Mum names kids Metallica, Pantera & Slayer in tribute to favourite metal bands as Twitter says kids ‘will be bullied’
A HEAVY metal addicted mum has named her babies Metallica, Pantera and Slayer in tribute to her favourite bands.
But she's been slammed on Twitter for turning her children into targets for school bullies in New Zealand.
What's more, little Metallica's second name is reportedly "And Justice For All" in honour of the American's fourth studio album.
Journalist David Farrier stumbled upon the bizarre band tributes while researching a story for his - which hones in on oddball Kiwis.
He revealed on Twitter that he was "proud to report that a New Zealand mother has named her children Metallica, Pantera and Slayer".
"She told me, 'it's not easy raising three of the heaviest bands'."
New Zealand has tough rules about the names that parents can give their babies - they can't be called 'Royal', 'Covid' or any swear words.
Yet the unnamed mum showed Farrier her kids' birth certificates, which seemed to confirm that little Metallica's middle name is indeed “And Justice For All”.
So, an unbelieving Farrier double-checked with the Registrar-General.
And the moniker was apparently officially confirmed.
The stunned journo tweeted that he "became a bit suspicious" when she also included Metallica's best album 'And Justice For All' in her kid's name.
"But New Zealand's registrar-general [Jeff Montgomery] seems to confirm it's a real thing."
Farrier included a quote from Montgomery's reply: "There are no restrictions on naming babies after bands or albums as long as the word used is not generally considered to be offensive and does not resemble an official rank or title.
"This particular baby was registered in 2009 by the previous Registrar-General.
"A similar application made today is likely to also be approved."
Farrier said: "So there you have it."
He added on Twitter: "Plus, I've seen the birth certificates.
"Anyway, waiting for comment from Metallica, Slayer and Pantera
as clearly this metal mother (and her kids) deserve free metal gigs for life.
"Finally, I think it's important to note (as you can see in the photo in my article) this mother is also a big fan of crossbows, which are also truly metal.
"And she deserves our complete and utter respect for this (and for raising three kids)."
But some followers weren't impressed, with one warning: "These kids will need a lot of therapy if this turns out to be true.
"Plus get them some boxing or karate lessons so they don’t get their tails beat on a daily basis - but they probably will anyway."
Another slammed: "Dumbest s**t ever."
One person tweeted: "I'm sure that sounds 'awesome' to the mom and her friends.
"I love the bands as well, however naming your children after them is just selfish and doing a massive disservice to the children.
"Can't even imagine calling a child 'Slayer' outside of a joke."
However there were a few lighthearted comments too, with Joachim Hackshaw joking: "At least she didn’t name one of them Megadeath, he’d constantly be fighting with first child, Metallica."
And a brutal David Wright replied: "So these are the expectations she has for her kids: the child named Metallica will be her most successful.
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"The Child named Pantera will do fine, but die first.
"The Child named Slayer will do OK, but be less successful than the other two kids and less relevant."
More on New Zealand's tough rules for baby names
Babies born in New Zealand can't be named after swear words, have punctuation marks or monikers longer than 70 characters.
New Zealand babies are also banned from being called 'Royal', says Te Tari Taiwhenua, the country's Department of Internal Affairs.
It recently released the list of names banned in 2020 by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Roya Ltee, Royal, Royal-Blue, Royal-Reign, Royalty, Royalty-Rain, Royele-Blue, and Royell were among the 44 names rejected.
No newborn has been named Covid.
The Registrar-General, Jeff Montgomery, said he would "consider carefully any application on the grounds it could be deemed offensive to those who have lost loved ones to the disease".
He added: “There's no problem if you want to give your child a spelled-out number or even silly name, but remember your child has to live with it!”
Rejected names include:
Bishop; Caius-Major; Commodore (after the car); Constable; Dukes; Justice; King; Majesty-Faith; Major; Marley-King; Master; Messiah; Mistah; MyHonour; Nikita-Majesty; Prince; Princess; Prinz; Queen; Royal; Royal-Blue; Royell; Saint and Sovereign.
