They weren’t just playing music – they were summoning demons… or so the headlines screamed. Heavy metal conquered MTV in the 1980s, and the media unleashed a fear-fueled firestorm.
When concerned moms took on heavy metal, they didn’t expect Dee Snider. The PMRC hearings of 1985 saw Tipper Gore’s crusade for music censorship collide with the Twisted Sister frontman’s defiant stand for the First Amendment.
They weren’t just a band, they were a bloody Rorschach test. Cannibal Corpse’s album covers, a grotesque mix of zombies, necrophilia, and horrific violence, became notorious battlegrounds in the fight over artistic freedom and societal boundaries.
“Turn down that racket!” It was the soundtrack of their lives. Metalheads in the 80s clashed with parents, teachers, and anyone threatened by their loud music and rebellious style.
From courtrooms to playgrounds, the Satanic Panic of the 1980s wove its way into the fabric of American culture, driven by a handful of cases that captivated and terrified the public.
From the Satanic Panic to the clash with the PMRC, uncover how heavy metal music became the epicenter of a cultural storm, challenging social norms and redefining musical expression.
In the electric ’80s, MTV juggled being a music revolutionary and a censorship cop, making heavy metal the forbidden fruit of an outraged, pearl-clutching era.
In 1985, the music landscape witnessed a significant shift with the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), spearheading a campaign against explicit content in music. This period marks the genesis of the controversial “Filthy Fifteen” list and the subsequent establishment of “Parental Advisory” labels.
Explore the turbulent history of heavy metal music, the controversies it sparked during the 1980s, and how this notorious genre navigated its way through moral panic to gain mainstream recognition.