Song Masterpieces

There are rock and metal songs that are catchy. Their simple and repetitive chords and relatively simplistic lyrics make them memorable and rather enjoyable. Everybody knows them, everybody likes them (smoke on the water is an example).  There are songs that make you happy, sad, those you can headbang to, those you can dance to.

Yet there are those rare sings, the masterpieces as I like to call them, that draw out all of your emotions - it's like the combination of music and lyrics personifies into a god-like hand that reaches into your psyche and grabs what's in there and pulls it out and lays it there in front you. "This is your soul, this is you" it says.

You know you've heard that song when you first of all have that familiar body reaction, the goosebumps. But it is more than that. It is a song that you feel in your core, in your spine, in your brain, your every heartbeat. It embraces your being. You may cry, you may smile, you may hold your breath. When it ends you feel exhausted, euphoric, fulfilled, awed. You want to kneel and worship the genius(es) that created it.

It is primal. I'm not going to explain that, I'm sure you can do your own research (e.g. Biological Templates for Musical Experience: From Fear to Pleasure).

I have my own musical/lyrical masterpieces that I want to share here. You may find that some are universal but each one of us have their own personal masterpieces. I'm sure there are more that I left out so I will be updating.

Stargazer by Rainbow: This is the only one I will describe because it is my ultimate song, the one that "touches" me the most. I can listen to it all day every day for a week and still react to it as if I heard it for the first time. This song is me, now you know me. The combination of Dio's voice, Blackmore's guitar, Powell's dumming, and the Munich philharmonic orchestra..... THE MASTERPIECE. Dio and Blackmore I thank you.

Song of Yesterday by Black Country Communion: Highlights include Bonham's drumming and Bonamassa's guitar solo and his overall delivery.

The Times They are A-Changing by Bob Dylan: Highlight is the whole song.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica: Highlights include Burton's bass.

When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin: Highlights include Bonzo's drumming of course.

Diamond and Rust by Judas Priest: Highlights include Halford's vocals.

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath: Highlights include the re-birth of the famous diabolus in musica interval.

Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones: Highlights include Merry Clayton's vocals.

Hurt by Johnny Cash: Highlights include the fact that Cash owned it. 

etc.

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Stone-Rolling the Money Dough

Yes I am pissed off. Who wouldn't be? But not with the band. Not really.

I am talking of course about the "outrageous" ticket prices for The Rolling Stones gigs. First, let's get things straight. They are The Rolling Stones and, yes, a logical person would have expected the ticket prices to be as high as they are. I mean, come on, did you really think you can watch the Stones for free? Have you heard about a thing called money? You know, the most important thing in the world, the moving force? No? Then take some socio-economical lessons, or simply look around you.

I don't understand how would anyone think the Stones are above money; why would they be? Sure, you paid for their food in the last 50 years [and their Bentley, their villas, their drugs etc] but didn't you get something in return? Records, cassettes, CDs, gig experiences. This is a two-way process, they offer a "service" for your money. It is an exchange; you pay, you get. You did not "make them a favour" as I heard many say. The only favour you make, is to yourself; passing through life with a good taste in music.

Now that I cleared things in that front, I'll move to the angry part. Of course, I am angry. But as I said not with the band or the ticket prices. And here I mean the prices as set by the Stones management and not the re-sell ones. As a logical person would do [and I do not praise myself here], I set a limit on how much I was willing to pay to see them live. I said, given my current circumstances, I'd pay a maximum of £250, the approximate price for a festival ticket. 'Cause lets face it, the Stones are worth 100 bands together. Yet I wouldn't pay significantly more than I paid for the legend that it is Bob Dylan, or Black Sabbath, or even Dio.

BUT! As it happened with the Zeppelin tickets, the posh "disagreeable persons" (that is the kindest version of the word assholes) and the ticket touts got them all. As a fan, I made sure I got access to the pre-sale by hunting down my O2 friends for their "priority" benefits. Priority my ass! It shouldn't surprise me that my "connection is down", or that their "server is down", or that I "have been placed in a queue", or even that my "request is being processed" while all the touts with their tricks, fiber-optic broadband, and hundreds of staff, where already purchasing all the lower priced tickets and re-selling them for 4 times their face value.

Unsurprisingly, same thing happened on the general sale day. And I ask! Why do we, the fans, allow this to happen? These people put a £106 ticket for £19,000!!! Seriously, instead of boycotting the gig, why not boycott these websites? You are part of the problem, so stop complaining about the prices when you would happily pay these websites your money on other occasions. If the price is right [and I mean face value] go for it. But stop being hypocritical... It's all about the money after all, be it selling or buying.

The best solution for me is The Rolling Stones playing a three-day festival-like gig somewhere in a big empty space where 400,000 people could attend each day; not the O2 "arena". Do the maths: nearly a million proper fans [cause the posh disagreeable persons would not go into the muddy fields even for a Stones gig] each paying £100, and the Stones having a cash in of more millions they can ever spend in their remaining years! And that's just in UK. But hey, what do I know, right?

In the meantime, I take control of my rage, wish The Rolling Stones good luck with their gig and with having Paris Hilton and all the other "disagreeables" in the front row (!), and head off to buy my Alice Cooper Halloween tickets for no more than £44 per head!

See you on the next Pirates of the Caribbean Keef!
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Image credits:
http://www.billboard.com
http://noisey.vice.com

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Aging Bodies, Aging Minds, Aging Bands

The inspiration for this piece of writing comes from a brief twitter chat I had with a dear “under-web ally” of mine (i.e. an online yet still underground co-defender of the Rock) @RockCyprus. Chatting about the recent Download 2013 line-up announcements, our conversation went something like this:

@Tzellofouska Rammstein & Maiden in one go? Surely, you don't wanna miss that! 

@RockCyprus It's been Maiden and Metallica from the 1st row in the last 2 years. Hard to beat that I'll have to have a break ;) [plus the prized possession of Kirk Hammett's guitar pick! ;)]

@Tzellofouska Metallica...Second most disappointing live band after Megadeth. And am a keen thrasher; just 20 yrs too late [ 90s vs 00s.... The price to pay for my age!]

@RockCyprus It's a big discussion, but surely Hetfield or Araya can never be 20 and alcoholics ever again ;) :D

And it went on for a few more tweets. Now, just to clarify, my aim is not to get into a discussion about disappointing live shows from [previously great yet still legendary] bands. I will only pose a few of my contemplations in the hope of initiating a healthy exchange of opinions.  

It all started with me seeing Metallica live for the first time. Then it happened again when I saw what Axl calls Guns N’ Roses nowadays. And it all happened for the third time when I saw Megadeth at this year’s Download. What a disappointment it was, I cannot emphasize enough! Performance-, passion-, stage presence-wise, you name it. 

At the time, I used to say to myself and others equally disappointed as me, that you wouldn’t expect these bands to perform to the same level as 20 years ago for example. It is of course a valid point. Or perhaps a good rationalisation of why I spent £60 on a gig that hasn’t changed me in the least. Because, you see, I only appreciate gigs that change my life, even a tiny bit at a time. I shall elaborate... 

Every band or artist has what I call a pre-defined persona. Meaning, they are known for specific elements of their live shows. Take Rammstein, for example, known for their extreme pyro shows complemented by heavy German rumblings [which I love by the way!]; or Iron Maiden with Eddie and an over-enthusiastic Mr. Dickinson; or Motörhead with their deafening decibels and a Lemmy; or even Kiss with their outdated yet oh-so-entertaining outfits; or Black Sabbath with a playful Ozzy and a quiet Iommi that communicates through the riffs. ALL bands have their pre-defined persona; from the time of their conception to today.

Now, when I go to a live show, I expect to see, feel, and experience that persona. I am easily satisfied though. Just having the opportunity to see legendary bands is an excitement on its own, considering most are at the end of the “road”. I surely don’t expect to see the SAME level of energy and passion as I see in videos of their earlier shows. Or should I?

Having been to so many gigs in the past decade alone means that I saw many of these “dinosaur” bands as people call them but not in their prime years. From this experience alone I realised that while there might be an expiration date on creativity for making good albums, passion is meant to stay put. Aging is not an excuse for a bad live for me anymore. 

If you can’t support that pre-defined persona of the band with the same level of passion anymore, just don’t bother touring; because then it shows that you are doing it purely for the cash. I’m sure Alice Cooper will retire once he’s not able to hold that boa on stage anymore. There were a few gigs that made an impact and changed me the way I wanted; Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, Anthrax, Motörhead, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Kiss, Rammstein, and even the remaining of The Who! One can see that age is not the point here; some of these guys get a social security check at the end of each month! 

I would love, and I’m sure I’ll have more opportunities, to see Metallica or Megadeth again so that I prove myself wrong. But in the meantime, yawning at a gig, where one of your favourites is performing, is not a very good sign. Either love what you do or quit while you can. Performing is just another job you have to enjoy doing in order to survive in this business. I will repeat: there is no such thing as aging bodies; just aging minds.

You may follow @RockCyprus  on twitter for updates on upcoming shows in Cyprus. Otherwise, just follow him anyway because he's got some great tweets!

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Image Credit:

http://www.last.fm/

http://www.collapseboard.com/

http://tzellofouska.blogspot.co.uk/

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Review of Download Festival 2012

A review of the happenings at Download Festival 2012, Donington Park, UK

ANTHRAX

Our day started with Anthrax playing a half hour show. Since it was the ¼ of the Big 4 for which I had the lesser knowledge about and also the first time I was seeing them live, I was really focused and very open to liking them. I needn’t be though. They were simply powerful. Within those 30 minutes they had us jumping up and down, commanded the crowd to form a well-rounded mosh pit, and entertained us all the way. I was especially happy when I finally heard “Indians” which was stuck in my mind for 2 months. Belladonna did his usual with security guards rushing to “save” a female colleague from his hands when he tried to shake her to the song rhythm! They also forcefully kept him from crowd surfing. Download had officially kicked off for me. I give them a 9/10 purely because it was a 30 min appearance.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY

This was the only band I somehow wanted to see but didn't know much about them. I wasn’t expecting to be amazed nor was I particularly looking forward to see them- I was curious really. But they were good. Not being familiar with their work didn’t help much. I wasn't enthused but one thing really surprised me: how huge and what a great guitarist Zakk Wylde is. I also learned that his custom-made guitar weighs like a ton and only he can lift it! No wonders there. Unfortunately though, they didn’t make much impact on me and I was left being none the wiser about them. 6/10

LAMB OF GOD

Next, on the stage came these guys. Now, I have seen them live one more time when they opened for Heaven & Hell a few years ago. I was disappointed back then and I was disappointed this time too. The reason is simple; I just don’t fancy not being able to understand the song lyrics. Now I’m not saying they should attend a spelling bee class but seriously screaming to the crowd “sing it” and not actually singing it themselves is not much help especially to new fans! To be fair though I was biased towards not enjoying them but here is the thing. They were actually quite good, musically speaking. Their live music was arousing and many times I found myself tapping my leg and moving to the rhythm. On a different note, I seriously need to get Blythe’s vocal instructor’s number! 6.5/10

MEGADETH

One of the word composites of the above was true: DETH. I did not experience MEGA in any way. Ok, perhaps Mustaine’s hair! But honestly, I was so excited that I was going to see the Megadeth live that I think I raised my expectations way too high. For starters, I think they were brain-dead during this live. They were barely moving or even entertaining in any way. At some point we thought maybe Mustaine had to leave early for the church mass? Or perhaps his pony was missing him much? The only thing that entertained us briefly was Vic Rattlehead wandering through the stage. Anyway, I was left unimpressed and disappointed in so many ways. On the other hand, again musically speaking, I liked them a lot. I enjoyed the classics like “Peace Sells” and “Symphony of Destruction” and all in all I am glad I saw them live. Not so glad about the white shirt though. So not metal! 5/10 

FIREWIND

This was the point where grunge took over the main stage (seriously Soundgarden?) and I moved on to the smaller stages to see some other favourites. I managed to watch Firewind for a while and I can tell without a doubt that they sound even better live. Gus G did his thing as always with those magic fingers of his. On the other hand, Apollo’s vocals were astonishing. Although appearing in one of the smallest stages, it was packed and people were very enthusiastic about them. The sound was not fair to the bands but the good ones got noticed anyway. Firewind make the Greek metal scene proud for sure. 7.5/10

GHOST

I insisted on standing still for 40 minutes waiting for these guys to show up.  I don’t know what it is about Ghost, but I was hooked when I first heard them by accident on YouTube. What is their deal? What is their music about? What are they? Appearing on stage dressed up like Ku Klux Klan members with their frontman, Papa Emeritus, dressed like a catholic priest with a skull where his face should be and holding a censer blessing the crowd did not solve any of my questions. Especially when their lyrics are filled with satanic elements! Whatever they represent be it humour, irony, or simply fun, their performance was great. I mean, the vocals were magnificent. I thought I was carried by angels (or maybe demons?) into the skies on a soft cloud ! The keyboards compliment their songs so well; I don’t think I have heard anything like this before. But then again I am not into Doom that much (apparently this is their categorisation). I loved them and can’t wait to hear their second album. 8.5/10

BLACK SABBATH

And on to the legends! By this time I was so exhausted that I couldn’t wait to go to sleep. I even wondered whether seeing THE Black Sabbath live is worth all this trouble. I have already seen them once with Dio so I thought to myself: “Is Ozzy really going to hit the notes and amaze me as much as Dio did? Is Tony going to be performing at his best? Is it really Black Sabbath I am seeing without Bill?” Then the first chord struck me. They started with “Black Sabbath” which couldn’t have worked better for the explosion that was about to follow. I then forgot all about my tiredness, all the urine, shit, food waste, or anything else I might have stepped or sat on without realising, and l lended my soul to the godfathers. It was phenomenal. For many reasons. Ozzy did hit the notes despite my otherwise expectations. He ran on the stage like a 4-year old, clapped his hands, and said fuck a lot. Only he can sing metal and successfully have the crowd move rhythmically left/right instead of forming a mosh pit! And only he can get angry when he “doesn't see our fucking hands in the air” anymore. Tony was looking like the true iron man and his guitar virtuosity was unaffected. This guy is so stoic I was really surprised when the camera caught him looking at the crowd and smiling at various times during the gig. Geezer shined again as the master of the bass and he did look happy to be sharing the stage with all of them. Clufetos was hitting the drums so hard I’m sure I felt the pain too. He was unbelievable. With 150,000 people and 300,000 set of eyes all watching them I think they felt what I did; that they belong together on a stage. Not Ozzy alone, not as Heaven & Hell, but as Black Sabbath. They had great chemistry and I don’t care where it came from be it money or respect for one another. And despite the fact that only ¾ where performing, based on that performance alone, I can be honest when I say I saw Black Sabbath. 10/10

THINGS I LEARNED/REALISED AT DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2012:

1. Anthrax is the best out of the 3 of the “Big 4” thrash metal bands I saw live.
2. Zakk Wylde is huge and looks like a good guy to have drinks with at a strip club filled with Hell's Angels.
3. Lamb of God have great music but the sound of Blythe’s screaming and growling voice makes me yawn repeatedly.
4. Mustaine does not look good in a white shirt and his hair has more volume than his voice.
5. Firewind sound even better live and I think I am in love with Gus G.
6. Ghost is perhaps the next big thing in metal; even Anselmo said so.
7. I pity the fool that will not get the chance to experience Black Sabbath live in front of a 150,000 crowd.

Limited videos can be found here.

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Precious Rocks & Rare Heavy Metals: Chapter 1

The first of a series of fun articles aiming to explore the impact that Rock and Heavy Metal artists/bands had on the world and the impact the world had on them. This series will cover a number of artists so all favourites will be presented.

Please note: There is no specific reason (e.g. greatness, preference etc) for the order bands are presented!

AC/DC 

The only band refusing to put their songs to be sold separately on iTunes and yet they have the lowest rates of music piracy. Coincidence? Don’t think so; traditional values is what defined AC/DC in the first place. But not only do they attract millions of fans, the Rock N’ Roll giants have a strange effect on the great white shark as well. According to a tour operator that organises cruises in Australia, after many attempts, he managed to find the secret in attracting the sharks close to the ship. These remarkable mammals are specifically fond of songs like “You shook me all night long” and “If you want blood”. Experts attribute this phenomenon to the sensitivity of the specific species to low sound frequencies, a characteristic of most of AC/DC’s music!

It’s not that this conclusion derived from rigorous research, yet no one can deny AC/DC’s awesomeness, even the animal kingdom. I wonder how the great white would react to Lady Gaga but all I know is that I wouldn’t want to be there when it happens...
Full shark story here.

IRON MAIDEN

Probably the band responsible for not so much as incorporating but establishing the intelligence factor in Heavy Metal. It’s frontman, Dr. Bruce Dickinson a.k.a. “The Air Raid Siren”, is the definition of a renaissance person. His talents range from piloting, fencing, writing, broadcasting, script-writing, acting, marketing, and some more which I am sure he doesn’t care sharing. He has a history degree from Queen Mary, University of London (for those that don’t know already, one of the best in the UK and worldwide) and has recently been awarded an honorary doctorate of music from the same University. The University’s announcement can be found here.

In an ingorant society like ours where people consider Heavy Metal as the caveman’s music, bands like Iron Maiden step in to show us otherwise. It is a fact that lyrics as much as music in Heavy Metal do require a bit of homework if bands are to be taken seriously by fans. In addition, the once-thought uncultured genre, is now followed by more intelligent fans than any other. Although some good research still needs to be done on this subject here is an interesting outline of a study from Warwick University which found that gifted students prefer Heavy Metal.

BLACK SABBATH

Widely famous, not just for being the godfathers of Heavy Metal but for other oddities as well. We all know about their obsession with the occult and have heard a thing or two of Ozzy’s mischief. But the most distinctive characteristic that defined what Black Sabbath came to be during the past decades is Iommi’s re-invention of the “Devil’s chord” or the tritone. The tritone was also evident in Wagner’s compositions and represented evil (i.e. devil, sex, and lust), for which it was banned during the Middle Ages. When asked how he came up with it, Tony said that it simply felt right.

Imagine how differently Heavy Metal would have evolved if Iommi hadn’t “discovered” the specific musical interval. For those of you that do know a bit more about music here is a piece on how to play like Tony. I’d like to see you try!

AEROSMITH

Admittedly, the most remarkable thing about Aerosmith is Steven Tyler’s wide vocal range and technique. Steven featured in National Geographic’s documentary “The Incredible Human Machine”, where you can literally see his vocal chords vibrating at up to 170 times per second during his famous scream falsetto on “Dream On” whilst performing live! Some say he’s falling into the category of a low tenor. You can catch the clip from the documentary here.

There are very few vocalists that have amazing vocal abilities and it’s no surprise that many come from the Rock and Heavy Metal genre. I came across this interesting blog post where a voice teacher with no prior knowledge of them, analyses the vocals of 5 great Heavy Metal singers, amongst them, the great Rob Halford. Although the title is a bit patronising for its purpose, it is still worth a read. Read it here.   


Watch this space for the next chapter of this series.
Chapter 2 can now be found here.

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Image Credits:

http://morpheusefx.com

http://www.ironmaiden.com

http://www.metalhammer.gr
http://www.seacoastonline.com

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Night-Thought-Train

During these last few days I have been relatively hate-free. No major annoyance issues, no exhibition of serious antisocial behaviour, no world-destructive ideation. Still, I lay in bed every night thinking of the following:

Metallica: What the hell happened to one of my favourite bands?
They used to be THE thrash gods, now they are more like trash sods! I mean, come on ...... LuLu? What is that? If you need some kind of "high-end" artistic & intellectual thinking to "get it", then it's not for me. Nor for Metal for that matter. Where are the days of Kill 'Em All, Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning etc? I sigh, turn to my side and try to sleep...

Then...

Madonna: Great strip dancer isn't she? Can barely move without a cane at the moment. When is this old cow going to retire, vaporize, disappear forever? Oh well, the world is not perfect. Hmmm ..... Did I remember to take the beef out of the freezer tonight?

Followed by...

Lemmy: Why isn't the whole world revolved around Lemmy? EVERYBODY has got to love him. Legend! [Dream] Found myself walking backstage of a gig and somehow got the chance to meet the bands/artists playing - did not know who they were at the time. I see Rob Halford, followed by Ozzy coming towards me ready to hug and kiss me. As I stretch my arms to do so, I see Lemmy in the horizon, make a ninja manoeuvre, skip Halford, say to Ozzy "I've got to meet the Legend first!", and run towards Lemmy's open arms.... [end of dream] Aaaah ..... Good times! Waking up to pee.

and....

Download Festival: Wondering why the organisers think they have the perfect line-up this year (or every year for that matter). Black Album in its entirety and 3/4 original members of Black Sabbath playing? Why don't you take a look at other European festival's line-ups for advice? Not that exciting for more than £200!

Leading to....

Black Sabbath: Bill Ward's disappointment towards the band is really sad. Come on, you all have enough money already, give the poor man some! We don't care if you love each other or not, you are old, you are slowly dying, we want to see you live one last time! Get over yourselves and your money obsession. Stop killing music.

Changing to....

Old men charm: Perfect men examples: Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sean Penn.... They are great actors too. Why do women prefer boys like Jude Law, Orlando Bloom, the guy with the most annoying face of all (spiderman actor), and other man-like organisms out there? Sometimes I'm wondering if we, women, are a bit insane.

Speaking of...

RJ Dio: Is he really dead? It doesn't feel like it. I find myself searching ticket sites for Dio gigs. None available at the moment ...... Oh well, they are just taking a break!  I roll in bed furiously.

Wishing for...

Playing an instrument: Why can't I find the courage to start from scratch and learn how to play the bass properly? The ability to play more music pieces rather than what I think is the melody of Paranoid and Seven Nation Army sounds like a well-structured dream! On the shelf for now along with being a nature photographer, freelance writer, pancake maker, and cardiac surgeon!

Moving on to....
PS3 gaming madness: Seriously, I did not need another obsession in my life. Discovering gaming (especially games where you team up with Lemmy, get advice from Ozzy, and fight Rob Halford) is not the best idea while doing a Doctorate degree. Still, it's awesome! (that is once I..... learn.... how...... to...... operate..... this...... stupid..... PS3...... controller! Aaarrgh!)

Connecting with...
Discovering new stuff: There is a lot of great music out there that I haven't listened to, lots of amazing places to visit, lots of exciting hobbies I have never tried, lots of food I haven't tasted yet ......... Damn life's short!  Finally, I fall asleep.

Closing up...
Justin Bieber: [Dream] MUST KILL NOW!

I wake up with a grin thinking the world is a better place than it was last night.
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Image credits:
http://www.thewire.co.uk
http://www.rockandmetalnews.com
http://www.latestscreens.com

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Why I Choose Heavy Metal (Why Should You?)

I tried...technically! I can't say that I haven't.

I tried to listen to popular music, when at the age of 9 or 10 (I don't really remember and honestly, I try not to), I found myself collecting photos of boybands (you know, the ones that surprisingly enough have lost their other half and cry their eyes out because they are alone singing on a rainy night? Those ones!). You see, boybands where a hit in the 90s era. The thing is, though, I don't even know a song of theirs if you ask me now (it is a fact that your brain automatically blocks stressful or negative experiences).

People who know me would say that hearing is not the best of my 5 (or maybe 6?) senses. My own little research suggests this is probably attributed to several vain attempts to listen to a whole Britney Spears song instead of several years of Heavy Metal madness.

You see, even then, I kind of felt that pop (where the hell does that term come from anyway?) was not the music that "touched" my heart (probably because it's empty, shallow, and useless) and I realised that quite early in my life - thankfully long before I had my ears exploding from all the crap they had to endure and before all my brain cells had the chance to melt away, while I was trying to discover myself!

My induction to the "Heavy Metal Family" happened when my heart skipped a beat while listening to the combination of Ozzy's vocals and Iommi's musical genius on Electric Funeral. My full conversion took place while listening to AC/DC when I realised I was actually heading for heaven and not hell, as instructed...



Heavy Metal has always been misunderstood by society although it's the most genuine genre out there (not considering the blood-sucking production companies - hey, the world is not that perfect - and the odd band complex with money - yes Lars I am talking about you).


On the contrary, pop music has been reduced to vanity because of:

1. The song lyrics - a 10 yr old would come up with a better line than "umbrella, ella, ella...oh!" or "hit me baby one more time" (honestly shoot the guy that writes this crap, it's an intellectual if not a social crime damn it)
 2. The music - which is completely computerised and basically indistinctive (wait a minute, I thought music = instruments, no? Well, what do I know!)
 3. The voice - better put a cow sing since the performer only needs to move lips and other appropriate body parts
 4. The "artist" - who is made to order (too much make-up, too little clothes, few brain cells and even less synapses)

Music needs to make sense, right? Just an overview of the great musicians and performers of all time indicates that most come from the Rock n' Roll and Heavy Metal music genres (truth is in these genres if you are crap you are ripped to pieces by fans, deservingly so!). Heavy Metal artists appreciate the experience of producing something great and most of the times meaningful (I admit there are some "diamonds" out there too - the glam years produced most of these and so did the 00s).


What I am trying to say is that Heavy Metal with all its oddities (Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper), its strange/invalid connection to the occult (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin), its social stigma (i.e. sex, drugs, & rock n' roll), its weird phenomena (air guitar, headbanging, sign of the horns), its exceptional vocalists (RJ Dio, Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Robert Plant etc), its musical geniuses (Tony Iommi, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page etc), its out-of-this-world lyricists (RJ Dio - yes again!, Lemmy Kilmister etc), its uncounted lawsuits (Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Manson), its anthems (Stairway to Heaven, Smoke on the Water, Back in Black, Sweet Child of Mine and many more), is undoubtedly the most versatile music genre which remains strong even after 40 years, which still recruits more and more fans, a genre which, when it evolves, it does so in the most creative and amazing way possible.


Allow yourself to go to just one live gig, watch the passion and energy with which each band member delivers and the ecstasy of the crowd, and tell me then if you actually need drugs to get you that high!

Welcome to the Heavy Metal world!
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Image credits:
http://www.metal-army.com/
http://www.black-sabbath.com/
https://www.acdc.com/uk/
http://www.ledzeppelin.com

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