HEAVY METAL ELITISTS AND THE AUTHORITAY!

I found this note I wrote on facebook some time ago and thought I'd re post it here. Check it out and let me know what you think.

"You must respect my authoritay!!  For real though... Cartman can say it, he's a fucking cartoon..

So in case any of you wondered, I LOVE METAL.. It is in my veins, in my heart.. I like a WIDE array of different types of metal, from power to death to black and everything around and in between.  I like what I like and there need not be any justification for this. There is no arguing taste. It is rare to come across an individual who TRULY respects another's taste in music. I absolutely detest the "YOU SUCK BECAUSE YOU LIKE (FILL IN THE BLANKS)" attitude.  REALLY? Your opinion on what's good could be the complete opposite of the next guys, so get off your elitist high horses and back down to earth for a second.

  I read a post the other day that included the phrase "real metal"  This person implied that because a band has made it to a certain status, suddenly they are sell outs and are no longer "real metal"  Who decides who is real metal? Who is this top secret authority? Maybe it's SATAN, sitting on his throne in his red loin cloth vetoing bands such as OPETH, for example, writing them off, crossing them off the list of "Real Metal" with a thick black sharpie, all because they have risen out of the underground. Awesome.. So success in thie person's book is not making it big, but staying underground.. Alrighty.. Don't get me wrong, I have complete respect for bands who want to stay underground, but to judge someone for making it big is fucking ludicrous and it's all purely based on jealousy whether you choose to admit that or not..
So that being said. there is no authority, your version of what "real metal" is might be completely different from the next persons. No one is any fucking better than anyone else around here. Let's all just rock out and be thankful that people are still listening to the music we all love at all. Whether it be power metal, grind, black metal, death or anything in between.. Fuck it!! Horns High to you all.   Respect my friends, it's all about respect.. "

This also makes me think of all the posts I've seen in the past with people bitching on facebook about people choosing to go to see a national act over a local. Well yeah DUH!!  Why would you miss the opportunity to see one of you favorite bands to go see a local band that plays out every other weekend. You never know what can happen. I'm not saying don't support your local bands, but be real.. I guarantee the same people would pass up a local show any day to see one of their favorite national acts.. Some of the comments lead me to believe that people forget that most every band was once considered just a local band and had to start out at the bottom and I'm sure most fans have no idea the struggles some of these bands had to go through to get where they are today. Again, jealousy is a very unattractive trait on anybody.

MIND OVER MATTER, METAL OVER MATTER

Are our minds truly strong enough to override our what physical bodies are telling us? If we focus on something other than our current physical pain, can we really lessen it? Something happened to me the other day that I wanted to share with you all.  I suffer from Crohn's disease. There's no need to sit and list all the nasty details, I'll just say it's unpleasant to say the least. I was sitting at my desk with a bad headache and just feeling horrid. I was trying to get some work done, but we all know how hard it is when you're not feeling well to accomplish anything. I was just sitting there thinking mind over matter.. I put on some music and focused  on what I was doing and really listened to the tunes.. I believe it started with Katatonia's Dead End Kings(yes I keep bringing up this album, I am obsessed with it) I'm sitting there typing away and I suddenly realized my headache was gone and I didn't feel so terrible anymore.

I guess I might be sounding like a broken record, but when you are passionate about something, it happens.. This music, metal, helped me get done what I needed to and it just got better from there.

So I'm here to tell you friends, there is definite truth behind this saying.. It's not just music.. It gets into your subconscious  and pushes the pain away. Obviously this will not always work, we all go through some truly painful experiences, but that day, it made my world happy again. Thank you metal.. You are my heart..

EMBRACE OR ESCAPE IN A DEEPER WORLD

Music, metal specifically has always been my number one inspiration. For me, the mark of a true musician is not the ability to play an instrument or read the notes on a page, but to do one of two things; allow you to immerse yourself in an emotion or give you an escape. I know this may sound contradictory, but as human beings, both things are a neccesity.


Even as a child I would hear a song and it would evoke such strong imagery I would have these crazed dreams. When you wake up though, you always feel different, usually you have more clarity.

Haven't  you heard a song and pictured someone being stuck in some grim cold place with no way out or being chased by a crazed homicidal maniac?

Or perhaps you've been depressed and popped on a cd and just cried your eyes out and felt leaps and bounds better after words.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, waay too much on the brain. Metal evokes so much imagry and emotion, it's the one thing that always helps get me through. So when people ask me why I listen to metal, this is your answer. forgive me for sounding cheesy, but metal is the soundrack of my soul..

Here are some examples of songs that have provided either a much needed emotional release or an escape from reality..

Enslaved - Roots of the mountain(Off of Riitiir)
Enslaved - Death in the eyes of Dawn (Off of Rittir)
Enslaved - Essence (off of Ruun)
Enslaved - Tides of Chaos ( Off of Ruun)
Opeth - The Drapery Falls ( Off of Blackwater Park)
Opeth- Harvest (off Of Blackwater Park)
Nevermore - No more Will (Off of Dreaming Neon Black)
Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor (title track)
Warrel Dane - Brother (off of Praises to the War Machine)
Borknagar -  The Winter eclipse (off of Urd)
Borknagar - In a Deeper World (off of Urd)
Katatonia - Deadhouse (off of Discouraged Ones)
Tiamat - Wildhoney...

Right now I am listening to Katatonia- Dead End Kings.. This entire album does it for me:)

Just thought I would share a little bit about what goes on in my crazy mind;)