Constant chatter clashes with the loud, heavy buzz of music that is pumping out of room E214. It’s not just noise, though, it’s the sound of a brand-new club coming together for the 2025-2026 school year.

Heavy Metal Maniacs was created by sophomore Noah Reynolds and guidance counselor Joe Coleman. They discovered their common interest in the heavy metal genre after seeing each other’s “battle jacket”, which is a denim or leather jacket covered with patches, pins and studs to showcase one’s musical taste. The two decided to create a space for students who share a passion for their favorite genre.

On LSE’s first club day, Sept. 30, Reynolds and Coleman plan to start exploring the music, fashion and culture of heavy metal. According to Reynolds, there’s a lot of different genres and bands within heavy metal but the band Black Sabbath, which was led by Ozzy Osbourne, was the original.

“This semester, my first session of this club is going to talk a lot about Ozzy just because he’s so important to the genre,” Reynolds said.

Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most famous metal artists and was the reason heavy metal has hit the mainstream today. With this fame, Osbourne and his band Black Sabbath have been able to contribute to the stigma around metal slowly fading.

During the 70s and 80s, metal music was associated with the “Satanic Panic”, as many of the genre’s music includes themes of death, occultism, rebellion and anti-religion. At the time, many people perceived the musicians, and their fans, as dangerous to the American youth, with the fear of young people being corrupted.

Aside from covering the history of metal, the new club also hopes to listen to music during club day. Coleman plans to set up a CD player and listen to the music while the club activities are happening.

As of now, there is a lot of student and staff interest in Heavy Metal Maniacs. According to Reynolds, even teachers are asking to come and hang out during second period while it runs. It’s been a long-awaited addition to LSE, attracting students of all ages.

Coleman hopes that by the end of the year students will find a willingness to explore new things from being involved in the club. Reynolds hopes more for students to embrace and explore their music tastes freely because, according to him, he found himself through the genre. For him, it all started out when his friend introduced him to a band called Ghost.

“I fell in love with their discography, everything they’re about. It made me question my own style, made me become more myself,” Reynolds said. “It made me question the authority around me. It made me question the church. I didn’t grow up religious, but it very much made me question things like that. So it was like an eye-opening moment.”

A lot of metal listeners find that the genre encourages rebellious behaviors and pushes them to explore more about themselves, away from authority figures. Metal has a large fan base and some more of the most popular bands include Slipknot, System of a Down and Iron Maiden. 

Reynolds and Coleman are both excited for the first club day and Coleman shares a rallying cry to everyone, but especially Iron Maiden fans.

“Up the irons!”