Do punks and metalhead get along?

Quick answer, No.  Long answer, of course they can and do.

no

A question that has multitudes of possible answers according to time-period and locale.

Certainly there were many bands with crossover appeal to both crowds. In the UK Motorhead was one such - they were my first ever gig circa '84 and there was visible punk presence. Everyone was just there to rock, there was no aggro.

I would say that it depends on how one dimensional a person is. There are many metalheads who hate punk but also hate pop and prog and hip hop etc.

Back in the late 70s and early 80s I think there was more separation and animosity between the two groups, but clearly there are fans of both and bands that incorporate both styles of music, and there are styles that have evolved from both (EDIT: as Icarium states).

Mascodagama wrote: A question that has multitudes of possible answers according to time-period and locale. Certainly there were many bands with crossover appeal to both crowds. In the UK Motorhead was one such - they were my first ever gig circa '84 and there was visible punk presence. Everyone was just there to rock, there was no aggro.

This quote captures what I think well.

By the way, Condor, I would like to hear more of your thoughts in your topics. You come up wish various very interesting topics and engaging posts and I think I'd enjoy conversing with you (I'm probably here wishing to socialise/ engage with people in discussion more than most).

Edited by Logan - October 28 2017 at 11:51

I've only met one person whose into punk and metal. I thought he would hate metal; he told me first he was a punk at 15.

MMmmhhh!!!... I can only speak of my own experience and what the school scene was like, when I was a teen and that metal & punk scenes first developped

First, I would say that the metal scene, though it had roots to the early 70's, it only started roughly in 76 with Priest, Motorhead, Rainbow, etc... Which is also roughly the same era where the first punk bands started (though NY Dolls existed before, but that was encompassed in glam rock), with Damned and stuff like that.

Theoretically, between 76 and 79, it was impossible for those who agreed on punk aesthetics (hating of good playing/virtuosity, longer songs) to actually like metal bands. I mean, unlike metalheads or progheads, punks built a real exclusive chapel, based on rejection and even hatred

In Southern Canada, the only punk bands it was cool to like/love if you were a hardie/metalhead was The Ramones and The Stranglers, but that was kind of an exception and also all too often a one-way street.

As a teen, back then, I was first a proghead (started around 11 in 74 with COTC, DSOTM, etc... ) before liking the hard rock/heavy metal scene in the later 70's (let's say from 77 onwards), though I still enjoyed some punk, likeThe Police, Clash and Television... At the same time, I really enjoyed some reggae as well (I would use that as dancing music when taking over the music at house parties) and I really enjoyed blues-rock as well (TYA and Savoy Brown were my fave bands for a while)

The only thing I kind of really rejected was disco (in which, I also included by ignorance all those killer-funk bands), pop (from ABBA to Bay City Rollers), country rock (never liker liked The Eagles, except for the Hotel California song, despite the long hairs) and glam (I didn't like the "androgyn" looks mostly, but never thought that the music was all that interesting at all >> yes even Bowie didn't do much for me). I didn't care much for the singer/songwriter/heartland rock either (except for the odd song here & there >> Bob Seger, mostly).

Of course as music-obsessed teens which was roughly 40% of all boys and 10% of girls population), we kind of developped the same kind of antipathy that seemed to transpire from the music we listened to, thus in a way, we kind of aped what the different music scenes attitudes were being thrown at us. But there was a sizeable amount (the majority) that didn't care about these chapels and liked everything

================

Have punk & metal gotten along with each other since.... Yeah, I'd say that metal opened to punk with some NWOBHMB (Maiden's DiAnno was a punk), and some metal currents took inspiration on Oy punk. Some punks have gone onwards and sort of turned the page as they became music professional, and sarted "progressing", both musically and mentally.
Even Johnny Rotten's Public Image Ltd had some proggy moments. Even the "so-called" high-priestress of punk Patti Smith had some proggy momrents on some of her 70's albums....





Edited by Sean Trane - October 30 2017 at 05:31

I seem to remember them getting on ok around where I grew up. Thee was some mutual interest in bands like Motorhead and Hawkwind, and some metalheads seemed to like bands like The Ramones, but also some post punk stuff like Killing Joke, Stranglers Siouxsie etc.

I remember going to a Hawkwind gig in the 80's, and seeing punks, metalheads, hippies, bikers and even some goths all getting along just fine.

If there's crossover thrash, weed and beer in the room, then yes! They do!