In general, metal gets a bad rap as being the Devil’s music or evil in nature. This in turn leads to the assumption that metal musicians (and their fans) are also guilty. Now, most of the readers of this site know that to be untrue, but the Metal Cats book sheds a different light on the long-haired and tattooed.
Photographer, musician, and jewellery designer Alexandra Crockett has compiled what is more or less a coffee table book of metal musicians and others in the scene (like visual artists) with their cats. It’s actually surprising that there is such a relationship between metaldom and cats. Cats are (supposed to be) cute. Metal is not. But if you really think about it, cats are inherently evil. Even the sweetest kitty will eat your eyeballs if you die in your sleep.
But the aim here is to show the softer side of metal, to pull back the curtain on metal’s humanity and most importantly to raise money and awareness for no-kill shelters. Besides, this is way better than cat videos on YouTube.
The book showcases a wide aesthetic of not only the masters, but their humans too. There are big ones, small ones, long-haired, short-haired, no-haired, young and old, cute and ugly. There’s also quite a varied assortment of cats. Thankfully there are never more than two or three cats per human. The only thing worse than a crazy cat lady is a crazy cat metal dude.
Metal Cats is a visually pleasing flip-through (no words, just dudes) exposing a different side of metal than we see on stage. The metal dudes are pictured in or near their homes, reinforcing the fact that they’re just like us. You can rest assured that you can still be kvlt with a kitty.
So why not grab a copy and see members of Napalm Death, Obituary, Cattle Decapitation, Murder Construct, ISIS, Municipal Waste, Repulsion and lots more with their furry little kitties. (Better yet, go adopt a cat!) It’s sure to be a way better conversation piece than the latest issue of Home & Garden.
Help celebrate the release of the Metal Cats book at the New York City release party on May 17th at Union Pool. Keep an eye out for more details coming soon, include info on a raffle/auction and available prizes.
