GOD FORBID Guitarist Offers Thoughts On Race In America And The Metal Scene

GOD FORBID guitarist Dallas Coyle has written the latest entry for his weekly column on MetalSucks, "The Hard R." In this installment, Dallas talks about race relations in America, being black in a metal band, and the current political situation. An excerpt from the blog follows:

"Playing metal as an ethnic band we've run into all sorts of racism across the world. In Europe, some people hate Americans. In the south, we've been called n.ggers. This comes with the territory. None of us are holier than thou but a lot of us act as if we are. Being in a metal band is amazing because the music itself is based in white culture which I'm proud of because I'm half white. Without metal I'd be another statistic in a prison cell obviously labeled a black man.

"Through our career there has always been an identity crisis about who we are relative to the scene we love. Are we not as known because we're black or have we not connected with the audience in the right way? One can never tell but I refuse to say us being black has hindered our success. I reject and denounce that claim vehemently. It's bullshit.

"We have fans around the world who love us because we're black. We represent change and evolution in a country that has had many race problems. I feel we're part of a cure, not the opposite. Obama is the same way. My cousin is black and he's a Republican. He calls Obama a smooth talking n.gger in a derogatory way. I take offense to it but I don't condemn him for it. It's his opinion and we all have our experiences to make us feel the way we do. He's my cousin. I love the hell out of him. But his views have nothing to do with what I'm about as a person. My values are about helping other people get what they want and need. I'm a leader. I will tell you what's what and why it is the way it is. The answer you'll get will probably piss you off but you need to be angry. Your government is manipulating you.

"How many of you know that The Federal Reserve is a PRIVATE company that prints money for America? They charge interest on the money they print to the American people. Your income taxes pay down that interest owed. Essentially, all of us as Americans are paying the interest on Americas platinum credit card. Do you know who owns the Fed? Three families. They are white families. Hey, I don't hate on them. They did something right. And they are part of the 10% of the population that owns 90% of the wealth."

Read the entire blog entry at www.metalsucks.net.