The voting populace of the United States is totally cool with Barack Obama being a Jay Z fan. We find it kind of charming in fact, that a man of his age and stature can be in touch with the modern culture. But if he were a death metal fan? No, no, NO. There's an important difference: Jay may openly acknowledge dealing drugs and murdering enemies during his raps but at least he believes in God, the only essential need for having a legitimate shot at election in the United States. Hence why maybe it's surprising to those who think Islam is the world's most repressive religion that Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, just elected total metalhead Joko Widodo president.
The newly-elected president has openly proclaimed his love for bands ranging from the classic rock of Led Zeppelin to the grindcore godfathers Napalm Death. Fixing corruption has been his major goal throughout his political career and The Economist noted that the closest he came to "corruption" was accepting a bass guitar signed by Metallica as a gift. The magazine noted that he had a "penchant for heavy music."
Randy Blythe, vocalist for Lamb of God, posted several photos on Instagram of Widodo holding a Lamb shirt, wearing Napalm Death gear and otherwise rocking the devil horns.
"No, this is not a joke, yes the photos are real, yes he digs Napalm Death, Metallica, Megadeth, & lamb of god amongst others," he wrote. "Holy crap! THE WORLD'S FIRST HEAVY METAL PRESIDENT!"
We hope that Widodo and Obama (the world's first soul president?) can continue a healthy exchange of ideas, political and musical, between the two countries.
