No. And I think this may be where we might differ in how we view rebellion. You keep noting things that make it it's own genre - but being its own genre isn't enough. Everclear is harsh stuff, and that certainly differentiates it from other things on the market. Most won't drink it straight. But that doesn't make it rebellious.
The harshness of straight Everclear is a metaphor for the rebellion of non-diluted metal.
Diluted, Everclear can punch up a lot of drinks potency. That's why its done.
Diluted, metal tropes can add a hint of danger and edginess to music otherwise completely safe and mainstream. That's why its done.
But in their pure forms, both are dangerous. Neither will be welcomed or ignored when unleashed in a typical, mainstream social gathering, and even less so the further up the social scale you go.
At one time, wearing a T-shirt of a Heavy Metal band was notable - in schools it was almost like wearing black combat fatigues and a trench coat is viewed today - it denoted danger. Parents sometimes blamed bad things that happened to their kids on the music. But that is no longer true. You can wear the shirts now, and people think you're just being retro. Heavy Metal tunes are turning up on the sound tracks of prime-time TV shows. I mean, honestly - Ozzy Ozbourne's wife is now the *sweet and nice* judge on "America's Got Talent". How rebellious can his type of music be?
By that standard,
no musical genre or its practitioners is rebellious. People once feared Public Enemy and TuPac, but rap has its own music TV channels and shows now, and when I pick up my 16 year old cousin at his nice suburban school, kids of all colors are wearing t-shirts adorned with rappers of all kinds.*
I contend, however, that just because society may not perceive the danger or recognize the rebellion, it does not follow that the danger and rebellion are absent.
A few years ago, Luda got axed from a Pepsi ad campaign because he smoked pot. He and his fans pointed out that Ozzy did that- and much worse- and his ad remained on the air.
The reason is that 1) Luda is black, Ozzy isn't 2) Luda got caught with drugs more recently, whereas Ozzy's MJ/Coke/Whiskey/Urine fueled madness is largely behind him 3) Luda is unapologetic, Ozzy's been through multiple rehabs and 4) Ozzy's career is so long, he's perceived as a non-threatening mumbling old man who once called Pat Boone his best neighbor ever.
Of note, though, since that point, most major companies have been avoiding both metalheads and rappers in their ad campaigns.
It may be thought of by some as noise, rather than music, but it no longer shocks anyone. It isn't much of a rebellion if the establishment looks at it, shrugs, and thinks, "Meh."
It no longer shocks in the diluted form, and the real thing is dismissed as noise because many find it unintelligible.**
Give someone who dismisses the full-strength stuff as mere noise the lyrics in print form and you'll see a change. Again, just because you don't recognize the rebellion doesn't mean it isn't there. Its just well disguised.
Besides, if we're looking at the rebelliousness of metal within society, we should probably look at it in more societies than the USA or Great Britain. Doing a quick search of the web, I found stories of metal bands and fans being arrested in a variety of countries, some of which might surprise you (like Russia).
That we in the USA and other countries may not realize its rebellious nature, other governments and societies are not so lassaiz faire about metal's message(s).
* It occurs to me, though, that while I've seen dozens of rapper T-shirts in my church (in suburban Texas), metal band shirts are virtually unseen. Potheads with a gun possession arrest are more acceptable in that environs than any iconic metal mascot (like Eddie), pentagrams, piles of dead bodies, or band names in "horror fonts".
** Case in point: I often have the subtitles on my TV due to my practicing guitar with my headphones on through a Korg PX4 while I watch the news or something my DVR has taped, especially late at night. During one such session, my DVR kicked over to Headbanger's Ball (because both tuners were recording). Towards the end of my practice, a band- I can't recall which one- sang lyrics full of bringing down society in the name of service to otherworldly supernatural beings, worshipping corruption and entropy, etc. Curious, I later watched the same video sans my headphones. Near as I could tell, the lyrics actually sung were
"groooaaaaarraaahhrrrrr" repeated at high volumes and low pitch. Often, I couldn't tell when one word ended and another began due to nearly imperceptible (or possibly entirely absent) syllable breaks. Were they there? Did he actually sing those words I read? I have no idea. Even when watching the video a third time with the subtitles back on, I couldn't distinguish most of the lyrics.
But if they were sung, if those words were meant, then the rebellion was clearly present, and I would not have known but for my unusual practicing methods.
