Should non-metalheads wear metal shirts?? 

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"Oh you're wearing Levi's?!? Name 3 brands of pickaxes available during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s. I'll wait...."

This is the polar opposite of the Napster issue 20-odd years ago. Back then we debated the ethics of enjoying a band’s music without paying for it. Now we’re debating the ethics of paying a band without enjoying their music.

I met a girl working the register at Dollar General a few weeks back. She was wearing a Cannibal Corpse shirt and I was like "hey! cool shirt. 😎" and she IMMEDIATELY was like "YES My favorite song is "Evisceration Plague" and I am going to the show at the Diamond next month." and I was like "sheesh!" and she said, "oh, sorry. I get so tired of people saying "Name one song." I felt bad for her! we now talk about music every time I'm in the store. 😎

I wore a slayer shirt to a grateful dead show back in 95. A guy called me an iconoclast of individuality in a sea of conformity.

I once saw a guy wearing a "The Flames" shirt at an "In Flames" concert. Chad.

I'm in a band. I don't give a F*ck who wears our shirts. Any shirts I sell is a win for me.

The main reason I get annoyed at people wearing rock/metal shirts is that it’s the same people who make fun of me for actually listening to the music.

I always research everything I wear. Nike? Know all about it. H&M? You bet. Random German hiking shirt I got from my girlfriends dad? Did a deep-dive on that. I of course started watching baseball despite being from Sweden because someone once gave me a Red Sox hat.

the only real issue i have with “non metal” people wearing band shirts is that a lot of the time its people who made fun of alternative culture for years now trying to capitalize on something trendy. like you dont know how many times i got picked on in high school only to find out that those kids who picked on me now dress emo on tiktok for views lmaoo im more annoyed by the hypocrisy than the poserness but ultimately it doesn’t matter

I personally don’t mind what people wear, but there is that part of me that would roll their eyes seeing like Justin Bieber for example wearing a Slayer shirt. I think the reason why some metal heads get precious about it is because a lot of us have spent most of our lives having the piss taken out of us by the “cool crowd” for liking metal/wearing metal clothing and to see someone from that supposed crowd wearing a shirt that’s from the metal scene comes across as hypocritical and being posers. They’ve not suffered the sufficient ridicule that the rest of us had to suffer to wear those shirts!! But yeah like I said I don’t care, but I do sort of understand the people who do get annoyed by it

I literally discovered Trivium by seeing a cute stranger wearing a Trivium t-shirt. Whether they were an actual fan or not is irrelevant now I like Trivium

The only time I’ve ever been like “do you even know who is on your shirt?” Was when my girlfriend’s little sister came into the living room wearing a Blood on the Dance Floor shirt. A teenage girl wearing a BOTDF t shirt is fucking terrifying.

I think the worst gatekeeper heckling moments I’ve ever had were when I got a Mohawk in 8th grade. Someone came up to me and said “I was punk first” in a super butt hurt voice. Then the older punk guy at the school of course called me a poser and bullied me regularly until I cut it off because it wasn’t worth it to get harassed constantly. I was getting into playing punk/ metal guitar and heavier music, but they never asked me about the music. It was more some skinny feminine guy with a Mohawk who didn’t give off street punk af alpha vibes so I was a poser 🤷‍♂️ I remember not feeling welcomed into any alternative scene really over the years. why make someone feel stupid/ lame/ or alienated over anything you supposedly like or embody more fiercely than them? It’s so childish like the physical manifestation of “I played with this toY fIrsT So It’S a Mine”.

I like to imagine Jose Mangin renting out a storage unit in 2007 with the sole purpose of filling it floor to ceiling with boxes of Affliction shirts. Every event day, he swings by the unit to pull a new, perfectly plastic wrapped tee. He burns the shirt after he's done with it. The shirt burns easily, thanks to the heavy coating of Acqua di Gio.

Absolutely hilarious, like you pointed out, that the We Came As Romans dude was the basically the biggest gatekeeper in the video.

I honestly can’t believe people say the word poser unironically

Blue jeans were originally made as work clothes for American Farmers in the 1800s, and yet, most people who wear them can't name their three favorite irrigation methods. SMH.

I feel old. I bought that same Kittie shirt Alicia Taylor is wearing when it originally came out in the early 2000’s. 😅

Everytime I see someone wearing sneakers I ask them to name three sports.

I remember a specific situation a year or two ago. A young adult (20 or so) came into my store. As I chequed him out I noticed the SWEET Aaliyah shirt. Clearly vintage from when she was big. Asked him where he got it and said he thrifted it. He was like " oh she's a singer? Just thought it was a sick shirt, I'll have to check her out". I was like, your about to go down a rabbit whole and a half son lmao. At first I felt a little bommerish or gate keepy about it. Then I realized he's going to go discover something all because of this silly shirt. Actually, pretty cool way to find music if you ask me. (P.s. I'm a punk amd metal guy but I'm into music in general, hence the respect for aaliyah)

"My culture is your costume"" You woke-stamped the the whole communtity of metal gatekeepers with that statement!

I personally think Infant Annihilator shirts should be marketed towards school age children who have never heard the band, and handed out at school fairs.

Metalheads will argue metal isn't about fashion and then cry when a celebrity wears a Metallica shirt or when a kid shops at Hot Topic. Which is it guys?

As a vintage t-shirt collector from Norway, I wear a lot of metal tees! And honestly, some of them I buy for the aesthetic, they look amazing - and I always end up listening to the artist, it's like another incentive to check out music you wouldn't know to look for.

Personally I think if anything just tell them that it's a sick shirt. 👍🏼 And if you're going to say anything else about it, politely tell them that the band is one of your favorites and leave it at that, if they want to know more they'll ask or they'll go find out for themself.

I prefer when people know the band on their shirts. It kinda let's me know if i can start a conversation.

My dumbest example of this, is when some gatekeeping idiot made fun of me wearing a Silent Planet t-shirt while I was at the automotive/hardware store because I was also wearing cowboy boots, a denim work jacket, and an old trucker hat with the logo of a farm implement dealer on it. They literally said the stereotypical "name three songs" BS. I named my three favourite SP songs and he looked confused but happy...but I pissed him off by saying "I didn't actually think people like you existed in real life." Then there was a bunch of BS about how my "ascetic" didn't make sense so I just walked away. I am not explaining to some gatekeeping loser that I like certain bands but also happen to be from a small town of 900 people and work part-time for a farm and a ranch to make extra money. I was in the hardware store buying some parts for the farm, I guess he was in the hardware store to buy supplies for his gate. Wear whatever you want people. Finn, you're a saint for making fun of these idiots.

If you’re older than 15 and still care about this kind of thing… I’m really sorry about how little you have going on in your life. I respect how you will advertise literally anything

As a fan of stopper knots that can easily be undone by pulling one end, I resent that you assume I wear this shirt because of a band. Lol.

In today's media landscape, its not uncommon for people to develop wildly varied tastes in music, I have no doubt that GaGa is actually into metal. I feel like the cliques are dissolving but old guard are oblivious to it. It occurred to me that life is more or less cosplay anyhow, lol.

When I was a kid I bought shirts and CDs based off the artwork then got into the bands afterwards.

Oh, you wear Nike? Name three sweatshops!

"NAME THREE SONGS!" That annoys the shit out of me, I grew up in the era of CDs. So all I know is I like, "Track 3."

A band is being promoted. End of story. How that is a bad thing I will never understand

I'm 60 and have 2 large totes of band tees. I think one of my first band tees I got in the 70's at an Iron Maiden concert with the singer before Bruce. I've been rocking them ever since. Hell I've got a Ramones tee who I actually saw. I love metal, rock, punk, emo. I love it all. Also most of my tees I actually bought at the concerts. Gotta support the artists that I love. I've seen anywhere from 450-500 different bands since the late 70's(haha back when tickets were $7.95). Used to go to concerts every 2 weeks. I still go although not as often. My last concert was Rockzilla.

Honestly, I don’t care. If I point it out and ask someone “hey you like x band?” And they’re like “no but the shirts cool” I’m just like “oh cool” and MOVE ON because what someone wears has literally no effect on my life.

Metal fan here I personally don’t own any shirts, clothes are for posers.

Why do people insist on gatekeeping the most basic bands?

Lol well I'm a woman and listen to Metal lol my friend and I enjoyed the hell out of seeing Slayer live. It's funny but I love wearing my band shirts and I get a shout in the street. Especially being a African American..most won't look at me and say she's blasting rock or metal in her headphones. I rock my favorite bands proudly and love the looks because I get into a whole conversation about the music and band. I found We Came As Romans and love them lol they tried to out keep the gate keepers lol

If they made you listen to 3 songs from a band at the checkout, then buying a dream theater shirt would be an absolute nightmare

Do I have to know 10 things about Van Gogh because I love Starry Night? Or can I just love the art?

"Most metal mech is awful" FUCKING PREACH FINN.

People put time in for those t-shirts and that scene. Got beaten up bullied and ridiculed for wearing that stuff, then , all of a sudden those same bullies, normies whatever you want to call them are wearing those same t-shirts. It shows how trend driven and non-genuine mainstream culture is. Many people who belong to subcultures deliberately stay away from the mainstream, sobwhen it comes knocking at your door of course your going to be pissed.

As someone who actively gatekeeps band shirts (I will make you turn your shirt inside out if you can’t prove you own their demo on cassette) I can say that it is utterly euphoric to prove I know more about metal to completely random strangers.

I can’t believe a guy from GWAR doesn’t care what people wear

For the sake of peace among mankind I will suggest two courses of action: 1. The 12 yo girl who gets asked by the grown-up butthurt metal guy whether she likes the band could say, "no, but could you recommend me your three favourite songs? Where should I start?" Then the metal guy feels like his feelings are respected and will thus become a little less butthurt. OR 2. The girl says no, I haven't listened to them, and then the actually grown up metal guy says: "That's okay, but may I suggest you my three favourite songs by the band? Because this is a band that I am very passionate about, listening to their music brings me so much joy, and maybe you get something out of it, too, or at least acknowledge it. I'd be stoked if you checked them out!" and proceeds to recommend her three songs, if possible catered to here taste of music that he has inquired about (e.g. if the band also has some softer songs in their repertoire). Wouldn't that be a nice world to live in? 😁

metalheads be like Why do not more people appreciate this music and then when someone does they just start showing what they are actually like

"Should people be allowed to wear whatever they want without fear of being judged by gatekeeping dickheads?" Yes.

I love metal and I don't think I have any metal shirts other than local bands. I also love alternative country, jam bands, etc and I definitely have way more shirts from those genres. It used to bug me seeing people wearing steal your face T-shirts and have no clue who the grateful dead is. Then I have to remember my 6 year old has a steal your face shirt and she has no idea who the grateful dead is.

This issue has been around forever…I had a friend accused of being a poser in high school and he handled that be taking a piece of metal in shop class, hearing it up on a grinder and then attempting to brand the dude with it

It's time to talk about Meteora and Linkin Park's new song...

I honestly feel that if normies are wearing band shirts they don't listen to, that it is a sign the band is doing something right with the design of their shirts. If the designs are killing it, then people will want to wear it because it just looks cool. (excluding Metallica, cause they're not really a band anymore, they're just a brand at this point).

This makes me think that if I ran into someone who was wearing a bands merch without being familiar with the music it would at least be a chance to have a conversation and not an interrogation session. If I found out they don’t know the music or just wear the shirt for the style it’s at least a way to recommend some songs or an album for them to check out.

Oh you got a Burzum shirt! Name 3 Na*i Generals during WW2

DUDE Gleaming the Cube is like one of my FAVORITE MOVIES lol I'm 48 I wear Whatever the hell I want to wear! Trip pants, Emo clothes, Metal, Hard Rock, etc... But I'd never be caught dead in a Cardi B or Kanye or anything of that type! People tell me I'm too old to wear that.... Ummm 70s and 80s CREATED Metal and Emo and Hard Rock!!! I love Music BVB, FIR, ETF, Motionless in White, SLIPKNOT, Fame on Fire, Volbeat, Asking Alexandria, LifeHouse, Rob Zombie, 30 seconds of Summer, lol Guitars, Drums, and Bass, with Awesome Beats and Lyrics What Could Be Better??

"Feel free to pose" that's what I'm talking about. Lotta sigma energy in this video except for the We Came As Romans guy.

One rule for me is when going to a show I don't wear a shirt of the band I'm goin to see. I will buy merch and rep at another show. I wore a Body Count shirt at an Iron Maiden show and people were like "F yeahh! Body count!!"

Finn: most metal merch is awful. no one wants to be caught in public wearing it. me: *80% of my shirts are band shirts* phew, good thing i'm a fuckin hermit

I remember the first time I wore a slayer shirt to middle school (2006-07ish) and I was attacked and interrogated over it. It was hilarious then and still is now. Hell, my friend around the same time bought a Dimmu Borgir shirt because he thought it was cool and listened to them when he got back home and loved them. He was shit on it constantly for it. Like seriously, who gives a fuck. Wear whatever you want. BE A TRUE ROCKER!!!

I got my first pay from my first job in 1984...and bought a VENOM t-shirt with it. I wore THAT T-SHIRT on the VIA going to Montreal for Canada Day last year. A 14ish year old kid *stomped lol directly up to me in my seat, and told me his t-shirt was a REAL metal t-shirt (DOKKEN)..so I asked him if I could "be ALONE AGAIN'' without him..lol..in my face. He had not a bloody clue- he was a hair metal poser. I'm proud to have grown with the metal movement, and I consider a band t-shirt an important part of music history. I think if you value artwork..cool too, wear what you want. But I also think IF YOU CLAIM LOVE of the BAND you're wearing, I think you should be able to have a convo about it, at least know a song to talk about. I LOVE METAL at 52 years old, and I wear band t-s I know the history on. I have about 40 metal band t-shirts. What I don't like, is you look like a boarder, but you listen to death metal AND DON'T WEAR THE BAND SHIRT...

18:32 Finn talks about how We Came as Romans aren't the most credible band to talk about Gatekeeping. (Finn and his sarcasm) Random Twitch comment "We Came as Posers" 🤣😂🤣😆

Also, the girl talking about a Slipknot shirt when she was 12, is Diamond from Tetrarch. She is absolutely a top-tier shredder. She is incredibly talented.

People don't talk about sports gatekeeping... I stopped wearing sports clothes because of needless conversations about how the "sports team" was doing in said "sports league".

I think it's great that this style and band merch is becoming more popularised and only furthers the metal/alt music scene as a whole, however I'm sorry if this comes across as ignorant, I deeply do not enjoy seeing people who used to beat me up for liking slayer back in the day now dawning slayer shirts etc...I dunno, I used to get called a devil worshiper, grease monkey and all of my sense of dress got mocked by these people and I can't help it, seeing them wearing my sense of style now is a bit insulting after all the shit I used to get for it..but I'll always fight for people to wear and express themselves however they want! Just a weird time for all this but it's a bit of a fad and like all fads it'll go back to normal I'm sure and all these celebrities could genuinely be fans of these metal bands and I think that's great!

After seeing Gabbie Hannah cut up a Leviathan shirt she found at a thrift store while commenting on how she has no idea what the shirt says, celebrities wearing metal shirts don't even faze me now 😅

the true conclusion is that metalheads should also not wear metal shirts

"Maybe when you buy the shirt, you get it on iTunes or something." My brother in Christ, who buys music on iTunes in 2023? Are the members of We Came As Romans stuck in the early 2010s? Please tell me they never heard of Spotify.

My wife doesn’t listen to metal but she comes to shows with me. She’s bought shirts (she likes to collect shirts of bands she’s seen live) and she wears metal shirts all the time and if asked what her favorite song was she’d probably say “it all sounds the same to me” but she knows I love it and it’s her way to support my love for metal.

I always thought it was cool when somebody who doesn’t listen to metal wears a shirt. Hell yeah get that into the main stream. Don’t get me wrong I get that part of me that thinks “you probably can’t name a song” but I don’t make it public cause in the end I just don’t care that much.

People purchase graphic tees for decades because they love the designs but if it’s a band people lose their minds 🤣

The only people who care are a small population of actual metal fans. No one else cares. Also, if a non metal fan wears a metal shirt, they most likely won’t even be around any actual metal fans.

I wonder if the dude from "We came as Romans" also knows about the meaning of spider-web tattoos before he got it on his knee.

I do not normally comment like this, but this is stupid. This is such a non issue. I am a metal fan, but I just do not care.

That gatekeeping stuff is downside in music scene. Not just metal, its everywhere. “Oh you are listening commercial techno” you suck bro. I remember once maybe 10 years ago i told to friend i listen Skrillex. “Oh bro how can you listen him he is too commercial.” And he started to speak about some dubstep djs from Berlin i never about them before. Who gives a shit about stuff like that… and t shirts with bands? Man, it is just t shirt. Its like being Jack Black in High Fidelity.

Wear what you want. Don't be mad if you get made fun of for not knowing any songs when askes.

I mean, even if somebody buys a band tee from a thrift store just because it looks cool, who cares? Whether they decide to listen to or even like the music or not, what does it matter? It's just a damn shirt.

I was 13 and i wore a misfits shirt before I knew I liked them. some homeless dude on Haight street in SF called me out and asked me what my favorite song was and ignored him. he kept shouting wile i walked away, "WHATS YOUR FAVORITE SONG!!!"....Never again.

Band designs and logo are often good and stand for more than just music. Attitude, aesthetic, vibe. Most of all anybody should wear whatever the fuck they want.

Almost my entire selection of shirts in middle school and early high school were Fox shirts. I’ve never ridden a dirt bike in my life, let alone give a shit about motocross

I mean I guess it's okay to wear a shirt. But I hate when you see someone wearing a shirt of a band you love. Than you ask about them, and the person wearing the shirt looks at you like you are insane. And then they look down and they are like "oh yeah I have no clue wtf this shirt was it just looks cool" like oh okay. Well are you gonna listen to that band? "Nah" like why? If you gonna wear the shirt you might as well at least listen to a song

When I see people wearing metal merch, I tell them how cool it is. Now they’ve just been told by an old that their gear is cool, instantly rendering it not cool.

As always, such underrated comedy from you Finn.

I find it hard to find a compatible date because of this problem. It is HARD to find a partner at my age ,(and being a female), who really LOVES METAL music as much as I do. I sang in a Black Sabbath cover band (OZZY) for 13 years. I find 1/2 the guys I meet sporting metal t-shirts (MAYHEM etc...), don't have a clue who's on their t-shirt. I assume they do. When I get anybody back to my place for coffee etc...I PUT ON THE BAND ON THEIR SHIRT, (DEATH this time),..and that's when the ear plugging, eye rolling, cringing crawling away etc starts, usually followed by AHEM "I'm really sorry, but I can't HANDLE that type of music"..just to have to tell the dude, "Oh, well you're wearing them on your t-shirt" THAT IS BEYOND FRUSTRATING!

Ah, yes, gatekeeping, also known as insecurity and lack of personality

I wear a "Teenager Mutant Ninja Turtle" shirt that my kids got me and I've never seen a movie or show of that. I know nothing about it. But when I go to the grocery store, I get compliments on the shirt like crazy.

I rock my bad brains, converge, deathspell omega, full of hell, Wormrot , insect warefare , Gorguts shirts all the time rarely does anyone even know wtf I’m wearing and here and there I get a “nice shirt man” at the gym. 99% of people don’t give a shit.

bands like metallica and slipknot are so popular theyve broken out of their niche fanbase. by the time slipknot released volume 3, they were popular enough for the preppy kids to be singing duality in school. it shouldnt be too far out of reality that even a celebrity has listened to enter sandman lol

Finn, I've been following your channel for years and I love the recognized view of Gatekeepers and the subculture inside of many sides of music and the punishing side of being on a single side of said culture and why you're there? I'm so excited about the way you're examining it! We need more of these examinations to see it come full on!?

The people complaining always forget that when they were young and first got into the scene, they were called posers. For example: 14:27 "Metallica got big on Stranger Things, and they got this new wave of gen-z fans, but they din't understand the legend behind Metallica." Neither did you. So according to your logic, your a poser too.

When it bothers me is when I'm in working and I'm listening to music I like and they say "what the fuck is this shit music?" ... whilst wearing the t shirt of the band I'm listening to.

I would get mad when I was younger, not because I was a gatekeeper, but because it was false advertisement. I didn't want to be friends with you if we couldn't vibe with music. If a boy wore a sepultura shirt that was a sign of a potential mate; if I were to find out he didn't know about Arise and only listened to Roots well... now I've just wasted my time because he CLEARLY wasn't meant for me. In all seriousness though, I think the ones that get butt hurt about this do so because these bands are part of their identity and they see shirts and other merch as flags. They don't want someone waving their flag that aren't actually part of their group.

I've said this a million times and I'll say it again. I don't care what someone else wears. If they're wearing a metal shirt then fine, they're wearing a metal shirt. Even if they don't listen to a band, at the very least it will bring more exposure to that band from someone seeing the shirt and possibly investigating. So if a celeb is wearing a Megadeth shirt and their fans see that shirt, maybe the fans will investigate Megadeth and come to like them, thus bringing more fans and hopefully sales into the Megadeth world. Look at it as free advertising. I never understood the whole "poser" thing. Who gives a shit? Is some person you don't know wearing a shirt somehow stopping YOUR love of metal? No, it's not, no matter how much you want to try and convince yourself that it is. I'm a metalhead. Have been since the 80's. But if I ever became famous would that change? No. But if you then saw me, a famous millionaire wearing said Megadeth shirt, would I be a poser simply because I'm rich and famous? No. But you would think it simply BECAUSE i'm rich and famous, you not knowing that I have indeed been a metalhead since the 80's, To me it's more of a "They're rich they don't possibly listen to metal". thing. More hating the rich for no reason. Stop concerning yourselves with what other people wear and whether or not they do or don't listen to metal and you'll be a lot happier overall. It's not your business and, again, who gives a shit? The posers to me were always the people who HAD to tell you they liked something to the point of Ad Nauseam. The people always shouting from the rooftops that they were better because of this or that. The people complaining about other people's tee shirts. Those are the REAL posers.

As a life long nascar fan I'm seeing a trend of 90s nascar shirts popping up I'm fashion with gen z and even with some bands. Idk if they know the driver or what they accomplished or even if they like the sport, I'm stoked to see it and those shirts coming back and blending with alt culture in some ways. Who gives a shittt Also wondering if WCAR are serious or just doing a Grade A class in trolling 😅😅. They've been known to troll and joke around and their comments are aggressively too serious about this to be real 😅😅

When I was 16 years old I had a retail job, my manager was a Type O Negative groupie (literally), I had just heard the band for the first time a year before in the 9th grade, so at the time all I knew was black number one. We got talking about Type O, she was rambling about going in their tour bus and asked what song I like. I said I like black number 1. She said “oh I knew you would say that” and rolled her eyes, scoffed and walked away. She was a grown ass woman and I was a teenager. I could not imagine being that way toward kids as an adult. Pure cringe loser mentality.

Jose Mangin is the ambassador. I feel like I have bene seeing him at shows for at least 20 years.

I collect flat brim baseball caps. I am a Baltimore Orioles fan but have just about every other team in the league and I rotate them in. Occasionally they become a conversation piece. To a T, only men over 60 take any issue with what hat I'm wearing. I'm in my late 30's and zero contemporaries ever question it. I see no reason in gatekeeping or hating on anyone wearing for clothing that they don't consider themselves to be a fan of. Who really cares?!

Wear what you like but I think it's lame to wear a metal shirt if you're not into metal.

Fucking hilarious when people with no wrinkles in their face say their "Old"... LMFAO.

My only thing is when i see a metal t shirt i see it as a conversation starter and if the person doesn't listen to the band its a mild disappointment. But im not like mad or giving them "the look" or something 😂 Another thing is , from my own experience, a lot of times i wanted to wear a bands t shirt cause the design looked cool, so i was motivated to dive into their music , and see if i actually would love to wear the t shirt. So its a win win situation, i got into black metal bands too while i ve always been a nu metal/ metalcore type of guy.