I can empathize with a young journo like yourself – it’s almost impossible to know the nuances of every band, every genre of every time period. You get assigned to cover a show, you then try to get some perspective of an old band your not familiar with and, in turn, you ask the old guy the in the office for some perspective. All he remembers is ‘Fire Woman’ from Headbangers Ball. He says they are metal. You go with it.  But old guy in office never heard of the songs you reference:Horse Nation - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tHKrst89vk and Sanctuary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I8mWG6HlmUHow are those songs metal? How does that stack up with other 80s metal like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden? It doesn’t – it sounds like  whiny wimpy alterna compared to Priest and Maiden.I”ll throw you a bone with later stuff like Lil’ Devil and Fire Woman, both of which  an AC/DC or Guns fan would probably like. But metal? You have homework to do young Williamsburg hipster!

Thanks for your input. While I understand your discrepancies, I think you misunderstood the image I was trying to present. The Motley Crue and Poison shirts were simply meant to show the generational divide between Cult fans and Against Me! fans. I saw many other shirts, just as you did, but these most easily painted the picture I saw of many dedicated middle-aged fans. This is only my opinion.

In addition, while you may not feel the Cult is metal — and it is certainly not in today’s metal standards — I feel that many valid sources would back me in saying that in the ’80s they were heavy metal by that time’s standards. Certainly, you draw some great comparisons with the Cure and Sisters of Mercy.

Thanks again.