Metal has been a massive part of my life for years now and has, contrary to popular belief, taught me things I couldn't have learnt otherwise and brought out a more emotional side, something which even my own species isn't capable of doing. Ask a random person what they think Metal music is? You'll definitely get replies such as , " It's just noise!!!", or my personal favourite, " That music where people sound like they're throwing up?". There's a whole list of hilarious responses to the above question. Many times I've even pretended to scorn on the very existence of heavy music just to see what other people think. What can I say, it's the psychologist in me that wanted to experiment. It's this, and of course my eternal love for the metchul world that propelled thoughts into this article.
Many times, I've been told that the kind of music I listen to has a bad effect on the mind and that it is depressing. Although scientifically or whatever, this may have been proven, it's not entirely true and there are living pieces(or people) of evidence that prove otherwise. That's when I link people to the lyrics of songs by Gojira, Decrepit Birth, Tool, Amorphis, Insomnium, I could go on and on, rather than the songs themselves. Lyrics play an integral part of metal music. They have an underlying and rather in-depth emotional meaning. It just goes unnoticed by a non-metal-head because of a mass belief in the evil intended in that kind of music, because of loud distortions and blast beats being misunderstood as there being no rhythm, talent or concept behind the music, which of course, is far, far away from the actual truth.
The genre of metal isn't just an ordinary one and is definitely an acquired taste. It's very rare that you suddenly wake up one day and say, "I want to hear death growls", and blast Amon Amarth to the extent that your neighbours curse you behind your back. It's a gradual process. But when you become a hardcore metal-head, you're constantly mentally consumed by another world, a world which boldly faces the ideals, the theories and the feelings that everyday society shuns and calls taboo. The songs sung and played by bands of the heavy calibre, are not just normal songs. There is always more than meets they eye, the same can be said about what you hear when you tune into metal. At first, all you can hear is down-tuned guitars being played at raging speeds, the drums showing no mercy on your sense of hearing, growls that are positively blood-curdling. But what does a member of The Brotherhood hear and feel?
He or she hears a subliminal message, one that declares the reality of life that we are ignorant to today, the undeniable elegance with which guitar riffs compliment the clean vocals and raspy growls, heck the fact that a song can have cleans and growls together is magic to any adoring metal-head's ears. Peace. Not anger. Not hatred. A feeling of calm, and being at peace with oneself and with the world.
Head to a metal gig? No, you won't see lighters being waved from side to side, or people dressed in bright celebratory colours. You will see black, (well mostly, I've seen girls in bright pink with My Little Pony bags), a sea of black t-shirts, each one a tribute to the wearer's favourite band, long hair of various long lengths, and of course piercings in the most unheard of places. Moshing for minutes on end, crowd-surfing, not to mention, my favourite form of and possibly the only form of dancing I will ever do (besides maybe a waltz or two), Head-banging. The rush that you get, when you windmill in time to the track that's playing, it's unbelievable. I've never been happier than I have when I'm rocking out to my favourite band and whipping my hair on people's faces without being looked at like I've gone completely mental. Of course, too much can lead to severe injuries but you have to be smart enough to be in control of how much you put your neck through.
I've been in Sydney for a few months now and the scene here for us metal-heads is sheer paradise. Even though there's not that many of us, gathering at a small pub or hall to listen to bands that really know their stuff, it's an absolute pleasure. For a few hours, you meet other members who are part of an uncommon breed of human beings just like yourself. There's no judgements, no worries, no misunderstandings. If understood and listened to the right way, metal can bring you that inner peace that people in suits and ties rave about in their million dollar best sellers. It can make you accept the way the world is, in all of it's flaws and finery and the best part? Be happy with it.
You'll be surprised as a lot of people I know, to find that metal-head's are actually soft-hearted creatures and not always out to slay someone. They're not ALL junkies with no purpose in life. Those are a class of people that use metal to justify whatever it is they're doing that society frowns upon, therefore giving the rest of us peaceful metal lovers a generally you're-not-healthy-in-the-head reputation. I've also met some very, very intellectual people at gigs and it's so nice to hear what people who share a similar love of music have to say if you're ready to listen.
What am I really trying to say here? What is this woman's point you ask? My point here lovely people is that metal isn't all negativity and Satan chants. There's that too. But even that, if listened to with a certain amount of objectivity, can be enjoyed. Underneath the armour of black clothing, excessively pierced and tattooed bodies, you'll find a normal human being with a passion like no other for a genre of music that inspires them and brings out feelings like nothing else can. That ladies and gentleman, is the power of what we like to call The Metal Brotherhood.
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