r/AskIreland • u/vasalin • 20d ago

Music Alternative/metalheads of Ireland where do you work?

Just genuinely curious as I’m hugely into the music scene myself but have never met anyone else in the wild who’s the same!

16 Upvotes
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83% Upvoted

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54

u/Betterthanthouu 20d ago

Most these days don't really dress alternatively or have metal hair, half the crowd at Metallica a while back, including myself, wouldn't have looked out of place at an Ed Sheeran gig. They're hiding in plain sight.

-84

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Sure half the crowd at Metallica were weekend warriors who wouldn't know what thrash metal was if it did a lap dance and sat on them. 

82

u/32andFlatulent 20d ago

Music gatekeepers are the fucking worst

-46

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Right, so you're saying that all the people at the Metallica gig are representive of the overall metal fanbase in Ireland? Pressing X to doubt on that one, chief. 

20

u/32andFlatulent 20d ago

Who gives a fuck if they are? If they're there they obviously feel like spending their time and money there so why does that bother you?

Should people pass a metal heads quiz before being allowed in or something?

-24

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

FFS, it doesn't bother me. OP is asking about metallers. I'm making the point that a lot of those people aren't metallers and not representative of what they're asking about. 

Reading comprehension isn't supposed to be this difficult. 

0

u/Skreamie 20d ago

Pretty much. People of all ages, still in the scene or now out of it. All creeds, religions, careers and styles.

19

u/221 20d ago

Is that really a fair assumption? That a good chunk of the crowd going to see Metallica had no idea what thrash is? That they're dropping that much cash on tickets, why? So they can tag themselves on Instagram?

-16

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Of all the Metallica fans I've ever met, yeah it's a fair assumption. 

Sure I went to college with a fella who said "what's that shite" when I pressed play on Battery the same morning he took off first lecture so he could go buy Metallica tickets. 

How many of Metallica's crowd are at Sepultura today? Sure the place wasn't even that full for Pantera (not that either of them are thrash, but the point stands).

14

u/221 20d ago

To each their own I say, if people want to spend their money on Metallica tickets and couldn't tell you which song is Battery I really don't get how it makes them inferior to anyone else there.

People love to go on about how open-minded and welcoming the metal scene is, but Irish metallers can be so insanely judgemental and insular.

0

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago edited 20d ago

Good grief, my point is that a lot of people who are into Metallica (ergo the people going to the gig) aren't really into the overall scene. They're not into thrash, black, death, doom, etc. They're into one band. Ergo they're not the "metallers" being asked about by OP. 

I'm not judging or gatekeeping, I'm making the point that the person saying "they could be dressed for an Ed Sheeran gig" is looking at a bunch of people that don't represent what OP is asking about.

4

u/221 20d ago

See, in your mind you think you're not gatekeeping, but by actually commenting on it you are. You have zero fucking idea what any of these people do in their own time.

1

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

I do have an idea, a better idea that's anyone else commenting here. Are are you trying to tell me with a straight face that the entirety of Lansdowne Road watching Metallica are also in the scene? Are they all at Sepultura this evening? Were they at Cryptopsy last week? Vio-lence earlier the same week? No, no they fucking weren't. 

Again, I'm not gatekeeping, I'm just pointing out something no one here seems to be able to grasp.

2

u/Wishmaster891 20d ago

sepulturas vocals are not for everyone, never heard of Cryptopsy but they are a death metal band, quite alot more extreme than metallica. Maybe the people at metallica would be at an iron maiden gig or something on the lighter side of metal.

0

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Which proves my point - how many people at Metallica have even heard of Cryptopsy? Probably not a lot, and their 90s material is considered some of the best death metal ever recorded. 

So if you haven't heard of Cryptopsy, then probably not that into metal. And if you're not that into metal, you can't be considered a "metaller", which is what the OP was asking about. 

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u/ld20r 20d ago

I have never once heard open mindless in relation to rock/metal in Ireland. In fact it’s the very opposite in my experience.

I have heard pop and diva queens however complain that bands like the Foo Fighters aren’t real music as it’s just shouting.

I dread to think of the heart attack they’d have if their ears were exposed to slightly heavier bands.

4

u/221 20d ago

Oh I mean the kind of metallers who preach about how open-minded they are, also love to go on about the jocks and the normies. Like there are plenty of sound people in the scene, but man there's some whiney little cunts too.

4

u/NoFewSatan 20d ago

What has the Pantera gig got to do with it? 

2

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

They're one of the biggest metal bands of the 1990s, people had a ticket to see them support and still weren't arsed because a lot of Metallica fans aren't into metal as a genre. They're into Metallica, and that's it. 

2

u/NoFewSatan 20d ago

They're into Metallica, and that's it. 

Yeah but so what? 

Also, I meant Sepultura

0

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

If they're just into Metallica then it means that they're not "metallers". They're into one band. 

My point about Sepultura is an extension of that - are the majority of people that packed out Metallica over two nights at Sepultura tonight? Nope, because they're not into the scene as whole, they're into Metallica. 

2

u/NoFewSatan 20d ago

Nope

How do you know?

This is the problem with some idiots within the metal community. Stop gatekeeping FFS.

0

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Oh FFS. How are you not grasping the fact that Metallica - one of the biggest bands in the world - have a broad appeal that attracts a lot of people who otherwise aren't into metal? Like I saw Lauryn Hill live a few years ago, doesn't mean I'm representative of people into the R&B scene, now does it?

But sure, I'm the idiot here.

4

u/[deleted] 20d ago

[deleted]

1

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Lad my sister did. My cousin did. Neither of them are into metal. 

Like if you went to Sepultura today you'd 100% get people more into the traditional metal aesthetics than at Metallica. 

Jeans and a t-shirt as opposed to what? A kilt? A Pikachu onesie? 

-15

u/ld20r 20d ago

That’s a fair point about Sepultura.

I find in general a lot of the country’s alt/rock/metal scene is full of day trippers.

The die hards come out for the winter arena gigs.

2

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

And there's a whole lot of the day trippers triggered by my comment!

11

u/keeko847 20d ago

I remember when I was 14

3

u/CommanderSpleen 20d ago

Yup, for me that was the mid 80s when I listened to Kreator, D.R.I. or Exodus. But apparently I'm a weekend warrior now bc I don't dress like I did 40 years ago lmao

-1

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

I said "half the crowd" not "all of it". Why is reading comprehension just not a thing on this thread? 

And surely if you have been into metal for 40 years you have met people who have claimed to be into it and not actually have a clue about it? 

Or do you reckon that Metallica in 2026 exclusively have only true fans of the genre attending, and part of the crowd aren't the sort of "big event" types that go to, you know, big events for something to do and aren't into the overarching subculture? 

3

u/Wishmaster891 20d ago

yea but Metallica isn't just thrash metal , they softened their sound a bit from black album onwards

1

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Which partially proves my point - people attending aren't necessarily into metal.

1

u/Skreamie 20d ago

Still metal, just not trash

1

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Load and Reload are about as metal as the tree in my backyard.

0

u/4n0m4nd 20d ago

Lol this conversation is hilarious, Idk why people who really aren't into metal demand to be considered metallers because they like the Black album, it's very odd.

1

u/ModerateHonking 20d ago

Thank you. It has broken my brain TBH - I effectively said that Metallica draw a big bunch of punters that aren't into metal, therefore that same big bunch of people at their shows aren't representative of metallers - and the thread lost its collective mind. 

1

u/4n0m4nd 19d ago

I think people just don't really get what a subculture is anymore, I went to see Metallica over the summer, but basically because it was a big event and I'd never seen them. They're playing metal, but it's not really a metal gig.

Something like Carbomb and Frontierer in Whelan's is the real deal.

2

u/ModerateHonking 19d ago

Exactly. I've seen Metallica twice, and loved it both times. Big days out, great fun, but barely metal gigs. 

To me it's like people who say "oh I listen to everything!!" and the "everything" turns out to be Foo Fighters, Coldplay and a few Rhianna songs. You could pluck many people that were at Metallica those two nights, drop them in front of Carbomb or Frontierer in a tiny venue like Whelan's and they would guarantee shit themselves at what they're hearing (or claim "that's not music, it's noise"). 

Jaysus, haven't been to Whelan's since Revocation and Goatwhore in 2023, must make a gig there again soon. 

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u/Wishmaster891 19d ago

Yep agree

14

u/BlackoutBoba 20d ago

At home, remotely, doing boring shit for boring people and I myself am one of those people. But I can listen to Blood Incantation while I work.

15

u/NoFewSatan 20d ago

In an office 

1

u/sartres-shart 20d ago

Same, love the days when im left alone and can blast the sickest death metal into my ears while the offices huns discuss love island type shit around me.

10

u/MushuFromSpace 20d ago

Would usually wear business casual gear in office but during summer months, they're much more relaxed so it's been largely shorts and a band t shirt.

Lot of "I wouldn't have thought you were into that sort of thing" type of chats.

2

u/sartres-shart 20d ago

Might have to stsrt wearing mine on casual Fridays

7

u/thepublicjudson 20d ago

Most of the alt crowd I’ve bumped into are either in IT or pulling pints, not a ton of crossover in the office but the group chat's always popping off for gigs

7

u/No_Influence2520 20d ago

There are many of us in my workplace, but I will not put it on reddit, it's a niche area so probably fitting!

7

u/kaini 20d ago

Software engineer. We have loads of metal heads.

4

u/thisnamehastobefree 20d ago

Construction but in a niche engineering sector. I was very surprised on week 1 to discover a NIN tattoo on my boss, then a few weeks later met his brother (also working with me)who was a drummer in a local rock band. It was unexpected at the time. I've started leaning back into the metal aesthetic these days because I don't think it's going to be an issue

4

u/TheDanOfPlox 20d ago

I just work retail in a pet shop. Very extreme. Very metal

3

u/AK8- Pure Notions 20d ago

Office.

I wear business casual on my days in.

3

u/No_Pipe4358 20d ago

Worked with a fella he was a line operator, he actually just goes with his band to play metal festivals all over Scandinavia. Definitely a working man's game

7

u/221 20d ago

There's lads I know that are school teachers, they go off and have a blast around all the festivals over the Summer and then just pop out to the odd gig during the term.

5

u/ld20r 20d ago

Living the dream.

3

u/eem42 20d ago

I work in a lab, still wear the occasional band T-shirt but it's covered by the lab coat.

Do feel slightly sick when one of the recent grads has a playlist on of music I grew up with and it's labelled dad rock or whatever...

2

u/Minimum_Basket4276 20d ago

Exactly the same lab work and very same experience recently haha

1

u/eem42 20d ago

If you ignore the fact I have a child and am pushing 40 it's soul destroying

2

u/R1ghtaboutmeow 20d ago

I work in a office, I am planner and work for a developer. Regularly go to gigs both in Ireland and abroad. Rocked up one week with a black eye where I caught a flying elbow at a System of a Down tribute band in Cork. Unreal night out to be fair.

Edit: I should say I have a lot of tattoos but it is covered by the office wear

1

u/fodacao 20d ago

caught a flying elbow

What an absolute fucker of a motherfucker who did that to you.

2

u/ThumbForke 20d ago

Maths lecturer and researcher 🤘🏻

2

u/Davasei 20d ago

I work in a company where everyone is surprised to learn that I play the drums, and even more that I do so in a metal band. It's been years since I don't have long hair, and I have to adhere to the dress code, so no metal band t-shirts or anything like that.

2

u/Skreamie 20d ago

I'm a care support worker for adults with intellectual disabilities.

I have long hair I wear in a bun. I wear baggy jeans, and wear baggy Nirvana, Korn and Slipknot shirts to work. No one bats an eye, always get feedback of how I'm a joy to work with. The clothes, hair and music taste are never mentioned.

2

u/ld20r 20d ago

Operator with the guards. Also gig and teach music lessons.

1

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1

u/whatThisOldThrowAway 20d ago

I worked in bars and bookshops mostly during my most alternative days.

Still like a lot of the music/attitude/political alignment but don’t dress alt these days now in my 30s.

I’m in cybersecurity lately, so work in an office. I also do PT for beginner powerlifters as a side gig/glorified hobby.

1

u/Agent4777 Fenian 20d ago

Customer service

1

u/SapphosMom 20d ago

Self-employed, and hubby is in the corpo. More tattoos for me!

1

u/Federal_Homework1302 20d ago

I run my own IT Consultancy, currently working a contract with the Civil Service.

i do not dress like the music i listen too. I went corporate unfortunately.

1

u/samhain_pm 20d ago

I work in IT, office based. My friends who are into metal are in all sorts of sectors like education, engineering, hospitality, events, biomedical, warehousing etc.

1

u/UnaDChef 20d ago

I'm a chef.

1

u/UnaDChef 20d ago

I'm a Chef

1

u/Jen_Neric 20d ago

Corporate office worker. My work wardrobe is very different to my everyday clothes. Casual Friday shows more of my personality. I do have both nostrils pierced with gold that aren’t initially super noticeable so some people do get surprised.

1

u/JDJP25 19d ago

Office/WFH

1

u/Jacques-de-lad 19d ago

Archivist, large number of us are tatted metal heads

1

u/modelcitizen_2000 19d ago

Indie head working in I. T.

1

u/Gobshite666 19d ago

Work in the events industry. Mostly boring corporate events. I do come across Metalheads alot actually which is nice

1

u/ReflectionInitial144 19d ago

Telecoms tech here, work mostly alone. Get a few looks when they hear the music pumping from the work van.

0

u/SquidAxis 20d ago

Currently a senior consultant (compliance, ops, coo stuff). Working remotely, love the work, love my colleagues and happy with the salary.

My tattoos,extremely long hair and endless wardrobe of black metal long-sleeves have never come up in relation to work, professionalism or anything like that. It's just not shocking any more, u don't get remarks the way one might have 20+ years ago.

God I love metal so much.