Moosh often calls the heavy metal fans at the gigs I go to my "tribe". The concept of metal fans as a tribe is not new, and the visual identifiers of the tribe are pretty obvious - long hair, black clothes, tattoos, piercings etc. For this tribe, heavy metal t-shirts are the equivalent of planting a flag in the ground - it says, this is what I listen to, its great if you like it, and if you don't, I really don't care. I have my fair share of heavy metal band t-shirts, and while Iron Maiden and Slayer t-shirts are the most common at concerts, I've been surprised by the two that garner the most attention.
Cro-Mags: This t-shirt gathers the most attention, with people at concerts and also in every day life coming upto me and talking to me about the Cro-Mags and how much they love old school New York hardcore.
D-Low Memorial Show: The D-Low festival is an annual metalcore concert in Phoenix, AZ held in the memory of Dana Wells, Soulfly and ex-Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera's stepson. Not many metal fans even know about this show, yet everytime I wear this t-shirt to a show, people come up to me and talk to me about how much they love Soulfly/Sepultura.
