Social Distortion performs at the Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley on Sept. 26, 2019. Photos: Karen Goldman. BERKELEY — As the banner at the back of the stage proclaimed, Social Distortion has been around for 40 years. Not 40 continuous years of course—they are a punk band so there have…

There’s always been something a little fascist about heavy metal. Putting aside the violent imagery, the sexist lyrics and the glaring absence of femininity, the tyranny of metal demanded conformity; conformity to the mathematical exactitude of double bass drums and power chords, minor scales played at blistering speeds, to…