Heavy-Metal.Info

Metal can be found anywhere these days. The church is not even an exception anymore as long, shaggy-haired kids in black shirts mosh, air guitar, head bang and just plain rock out in a small building behind a church. And no, it isn’t Sunday service.

The hang out is called The Pit. It’s a place that the church’s Pastor, his wife and other members of the Cascades Wesleyan Church have turned into a place for teenagers to have their clean fun complete with a stage, some snacks and a pool table.

Pastor Clive Heyd says of the place: “It gives the kids in this subculture a safe place to hang out and express themselves”. All it takes is a $7 cover charge to see all the garage bands funnel right back into the church all while providing funds for the snacks and maintenance of the building.

You may think that it’s a small time deal but no. It has now been operating for three months and actually brings in an average of 200 people to every single show.

While it’s great to see that heavy metal is reaching new audiences and giving a new light to the people involved with it, hardcore fans of the music might see this as a little more than odd. Especially so if those hardcore fans happen to be fans of bands like Otep or bands in the death metal and doom metal category.

But hey, it’s their call. It is a nice idea to filter all the energy of heavy metal into a safe space instead of letting its violence spread through the streets.