We live in times of empty altars and full stadiums. The numbers are cold: traditional religions, with Catholicism at the helm, are bleeding out. Church pews gather dust, and the silence of confession is no longer a refuge. However, human beings suffer from an incurable spiritual emptiness. The need to believe has not disappeared; our compass simply points elsewhere.
“Follow the Leader” is born from a fascinating contradiction: we are the most cynical and atheistic generation in history, yet our thirst for liturgy is more voracious than ever. We have swapped the Amen for the Like, the rosary for the light stick, the Eucharist for the pill that promises a biological miracle, churches for gyms, the new places of worship gathering their faithful around the most sacred temple of all, our body, and the Holy Week procession for the millimetric choreography of K‑Pop, where devotion is measured in synchronised steps. Is fandom really any different from fervent devotion? These and other questions arise throughout this issue, with which we celebrate our 20th anniversary.
But the pendulum always swings back. And in this desperate search for referents to serve as a moral or aesthetic compass, we see a new wave of artists and creatives resorting to religious imagery. We do not know if it is an act of faith, style or desperation. Veils, heavy crosses, Baroque suffering, and mystical ecstasy return, once again under the filter of fashion and pop culture.
Since the beginning of time, every civilization has sought the divine, looking upward so it does not have to look inward. Today, that gaze rests on populist leaders, unscrupulous charlatans, and relentless algorithms, but also on global stars from different fields who serve as a beacon for many. In this issue of METAL, we explore that tension between the shepherd and the flock. We ask ourselves who takes the helm when no one believes in anything, yet everyone needs to follow someone. Because perhaps hell is not being alone, but not knowing who to pray to.
We don’t light them a candle, but we do deeply thank everyone who has accompanied us on this adventure. Twenty years already, and we pray for twenty more. Thank you to all those who have shaped these pages, the talent and dedication you brought still lives here; thank you to the brands that have supported us and to those that continue to do so, helping sustain the small miracle that independent publishing is, still illuminating all those who once believed it was possible to make magazines differently. And here we still are. Keep the light on.
METAL Nº 54 is now on sale.
