Political correctness followed the Moral Majority, and both used the same technique, which is shame gaslighting to remove anything but their chosen agenda. The Moral Majority for example spoke of “Satanic” metal so much they created it, and PC brought an ethno-nationalist backlash.

While postmodern greebos want to retcon humanism into metal, it was always pro-reality and therefore, saw humans as small disposable morons who perish from their self-deluding echo chambers. Metal transcends politics and religion but it will never be Christian or Leftist, although that does not mean it is their presumptive opposites.

Among the early bands in black metal — most of whom wanted eugenic extermination of most of the human species, national pride, natural selection, and the return of pagan gods including Ol’ Scratch — we count mostly Nords, with a smattering of Greek bands, Graveland, and Havohej.

Recently Graveland founder Rob Darken sent out an email notice regarding the band’s appearance at Metal Threat 2025:

This year, for the first time in history, Graveland performed in the USA and not just anywhere, but at a major festival! It was an important and almost historic moment both for us and for the Graveland fans in America. This could only happen thanks to the unwavering people who were willing to take great risks for the sake of true metal music.

Graveland has always walked its own path. We never adapted to the so-called progressive trends or the ideologies pushed by the mainstream. Because of this, we have been completely driven into the underground, pushed out of the mainstream channels and ignored by the larger metal scene. Yet the underground is still alive, filled with steadfast people and loyal fans. Thanks to you, we endure and continue to follow our own path.

I send this newsletter only from time to time, mainly when I have something meaningful to share with you. If you feel bothered by it or simply do not wish to receive it, I apologize in advance, just write to me, and I will remove you from the list immediately.

Unfortunately, due to the widespread censorship and the manipulation of algorithms, this newsletter has become one of the few reliable ways for me to reach you all with news about Graveland.

Funny how he discovered as we have that forums, mailing lists, and encrypted chat work better than social media or relying on the “new Sears catalogue” that is not just Google but all major search engines at this point.

In the bigger picture, he points out that metal is beyond the ideologies accepted in our time, not to mention outside of its religions, and therefore exists underground in its only actual form. The Reddit tryhards of the funderground, both trve and emo variants, do not even factor in, as they should not.

On the Graveland site, he offered further meditations on playing live in Amerika:

Breaking Boundaries and the Return of the Spirit of Freedom

A week ago, Graveland had the honor of taking part in the great four-day metal festival Metal Threat Fest 2025, which took place in Elgin, USA. It was our first performance on American soil, after many years of playing concerts. We had already played close to the U.S. before, in South America and Canada, but even though we’ve been performing regularly since 2015, only now did the moment finally come to play before the American audience. This event can already be called historic.

As a representative of uncompromising, underground Black Metal, Graveland was given a unique opportunity to present its music among other renowned and outstanding metal bands. I won’t hide the fact that I felt the pressure of this event, but it was a kind of pressure that did not weaken us; instead, it motivated and strengthened us in our conviction that we had to do it the best we could. Many people were counting on us, including the countless legions of our fans in the United States, and we could not let them down!

Unfortunately, our drummer Ahrin could not join us on this journey due to his professional duties — he couldn’t get enough days off from work for such a long trip. However, we decided not to give up. We performed with a replacement drummer, with whom we had our first rehearsal… on the very day of the concert, just a few hours before the show! Those few hours of practice had to be enough to prepare for the set.

On that historic night, we played for over an hour, cutting only one song “River of Tears.”
The audience welcomed us with immense enthusiasm, fully aware that they were witnessing something special. Together with our fans, through our music and performance, we tore down the symbolic “Berlin Wall” of Cancel Culture that had tried to limit us for years. It was a moment of triumph for the true spirit of metal, the spirit of freedom, unchained from censorship and political correctness. To me, this is the very essence of this music.

Graveland was received in the United States with great respect, and this experience will remain in our memories forever. It was only a pity that some other excellent bands, especially from Finland, whom I hold in high regard, could not perform due to visa issues. Recent turbulence in the U.S. administration caused significant delays in granting artist visas, which particularly affected Metal Threat Fest, as well as other festivals in the country. However, we believe these difficulties are only temporary, and that everything will soon return to normal, as the country has now set itself back on the right path, freeing itself from the destructive ideologies that have poisoned its spirit in recent years.

Despite all the obstacles, the festival took place and gathered a large number of metal fans from various subgenres. For me, it was also a time of discoveries, I was surprised to learn that my music is also listened to by musicians from well-known, leading metal bands, legends of the genre. I won’t mention their names, since, unfortunately, there is still a risk that leftist extremists infiltrating the metal scene could attack them for that.

I want to thank everyone who believed in us and stood with us during this exceptional event.
My thanks also go to the organizers and to all our friends who supported us throughout these days.
Together, we have proven that metal music is a symbol of freedom, beyond all divisions.
And that is how it should remain.

This is the spirit and the power of Metal!

Viewpoint discrimination is weak because like the Moral Majority and Political Correctness, it pre-censors viewpoints by forcing us all to self-censure so that we only openly admit to methods that the bureaucracy approves, like subsidies, courts, good/evil, and strongly worded letters.

Metal embraces the nature that existed before civilization became a methodology and therefore enable the weakest among us to outbreed the rest and take over, and this methodology is compatible with science and monist religions like the spiritual-not-religious pagan outlook of esotericism.

In any case, it makes sense to link the video of Graveland performing live at Metal Threat 2025:

Tags: Black Metal, christianity, graveland, metal threat, moral majority, nsbm, political correctness