Does a Conservative majority have some kind of chi that powers country music or heavy metal popularity? A conservative blogger thinks the Democratic victory of 2008 will doom metal for good.

In a post on American Conservative, blogger George Hawley wrote about how he believes a Republican majority is good for heavy metal.

I was about to point out the success of Rage Against the Machine to demonstrate the power of liberal hardcore rock, ’nuff said. But then I realized Rage Against the Machine succeeded at the same time as the Clinton administration, and broke up after Clinton’s post-scandal decline.

Following a conspiracy theory freak out, I started to wonder- being a Liberal doesn’t make you a wimp, but does it affect your music if you feel deflated when liberalism seems defeated?

Hawley pointed out that the demise of hair metal coincided with the election of former President Bill Clinton, which he argued made it harder for metal to reinvent itself.

“Whereas popular metal was previously about cheap beer, loose women, and unnecessary brawls, metal lyrics in the 1990s were dominated by very different themes: whining about high-school bullies and whining about strict parents,” wrote Hawley. “One possibility is due to the fact that both heavy metal and the Republican Party are primarily favored by white men (which is not to say that everyone who likes one will also like the other).  A Democrat in the White House suggests that the political and cultural power of white guys is on the decline, and the political tastes of American white guys may change accordingly.”

Hawley cities the rise of Dragonforce during the Bush administration in 2005 as an example, and views the plans for a new Limp Bizkit album as a sign that metal is already declining under the Obama administration.

I’ve always thought frustration with Bush led to the resurgence of eyeliner in 2005 in rebellious-themed liberal bent music like Green Day’s American Idiot and My Chemical Romance’s Welcome to the Black Parade. My brother is in his senior year of high school and sees this trend too, and I also hear lots of whiny, masochistic sounding rock on local radio (not that local radio is a good indicator).

If metal has to go into the wilderness like the Republican Party for a while, at least a black president will do wonders to revive smart hip-hop.

For an example that blends both heavy metal and Wu-Tang style rap lyrics, look up the Jedi Mind Tricks. This Philadelphia band headlined the 2005 Counter-Inaugural Ball to protest former President Bush at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. . I’m not sure whether the success of their Bush-era albums reinforces Hawley’s trend or bucks it. You decide.

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