In a world that increasingly feels like a dystopia lived in broad daylight, speaking of tenderness is a political act. It is a way of relating to our surroundings, a weapon against barbarity and violence — just as filmmaker Joachim Trier stated in his acceptance speech at Cannes, where he received the Grand Prix for his film Sentimental Value.
We recall his words because they serve as pure inspiration for this issue: “The world is fractured, and maybe we need to be vulnerable and show vulnerable characters. We kind of came to the conclusion that tenderness is the new punk. It’s what I need right now,
I need to believe that we can see the other, that there is a sense of reconciliation, that polarisation and machismo aren’t the only way forward.”
Tenderness is the new punk. That’s what we’re holding on to. If in the previous issue we faced the harshness of the present with Facing the Nightmare — a dark mirror where social noise, structural violence, and emotional numbness set the tone — this time we inhabit a similar realm but approach it from a very different angle. In a world drenched in injustice and brutality, perhaps the most revolutionary act today is to radiate tenderness. Not as a purely aesthetic stance, but as a trench from which to resist. Because tenderness unsettles. Because it questions the performativity of strength. Because it cannot be owned or controlled, and that’s what makes it dangerous. In a world where the sentimental has traditionally been coded as feminine, and the feminine as weak, tenderness becomes a space of dissent. Especially when it’s embodied by those who were never allowed to express it: men, non-normative bodies, those living in the margins or inhabiting fluid identities.
You will find this ethos pulsing through every conversation in these pages. We are deeply honoured to feature Joachim Trier, one of the brilliant minds we’ve had the privilege of speaking with in this issue. But we also caught up with Vivian Wilson, whose chaotic authenticity and refusal to be silenced prove that reclaiming your joy is the ultimate rebellion. We dove deep with Amaarae, who reminds us that “you can’t be confident if you’re not kind” and that leading with empathy is a subversive revolution. We explored the Emotional Dance Music of Frost Children, who balance euphoria with melancholy, and the raw, unfiltered energy of Brutalismus 3000, proving that even the hardest sounds can come from a place of connection. But the exploration doesn’t stop there. We discussed the tenderness of human touch in a digital age with Satoshi Kondo, and the power of vulnerability on screen with Priscilla Delgado. Fernando Lindez showed us that empathy is a form of resistance, while Cortisa Star defined punk not as an aesthetic, but as a mindset of standing up for others. And in the art world, Isabelle Albuquerque taught us how to sculpt with pain and longing, carving life into history.
This issue is a reminder that our capacity to feel is not a glitch in the system; it is the only thing distinguishing us from the algorithms that govern our lives. Because in a world that wants you hard and hollow, remaining kind is the ultimate act of rebellion. Welcome to the resistance.
METAL Nº 53 is now on sale.
