ABSTRACT
A family-oriented beach resort, by any standards, was an unusual location for a Heavy Metal gig (live performance). Yet, for several months, this venue played host to two worlds – families with children and Malay youths suited in their trademark black T-shirts bearing emblems of morbidity and malevolence. The inevitable collision of these two worlds and the interactions that followed were not all shock and awe. Metallers with their painted faces and metal studs regularly patronized the stall selling beverages. In one instance, a stout performer with corpse-paint on spiked breast-plates addressed the middle-aged ethnic Chinese owner as ‘uncle’ (the respectful term for male elders, the female equivalent being ‘auntie’), as he proceeded to purchase a bottle of mineral water. Accustomed to such sights after several weekends, the ‘uncle’ teased some of the youths, asking if they were truly ‘dead’ as their customs and attire suggested.
