METAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

The World Metal Congress was established to celebrate and also to shine a light on important topics that affect our community, so we are honoured to invite two hugely important voices in the field of mental health. 

For Ep8 of the WMC Webcast, we’ll be focusing on encouraging dialogue, destigmatisation and constructive positivity to an area which has affected countless individuals both on and off the stage. 

We’re therefore thrilled to be joined by #mentalhealth advocate and Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach and clinical psychologist Dr. Kate Quinn of the excellent https://heavymetaltherapy.co.uk, a community support group. 

Ahead of our webcast, Dr. Quinn has also recommended these additional, international resources.

Shout

Shout 85258 is the UK's first free, confidential, 24/7 text support service.

www.giveusashout.org

Mind UK

Promotes the views and needs of people with mental health problems.

Phone: 0300 123 3393 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm GMT)

www.mind.org.uk

Samaritans UK

Confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair.

Phone: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline)

www.samaritans.org.uk

Anxiety and Depression Association of America USA

adaa.org/

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline USA

Phone: 1-800-273-8255

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Beyond Blue AUS

Phone: 1300 22 4636

beyondblue.org.au/

Hearing Voices Network

https://www.hearing-voices.org/

The band Disturbed have this page which has helpline numbers for a massive range of countries:

https://www.disturbed1.com/news/resources-help-56651

WMC webcast 06: Global Music, Local Roots

The World Metal Congress returns Tuesday 15th December with a true legend of global metal: Max Cavalera - founding member of Sepultura and now of Soulfly and Killer Be Killed. No stranger to adversity and one of our musical world’s most influential and revered figures, we will be exploring his remarkable journey in the company of another metal musician who will be no stranger to longtime supporters of WMC, and is also no stranger to adversity.

Jake Shuker from Syria, of Maysaloon joined us for our first WMC event in 2019 and subsequently became the first metal musician to play the Imperial War Museum, and he has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign for his band’s upcoming album, 'A Lip To Earth, A Lip To Heaven And A Tongue To The Stars'. The war in Syria saw the band forced to relocate to Beirut this year, only to be affected by the city's devastating port explosion in August. And if you’d like to get behind Jake’s campaign you can support it here.

Hosted by WMC founders Alexander Milas and Lina Khatib, we’ll be exploring how both Max and Jake grew up with heavy metal and became acclaimed musicians in their own respective nations as a means of overcoming upheaval and challenges in their own personal lives.

Max is currently working with his metal 'supergroup' project, Killer Be Killed with Greg Puciato, Troy Sanders and Ben Koller. The band's second album 'Reluctant Hero' was released last month. Jake Shuker is currently working on Maysaloon's new album and composing a score for a theatrical production. 

Tune into our Youtube channel at 7pm GMT for our livestream, and we encourage you to join in the discussion: https://www.youtube.com/worldmetalcongress

… and don’t forget to subscribe as there are many more webisodes to come!

MUSIC, ACTIVISM, AND METAL FOR NEPAL

We're incredibly pleased to see the World Metal Congress returning with a truly global conversation. A recurring theme in the world of heavy metal is the question of the role that music and musicians have to play in social and political issues - can musicians change the world, and should they even try?

Who better to ask that question than the group we have assembled. Alex Skoknick of Testament should need no introduction - as the Satriani-trained guitar hero of Testament and the Bay Area Thrash Scene, as well as an outspoken critic of current American politics using the power of rap metal, he's the ideal person to frame our questions with two very special figures in Nepal's music scene - Flower, a main organiser for Kathmandu's Silence Festival and guest at the inaugural w\m/c 2019 event, and Avishek KC, founding frontman of Underside. Together, they are primary contributors to Metal For Nepal, an organisation set up to aid relief efforts following 2015's disastrous Kathmandu earthquake which has now reactivated to assist with a developing humanitarian crisis developing on Nepal's border due to Covid-19.

This episode will debut on Tuesday, October 20th at 2PM ET / 7PM BST / 8PM CEST on our YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgMqRetWigpM8dpBf9BpYEg

https://www.metalfornepal.org/

WELCOME

On behalf of everyone at the World Metal Congress, we thank you for your interest.

In keeping with our music, the first-ever w\m/c made a very big noise, with fans, academics, politicians, artists, and industry-types from all around the world joining under a common banner to celebrate, to share ideas, and to talk about the future of this music and this music and this culture.

We’ve made waves in the media, and if you weren’t able to make it then check out our galleries and our film of the event. We’ve also got some exciting news, in partnership with the Imperial War Museum. Check it out here, and we hope to see you soon.

Alexander, Lina, Niall, Josh, and everyone behind the w\m/c 

We’re partnering with the Imperial War Museum to bring Syrian death metal to the UK!

We’re honoured to partner with London’s Imperial War Museum (IWM) on the first metal event to ever be held at the museum. On Saturday July 6 at noon, IWM will be hosting Jake Shuker, frontman of Syria’s leading death metal band Maysaloon, to perform a one-off killer track in the museum itself. Then, along with celebrated Syrian concert pianist Aeham Ahmad, he’ll be taking part in a talk on his experience as a musician living through the conflict – how it affected them as artists and performers, what it was like to play at risk of punishment and the cost of becoming a ‘rebel musician’ – in conversation with BBC journalist and filmmaker Ben Zand. The talk will be followed by performances by each artist, in what will be the UK’s first ever live performance of Syrian death metal.

The performance and talk are both free. However, advance booking is required to attend the talk, which you can do here.

And you can learn more about Jake and his experiences on the BBC.

Jake Shuker of Syrian death metal band Maysaloon. (Pic: Tina Korhonen)

We did it!

No, we don't mean us. We're referring to people like you who came down to support us, who helped us get the word out, and who joined us in the conversation. 

With your help, the first-ever w\m/c made a very big noise, with fans, academics, politicians, artists, and industry-types from all around the world joining under a common banner to celebrate, to share ideas, and to talk about the future of this music and this music and this culture.

Thank you.

It seems the world noticed, too, and we've made waves in the media which we really weren't prepared for. Even more importantly, we feel like something important has happened, and we think it should continue to happen. Until then though we're going to kick up our heels and think about what's next, and we invite you to do the same: get in touch, check out our galleries and our film of the event, and let us know what you'd like to see, and let's build this thing together. Thank you for all your support, and watch this space.

Alexander, Lina, Niall, Josh, and everyone behind the w\m/c