Suicide Silence's Mark Heylmun releases new guitar, says "gatekeeping makes the scene stronger"

The world of heavy metal is known for its significant amount of gatekeeping present in the scene, with rigid definitions of what constitutes a particular genre and who is allowed to belong to it. This gatekeeping is something that Suicide Silence's Mark Heylmun has spoken about in a recent interview with Guitar.com talking about his new Jackson signature series guitar.

Heylmun has just released a new seven-string, Randy Rhoads-style signature guitar, which has been labeled as a "premium guitar designed for progressive metal players" on the Jackson Guitars website. This has caused some confusion, as Heylmun has never positioned himself as a progressive metal player. Instead, he is known for his heavy chugging and screeching harmonics.

He goes on to explain that he wanted to create an instrument that would help him up his skills and that he added a 'shredder heel' to make it easier to reach the higher frets.

Heylmun has also faced criticism and gatekeeping from fans and peers who feel that his sound does not fit into a particular genre or scene.

Heylmun recalls:

Despite this adversity, Suicide Silence has enjoyed success, proving that it is possible to thrive in such an environment. Heylmun believes that gatekeeping can actually make the scene stronger by creating conversations and bringing different perspectives to the table.

Heylmun explains: