For music that’s generally perceived as being ‘dark’, metal sure does come from some sunny places. While the perception of the Bay Area as being the home of thrash metal overeggs the pudding a little – seminal label Megaforce was founded in New York City to market the young Metallica’s first releases – we can trace Metal Blade Records and Slayer back to Los Angeles, and only Anthrax of the ‘Big 4’ hailed from outside California.
When the death metal scene mushroomed in Florida in the late 80s through bands like Morbid Angel, Death, and Deicide, artists from all over were lured there. Cannibal Corpse’s relocation from Buffalo to Tampa perhaps marks them as being the youngest folks to move from NY to the Sunshine State by a good 40 years. Meanwhile, Sepultura brought Brazilian brutality to groove metal.
Even in Norway, while sunglasses aren’t needed so often, many black metal artists choose to blacken their eyes with corpse paint. Which may be more practical when headbanging as it can’t fly off on stage.
Metal’s story has always been one of evolution. When Tony Iommi (arguably) invented it, it was through detuning the blues while leaning on that style’s use of minor key riffs. You’d rarely see John Lee Hooker on stage without his trademark Ray-Bans, and the Black Sabbath axeman is pictured in tinted lenses frequently.
Legendary guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani concurred, explaining, “I realized that having that curtain to hide behind allowed me to be more creative and feel less self-conscious.” Sunglasses can be a tool of the trade, as well as a way of painting an iconic image.
Let’s have a look at some metal gods’ glasses.
Slash
Slash is rarely seen without his trademark Ray-Ban Aviators. It could be speculated that sunglasses cover a multitude of sins that may have been useful to the once-notoriously hard-living rocker. He admitted as much to the New Zealand Herald in 2015, explaining, “I think it was just a hangover thing that turns into an everyday thing.” And despite being sober since 2006, technology developed since has given him a reason to keep the shades on as he reflected, “…now, wherever you go, everybody’s got camera phones, taking your picture, and you just end up never taking the shades off.” Camera phones will no doubt be in heavy attendance next spring when he brings his Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators project to his native UK.
Will he need the Ray-Bans in Newcastle at the end of March? Perhaps.
Kerry King
Another reason to be excited for next year should hopefully be axeman Kerry King’s new project. He teased fans on Facebook this week with an image of his iconic chain – which he removed during Slayer’s final show at the Los Angeles Forum in 2019 – and the caption ‘Coming in 2024…’. Little is known about the new venture other than he said in 2021 that he had ‘about two albums worth of material’ and confirmed in 2022 that drummer Paul Bostaph (Testament, Exodus, Slayer) was along for the ride.
If there are live shows, Kerry doesn’t perform in shades, although he seems to wear them everywhere else. He’s often seen wearing Oakley sunglasses, a company that hails from his own Southern California, with a niche in sports and outdoor eyewear. Heavy metal? Not so much, but Kenny has a strong preference for their wraparound models like the Pit Boss and Plates. When the question was posed in a guitar forum, “Why does Kerry King always wear sunglasses in interviews and other public appearances?” the answer came back “cuz he’s in Slayer, he can do what he wants”. Seems fair enough.
Ozzy Osbourne
Unlike Slash and King, we do know that Ozzy wears prescription glasses. Sharon has spoken before that his eyesight isn’t great; while the phrase ‘blind as a bat’ might be a tad unkind, it might be somewhat karmic also. Ozzy is often seen in Oliver Peoples’ round John Lennon-style lenses, which are likely to be a tribute to his hero.
Ozzy has often said his favourite LP is Imagine and that if there had been no Beatles, there would have been no Black Sabbath, saying, “I remember it like it was yesterday. I was walking around with a transistor radio on my shoulder. And ‘She Loves You ‘came on. And I don’t know, it just went, ‘Bang! And that’s what I want to do! Wouldn’t it be great?”.
Ozzy may need the shades a little longer – he’s apparently back in the studio in Los Angeles for the “one more album” he reckons he still has under his belt. Will he still wear them if and when he retires to his Welders Estate in Buckinghamshire?
