The other day, the second half of my 101 Ways to Cheer Yourself Up post appeared on Yes and Yes. If you’ve come over to Steff Metal from there, hiya!

Also, if you are the amazing girl studying french at university and wanting to get into translation, I was replying to your email and accidentally hit “Purge” instead. Now your email is gone forever and I am sad. Please write to me again!

I have a lot of new readers in the last week, so I figured it’s time to properly introduce myself and the blog, and explain why I bothered devoting an entire blog to the heavy metal lifestyle.

Heavy Metal Satan Fingers

I’m Steff – I’m a 25 year old metalhead writer living in New Zealand. I’m married to a Cantankerous Drummer Husband (CDH for short). I update Steff Metal 5-6 days a week with posts about how to live a heavy metal life.

So why would you want to live a heavy metal life?

Easy: the heavy metal life is simple, all-inclusive, and way more fun.

You can live the heavy metal life even if you’re not a metalhead, although a deep love of heavy metal certainly helps. Being a metalhead is a state-of-mind, and has less to do with the clothes you wear and the music you like and more to do with the values you embrace:

1. Metalheads do not apologise for their beliefs.
2. Metalheads care not for your race, creed, religion, political affiliation, or societal status.
3. Metalheads look out for their metal brothers and sisters.
4. Metalheads admire people who think for themselves.
5. Metalheads believe as long as there is metal, life is worth living.
6. Metalheads use words and music to express themselves. They believe feelings – even ugly ones – should be released.
7. Metalheads don’t ask much of the world – good food, good drink, good friends and good music.
8. Metalheads detest being told they’re wrong, because everyone has their own personal truth.
9. Above all else, Metalheads crave freedom.
10. Metalheads exemplify the power of music to unite and to heal.

See? Those are values anyone can relate to.

If you’re new to this blog, you should check out some of my previous articles. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Metal Mixtape: Pirate Metal, Ahoy!
2. Why Metalheads Wear Black
3. Ask A Bogan: I’m Just a Teenaged Metalhead, Baby
4. 42 Ways to Krieg up your Life
5. Fashion for Metalheads: Black Metal Fashion
6. Apocalypse Ladies: Fashion for the End of the World
7. Top Ten Metal First Date Ideas
8. Fashion for Metalheads: Power Metal Fashion
9. 25 Things a Metalhead is Thankful For
10. Top Ten Reasons Metalheads Make Good Writers

You can read more in the Steff Metal Archives, and to be sure you don’t miss any updates, you can subscribe to my RSS, follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Keep it Grymm \m/
Steff