Sionia Chapter 16 Map First Previous Next Placing my rifle on the stonewall, I thought back to my first battle with the hordes of goblins attacking the high elves. Then for some reason, I remembered a novel by Louis L'Amour and one of the few rare non westerns called the Walking Drum. It was about a boy who became a man as he traveled across medieval Europe and on toward India where he valued knowledge and physical abilities above all. I vividly remembered chapters of the battle against the Rus ally the Pechenegs on the estuary of the Bug River on the Black Sea in southwestern Ukraine. Turning, I was looking for Lars as I was frantically searching for him.
“Lars, have some men make some caltrops.” I called out when I spotted Lars about ten feet away further down the wall.
“What are those?” Lars replied clearly confused as to my request.
“You're kidding me! Rrraah! You sharpen short sticks on both ends no bigger than your finger. You then tie them together so that no matter how you set it down it always points one of the sticks upward. We need lots of them! The monsters are barefoot and the caltrops will pierce their feet. They can not rush us in waves and we can funnel them to where we want them in a kill zone for the archers.” I explained with frustration.
“I know exactly what Lord Wyatt wants and can show how to make them.” Called out Razor as he stepped forward with a genuine cat style smile.
“Good, gather many small branches and sticks the size of your pointing finger.” I ordered as men began running to collect wood.
Luke began splitting the firewood into strips when he heard the order. Taking bundles of wheat stalks from the wheat field near by, Razor took three to four straws and with deft paws tied two sticks together making a pile. He then tied two of these together and lastly tied another set to those where it became a six pointed caltrop. The finished product looked like a large versions of a kids game of jacks but much sharper and dangerous.
The minutes past as even the girls in the florse stall were hard at work making caltrops. The efficiency was amazing to see as one group cut the sticks, another sharpened them, another tied the first and second pair and finally the last group finished the process. The finished caltrops were then put into one of three empty food crates.
I sought out Lars and Zack to decide where the best location for archers to pick off the monsters would be. After quick discussions with Nick, and Mi who were expert bowmen, it was decided directly before the extended short wall going out about seventy yards. Beyond that, a sure shot was not guaranteed.
About an hour later, Ivor came riding hard to alert that the monsters were less than two millos away. At this, we began spreading the caltrops at about one hundred yards in two arcs to funnel the monsters where we wanted them. I had Nick place a tall branch in the ground at what I thought was two hundred yards and another was set at the range the archers would start shooting. When that was done, we took the newest made caltrops and placed them from about five to fifty feet in front of both the short wall and in an arc around the enclosure. I had Freya keep the girls making the caltrops where they would toss them over the wall on the far side to limit the monsters going around the outpost.
“It will be alright.” I spoke softly to Freya as her face shown heavy concern and some fear.
“I am fine Ryan. I am worried that I have not done enough to ensure victory. That is what is required of Valors and Valkyries. Do what is necessary and anything needed to ensure victory.” Freya replied but her eyes did not match her words.
“Good enough. When the battle begins, keep everyone inside. Prima, keep her safe.” I stated as my heart ached for their safety.
“Of course. Should it become desperate, know you can call on us to join the fight and turn the tide.” Prima said brimming with confidence.
“Yes, we can fight. I know you want us to defend the others here. But Ryan, call us if you need us.” Freya stated almost like an order where her expression changed to a regal one.
“I am counting on you two.” I said and started to reach for Freya but turned and ran outside at the sound from the lookout.
“They are here!” Shouted Brent a dwarf from the Blue Mountains and one of Zack's adventurers standing on a high point on the outpost enclosure.
Brent jumping off the high outpost wall using his shield, rolled and came up running to his place next to the opening of the short wall. All the men began getting into positions and reading themselves for battle. Looking around inside the outpost as I walked to the main entrance, I saw Luke hard at work making arrowheads. Luke had melted down one of my extra shields that was badly bent up and sat up his anvil and blacksmithing tools next to the enclosure's simple forge pit. Luke had made four crude wooden molds which he soaked in water before coating them with some sand to help keep the wood from burning when pouring the hot metal. He was making roughly four arrowheads every five minutes or so which Dagmar one of Zack's people was fitting to arrows made by two of the Asgardian girls without fletching. Lukas my footman was sharpening the arrowheads with what looked like a sharpening whetstone. If those arrows were needed, the fletching would not matter when shooting at point blank range and the fight would be a desperate life or death struggle at that point.
I ordered the two gates closed as I exited the outpost and took my position on the short wall. Looking through the scope of the rifle, I adjusted its focus. Checking the settings, I smiled noting it was already set for two hundred yards. I pulled out a box of 30-06 ammo and the extra magazine which held twenty rounds while the mag in the rifle only had the standard five round clip. I slid the shield off my shoulder and the satchel and set them against the wall. I simply needed more flexibility and comfort to shoot the rifle accurately.
The Monsters were quickly moving forward and some beginning to scream out as they caught sight of our group. Time it seemed to me was slowing down where even my heartbeat was loudly pounding in my ears slowly and every breath was like a loud roar. I focused on the ogre with a massive battle axe as he approached looking imposingly scary. When the ogre pushed over the branch marking two hundred yards, I fired.
“Damn! Missed!” I exclaimed my frustration.
I adjusted the scope's top knob setting one notch to the right and the side knob two notches toward me as I saw the bullet path to the left and short. Taking aim, I fired again.
“Yeah!” Shouted all around me as the ogre staggered then fell sideways crushing a goblin.
“Two for the price of one!” I shouted as I was ecstatic with the shot I made.
I began firing at the edge of the goblin ranks picking them off and driving them more toward the center. Finally, the caltrops began doing their job as goblins began screaming where they sat down clutching their feet. They began pulling out the caltrops from their feet and tossing those behind them which caused more goblins to scream out in pain as they stepped on them.
Reloading my mags, I watched the battle unfold and I could not believe things were going exactly to the plan which worried me. When both mags were reloaded, I looked through the scope looking for the war orcs. I then stopped and blinked as I spotted a hooded black cloaked man with a staff who was directing the monsters.
“Lars, I believe they are being commanded by a Mardor slaver.” I yelled out what I had seen.
“Makes sense, Lord Wyatt. Monsters are captured, bred and raised by the Empire's slaver's guild.” Lars said and spat on the ground his distaste.
“Now it makes sense.” I replied as realization of the report of massive numbers of monsters and people from Mardor could be possible when those numbers seemed impossible from a natural population.
“Here comes the first wave of globlins!” Shouted one of the soldiers up on the outpost wall.
I switched out my rife for the sig as it was better hitting targets less than one hundred yards away. I kept firing until the slide locked. Ejecting the clip and inserting fully loaded second clip, I fired again until it was empty. Holstering the sig, I reached down and took out the shotgun.
“Empire florse archers coming out of the ditch to the north and northwest!” Called Nick from above on the outpost wall and pointing north up the road and off to my left where I could not see them.
I continued to fire the shotgun until it was empty as the goblin dead piled up. The plan was when the goblins reach the short wall, those with swords and lances would rush out and attack in a melee one on one style of combat. I reached down and pulled out two boxes of twelve gauge shotgun shells that would give me fifty total shots. I flipped the shotgun over and began loading the shotgun with the first shell chambered until I had thirteen shots ready to go. Looking up, I was shocked as a goblin was less than ten feet away with a metal tipped spear.
“Aw, damn! Son of a Beach!” I cursed as I took a step back and fired blindly.
My reaction was a bit too late as the goblin thrust the spear over the wall and caught me in the upper arm where the chain mail was loose. I felt the tip drag over my joint and into my armpit. My left arm was stinging and numb and I could no longer grip the shotgun with my left hand. However, I used the slide handle as a crutch on the wall and fired. I would push the handle forward to eject the spent shell then I would throw my left hand forward to rack a new round in the breech. When the gun was empty, I grabbed two shelled and chambered them one handed and fired. This went one for several minutes as I would load just two shells and fire. How long this went on? I do not know as time in the middle of battle is distorted.
I heard men screaming further down the wall where I ducked down and decided to fully reload the shotgun as my hand was getting a bit of feeling back. I then loaded up one of the sig clips as I saw all of our men rushing forward to take on the goblins melee style. Holstering the sig as I was looking down the wall to see what was happening, I saw the wheat field on fire. The fire was spreading fast with the smoke washing over the outpost. I began to choke and was coughing hard with my nose becoming a runny mess. Taking out the water canteen, I soaked a towel that I had thrown in the satchel the day I chased the two thieves and wrapped it around my face and neck.
I raised up and began firing at any goblin I could pick off without endangering any on the front line. When I saw my guards began to push the goblins back a good fifteen feet from the wall, I switch back to my rifle. Looking through the scope, I saw one of the war orcs about fifty yards away lumbering toward the outpost. I immediately shot him four times where he finally fell in a heap. Looking for another, I noticed the ogre was back up as he was moving forward dragging his battle axe. I shot him two more times in the head where he finally fell dead. Scanning for the other two orcs, I saw the slaver and shot him twice as he staggered with my first shot where the orc next to him was holding him upright. The second shot dropped him. Changing the mag to the five shot one, I shot the that orc three times and he fell dead. The salamander was running loose and heading roughly toward the outpost but it like the goblins stepped on the caltrops. I emptied the rifle and reloaded the 20 round mag as fast as I could with the last box containing twenty cartridges. I then shot the salamander four more times where it finally stopped moving and I was sure it was dead!
Cheers began to ring out as my guards had slain the hobgoblins. There were only about twenty or so of regular goblins left that were wounded because their feet had been skewered several times and they could no longer walk. Looking through my scope now that the wheat field fire had moved on further south, I scanned for the last orc as I wanted to take him out so my people would not get injured or killed by the vile beast. I finally saw him with four Empire florse archers standing by the only area with trees aside from the few trees mostly near the outpost latrine ditch that was called Jakes here on Sionia.
Moving further down toward the end of the wall, I set up and took aim as they were about two hundred fifty to three hundred yards out. I adjusted the scope for three hundred and used the reticle dots in the scope to adjust for actual distance and windage. Taking aim, I shot the first florse archer, then the second as I improved my aim with each passing shot. After the third florse archer was shot standing tall on the florse sturups trying to see where they were being attacked from, the forth laid low galloping off and down into a ditch where I could not see him anymore. Focusing back on the orc, I shot him around ten times before he dropped as his body armor was decent and hitting him were he was vulnerable was not easy.
“Ivor, Ivor! I need you” I called out as walked back to my original position on the short wall.
The outpost door swung open where Ivor came running up.
“A florse archer has escaped. Catch him. If he surrenders, bring him to me unharmed. Otherwise, make sure he does not make it home alive if you can not capture him.” I ordered with urgency.
“As you command, Lord Wyatt.” Said Ivor where began running to get his florse.
“I will go too.” Mi said as she ran past me to join Ivor with her brown tail wagging briskly.
“Your Atlantian weapons are amazing! The tales I had heard do not do you justice.” Praised Zack as he walked up and joined me.
“Yeah. Well, it is what it is.” I replied as I turned looking out over the battlefield.
The view was my guards with Zack's melee fighters finishing off the last of the goblins while making sure none were playing dead.
I put all my clips, empty boxes and the shotgun in my satchel with only my right arm as my left was throbbing and it really hurt to grasp things. When I saw Gus and Lukas at the entrance to the outpost, I waved them over.
“I want all these picked up and brought to me. Get Jace or anyone else to help. There is more down at the end of the wall. Be sure to check both sides of the wall!” I ordered to have my brass and empty shells picked up.
I leaned against the wall holding my left shoulder sighing in relief as the realization of the battle was finally sinking in. Looking down at my left arm, I noticed for the first time blood dripping off my fingers.
“Well damn, that does not look good!” I stated as I felt lite headed and parched at the same time.
“Old Maude! You are needed! Lord Wyatt has been seriously wounded!” Screamed out Gus as loud as he could.
Freya came rushing out the outpost to my side and was frantically trying to undo the leather straps to my chain mail. Zack had to take over after he stilled her hands as Freya was shaking too much to actually undo the straps.
Old Maude came shuffling up with one of the apprentice doctors as Zack pulled the chain mail over my head as it was faster than undoing all of the straps. Pouring some brandy, called umber spirytus here on Sionia, over my wound which burned like hell's fire. Old Maude and the apprentice doctor named Johannas inspected my wound which was more of a scrap and short cut that had already looked bruised and had turned yellow to pale blue green.
“You will need a stitch or two” Stated old Maude looking at Johannas.
“I concur. You can handle it and I will see to the others.” Johannas stated and trotted down the short wall and out onto the battlefield.
“Lars, who was hurt?” I asked while old Maude was getting the needle and thread ready.
“I am sorry Lord Wyatt, the young driver Matt was killed by an arrow over the wall as he was putting out a fire in the wheat straw next to the florse stall. The blacksmith Luke was also killed by an arrow to the neck. Moe and Roland were badly hurt by hobgoblins but I do not think they will die from their wounds.” Lars reported with a sad expression with a salute and chest bump that was half hearted.
“I see. We will need to bury our dead. Find a good place near a tree. Make sure there is a marker for their graves stating their name with the words “Loyal Servant of House of Wyatt”. I will open the box with digging tools here in just a bit.” I stated my order that ended with a grunting grimace as old Maude began stitching my wound.
“I am deeply sorry, Lord Wyatt. I should have stayed close to you.” Apologized Razor who was looking on concerned.
“It is alright. I saw your bravery in battle as you were ripping through the goblin ranks. Your actions definitely saved many lives including my own.” I said with gratitude.
“You are just as reckless as ever. When will you ever learn to allow your people to fight for you?” Admonished Freya as she held my right hand with worry in her eyes.
“I can not let my people die needlessly when I can do something about it. I value life especially my own people. Listen carefully. I will do what is necessary to keep my people safe. Once I am married and have children, then I will focus on keeping them safe first followed by my own personal safety. Is that not the right way Freya?” I stated with my reasonable question.
“Yes, I suppose so. I worry for you!” Freya answered then gave me a quick kiss on my cheek.
“Lars and Zack, have all the enemy dead pilled in the ditch down wind where we will burn them. Can not have them attracting wyverns. Gus, have Big Jake and the cooks make a hearty meal as we are going no where until our wounded can safely travel.” I stated as old Maude applied some of the high elf salve.
I got up and went to my cart where I unlocked the six foot long crate that contained the digging tools. I handed them out to the guards who went to a small tree about fifty yards southeast of the outpost that sat along a field boundary. When the graves were finished with Luke and Matt burred, I called everyone to the grave site except the cook Kanade and her helper Yuki as they would look after the food now cooking.
“Everyone gather around. I will speak for those we lost this day. Let no one ever say anything derogatory about our dead or suffer extreme punishment. Luke Smith and Matt were loyal servants of House Wyatt. As such, I honor them. I offer this prayer for our departed, The Lord is my Shepard; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff - they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Amen. Now, dust we are from and dust we must return. Into the hand of God may they rest in peace.” I spoke with my head bowed. When I spoke my last word, I grabbed some dirt pitching half on each grave.
“That was beautiful and thoughtful.” Said Freya as she took my right arm as I began leading everyone back to the outpost.
“Everyone deserves proper respect especially at the time of death.” I stated as I reached around and hugged Freya closer to me.
About two hours later when the enemy bodies had been thrown into the ditch, I was about to retrieve my gas can to burn the enemy dead. What stopped me and caught my eye was Arnold, one of my house guards, holding a red slime.
“Those are dangerous are they not?” I asked Arnold with concern.
“They can be Lord Wyatt if you squeeze them. Otherwise, not really.” Arnold answered with a shake of his head.
“Well, take it down to the enemy dead and squeeze it good over them. I want those bodies burned completely!” I ordered as I retrieved the lighter.
At the ditch, Arnold had squeezed the slime until it no longer produced a gel like fluid. Stepping forward to light the bonfire, I sniffed the tale tale recognition of diesel fuel. Setting back on my heals, I thought about this curiosity. Thinking hard, I realized the slime made a version of napalm that is in reality a mixture of diesel and liquid form of natural rubber. The diesel part of napalm was done how by the slime? Remembering a TV show about a company making bio-diesel from algae. I concluded that this red slime produces the same effect internally from bio material similar to algae. The slime then stores the diesel until it releases it or it is squeezed out as a mixture of slime natural fluid and the diesel it produced. If this is true, I could theoretically make kerosene which is nothing more than high octane unleaded gasoline. All I would need is a way to thermo crack the diesel without it blowing up in my face.
Shaking myself back to what need to be done, I lit the bodies and the bonfire started slowly before it was a raging inferno. Walking back to the outpost, I resolved in figuring out a way to make a cracking tower to make gas. The engineering for this endeavor would be difficult but if solved could cause an industrial revolution of the like this world may not be ready for.
A little while later as full darkness covered the land and it looked like the evening meal was about ready, I heard a shout from one of the guards up on the wall.
“Riders approaching.” Called out the guard behind me.
A few minutes later, Lars ordered torches lit and the gate to the florse area opened. Ivor and Mi had returned with the florse archer slung over his florse with three arrows sicking out of him. One was in his right shoulder, another went through his left thigh with the tip broken off and the last was dead center in his left butt cheek.
“Why did you not pull out the arrows?” I asked as they cut the rope that tied the archer to the florse.
“We did not want to risk him bleeding out.” Remarked Ivor with a short laugh.
“You shot him in the arse on purpose didn't you.” I accused with a short quick smirk.
“Me? No, Lord Wyatt. I would never do such a thing. Mi there did it.” Ivor said with admused accusation and laughed fully as he could not contain himself while pointing toward Mi.
“Of course, I shot him in the butt! He was mumbling how his master would skin us alive. I wanted him to shut up and it worked!” Mi said with a giggle with her floppy ears raised up a bit followed by her long tongue swiping across her wet black nose and tail wagging happily.
“Take the arrows out of him and see to his wounds so he does not die. We will take him with us to the capital where I am sure the king's men will question him well.” I stated and I could not help but shake my head and laugh a bit at the ridiculous amusing scene.
“I refuse. One of the apprentice doctors will have do it.” Stated old Maude as she flashed a bit of anger at the captive when people looked toward her to help the Mardor archer.
“As you will, but see that someone gets it done.” I said and returned to my spot before the fire where I was seated next to Freya holding Pamba who was definitely very subdued and quiet.
The evening was short with few speaking in hushed tones as people ate the evening meal that was in all honesty decent but not great compared to previous meals. No sooner had everyone finished eating, they quickly sought out their beds for no one was in the mood for any horseplay or music that had been common place. Like the rest, I too sought my own rest after speaking with Lars and Zack about the watch as I did not want anyone on duty for more than two hours this night.
I quit listening to the show way before Brent became a character and I'm looking for compilations like WDM for Artie.
Only thing I found is the shitty 2 mins clips on stern YT channel.
A while ago, I asked here about
judging metal bands and their fan bases for LGBTQIA+ friendliness (archived post).
The responses were awesome.
I finally did sort of a summary as promised.
Essentially, I compiled your suggestions from the comments, delving into some stuff more thoroughly (eg
Big List of Problematic Artists and Songs ) / Wikipedia.
Acknowledgement: While it's evident that
having just one gay band member doesn't necessarily guarantee an inclusive and safe concert experience, I've included such info nonetheless, because I found it intriguing.
Also: Additionally, I'm aware that some bands on the list might
not strictly fall under the metal genre any more, but I included them whenever users expressed enthusiastic interest in sharing information about those bands in the post.
Alphabetically sorted list of Pro-LGBTQ+ Friendly Bands:
Against Me! — More punk and band on indefinite hiatus, trans front singer Laura Jane Grace is currently touring with her studio albums. However, Songs like ‘True Trans Soul Rebel’ and ‘Baby, I’m An Anarchist!’ are still deeply valued as anthems.
Avatar — Noted as a supportive band by fans.
Baroness (was mentioned in the post by user)
Black Veil Brides – Strong allies, singer Andy Biersack does/ did Fundraisers for LGBT causes.
Bloodywood — Indian metal band considered feminist and anti-discrimination stance. Jayant Bhadula: “This is one thing that we advocate with Bloodywood is that as long as you are happy with yourself and accept yourself, you’re metal as fuck.”
Body Void – Singe guitarist Willow C. Ryan is queer and non-binary. The band's debut, I Live Inside A Burning House, dealt with Ryan living as a queer, non-binary individual living with mental illness.
Devin Townsend & Strapping Young Lad (was mentioned in the post by user)
Foehammer (was mentioned in the post by a user)
Ghost — Known for their outspoken support. E.g. waving a trans flag handed to a ghost by fans during a concert. Ghost also did a cover of Enter Sandman and donated the profits from it to Camp Aranu'tiq, a summer camp for trans and non-binary kids.
Gojira — Mentioned as a supportive band. Someone commented the concerts to be disability inaccessible because of excessive strobe lights.
Green Lung (was mentioned in the post by user)
Halestorm — Fronted by unapologetically bisexual singer Lzzy Hale.
Judas Priest — Fronted by a queer icon, Rob Halford, who had his coming out as gay in 1998. Rob Halford’s fashion -thought he was closeted 1969-1998 — was inspired by the leather and chains of kink clothing and underground fashion that he found in gay clubs and British Vogue. This influence cannot be understated and has lead to how “camp” metal looks today.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (was mentioned in the post by user)
King’s X Doug Pinnick (Bass) is gay
Kittie - Jennifer Arroyo (Bass) is gay
Korn - Frontman Jonathan Davis used to experience a lot of homophobic bullying in high school, and later has shown strong support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Leaders of the Blind (was mentioned in the post by user)
Life of Agony – Singer Mina Caputo is trans
L7 – not metal but post-punk / grunge but mentioned by user for large lesbian fan base.
Limp Bizkit – 2005 band members Durst and Borland got “married” in protest against the ban on out-of-state gay couples traveling to Massachusetts to marry, frontman Fred Durst reportedly married guitarist Wes Borland in a private ceremony.
Motionless in White — Noted for their trans anthem song, "Voices."
Nine Inch Nails — Trent Reznor has spoken in interviews about not being afraid to question or experiment with his sexuality. In the early days, he and Rich Patrick used to make out to freak out or deter random people. Supposedly, during the recording of Broken, a tech made a dismissive remark about gay people. Reznor then responded by clipping numerous pictures from gay porn magazines and hiding them around the studio for the tech to find over the following weeks.
Nothing - known for fostering an inclusive environment at their shows (was mentioned in the post by user)
Otep – Singer Otep Shamaya is gay
Power Trip (was mentioned in the post by a user)
Powerwolf — Although not explicitly stated, their actions in Russia suggest support! Singer Attila Dorn and keyboard player Christian Jost keyboardist smooch on stage in protest against Russia's anti-LGBT laws.
(maybe this is a picture of it?) Polyphia — Gender non-conforming lead guitarist, though there have been issues with an inappropriate opening act.
Rockbitch – collective with several gay and bisexual musicians
Sabaton — Fans have not reported negative experiences, and the band has been open and happy about signing pride flags.
Silent Planet — A metalcore band with pro-LGBTQ+ songs.
Sisters of Mercy — Gothic Rock/Music
Skunk Anansie – Singer Deborah Anne Dyer alias Skin is bi
Slipknot — Lead vocalist Corey Taylor is considered supportive, very queer fan base.
Sun 0)))
SeeYouSpaceCowboy – Singer Connie Sgarbossa is trans, open about her struggles with addiction and (I think) a lesbian
Torche – Singer Steve Brooks is gay
Botch und Russian Circles — Brian Cook (Bass) is gay
Bands to Avoid:
Alice Cooper — Made anti-trans comments. He went on a rant about trans kids, which has garnered support from right-wing individuals.
Behemoth — Controversial due to the lead singer’s apathetic attitude towards sexual assault and right-wing views. Known for transphobic jokes and making fun of people with ADHD during concerts.
Eluvetie — (PERSONAL OPINION) I avoid concerts due to the fan base, depending on the other acts. The band is not “evil” but NOT proactive enough/ apatic in preventing sketchy almost-nazi-fan-types from causing trouble. Iron Maiden (Bruce Dickinson) — Known for making transphobic comments.
Lamb of God — Known for having a very conservative fan base.
Mastodon (Brent Hinds) — Made homophobic comments. While Brann apologized on his behalf, the comments remain problematic.
Megadeth (Dave Mustaine) — The lead singer has expressed homophobic views and opposed gay marriage in 2012 due to his faith, although he later stated he wouldn't tell people how to live.
Pantera — Associated with conservative and white supremacist ideologies. In 2016, frontman Phil Anselmo was filmed doing a Nazi salute and yelling “white power” at a gig, which led to the cancellation of tour dates in Germany in 2023.
Slaughter to Prevail (Alex Terrible) — Known for anti-trans and neo-Nazi views.
Slayer (former bassist-singer Tom Araya) — Made homophobic comments.
System of a Down — The drummer holds views that are not supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.
Type O Negative (Peter Steele) — problematic views.
Genres suggested avoiding: Anything black metal or Norwegian black metal specifically. Due to the prevalence of problematic views and associations within the genre.
If I got anything entirely wrong, please let me know. Remember, it is a summary of the original post's comments. If you have even more music suggestions, feel free to drop them below.