This article originally appeared on Noisey Denmark.Why is it that almost every man with long, curly hair Iâve ever seen seems to love banging his head and throwing his luxurious locks back and forth to the sound of another man with an equal amount of curls in his hair playing the devilâs music? Will listening to metal make your hair growth improve or do people with great hair just naturally gravitate towards the genre? Iâve always wondered, but Iâve never come close to finding an answer. But I do know that maintaining long, beautiful hair is no easy task, especially when youâre partying down at a metal festival many miles away from the nearest bottle of conditioner. Hence why I decided to go to Copenhellâa heavy metal festival that occurs every summer on RefshaleĂžen, an island in the harbor of Copenhagenâto figure out how metalheads maintain their impressive metal manes.
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But before venturing out among the festival-goers, I had a chat with two of Denmarkâs most prominent curly-haired metalheads.
Lasse Revsbech, lead guitarist in Danish death metal band BAEST
Noisey: Hey, Lasse. Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of curly-haired guys in the metal scene?
Lasse Revsbech: During my time in the metal scene Iâve met many guys with beautiful, long curls. Iâve met so many at this point that me and Svend [BAESTâs other guitarist] have decided to start a curly-hair club. We offer a membership to people with nice hair whenever we meet them.Why are there so many curls in metal?
We just let our hair grow out. There are probably a lot of shorthaired guys with really nice curl-potential, who are just too shy to grow them out.Why have you chosen to sport your long curls?
Well, I was born with them and also: metal picked me and I picked metal. I just let my hair grow out because a lot of metal musicians doâand it looks badass. Iâve often looked at Dimebag Darrell and really admired his hair. The first time I saw him, I thought, âI want hair like that, too.âIs it a point of pride?
I mean, a lot of people would love to have long, curly hair like mineâmetalheads and normal people alike. People often ask me: âCan I have your curls?â or âHave you ever straightened your hair?â In both cases the answer is no.Do people mainly have naturally curly hair or do they use hair curlers?
I think in the past people probably used those methods but not these days. I highly doubt it. I think most people just wake up every morning and thatâs how their hair is styledâalthough you do have to take good care of it. Iâm actually the son of a hairdresser, believe it or not, so a lot of people have speculated whether my hair style was authentic or the result of a perm. But I honestly donât think anyone does that. I certainly hope not. I know for a fact that itâs insanely expensive.
Lasse Revsbech: During my time in the metal scene Iâve met many guys with beautiful, long curls. Iâve met so many at this point that me and Svend [BAESTâs other guitarist] have decided to start a curly-hair club. We offer a membership to people with nice hair whenever we meet them.Why are there so many curls in metal?
We just let our hair grow out. There are probably a lot of shorthaired guys with really nice curl-potential, who are just too shy to grow them out.Why have you chosen to sport your long curls?
Well, I was born with them and also: metal picked me and I picked metal. I just let my hair grow out because a lot of metal musicians doâand it looks badass. Iâve often looked at Dimebag Darrell and really admired his hair. The first time I saw him, I thought, âI want hair like that, too.âIs it a point of pride?
I mean, a lot of people would love to have long, curly hair like mineâmetalheads and normal people alike. People often ask me: âCan I have your curls?â or âHave you ever straightened your hair?â In both cases the answer is no.Do people mainly have naturally curly hair or do they use hair curlers?
I think in the past people probably used those methods but not these days. I highly doubt it. I think most people just wake up every morning and thatâs how their hair is styledâalthough you do have to take good care of it. Iâm actually the son of a hairdresser, believe it or not, so a lot of people have speculated whether my hair style was authentic or the result of a perm. But I honestly donât think anyone does that. I certainly hope not. I know for a fact that itâs insanely expensive.
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How do you keep your curls looking nice?
I use a nice brand of shampoo and I always wash it twice, but not necessarily every day. Afterwards I use conditioner. Preferably an upscale brand. Since my mother is a hairdresser I have access to the good stuff. Sometimes I apply oil, but not too often. I never brush my hair, only when I get a haircut. When I was a kid my mother brushed my hair with a horrible comb made specifically for curly hair and it felt like pulling out all the hair from my scalp. But hereâs a pro tip for people with curls: you can buy something called a wet-brush, which is awesome. You just brush your hair when itâs wet and it feels all smoothâthe brush just slides right through. I was totally blown away the first time I tried it.Why are curls and metal such a good match?
It just looks awesome when you have curly hair and youâre headbanging. I would actually say that it looks way more badass than it does with straight hair. You have all that volume. Curly hair is massive. Itâs heavy, you have to work it to bang it around.
I use a nice brand of shampoo and I always wash it twice, but not necessarily every day. Afterwards I use conditioner. Preferably an upscale brand. Since my mother is a hairdresser I have access to the good stuff. Sometimes I apply oil, but not too often. I never brush my hair, only when I get a haircut. When I was a kid my mother brushed my hair with a horrible comb made specifically for curly hair and it felt like pulling out all the hair from my scalp. But hereâs a pro tip for people with curls: you can buy something called a wet-brush, which is awesome. You just brush your hair when itâs wet and it feels all smoothâthe brush just slides right through. I was totally blown away the first time I tried it.Why are curls and metal such a good match?
It just looks awesome when you have curly hair and youâre headbanging. I would actually say that it looks way more badass than it does with straight hair. You have all that volume. Curly hair is massive. Itâs heavy, you have to work it to bang it around.
Anders BĂžtter, metalhead and radio host
Noisey: Have you noticed how many guys on the metal scene have long, curly hair?
Anders BĂžtter: I donât really notice the curls all that much, but I do notice that people tend to have long, beautiful hair. I always wanted my own hair to be longer, but it just tends to reach a natural limit at the shoulders. Iâd love to have hair down my back that I could bang around at shows, but I doubt I ever will. I notice the abundance of curls whenever I have BAEST on my show. We sort of battle on curls. They have me beaten, which sucks because I obviously want the nicest and longest curls in the scene.
Anders BĂžtter: I donât really notice the curls all that much, but I do notice that people tend to have long, beautiful hair. I always wanted my own hair to be longer, but it just tends to reach a natural limit at the shoulders. Iâd love to have hair down my back that I could bang around at shows, but I doubt I ever will. I notice the abundance of curls whenever I have BAEST on my show. We sort of battle on curls. They have me beaten, which sucks because I obviously want the nicest and longest curls in the scene.
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Why did you choose to grow out your long curls?
Today I feel blessed but growing up I hated my curly, red hair. I had braces and I didnât play soccer and the other kids picked on me for having curly hair. For a while I would pull it back, load up on hair spray and wear a bike helmet to straighten it out. That was my morning routine for a long time. When I got to school it would look neat and straight but then it would start to curl up as the day progressed. But then I discovered the guitarists from Metallica and Queen also had curly hair, and it made me think: âWow! Like, there are really cool people making it out there with giant curly hair like mineâ.Is it a prestige thing?
There might be a prestige element to having long, curly hair on the metal scene. Thereâs a vanity element to the whole long hair in metal for sure, because you put a lot of effort into maintaining it. Just like all the other metal gear you must maintain nice looking hair, itâs an unwritten rule. But itâs not something people talk about a lot.Whatâs the proper way to take good care of your hair?
If you have curly hair the most important thing is to find a good hairdresser who knows how to deal with your hair. I see an African hairdresser on Vesterbro in Copenhagen whoâs called Skaley. Sheâs been my hairdresser for years and sheâs really cool. Itâs important to use a good conditioner and a detangler brush to avoid dreadlocks. You also need to oil up your hair after you wash it. It sounds gross, but I only wash my hair once a weekâif I wash it more often it will dry out and get all tangled up. Thatâs why I wash it thoroughly once a week and give it the full treatment. Be sure to never dry it with a towel. Thatâll fuck up your hair.
Today I feel blessed but growing up I hated my curly, red hair. I had braces and I didnât play soccer and the other kids picked on me for having curly hair. For a while I would pull it back, load up on hair spray and wear a bike helmet to straighten it out. That was my morning routine for a long time. When I got to school it would look neat and straight but then it would start to curl up as the day progressed. But then I discovered the guitarists from Metallica and Queen also had curly hair, and it made me think: âWow! Like, there are really cool people making it out there with giant curly hair like mineâ.Is it a prestige thing?
There might be a prestige element to having long, curly hair on the metal scene. Thereâs a vanity element to the whole long hair in metal for sure, because you put a lot of effort into maintaining it. Just like all the other metal gear you must maintain nice looking hair, itâs an unwritten rule. But itâs not something people talk about a lot.Whatâs the proper way to take good care of your hair?
If you have curly hair the most important thing is to find a good hairdresser who knows how to deal with your hair. I see an African hairdresser on Vesterbro in Copenhagen whoâs called Skaley. Sheâs been my hairdresser for years and sheâs really cool. Itâs important to use a good conditioner and a detangler brush to avoid dreadlocks. You also need to oil up your hair after you wash it. It sounds gross, but I only wash my hair once a weekâif I wash it more often it will dry out and get all tangled up. Thatâs why I wash it thoroughly once a week and give it the full treatment. Be sure to never dry it with a towel. Thatâll fuck up your hair.
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If Iâm going out to a festival I ask Skaley for a cut, and I tell her not to cut too much offâI am going to a metal festival after allâbut make sure that itâs strong and healthy and ready for all the sweat, dust and the moshpit. If I donât take care of my hair before a festival it will get tangled up and I have to cut a few centimeters off to get it back into shape. Honestly, festivals are terrible for my hair.Why are curls and heavy metal such a good match?
Because curly-brained people want curly-haired music. No, but seriouslyâit takes courage for men to grow their hair, especially men with curls, because thereâs a really long period of time where youâre just going to look like a complete twat. If I shaved off all my hair right now it would take me three years to grow it all out again, and Iâd look really weird until then. I think itâs a special type of courage thatâs unique to the metal scene. You stand tall and wear your look with pride.I think thrash metal probably has the highest concentration of curly-haired guys of any subgenre. Look at Megadeth and Metallica. Lots and lots of beautiful curls.When did the relationship between curls and metal start?
In the 60s when people started letting their hair grow out. A band like Led Zeppelin was probably a major influence on the developing trend.Now equipped with a deeper knowledge of curly-haired culture, I felt ready to take my exploration of metal hairdos to the next level and fully immerse myself in Denmarkâs biggest metal festival, Copenhell.
Because curly-brained people want curly-haired music. No, but seriouslyâit takes courage for men to grow their hair, especially men with curls, because thereâs a really long period of time where youâre just going to look like a complete twat. If I shaved off all my hair right now it would take me three years to grow it all out again, and Iâd look really weird until then. I think itâs a special type of courage thatâs unique to the metal scene. You stand tall and wear your look with pride.I think thrash metal probably has the highest concentration of curly-haired guys of any subgenre. Look at Megadeth and Metallica. Lots and lots of beautiful curls.When did the relationship between curls and metal start?
In the 60s when people started letting their hair grow out. A band like Led Zeppelin was probably a major influence on the developing trend.Now equipped with a deeper knowledge of curly-haired culture, I felt ready to take my exploration of metal hairdos to the next level and fully immerse myself in Denmarkâs biggest metal festival, Copenhell.
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Morten Lund
"My curly hair definitely gets attention and people are generally envious of it. I guess thereâs some prestige in it for me, but I havenât really given it much thought.I donât really groom my hair. Iâm probably the type of person with greasy hair whoâs a little smelly."
Christoffer Savoy
"Long hair is really annoying at a festival. Itâs constantly getting in my face and my mouth, which makes eating a bit of a task. As a result of that, hereâs a lot of saliva and ketchup in my hair right now. Donât go to a festival with long hair if itâs too windy."
Less Lessmeister
"Iâve worn my hair like this for 35 years because I hate change and itâs great for headbanging. Iâve grown my hair all the way out in the past, but I just end up looking like Jimi Hendrix and thatâs no good for work, so I had to compromise. I wash my hair using a two-in-one type shampoo. I donât care what brand it is as long as it has both shampoo and conditioner."
Bo LindstrĂžm
"I use hair gel and I blow-dry and comb it out every day. My routine takes a while, but my hair is pretty metalâitâs very hard."
Ricci
"My hair is on my head every dayâthatâs an inescapable truth. I inherited it from my mother, and Iâm very proud of my long hair. Itâs ideal for headbanging. Thatâs where I really show it off. Thereâs no prestige in having long hairâat least there shouldnât be. Just be true to yourself regardless of your hair style."
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Bastian and Michael
"I forgot to brush my hair for a while and he forgot to cut his, but I guess that was sort of on purpose. I donât wash my hair that often, but I do use conditioner every now and then."
Andreas AchtbĂžl
"No one has ever complimented me on my long hair before. I love having long hair. Not a lot of guys do, so it gives you extra cred. My hair goes all the way down my lower back, and it took me about three years to grow it out. Itâs a lot cooler headbanging with long hair, but most things are cooler with long hair.""Do you know what I would have been without my hair? A virgin."