Some things are destined to go together: cheese and wine, sunshine and ice cream, a good book and a warm fire. But heavy metal fans and cuddly cats? Not so obvious. Yet it was precisely this subject that caught the interest of American photographer, musician and jewellery designer, Alexandra Crockett, herself an active member of the metal community. It was while taking promotional photographs for local bands and cat-sitting for friends, that Crockett noticed the strong bond, and interesting dynamic, between men in the metal scene and their favoured felines. She soon set to work capturing these endearingly enamoured owners and their pets on film. The results are brilliantly unique and unexpected, and will soon be available to buy in the form of Crockett's forthcoming book Metal Cats, some of the proceeds of which will go towards no-kill shelters. Here we present a selection of images from the book, alongside an enlightening extract from Crockett's forward.
"Our relationship with cats has come a long way. History shows us that they have been genuinely misunderstood. While slinking about in the middle of the night and stalking prey into the early hours of the morning might have convinced our medieval ancestors that cats were in league with the devil, we now know that they are simply nocturnal creatures. The alternative lifestyle of cats is not unlike the alternative lifestyle of heavy metal fans and musicians. In 1985, Tipper Gore and her army of overly concerned parents told us that heavy metal was evil and perpetrated by bloodthirsty Satanists. Several years later, this belief swept the world when churches turned to ash in Norway. One of the ambitions of this book is to shed light on the humanity within heavy metal and to dispel the negative stereotypes associated with its participants."
Metal Cats by Alexandra Crockett is published by powerHouse Books and is available on May 6. Pre-order your copy here.
