Glam is Back: Interview With Victim Mentality

Glam metal has faded from popular culture even here in the United States, what is the scene in Korea like for your band and genre? Are there any other bands attempting this genre?

The metal scene is Korea is small. There are probably only about 50 metal bands playing all different styles of metal like thrash metal, death metal, metalcore, etc. But the only other band that I know who are playing a similar style of music as us are The Hysterics. Their music is influenced by hair metal bands like Motley Crue and Guns ‘N’ Roses.

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s there were a few bands playing glam metal in Korea, but it was rare for them to release albums.

Is it difficult being the one of the only glam metal bands? What are the biggest challenges?

We like to focus more on our advantages rather than the difficulties. Since we’re one of the only glam metal bands, we can be the most glamorous and sexiest band in Korea! Also, rock and metal fans looking for something different are going to want to be fans of our band. And I think that both musically and visually, we stand out in the Korean rock and metal scenes which is also an advantage.

In Korea, when many people think of heavy metal bands with long hair, they think the members will be scary, screaming men. But our fashion and sound is a lot more fun and playful. So we think that we can appeal to more people because of that too. We hope that Victim Mentality can help more people enjoy the wonderful world of heavy metal.