Grandmas Smuggled Heavy Metal Behind The Iron Curtain

05/17/2012
. (Classic Rock) East Germany's cold war appetite for heavy metal was served by fans' grandparents, says Kreator frontman Mille Petrozza. And he's paid tribute to the senior citizens who risked severe reprisals to take albums behind the Iron Curtain.

As a leading symbol of western culture most heavy music was banned in the Communist bloc, with state label Amiga only publishing a range of censored pop. But those who wanted more found their own sources � and that's how German bands including Kreator found a well-informed fanbase in East Germany after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.

Petrozza tells The Gauntlet: "They found ways to get the records. Older people were allowed to travel outside East Germany in the later years, and a lot of kids would have their grandmas bring in metal albums from West Germany."

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