This thread is not an attempt to deny the Indo-European ancestry of a great majority of metal music, but rather a counterpoint to the simplistic, ignorant, and biggoted way in which many Caucasians conceive of metal, and a place for discussing the broader cultural framework of metal.
I remember there being a promo thread a while back for an African band called Crackdust on the news sub-forum. While some individuals questioned the legitimacy of metal as played by black people, the view that metal that is a naturalistic artform and one that can express any health, strong-minded world view of a culture was also aired (by admin, among others).
For many Caucasians, metal is one of the only artforms to exist in contemporary times that speaks to their true heritage, cultures, and tradions. It speaks to a part of their spirit that has modernity has attempted to neutralize, with much success.
While most great metal is Indo-European in its message and design, there are enough people of mixed or non-white origin that have made very significant contributions to metal to make the 'metal=aryan"/"metal=white" type of thought laughable. A few examples:
Kirk Hammet
Alex Hernandez, ex-Immolation
Tom Arya (tan John Travolta)
Dave Lombardo (though very white in phenotype,
which makes sense given his name)
Matt Olivio of Repulsion
Pete Sandoval
not to mention any of the great metal Latin American has produced or the Balts/Slavs with mongol admixture who have also produced great etal as well ...
Some people on this board have tried to downplay or put their own spin on the contributions made to metal by mestizos. The good end of Slayer's body of work is attributed to the work of Jeff and Kerry (partly true) while Tom and Dave are described as occupying postions that others could have similarly fufilled (suspect, if not false).
The way in which some have characterised Sepultura's ethnicity also reflects a flawed logic, though people seem much more quick to declare them white, perhaps so they can by association feel some sort of pride. While Max, Igor, Andreas (as well as their 1st guitaist), and Paulo to a lesser extent look predominantely Caucasoid in features, there is also a stong Brazilian element to their indentity and experience. To deny this would be an act of historical revisionism. In their "Under Seige" DVD, in short interview clips between songs, the band acknowleges both the European and Native American elements of their background. Igor is recalled as having gotten his start as a percussionist while playing in drum circles with street musicians in Brazil, Paulo is said to have been choosen for the band because of his cool Brazilian bass, and Andreas tells of the band being mistaken as European tourists by street thugs in Sao Paolo.
To keep things short, projecting your own culture on someone else is as indicative of insecurity as trying to claim someone else's culture as your own (chavs).