Headbanging against repressive regimes | reviews, news & interviews
Headbanging against repressive regimes
Headbanging against repressive regimes
Sunday, 21 February 2010
The heavy metal magazine Painkiller has been published in Beijing since 2000- pic of Chingui, faces blurred for safety
A new report from Freemuse, the organisation which campaigns against music censorship, describes the oppression of heavy metal musicians in numerous countries. From the underground to the mainstream, heavy metal is a global phenomenon attracting millions of fans – but along the way it has gained many enemies too. “Long-haired music”, as it has been described in Malaysia and China, has been banned by both governments.
A new report from Freemuse, the organisation which campaigns against music censorship, describes the oppression of heavy metal musicians in numerous countries. From the underground to the mainstream, heavy metal is a global phenomenon attracting millions of fans – but along the way it has gained many enemies too. “Long-haired music”, as it has been described in Malaysia and China, has been banned by both governments.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more New music
Here comes the flood: Bob Dylan's 1974 Live Recordings
Night after night: Sony's latest gargantuan release from the vaults
Album: The Waeve - City Lights
Second album from Blur-affiliated couple contains luscious moments
Album: Joan as Police Woman - Lemons, Limes and Orchids
A deep, delicious dive into the many facets of love by the master songwriter
Music Reissues Weekly: Sean Buckley & The Breadcrumbs
Dagenham mod-beat band’s first recording surfaces - 60 years late
Album: Floating Points - Cascade
High energy techno and rave from the synth craftsman needs your best speakers
Album: Snow Patrol - The Forest is the Path
Struggling to find the good in this hugely successful band's lovelorn stadium plod
Album: Tindersticks - Soft Tissue
More poetic heartbreak from Stuart Staples' mob
Album: Juniore - Trois, Deux, Un
Parisian trio showcase an elegant if deliberate retro-futurist garage-pop
Music Reissues Weekly: Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Friends - People Funny Boy: The Upsetter Singles 1968-1969
Meticulous investigation of the early self-determined years of the eminent sonic architect
The Allergies, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham review - funky hip-hoppers fire up the weekend
Breaks, funky basslines, horns and plenty of dancing
Album: LL COOL J - THE FORCE
OK you can call it a comeback
Gossip, SWG3, Glasgow review - powerhouse voice provokes only an intermittent party
Beth Ditto was on superb form, but her band's sound struggled to find a groove
Add comment