceties, is the primary music of teenage rebellion and, almost by definition, something a listener outgrows."

 

This was probably the rule 10 years ago when Weinstein first published her book. But as the performers and producers age, so to does the fanbase. Sure, many teen headbangers, as they age, will toss the T-shirts, resell their old records, cut their hair and avoid shows for fear of further damaging their hearing. It happens to the best, most resolute of us. But the majority will continue to support the scene. This isn’t speculation. This is fact--firsthand. As a 38-year-old Metal fan who has attended dozens of Metal concerts, I can attest that just about every age group is represented. And it's grand!

 

For argument sake, think of your typical Slayer fan. If said fan bought the band's first release, “Show No Mercy”, when it first hit record racks back in 1983 and was the typical age of a repeat record-buyer (probably between the ages of 15 and 21) said fan would be in their mid- to late-40s during Slayer’s 2011 tour. Just try and find someone over 40 at a Justin Bieber concert. You did? Okay, I promise I won't tell anyone you were there, but I bet my allowance Old Guy was some tween's dad making sure his little girl didn't faint or smuggle in peach schnapps for her gaggle of giddy girlfriends. 

 

Now don't get me wrong. Teens and 20-somethings make up the majority of all-ages Metal shows regardless of the bands on stage. But there are still plenty of geezers like me: guys in their late 30s. The thing with Metal is, there's no hostility toward the old guard. Take my experience at a Lamb of God show during their Wrath tour a couple summers back. 

Entering one of L of G's legendary circle pits, I jostled and jolted, banged my head to a breakdown or three, threw some horns and smiled from one bleeding ear to the other. It was exhilarating and something every music fan--whether you're into Metal or not--should experience at least once. It's like bungee-jumping. You know it's gonna leave a mark, but you take the dive anyway. . . sometimes right off the stage!

Sweaty and sated, I headed for an opening in the mosh and upon exiting, I got more than a couple pats on the back from my fellow moshers--all of whom were at least half my age. I can only assume they were happy to see a greybeard still knocking elbows in the belly of the beast, a metal monster that will always be there to keep us young at heart. This, to me, affirms a great point put forth by Weinstein in her description of the modern Metal show and its age demographics: “The rest of the audience not only tolerated these generational oddities, but saw (the older generation’s) presence as an affirmation of the metal culture itself." In a sense, these moments symbolize the passing of the Metal flame. 

Speaking of the Metal flame that never goes out, here's a heart-warming story you might have glimpsed in the British newspapers. Owen Brown of Herefordshire, UK is an unabashed Metal freak. He loves all things Megadeth, Maiden, Sabbath and Priest. Oh yeah, and it just so happens he's 82. Check it out here. Mad horns to you, Mr. Brown.  

 

Last thing before I turn in for my nap, here's a compilation put together by "MetalRomain" at Youtube. Basically, these are snippets from Sam Dunn's now-classic documentary, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. It's two Metal musicians and a diehard fan (bless you, too, Joe Bottiglieri, wherever you are!) extolling the virtues of growing up and growing old with Metal as part of your life. I think it says it all. Enjoy and remember, no matter what the naysayers say, stick to your guns and keep it . . . between the horns!