During a recent interview with Kerrang!, actor Javier Bardem opened up about his metal fandom. He also revealed that his role as Max Cady in Apple TV’s adaptation of “Cape Fear” was powered by Linkin Park, Slipknot, Falling In Reverse, and Bad Omens.
Bardem said the following about the music he listened to for his “Cape Fear” role:
“I listened to five songs especially. Two from Linkin Park: ‘Given Up‘, with the great Chester, and ‘Up From The Bottom‘ from the last album, From Zero. I think [Emily Armstrong] is an amazing singer. She really brought it back. Those two songs really express frustration and the fight for raising up from [one’s] own ashes that [resonates] with Max. And songs by Slipknot, Falling In Reverse and Bad Omens. I’m so bad with the names of songs, but they were in my head all day long before doing anything and helped put me in the mood.”
He went on to discuss his fandom:
“It’s not that I use the music, it’s that I can’t live without it. It’s what I listen to: when I drive, when I’m being driven, before I go to sleep… Yeah, I listen to Slipknot to go to sleep. For me, metal is… a way of living.”
He also discussed the sense of brotherhood he found within the metal scene:
“I went to the Power Trip festival especially to see the first AC/DC concert in so many years, the PWR/UP tour. And I was in the pit and people went, ‘Oh!’, but they leave you alone. [It’s just] ‘Hey, welcome! Great!’ I love that. That’s brotherhood. ‘I know why you are here and I’m not going to fuck with that. You enjoy your thing. Let’s enjoy it together.’ You don’t feel that in many other music styles, you know? There’s too much [miming taking a selfie]. In heavy metal and hard rock, people are listening to the music.”
He also added:
“It’s a way of feeling. It’s a way of belonging to a community of people. It’s what I like. And the older I get, the more I like it, and the less I like the other options. I think I can listen to anything, because I really respect music and musicians. But the thing that makes my heart beat is metal.”
Metal Anarchy 
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