METAL GODDESSES
Metal Goddesses are not just headbangers. They’re architects of identity in algorithmic spaces, crafting visibility and distinction through makeup, music merch, and aesthetic rebellion. Brands that understand their codes are seeing rapid, viral success.
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ALIGNED TREND
SUBVERSION TACTICS: Metal Goddesses flourish in opposition. Their culture is born of a music genre that challenged mainstream norms and corporate polish — and they carry that rebellion forward through digital performance and product choices.
This trend isn't just about being edgy. It’s about choosing an enemy (conventional beauty, bland health food, lifestyle conformity) and broadcasting your defiance. It’s weaponized distinction — performed loudly, with eyeliner.
Why now:
- The algorithm rewards drama and edge.
- Consumers crave meaning in a saturated, saccharine digital space.
- Younger users are bored with brand neutrality and moral beige-ness.
For brands, the opportunity is clear: Stop pandering. Start standing for (or against) something.
THEY’VE GOT IT RIGHT
E.L.F. + LIQUID DEATH — Corpse Paint Vault
e.l.f. Cosmetics partnered with canned water brand Liquid Death to release the Corpse Paint Vault, a limited-edition makeup collection inspired by heavy metal aesthetics. The set, packaged in a coffin-shaped box, included five products and retailed for USD 34. It sold out within a week, capitalizing on the theatrical and rebellious style of corpse paint commonly associated with black metal.
💀 Sold out in one week.
🎸 Packaged in a coffin.
💄 Influenced by the corpse paint look of early Norwegian black metal.
What worked?
- Cultural alignment: Authentic metal cues, not cartoonish goth.
- Algorithmic design: The coffin box became instant sharebait on TikTok and Instagram.
- Feminine + fierce: Beauty as power, not passivity — just like the tribe itself.
This wasn’t makeup. It was an aesthetic weapon set.
ARTOTEL — Rockstar Status Loyalty Program
The Indonesian hospitality brand Artotel launched a unique loyalty program called Rockstar Status, which rewards guests who stay at least 121 nights with an unforgettable, unrestrained experience. The promotional video showed guests engaging in wild antics such as riding motorcycles through hotel hallways, swimming with a crocodile in a bathtub, and throwing a piano out of a window.
🎥 Promotional video: guests throwing pianos, swimming with crocodiles, riding bikes indoors.
🏍 Stay 121 nights and unlock a night of chaos.
What worked?
- Subversion as reward: Forget spa points — get destruction.
- Cinematic rebellion: The brand gave visual and experiential form to the wildness Metal Goddesses fantasize about.
- Real-life meme energy: The video felt like an inside joke shared among headbangers and TikTok ferals alike.
This is hospitality redesigned for tribal fantasy.
LURPAK — Crush Expectations
Lurpak, a butter brand owned by Arla, released the "Crush Expectations" campaign to promote its plant-based butter alternative. The ad was styled with intense visuals reminiscent of heavy metal music videos, featuring sizzling garlic and dramatically chopped vegetables. The campaign aimed to redefine plant-based products as edgy and bold, distancing itself from the calm, wholesome narratives typical of the category.
🥬 Plant-based butter ad shot like a death metal music video.
🔪 Garlic sizzled. Veggies got annihilated.
What worked?
- Subversion of category codes: No yoga mats. No gentle nature shots.
- Reclaiming plant-based: Not as virtuous, but visceral.
- Aesthetic contradiction: Soft food, hard music — exactly the kind of juxtaposition this tribe craves.
This isn’t granola. It’s garlic with a breakdown riff.
KITTIE x WE ARE PIGS — KITTIEPIG Non-Alcoholic Beer
@kittiepig 🐱 𝙶𝙸𝚅𝙴𝙰𝚆𝙰𝚈 🐷 In honor of @kittiepig I will be giving away my 1/1 #cutandsew @officialkittie inspired jacket that is featured in this video 🖤 🖤🖤 I created this #diy #punkstyle #starttofinish jacket in my #barriologan #sewingstudio using #reclaimedfabrics #embroidered #patches & other #recycledmaterials ✂️🧵🪡 CHEERS TO A NEW ERA OF NON-ALCOHOLIC REBELLION 💯💯💯 ALL HEADBANG, NO HANGOVER Just a few simple rules to qualify for this giveaway: 1. LIKE & COMMENT on reel 2. FOLLOW @kittiepig and @sewloka 3. SHARE this reel 1st prize: Sew Loka 1/1 cut & sew #kittieband inspired #jacket + Free Private Sewing Lesson (virtual lessons offered to anyone not in sandiego) 2nd prize: Sew Loka reworked #hoodie + Free Private Sewing Lesson (virtual lessons offered to anyone not in sandiego) 3rd prize: Sew Loka reworked #tee + Free Grouo Sewing Workshop (second #tee offered to anyone not in sandiego) *** WINNERS ANNOUNCED on Tuesday (2/25) at 12pm *** @kittiepig is the world’s first #nonalcoholic beer brand brewed specifically for the #alternative and #heavymusic culture 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽 #kittiepig was born as a collaborative venture between #metal #bands @officialkittie X @wearepigsband 🔥🔥🔥 @esjayjones1 @dialmformorgan @mercedesdrums you can purchase #kittiepig directly from their website KITTIEPIG.COM **(or you can also buy @kittiepig via Amazon!)** Thank you for continuing to support #sewloka and #slowfashion we appreciate you!!!!! Video By @moviemannysd “The culture of heavy music, is rooted in passion, individuality, and defiance. It embraces themes of rebellion, personal struggle, and empowerment, often serving as an outlet for emotional expression. The community is known for being fiercely loyal, inclusive, and tight-knit, welcoming those who feel like outsiders elsewhere. Fans and musicians alike celebrate authenticity, artistic freedom and the ability to challenge societal norms. At the heart of the culture are live performances, where high energy, mosh pits, and camaraderie create a sense of unity. Fashion plays a role too, often featuring dark color palettes, band merch, and body art reflecting the genres gritty, unapologetic spirit”
♬ original sound - KittiePIG 🍻🤘
KittiePIG is a non-alcoholic Saskatoon berry blonde beer launched by Morgan Lander of the all-female metal band Kittie and South African producer Esjay Jones. Developed to offer a flavorful alternative for music fans at shows and festivals, the beverage combines bold taste with the rebellious spirit of heavy music culture, emerging from a musical collaboration and supported by market research on non-alcoholic trends.
🎤 Created by an all-female metal band.
🍇 Saskatoon berry blonde beer.
🖤 Targeted at festival-goers and health-conscious headbangers.
What worked?
- Tribe-to-tribe production: Made by metal women, for metal women.
- Purposeful subversion: Anti-alcohol without the buzzkill tone.
- Aesthetic consistency: The branding was brutalist and berry-rich — just like their music.
This wasn’t a compromise. It was a cool choice, made louder.
DEEP DIVES ABOUT THIS TRIBE
- 🔈 Listen: Kittie – “Brackish”
One of the most iconic all-female metal bands, Kittie’s discography is a sonic blueprint for many Metal Goddesses. Their aggressive style and refusal to soften their sound for male approval set the tone for the tribe's values: confrontational, unapologetic, powerful. - 📖 Read: “Noise: The Political Economy of Music” – Jacques Attali
Attali’s theory that music is prophecy fits here perfectly. Metal has always predicted cultural resistance. Metal Goddesses use music and aesthetics not to escape but to encode resistance — against beauty norms, passive femininity, and algorithmic conformity. - 🎬 Watch: Lords of Chaos (2018)
Though controversial, this dramatization of early Norwegian black metal illustrates the roots of aesthetic transgression that today’s tribe channels. From corpse paint to myth-building, it provides cultural context for how rebellion gets codified and copied.
GENIUS MEMBERSHIP SPOTLIGHT
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