We all know there’s more to metal than blastbeats and fretboard carnage. While a blistering banger can undeniably lure the masses in, the true charm of the genre lies in its sense of community. From the age-old mantra of “If someone falls, pick them up!” to initiatives like Safe Gigs For Women ensuring everyone feels comfortable in the pit, it’s a point of pride in modern metal that everyone should feel included and help each other out.
And let’s face it, we’re an awesome bunch. The Heavy Metal Truants cyclists have raised huge piles of cash for kids’ charities, while Metal For Nepal have made a difference to the lives of people living in poverty, and now there’s a new registered charity set to harness metal’s sense of kinship for the greater good. Metal For Good is the brainchild of Katy and Chris Baker, and promises to provide “positive change, one riff at a time!”
“We provide grants to projects that utilise music to help people,” Katy explains. “We want to make sure that everyone has access to music, as music can be an invaluable tool to unite communities, provide an emotional crutch, and give people a voice.”
Through merch sales, rock memorabilia auctions and crowd fundraising events, Metal For Good is able to financially support projects focusing on health and mental well-being, as well as initiatives that can educate and aid in reducing social and economic inequalities. And every project harnesses the power of music.
The idea for Metal For Good was sparked back in January 2022, while Katy and husband Chris were indulging in a nostalgic evening watching post-hardcore heroes Funeral For A Friend.
“We were waiting for Funeral to come on, and we were just reflecting on how the metal community has always been so good to us, how grateful we are for it,” Katy recalls. “We were just talking about how music should be available for everyone, even those who might be at a disadvantage because of their background.”
With Katy working as a consultant advising charities, and Chris having previously worked as a youth worker and in senior roles at a number of charities, the couple realised they had the perfect combination of skills and experience to start up a initiative like Metal For Good. “We turned to each other and said, ‘We might actually be able to pull this off!’” Katy laughs.
With a concept in place, the pair began eliciting support from a range of ambassadors from across the metal community, including Tesseract’s James Monteith and Hundred Reasons’ Andy Gilmour, and earned endorsements from the Metal God himself, Rob Halford of Judas Priest. “We wanted ambassadors that reflect the whole spectrum [of heavy music], to show that metalheads come in all different shapes and sizes,” says Katy.
Although Metal For Good are in their relative infancy, they’re already starting to make an impact. “It’s been crazy… we’re on track to have raised around £30,000 this year,” Katy reveals. “Given that we we’re a brand new charity, we’re really proud of that. We’ve raised enough to start offering our first wave of grants.”
The initial organisations invited to apply for grants range from The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, to Gig Buddies – which aims to make live shows more accessible for people with learning disabilities – to Metalidads, a network encouraging fathers to open up about their mental health with like-minded people. People can support Metal For Good’s grant funds by buying something from their online shop, which sells metalfriendly goodies ranging from t-shirts to patches and tote bags.
On October 20, Metal For Good will also be launching Metal Merch Day, their answer to Christmas Jumper Day. The rules are so simple that they hope everyone will take part, even from the comfort of their own home: just wear your favourite piece of band merch and make a donation to the charity.
“You could wear it to work, college, school, the gym… we’re hoping people get really creative,” Katy says. “You could even go on a group run all dressed in Slipknot boilersuits! We want it to be our annual flagship fundraising campaign. It’s just a way for the community to come together and show the rest of the world how great the metal community truly is.”
With Metal For Good also encouraging people to get involved in creative ways – from pub quizzes and gigs, to group runs and football matches – they hope this will help celebrate the community at the heart of metal. In the coming year, Metal For Good hope to keep growing. Currently partnered with Laney Amplification, Primordial Radio and 2000trees, the charity is always looking for new partners and supporters. In Katy’s mind, the sky’s the limit.
“The big goal would be to become the go-to charity in the rock and metal world,” she explains. “But we ultimately just want to make a huge difference to people’s lives.”
To get involved with Metal Merch Day and get involved with Metal For Good, visit https://metalforgood.org/
