Is Heavy Metal really that bad?

I was at school and it was a pulchritudinous day when my friend approached me and asked me why I liked Heavy Metal so much. In which I replied to him: "Well, I just appreciate the complexity of the instrumentals". To which he then said : " But it's so noisy and unorganized!". I just shook me head in a gesture that meant I disagreed. I saidto him, that beneath every heavy instrumental there is a deep meaning to the song. Take the song "The Good Left Undone" by Rise Against for example, when you first listen to the lyrics, youight think it's about a retarded guy who found some flowers but when you actually read the lyrics, you'll fund out that the song is actually referring to a long lost love. 

    Sure not all heavy metal songs are like this, I mean, until now, I still don't have a clue of what to make of Lamb of God's "Bloodletting", all I have so far is that it talks about bloodshed. But the other heavy metal artists, say, Pearl Jam. Those guys always have a message to their songs, you just need to dig deep enough to find the meaning. Taking Back Sunday, although not being heavy metal in general is still frowned upon by the people in my class (even if they do talk abou love in most of their songs). I just think people are missing the point of the whole metal genre. A prime exame is Rage Against the Machine, they were a smash hit in the 90's and until now. But did people really knkw that they were doung political rap metal? If you listen to their songs you'll find a lot of references to the political problems during the term if George W. Bush. In their song "Take the Power Back" you can tell just by the title what they mean. If you can't tell it's in the lyrics:

"The present curriculum / I put my fist in em."

You can tell that they're fighting the "power" through song. What people are missing is the message the song gives out. I mean, when someone first hears heavy metal, automatically, it's classifies as noise. But once they actually listen to it, they'll be surprised to find that the song actually has a message to convey to the people, a vehement message at that. 

     I just hope more people can accept heavy metal the way I do. Having been raised my a family where my brother was a metalhead, I kind of got into it. I'm not sure if that's the reason I like it so much, but I'm positive that I didn't force myself to like it. 

     Until next time.

The Evolution Of Rock Through the Years Part 1

Through the advancements and discoveries made by mankind, our technology has improved. Along with technology, was the music industry. I will be focusing mostly on the music from the 1960's to Present Day, as that is when music really took it's course and heightened. 



The Beatles(1960-1969)
At first there were The Beatles, which was formed in the 60's. They were a legendary rock group from Liverpool in England. Their group consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr respectively. Their debut album " Please Please Me" was produced and recorded in Abbey Road Studios in London. Their sound was uncalled for and it revolutionized the music industry for decades to come.

"Please Please Me" 
The Beatles' debut album.











AC/DC(1970-present day)
In the scene of the 70's, the sounds became more intense. This was when AC/DC was formed. AC/DC was different in the sense that their sound was different. Where as The Beatles sang in a harmonic- like tone for their albums, AC/DC introduced the as I like to call it:"Scream Into the Mic" method of rock which is used the most often now. With their debut album "High Voltage" released in 1976, they quickly gained popularity.  With the "Scream Into the Mic" method, numerous bands followed after. Nirvana was one of these.

" High Voltage"

Nirvana(1987-1994)
Nirvana changed the "Scream Into the Mic" method. They did this by having soft verses but very intense choruses. Nirvana was formed in the late 80's.The group consisted of Kurt Cobain,Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic. The late 80's was the time when loud music was really popular. In 1989, they released their first album "Bleach". "Bleach" though, in my opinion was not as big a hit as "Nevermind". Many consider "Nevermind" as the first album released by Nirvana because the album was released by a major record label (GDC Records) while "Bleach" was released by an independent record label(Sub Pop Records). As this is the case, we will focus on "Nevermind". Nevermind was released in 1991, it contained 14 tracks. The most popular of these was "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The instant popularity caused by their first album released by a major record label caused tension to the group. A few months later, in early April, as the band was on their European tour, Kurt Cobain was found unconscious on his hotel floor and was sent to the emergency room. It was later discovered that Cobain had a reaction to the drug he used to control his pressure called "Rhoypnol" and alcohol. A week later after the European tour, that fateful day of April 8, 1994, cobain was found dead on the floor of his Seattle home.The death was of a possible self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. The band had dissolved in the year 1994, but not before they release their second and last album "In Utero". Dave Grohl would later form the band "Foo Fighters". But this time Dave Grohl would be the lead.


"Nevermind" 
The First album Nirvana released with GDC Records.

"Load up on guns, and bring your friends. It's fun to lose, and to pretend. She's over-bored, and self-assured. Oh no, I know a dirty word"

                                                                                  -Kurt Cobain in their song "Smells Like Teen Spirit"


I'll be posting the second part tomorrow.