Finnish Metal Fan Explains Why He Helped Prank H&M

One of the people behind "one-time art collective" Strong Scene Productions has opened up about the group's reasons for orchestrating an elaborate prank against international clothing company H&M, explaining in an interview that the extensive trolling was steeped in trying to teach the mainstream a lesson.

Chatting to Vice offshoot Noisey about the motivations behind the prank, Finnish musician and metal aficionado Henri Sorvali, who plays in metal outfit Moonsorrow and folk-metal troupe Finntroll, confirmed that "every single band" featured on their page was a fictitious creation based solely on the metal aesthetic-inspired patches and logos on apparel featured in H&M's new clothing line.

Asked whether the prank was executed in retaliation against commercialising a fringe culture for mainstream profit, Sorvali said: "Partially, yes. But we also wanted to point out the fact that you cannot commercialise a subculture without actually knowing all the different aspects of it.

"Knowledge on your product is essential in marketing, and Strong Scene supports self-awareness and education for everyone on the matter," Sorvali continued. "And, no, I also haven't been hired for a job by H&M either, which the wildest rumours claimed!"

Sorvali explained to Noisey that the purpose of the group — which has "tens" of members from various areas in music and the media from all around Scandinavia — was "to create discussion on the fact that metal culture is more than just 'cool'-looking logos on fashionable clothes, and has many more aesthetic and ideological aspects in different subgenres than what some corporations are trying to express" — which may partially explain the highly controversial inclusion of obvious Nazi and neo-Nazi imagery in several pieces of promo material for the "bands" in question.

"The metal scene is varied, controversial and a sort of wolf you can't chain into a leash and expect it to behave on your terms like a dog," Sorvali said. "Strong Scene as a collective has absolutely no political nor ideological intentions, and is only bringing the conversation to the level it should be discussed at.

"Think of us as the one-time 'Yes Men' of metal music."

H&M, meanwhile, has remained relatively tight-lipped about the whole confusing, Nazism-littered ordeal, though they have taken the time to craft two statements to tweet to people commenting on the controversy to clarify that they had no part in its creation or execution.