by
Metal Injection on May 5, 2017
The following is a guest post by Edward Banchs, author of
Heavy Metal Africa: Life, Passion, and Heavy Metal in the Forgotten Continent.
With the recent story that Stick To Your Guns
was the first metal band to perform in Kenya, I felt the need to discuss a metal scene that I got to know quite well; after all, I did write a book about the matter. While Stick To Your Guns may have been the first American distortion-led band to rouse a mosh pit in the valleys of East Africa, the rockers in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi know this music all too well, having already headbanged to previous international visitors. But most notably, Kenyans enjoy boasting about the wonderful talent of their own that have been shouting anthems at them for years. And they are proud!
In my book,
Heavy Metal Africa: Life, Passion, and Heavy Metal in the Forgotten Continent, I detail the importance of this music to the current generation of ‘bangers not only in Kenya, but throughout the five other nations I visited. Immersing myself with those responsible for this genre’s nascence in their respective countries, as well as the voices shaping today’s scene, I left the land of our forebearers with a better understanding as to what fueled this generation of Africans pushing their continent forward. Kenya, like the rest of Africa, may be a bit off the collective metal map for most, but to those who call this beautiful nation home, this music, its power, its energy, and its honesty means everything. Here now are a few of the bands that are impacting Kenya’s metal scene.
Local superstars, Parking Lot Grass, have been a link for rockers outside of Africa to the Kenyan rock scene. The band with the healthiest buzz outside of the country has even been asked to perform in Europe. Fans of Foo Fighter-style rock that like to belt out songs with the windows down need to give Parking Lot Grass a listen. Listen to “Rainman” below, and check out their album ‘Tusk At Hand,’ a commentary on animal poaching, on your favorite digital store. Seriously, put this one on full volume – you will have this stuck in your head all day.
[video=youtube;_km253pvVdc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_km253pvVdc[/video]
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