Black Metal Isn’t For Everyone, But You Might Like This Anti-Fascist Non-Binary Performer
Unfortunately, black metal — the genre of metal known for heavy distortion, fast tempos and growled vocals — has a bit of an image problem. A lot of the best-known bands, like Burzum, are known for being murderous white supremacists. But thankfully, there’s been a backlash growing. Recently, the band Neckbeard Deathcamp went viral for song titles like “Incel Warfare” and “The Fetishization of Asian Women Despite a Demand for a Pure White Race.” But they’re not alone, and the metal band Gaylord is making what it calls an “enby black metal assault” (and the “enby” stands for N.B., as in non-binary or genderqueer).
In a new interview with Noisey, the lead creator behind the metal band Gaylord stepped out from anonymity. It turns out Gaylord is the project of Richard Weeks, a non-binary person known for his label, Blackened Death Records, and his other bands, Olivia Neutered John and Suicide Wraith.
Weeks explains that he never felt comfortable with a male identity.
“I knew when I was a young teenager that I didn’t fit in my skin very well. I always felt like I was meant to be born a woman. And now, at 36 years old, I am only discovering the right words to describe who I am,” Weeks says. “I identify now as non-binary. I had no idea this term even existed when I was a kid. I just felt … different.”
Explaining his previous anonymity, Weeks added, “I think I wanted to stay anonymous as a way to shield myself from … myself? If that makes sense. But after a week of seeing Gaylord being judged by hateful, hateful people, I have decided I can’t hide, I need to get out here and fight as hard as I do in Olivia Neutered John.”
Like the aforementioned metal band Neckbeard Deathcamp, Gaylord often uses humor in its songs, even though Weeks takes his music and politics very seriously.
We particularly like the lyrics of “Summoning Krieg Facebook Legions”: “We rule this kingdom / Glorious unchained white race / Only listen to NSBM [National Socialist Black Metal] / And J-pop from my Japanese animes.”
Weeks says, “I think that there are multiple angles to tackle fascism and hatred. You have the ‘serious’ bands like Dawn Ray’d and Underdark writing very serious songs about destroying fascism — which is great. What you have with [Neckbeard Deathcamp] and Gaylord is a different approach. There is a bit of comedy rolled in — absurd comedy. I mean, I don’t think we’ll ever get to drown Richard Spencer in Baja Blast, but seeing that man get punched so hard he spiraled into the land of obscurity is equally as lovely.”
