On Being A Leftist In The Black Metal World: A Conversation With Brutus Bathory

(RECORDED ON FEBRUARY 28, 2025) Black Metal as a subgenre tends to get a pretty bad rap- not only because of its sound, but also because some of the most well-known proponents have unsavory, toxic and hateful alliances.   On jamilah's search for some counters to this stereotype, she found the Youtube channel of a certain Brutus Bathory, a leftist Black Metal fan who gave an anticapitalist, critical lens to the music he loves. 

Slightly sarcastically described as a channel which discusses "Metal, politics, and other uncontroversial topics," Brutus addresses the contradictions of patriarchy, consumerism, and the various forms of reactionary sentiments and behaviors which permeate the scene.  His commentaries are a measured love letter of sorts; with well-researched, and pretty accessible responses.  While he displays adoration for a music that has gotten him through life, he pleads for its static nature to cease.

In the conversation, jamilah and Brutus discuss some of the content of the commentaries, as well as addressing some of our own personal (at some points major) contradictions regarding the music we love. 

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