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Why do metalheads wear camo? The short answer, of course, is to connote aggression. (Also, perhaps it “looks cool.”) But how?
Deena Weinstein discusses metal pants in Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture. But since its scope is mostly ’70s and ’80s, it only deals with bell-bottoms, leather, spandex, and jeans. It doesn’t mention camo, which I first saw in metal on Sepultura (see the video for 1991’s “Arise”). Did metalheads wear camo before then?
That’s probably a boneheaded question, but back then I just didn’t notice these things. There was definitely a jeans era (thrash) and, to some extent, a sweatpants one (death metal). But now camo has become so institutionalized that there’s a brand of metal clothing, Northern Tribe, dedicated to it. They have a line that’s straight-up camo, and another that’s more subtly military-style, i.e., the cargo pants you’ll see on, say, Erik Rutan. I don’t recall seeing cargo pants in metal until the late ’90s/early ’00s; were they around before then?
Interestingly, military camo is supposed to conceal, while civilian camo is meant to stand out. When I lived in Berlin, there was a brief camo fad in fall 2006. Everyone wore camo – men, women, teenagers, grandmothers, even babies. It seemed like the entire population was at war. I saw some hideous combinations, like purple camo tops with green camo bottoms. (I’ve also seen camo pants with heels in Los Angeles – but then again, that’s Los Angeles.)
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It’s also interesting how different subcultures wear camo – punk, reggae, hip hop. Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan have both rocked fatigues. For how much some metalheads hate hip hop, it’s ironic that half their outfits often look the same.
Does civilian use of camo subvert its military meaning? According to Wikipedia, military camouflage in civilian fashion started with the French in World War I. The first camouflage patterns were handmade by artists; the article notes “the disparate sympathies of the two cultures.” Evidently, some Vietnam war protesters wore camo. To me, it seems odd to wear the garb of your enemy, but maybe it’s a form of satire or co-opting. (Gays commandeering the insult “queer” comes to mind.) What are metalheads saying when they wear camo?
On one hand, metal has an anti-war contingent (“War Pigs,” grindcore); on the other hand, there’s “war metal.” The latter isn’t as obvious as it seems. Sure, metal is militant music (and I’ve copiously exploited military metaphors in reviews). But militant aesthetics do not automatically equal militant values. War is the status quo. If metal were truly rebellious, it would be anti-war. Metalheads spend much time worrying about which bands’ t-shirts they wear. They stand for something above the belt – but what about below it?
Although probably more in the “punk” realm, I went on an AMEBIX tear like two weekends ago and there were pics of them in their later years rocking some camo. The same can be said for other influential bands from that genre like ANTISECT as well. Many mid era metal bands were influenced by that stuff.
Here in the states, I think you have to look to NYC and like all those Rev bands rocking Camo shorts and crew cuts. It’s still the standard to day and I think a TON of metal bands co-opted some of their fashions (and riffs, of course) in the early to mid 90’s.
No idea where it originates. Keep in mind metalheads are very fashion-blind and will wear things that are just handy or seem nondescript when they don’t fetishize them with metal insignia. Military pants and boots occur a lot because some metal people simply haven’t thought to wear anything else and are not eager to try other stuff.
I don’t really think there’s metalheads that get huge boners over thinking how fucking ready for war they seem when they go out on a walk.
“I don’t really think there’s metalheads that get huge boners over thinking how fucking ready for war they seem when they go out on a walk.”
Apart from Bolt Thrower fans that is..
I like to think it of ‘vernacular’ clothing – it wasn’t created to look fashionable, it was made to serve a purpose, fulfill a use, and nothing else – fashion/trends takes (as it always will) this value and exploits it for commercial gain…
We wore army surplus (Note – not so much the camo) in the UK in the the 90s because it existed outside of fashion, it was hard wearing, and… er it was cheap.
And yes, it has aggressive symbolism, and that counts too – jesus, think of those guys out in Iraq listening to metal as a soundtrack to the shit they’re doing..
dammit, I could go on, but I’m rambling…
as you were.
s57
“Evidently, some Vietnam war protesters wore camo.”
I’m guessing this mostly came from the Vietnam veterans who came back and protested? Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72 has an excellent bit about them. The Library of America volume on Vietnam War writing collects that piece. It’s very much worth tracking down.
I don’t wear camo, but I do wear army surplus gear for more or less the same reasons Steve57 gave above. Living in Canada, I need a warm parka if I’m not going to freeze to death in the winter, and a twenty year old surplus Canadian Forces parka does the trick very well, and inexpensively. Of course, heshers aren’t wearing camo for strictly utilitarian reasons.
What seems more strange than metalheads wearing camo (it at least fits with the aggression of the music) is how popular military-styled clothing is in general right now. It isn’t just a subcultural thing right now.
I always thought that it was a very hetero-macho thing. Dressing up and putting together outfits can potentially be seen as fivolous and un-macho. And what’s less frivolous than regulation clothes that are assigned to you for use in combat and whose design is 100% meant to serve a purpose other than looking asthetically pleasing?
I have a hard time believing that shin guards and bullet belts and boots with oodles of buckles and wristbands with tons of spikes are “utilitarian.” Maybe black metal is an exception to the rest of metal, but those dudes probably spend as much time in front of a mirror as they do in rehearsal. Utility is most assuredly not the only metal value, and likely a subordinate one (to what, I don’t know). Metalheads are uber-fashion-conscious; metal is probably one of the more image-obsessed genres of music. Yes, military stuff is utilitarian, but why aren’t metalheads wearing khakis then?
Not to be coy, but I am wearing khaki’s. But granted, I fall more into “Hardcore Kid/Kustom Kulture” than I would metal head. Still though, Dickies get it done right.
tHROBBING gRISTLE? Check out their early style. Scott
people wear camo cause it looks cool
and style never goes out of fashion