Metal From the Dirt: Inside the Navajo Reservation’s DIY Heavy-Metal Scene

“There’s a lot of bands, heavy-metal bands, on the Navajo reservation. And for some reason this music, this subculture, seems to permeate with the youth,“ says Jerold Cecil, manager of Arizona act I Dont Konform. “What Rez Metal is — ’rez’ is sort of an inside word for ’reservation.’ Our brand of metal is different than anybody else … it’s blowing up.“ For one week this summer the Everything Is Stories creative team traveled to the Southwest United States, and Navajo Nation territory, to document the originators of the DIY Rez Metal scene, and the bands that are now carrying the torch, including I Dont Konform, Mutilated Tyrant and Born of Winter. From a generator-powered show in the Arizona desert to a band practicing in a traditional Navajo dwelling called a Hogan, this story — told by Navajo (“Diné“) bands and individuals involved in the scene — explores the creation of Rez Metal in the Eighties, the juxtaposition of old and new Navajo traditions and the link between heavy metal and native pride. Directed by Clarke Tolton Produced by Everything Is Stories for Revolver Everything Is Stories is Mike Martinez, Tyler Wray Director of Photography Tyler Haft Edited by Vincent Staropoli Sound Mixer George Drake, Jr. Executive Producers Enrique Abeyta, Brandon Geist, Jimmy Hubbard, Skip Williamson, Brad Angle, Mike Martinez, Tyler Wray, Clarke Tolton Production Coordinator Sammi Chichester Music: I Dont Konform, Mutilated Tyrant, Domenic Palermo, J.S. Aurelius, Destruction Unit