Even If You Are A Rockstar...

[F2005]

[QUOTE="F2005, post: 1343844, member: 84826"']

And also, if Lars was suffering from this type of hair loss when he was just starting out (in his early 20's), we probably wouldn't even be mentioning his name today. I'm a lover of glam rock but even in 80s thrash, virtually everyone had full heads of long hair.

The other day I was having lunch with some colleagues and we were talking about metal music. Someone talked about the horrible "Turbo lover" video.
I said "I read on a forum that the singer of Judas Priest is one of the few metal singers who is bald".
A female colleague, who is smart and funny and is into music, goes dramatically "I knew that. Poor fellow :-("

Well, I had it coming. She was just sincere.[/QUOTE]

The thing with Halford though is that he started noticeably losing his hair probably more than 20 years after Priest released their first album. When a band is well-established and huge like Priest was at the time Halford started losing his hair, it really matter a hell of a lot less. If he started losing his hair back in 1974 (when Priest released their first album), would he even have been selected to be the singer for Priest. Given how rock musicians looked at the time (especially frontmen), I highly doubt it. Another example right there of how hair loss can change the trajectory of a person's life.

 

[whatevr]

There are loads of bald metal singers... Just off the top of my head:

David Draiman from Disturbed
Björn "Speed" Strid from Soilwork
Ralf Scheepers from Primal Fear

Prolly more if I really looked.

 

[GoldenMane]

Kirk Hammett has been on minoxidil and probably finasteride forcyears, he's pretty open about it and his hair is a bit thin though curl ones helps. Scott Ian from Anthrax went bald fairly young, Kerry King for Slayer compensated by tattooing his head. Anthrax had a bald singer for a few years. Chad Smith has been a hat prisoner for years. Billy Corgan went bald young at the peak of his success... Wigs and transplants are also almost certainly common. Oh and have a look at Herman Li from Dragonforce these days... He's deep into shave it territory.

 

[GoldenMane]

Shavo from SOAD compensated with a rad beard. Daron Malakian has been battling male pattern baldness since the early days of SOAD, hat prisoner now. Alkaline Trio has been rife with male pattern baldness since its inception. Maynard James Keenan of Tool decided to paint himself blue when he went bald. Mohawk during the transition.

 

[Aldrich]

how is this f***ing disease is not taken more seriously

It's just cosmetic bro. Or, just grow more hair bro.

 

[F2005]

Kirk Hammett has been on minoxidil and probably finasteride forcyears, he's pretty open about it and his hair is a bit thin though curl ones helps. Scott Ian from Anthrax went bald fairly young, Kerry King for Slayer compensated by tattooing his head. Anthrax had a bald singer for a few years. Chad Smith has been a hat prisoner for years. Billy Corgan went bald young at the peak of his success... Wigs and transplants are also almost certainly common. Oh and have a look at Herman Li from Dragonforce these days... He's deep into shave it territory.

Wow, you do know your metal. It's true, today it is more acceptable for bald men in metal bands. But back in the 70s and 80s, it was not. And bands like Judas Priest, Slayer, and Armored Saint either became big or just started out in the 80s. And Slayer has such a cult following now, that their rabid fans won't turn their backs on them because Kerry King is bald. But he had a nice head of long hair when Slayer started out, and I doubt Slayer would've recruited him to be their guitarist if he was bald then. (Same goes for Armored Saint and singer John Bush since you commented on him being in Anthrax). Life would've been completely different for him. And I actually felt bad for him recently. They were goofing on his bald head on That Metal Show recently. Apparently Slayer was playing a hot outdoor gig and they were goofing on how his bald head was getting terribly sunburnt.

Scott Ian is the only guy that I remember from an 80s metal band who went bald early. And initially he did not even shave it back then, and you can see in the some of the Anthrax videos from the late 80s, him forming a pronounced NW6 long haired horseshoe. Obviously he's shaved his head for a long time now. Imagine though, being the only bald guy in a scene dominated by full heads of long hair. I don't know if all guys could handle that. Hell, ever since I started losing my hair, I felt so demoralized that I completely stopped playing at all.

 

[Roberto_72]

Wow, you do know your metal. It's true, today it is more acceptable for bald men in metal bands. But back in the 70s and 80s, it was not. And bands like Judas Priest, Slayer, and Armored Saint either became big or just started out in the 80s. And Slayer has such a cult following now, that their rabid fans won't turn their backs on them because Kerry King is bald. But he had a nice head of long hair when Slayer started out, and I doubt Slayer would've recruited him to be their guitarist if he was bald then. (Same goes for Armored Saint and singer John Bush since you commented on him being in Anthrax). Life would've been completely different for him. And I actually felt bad for him recently. They were goofing on his bald head on That Metal Show recently. Apparently Slayer was playing a hot outdoor gig and they were goofing on how his bald head was getting terribly sunburnt.

Scott Ian is the only guy that I remember from an 80s metal band who went bald early. And initially he did not even shave it back then, and you can see in the some of the Anthrax videos from the late 80s, him forming a pronounced NW6 long haired horseshoe. Obviously he's shaved his head for a long time now. Imagine though, being the only bald guy in a scene dominated by full heads of long hair. I don't know if all guys could handle that. Hell, ever since I started losing my hair, I felt so demoralized that I completely stopped playing at all.

Thinning hair has also been an obstacle for my musical career. I am a rock drummer. For a while, I studied rock singing. I received a lot of praises for my voice.
However, I went back to drumming because... you want to know the truth? Even if these people were jerks, I did have some friends say I may not have the physique du rôle to be a singer. And they were not referring to my average height or weight or face structure. They were referring to the one thing I could not train for.
Now, these people were not ALL people, but the only fact that someone will remind you you are different, and less of something, will make it very different to do something if you have a certain character that does not allow you to "shake it off".

 

[F2005]

Thinning hair has also been an obstacle for my musical career. I am a rock drummer. For a while, I studied rock singing. I received a lot of praises for my voice.
However, I went back to drumming because... you want to know the truth? Even if these people were jerks, I did have some friends say I may not have the physique du rôle to be a singer. And they were not referring to my average height or weight or face structure. They were referring to the one thing I could not train for.
Now, these people were not ALL people, but the only fact that someone will remind you you are different, and less of something, will make it very different to do something if you have a certain character that does not allow you to "shake it off".

Roberto, I would be singing right now if it wasn't for hair loss. One of my friends has a metal cover band and he recently out of the blue asked if I wanted to be their singer. He knows me with my bandana on and he knows me from years ago when I still had a good head of hair. And he knows my physique and my outgoing personality at bars. I would've loved to have accepted his offer though. I don't need to tell you what held me back.

 

[GoldenMane]

Wow, you do know your metal. It's true, today it is more acceptable for bald men in metal bands. But back in the 70s and 80s, it was not. And bands like Judas Priest, Slayer, and Armored Saint either became big or just started out in the 80s. And Slayer has such a cult following now, that their rabid fans won't turn their backs on them because Kerry King is bald. But he had a nice head of long hair when Slayer started out, and I doubt Slayer would've recruited him to be their guitarist if he was bald then. (Same goes for Armored Saint and singer John Bush since you commented on him being in Anthrax). Life would've been completely different for him. And I actually felt bad for him recently. They were goofing on his bald head on That Metal Show recently. Apparently Slayer was playing a hot outdoor gig and they were goofing on how his bald head was getting terribly sunburnt.

Scott Ian is the only guy that I remember from an 80s metal band who went bald early. And initially he did not even shave it back then, and you can see in the some of the Anthrax videos from the late 80s, him forming a pronounced NW6 long haired horseshoe. Obviously he's shaved his head for a long time now. Imagine though, being the only bald guy in a scene dominated by full heads of long hair. I don't know if all guys could handle that. Hell, ever since I started losing my hair, I felt so demoralized that I completely stopped playing at all.

I felt that too... I used to love metal and rock, playing guitar. Hair loss has made me feel distant from the music I used to love. I don't feel like a long haired rocker anymore. I feel drawn to bands without long hair now, Helmet Alaline Trio, Pixies etc. I can't watch a music video or go to a concert without feeling like sh*t when I see all the guys with thick long hair. I don't even look obviously balding most of the time, but I Still feel inadequate when I see long haired rockers and metal heads without this curse.

 

[Roberto_72]

Roberto, I would be singing right now if it wasn't for hair loss. One of my friends has a metal cover band and he recently out of the blue asked if I wanted to be their singer. He knows me with my bandana on and he knows me from years ago when I still had a good head of hair. And he knows my physique and my outgoing personality at bars. I would've loved to have accepted his offer though. I don't need to tell you what held me back.

I felt that too... I used to love metal and rock, playing guitar. Hair loss has made me feel distant from the music I used to love. I don't feel like a long haired rocker anymore. I feel drawn to bands without long hair now, Helmet Alaline Trio, Pixies etc. I can't watch a music video or go to a concert without feeling like sh*t when I see all the guys with thick long hair. I don't even look obviously balding most of the time, but I Still feel inadequate when I see long haired rockers and metal heads without this curse.

When I was in my twenties, my metal friends made a point of having long hair as a differentiation between them and the rest of the society. I say "my friends" rather then "my friends and I" because I was already losing my hair in a horrible fashion so I could not join them in this crusade.

The funny thing about this situation is that metal heads (I know there are exceptions) did not strike me as sympathetic to the plights of those who, like me, had an aesthetic problem, although their songs and culture are ALL about inclusion, and anti-stablishment.
Quite the contrary! It looked as though they associated baldness to the old age of the "enemy".

I think this can be considered like an example of how our instincts (long hair is cool, don't be uncool) trump any rationalization and ideology...

 

[GoldenMane]

Y

When I was in my twenties, my metal friends made a point of having long hair as a differentiation between them and the rest of the society. I say "my friends" rather then "my friends and I" because I was already losing my hair in a horrible fashion so I could not join them in this crusade.

The funny thing about this situation is that metal heads (I know there are exceptions) did not strike me as sympathetic to the plights of those who, like me, had an aesthetic problem, although their songs and culture are ALL about inclusion, and anti-stablishment.
Quite the contrary! It looked as though they associated baldness to the old age of the "enemy".

I think this can be considered like an example of how our instincts (long hair is cool, don't be uncool) trump any rationalization and ideology...

Yeah... Tough being a balding metal headp
It just seems like male pattern baldness picked the worst possible victim. male pattern baldness doesn't discriminate though... It seems like bald metal heads can gain acceptance by getting lots of tattoos and growing a long beard. It's over compensation sure, but it gives you the alternative look that comes so easy to normal folks without male pattern baldness. All they have to do is stop cutting their hair to be alternative... So easy, and so superficial. That was me btw, f*****g poser that I was, thought I was metal as sh*t just because I had hair down to my arse. Bald and tats at least gains acceptance in metal, but you'll never be the hot metal sex symbol for metal bettors. And obviously if you headbang with a bald head, you just look like a throbbing penis. Windmilling is out of the question.
You know... I never saw Nick Olvieri of QOTSA as a bald guy when I was younger, always thought he looked badass. Kerry King on the other hand was very obviously a bald guy...

 

[F2005]

Y

Yeah... Tough being a balding metal headp
It just seems like male pattern baldness picked the worst possible victim. male pattern baldness doesn't discriminate though... It seems like bald metal heads can gain acceptance by getting lots of tattoos and growing a long beard. It's over compensation sure, but it gives you the alternative look that comes so easy to normal folks without male pattern baldness. All they have to do is stop cutting their hair to be alternative... So easy, and so superficial. That was me btw, f*****g poser that I was, thought I was metal as sh*t just because I had hair down to my arse. Bald and tats at least gains acceptance in metal, but you'll never be the hot metal sex symbol for metal bettors. And obviously if you headbang with a bald head, you just look like a throbbing penis. Windmilling is out of the question.
You know... I never saw Nick Olvieri of QOTSA as a bald guy when I was younger, always thought he looked badass. Kerry King on the other hand was very obviously a bald guy...

Man, I understand your points like only a metalhead would. Ever since my hair loss became very noticeable, I now need to be a bit drunk when the band plays so that I can forget about hair loss enough so that I can enjoy the show. I never had to do this before hair loss. Hell, I even used to be the designated driver. You are totally right about feeling distant from the music that you once loved. I feel similarly.

Yeah, you're right too, these guys do overcompensate. Scott Ian and Kerry King are perfect examples of this, although I think that Kerry is batshit crazy to begin with. And I am laughing about your throbbing penis comment. You're totally right and unfortunately once I do go fully bald, I won't be attending any more shows. I'd just feel like some old fart at some Catskills retreat instead of the rocker that I once was. I've seen a bald guy that I know headbang and it reminds me of the scene from Rain Man, where Dustin Hoffman was trying to dance in Tom Cruise's apartment towards the end of the movie. I sure as sh*t don't want to look like that. Lots on non-metalheads just cannot understand how much fun headbanging actually is and what a release it can be. I remember bangin my head at shows while screaming "I fuckin love this sh*t!" Non-metalheads would never understand, but then again I could never understand how some one could stand in the same place at a yuppie bar, beer in hand, thumb in ***, and people-watch for 3 hours.

 

[F2005]

The funny thing about this situation is that metal heads (I know there are exceptions) did not strike me as sympathetic to the plights of those who, like me, had an aesthetic problem, although their songs and culture are ALL about inclusion, and anti-stablishment.

Honestly Roberto, as much as I love partying in the RNR scene, I do not hang out with these same people at all when I am out of the scene and on a day-to-day basic. As much as I do love metal, I find the scene to be populated by a bunch of unthoughtful dummies. It's a weird contradiction in me. I love the music and rockin out, but when I am outside of the scene, I almost yearn for something better. Something better than the drunk and drug-addled lives of a lot of the people partying in that scene.

 

[GoldenMane]

Metal heads tend to be quite superficial and vain. They think that society is judging them but they're very quick to judge others. Honestly I have no time for them anymore. Kind of respect bands like Helmet who didn't buy into the superficial image thing.

 

[I.D WALKER]

Ah yes, the rebel rocker paradox. A lot of these self titled nonconformist types are some of the worst. The range of their snobbery surpasses
the very prevailing bodies they love to rail against.
Sometimes there's even an unspoken screening process that takes place eg; name dropping and image presentation, background checks haha etc., before they'll consider accepting an outsider into their special subset, "circle of cool".

Then there are the others, the free thinkers and true lovers of music, those who don't give a damn about any of that and are content to just party. That's my kind of good time- if I can find it.., gathering wherever there's no particular, ulterior motivated people congregating. That's where I was meant to be.

 

[CopeForLife]

I always cringe when see this over masculine bald redhead shine cueball rockers in their retarded clother...

 

[whatevr]

I always cringe when see this over masculine bald redhead shine cueball rockers in their retarded clother...

But splurge all over when you see the fuccboi that is Zayn Malik, amirite?

 

[blackg]

I always cringe when see this over masculine bald redhead shine cueball rockers in their retarded clother...

What the hell is "retarded clother"?
Do you mean "retarded clover"? Like the Irish?
That's racist.

 

[CopeForLife]

But splurge all over when you see the fuccboi that is Zayn Malik, amirite?

VERSUS

just end it


...

BONUS

 

[CopeForLife]

just google ROB HALFORD or KERRY KING (have no idea who are they but seems like popular "rockstars")

I can't express how DEPRESSING to see these cueballs and realising that I AM ON MY HALFWAY TO THIS

why... GOD WHY