RENEGADES
A Portrait of Botswana Heavy Metal

If there is one thing I have learned about heavy metal it’s that there is no one generic “metalhead.” Yes, there are people who have tried to argue that metal is a European thing or a white thing, but all that tells me about those people is that their experience is limited (and they are seriously ignorant and should just shut the hell up). Go to any metal show in L.A. and you’ll see at least half, if not more, of the crowd is latino. There are metal scenes in Singapore, Brazil, the Middle East and Africa, just as there are scenes in Scandinavia and Russia. My point is, there is no color or nationality that can truly lay claim to this music, because it is a culture that finds root in many earths. South African photographer Frank Marshall traveled to Botswana to take portraits of the metal scene there – a small but strong one, heavily influenced by bands like Iron Maiden, Megadeath and Motörhead. Talk about being outcast from society – try being a metalhead in Botswana, wearing head to toe leather in 80 degree weather. The Renegades series of portraits show people who truly live for the music they love, making bullet belts out of used bullet casings and making a style of their own when it comes to metal fashion, a kind of leather-thrash-cowboy-Mad Max look. This collection of 60 portraits is available in book form from the Rooke Gallery in Johannesberg. After the jump, check out some of Marshall’s Renegades portraits and see Botswana Heavy Metal in action…