This doesn’t sync up with my feelings or experience at all — I call the current incarnation “The Two” instead of “The Who,” but if you look at the astonishing staying power of, say, a single CRASS or other punk logo, well, clearly other people aren’t as fussy:
Those patches on the jackets contain another crucial element of the brand identity: the logos. More than any other style of music, metal celebrates the logo. It’s noticeable that, since reviving Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmore has used none of the nondescript typography of most Rainbow records, choosing instead the memorable gothic script that featured on only three albums but which most fans think of as the classic Rainbow logo from the classic Rainbow lineup.
However, there’s a third element to all of this. You’ll often hear heavy bands talking about their bond with their audience, about everyone being family, and how they are a people’s band. It doesn’t matter whether or not the bands themselves believe that; what’s important is that the fans believe it. A great rock gig is as much about the communion of the fans, the sense of gathering and unity, as it is about what’s happening on stage. That’s why the metal festival at Donington Park in Leicestershire, under whatever name it operates, is considered some sort of sacred pilgrimage by bands and fans.
