A lot of people in underground music publicly identify themselves on the spectrum of anti-racist to apolitical, with very few openly claiming to be racist. Even if they do love some NSBM records. Even if they do buy records from labels that are known to distribute racist bands. Even if they do dabble in releasing a little NSBM on their labels from time to time. Even if they do carry some NSBM in their record shops. Even if they do release their projects on straight-up Nazi labels.
The number of times we’ve encountered these kinds of scenarios in our decade and a half of covering underground music would probably surprise some of you reading this. The number of times we’ve worked behind the scenes to stamp out racist music/bands/labels/distro activity and heard the responding, desperate cry of “But I’m not racist!” (I just do racist things) in the most satirical of situations would boggle your mind. I have a feature in mind that I want to publish this year, 10 of the Stupidest Excuses We’ve Heard People Make About Their NSBM Affiliations. Trust me, it will be a fun read. One of my favorites is “reparations.” My point is, there’s far more racism being overlooked and ignored in the underground than many of us are willing to acknowledge, and that really needs to change.
Neo-nazi groups, at a grassroots level, have funded and promoted their movements through music and merch sales. It’s been said by some of the most prominent contemporary neo-nazis that music, black metal in particular, is an important vehicle for disseminating their message. It’s a message that cleverly combines the proposed supremacy of so-called “White” people and the fear of oppression; really, the fear of reactive abuse from those who’ve been abused for centuries. Neo-nazis fancy themselves to be urban warriors on their hero’s quest, driven by pseudoscience, co-opted Norse mythology, and falsified histories.
Arno Michaelis is a former white nationalist skinhead, lead singer of the neo-Nazi metal band Centurion, and member of Hammerskin Nation, one of the most violent white supremacist gangs in the US. He’s been a prominent anti-hate activist since the mid-1990s, working to undo the over a decade of neo-nazi indoctrination he helped to spread globally. Check out the fascinating documentary he did with Insider’s Authorized Account series, How US Neo-Nazism Actually Works.
As far as being a part of underground music scenes goes, my advice to you is to keep your eyes open and put your money where your mouth is. Stop making lame excuses for your friends, bandmates, labelmates, community members who engage in NSBM activities. Saying online that you don’t support racism while you keep your mouth shut around your friends that do is peak virtue signalling. It’s time the underground exterminates the NSBM cockroaches that continue to scuttle around in dark (and light) corners.
