In a recent interview with Metal Magnitude, Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy talked about how metal has influenced her journey to veganism and how she keeps it up while on tour.
She pointed to the connection between the punk and metal mentalities and veganism, mentioning how her friend Moby’s documentary, ‘Punk Rock Vegan Movie,’ delves into this link. “Moby, obviously, is a well-spoken animal rights activist as well, and he’s a friend of mine, and so he did this documentary sort of diving into the connection between the punk mentality and, by extension, the metal mentality and veganism. And I think it’s a really cool aspect and an interesting facet of the movement.”
Besides her music, Alissa has been a vegetarian since birth and vegan since the 1990s. She actively supports animal rights and uses her platform to speak out against animal exploitation.
In 2020, White-Gluz explained why being vegan is metal in an interview with the Mercy For Animals’ Facebook page. “In my opinion, metal is all about rebellion — it’s about carving your own path, thinking against what everyone’s trying to make you think. And veganism is the ultimate form of rebellion because you are literally taking things that people have told you are normal that deep down inside you don’t think are normal that you’ve been conditioned to accept about your day-to-day tasks, like eating or what you wear or what you choose to buy.”
“Everyone says that that’s normal, that you need to exploit other living beings for those things, but you don’t. And so taking a stand against that is what veganism is. And that is really metal,” she added.
The singer has also been named one of the executive producers of ‘I Could Never Go Vegan‘ last year. The film challenges common arguments against veganism and features interviews with athletes, health experts, and animal rights advocates.
