The Rolling Stones Un-reviewed

This is a belated report on the recent Rolling Stones gig I attended. Recent being July! I know, I've been really bad in keeping up with the demands of the blog; I do apologise to those very few people that check it very rarely!

Now, as per the legend it is the Stones, a review in the traditional sense is not appropriate now, is it? Still, we, common humans are entitled to an opinion (I hope).

Just to give a bit of a background, I may or may not have posted a really indignant piece on the price tags for the Stones mini-tour last year. Truth is I was broke, didn't have £300 to spare even for the Stones, and quite bitter I could not attend. Being hypocritical as we all are, I did spend money to watch them after all; this time though it was £100ish. Quite reasonable for such a legendary band, right?

This was a festival sponsored by Barclays bank (enter irony [here]) and for those unfamiliar it entails a number of useless opening bands before the good stuff come on stage. In this case the useless bit was infused with brit-pop, alt-"rock" (or whatever they are) bands.

These are bands that:

a) Somehow think that by putting a "The" in front of their name makes them reach the standards of legends like the The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Animals, The Who etc etc. It doesn't.

b) Probably invented the whole worthless hipster sub-culture. I am sorry BUT wearing glasses when you can see perfectly is... well.... kindly put.... messed up!

c) Sound the same. Seriously, copy.... paste.

d) Are more mundane than Steven Seagal's acting. Kidding! Who doesn't like the odd Seagal marathon with 50-year old dad.

Back to the Stones. This was their first gig in Hyde Park after 44 years. I spent about £20ish of my ticket (the part that I guess goes to the above-mentioned bands) going to the toilet, queuing for beer, eating, relaxing, posing for photographs (!) and trying not to listen to background noise! I do have to admit Mr. Gary Clark Jnr., probably the only one worth seeing, was there and also played on stage with the Stones. For the blues fans out there, search for him, he is kind of amazing.

This is what I've been doing while "The" bands played; Unflattering, annoyed, beer-filled poses!

The Rolling Stones...What a show! Not surprisingly, they were (ridiculously) incredible. Charlie played the drums like the veteran that he is and Ronnie was being The Ronnie from all the legendary "The" bands he was part of in the past. Mick sang and danced and played his harmonica like he had the lungs of a 17 year old. Seriously, that energy, those moves! I thought he may dislocate a hip before the end of the gig but how wrong I was; that guy is F-I-T physically and vocally. And Keith, aka Keef, played his skillful blues, wore a green jacket, and kept being as cool as always. He is officially the best ancient "thing" I've seen live in my life. And I've seen lots of ancients like Ozzy, Lemmy, Tyler, Dio* and the lot.

All in all, I feel honoured and very very lucky that I got to see them. I felt like this was my last chance and I managed to do it! Now, considerably poorer from all the summer festivals, I get to take a break from gigs for a while. Ok, perhaps not that long; maybe 'till November when Lemmy comes back.

[*Disclaimer: Dio was and will forever be my top gig-attendance accomplishment. Period.] 

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Rock N' Roll Goes To Hollywood

Unavoidably and to our amusement, arts get mingled at times. Hence, actors may sometimes come to be underutilized musical talents (e.g. Johnny Depp playing with Manson) or even ridiculously lost causes (e.g. Keanu Reeves with Dogstar [?]). On the other hand, many of our beloved musicians have appeared in cameo roles through the years. While very few left history (i.e. Spinal Tap), others where forgotten or even overlooked altogether. Here is an overview of some of the cameo appearances I found quite amusing (the list is not extensive). Some are well-known, others are not, and a few of these left me with that "what the hell" expression for days...

The Darwin Awards feat. Metallica
Two guys who are desperate to get into a Metallica gig do the classic "over the fence" move - just not so successfully! Headbanging while smoking a joint while hanging from a tree is not advisable. Priceless: Lars advising on drugs and Hetfield attempting to joke!

Despite this film, Lars also appeared in the mediocre "Get him to the Greek" with an equally mediocre very brief performance!

Monsterdog feat. Alice Cooper
We know Alice is an avid horror film fan, hence his graphic live shows. Known and unknown roles in movies include "The prince of darkness", "The attic expeditions" and "Freddy's Dead: The final nightmare", in the latter as Freddy's dad. The most famous though, it's his educational speech about Milwaukee in "Wayne's world". But my favourite must be "Monsterdog" where Alice plays a pop star cum lycanthrope or werewolf if you wish. Priceless: Alice pulling off the leather pants look since forever!

XXX feat. Rammstein
Well, not exactly what you call an acting cameo appearance, nonetheless Rammstein perform in this movie the way they know best. Priceless: Budgeting Rammstein's pyro show in the production costs!

Tenacious D: Pick of Destiny feat. Ronnie James Dio
If you have yet to watch this legend of a movie I suggest you go have a brain scan. I don't know what is funnier in this movie: Meatloaf playing a conservative religious father, Jack Black's scarily identical young self, or Dave Grohl as kinky Satan. Dio's certainly not funny at all as he manages to take a silly song and turn it into an anthem!

Eat the Rich feat. the one and only Lemmy
Lemmy stole the show in many movies by just being present! Cameo appearances include "Charlie's death wish", "Airheads", "Frezno smooth", "Terror firmer" "Citizen toxie: The toxic avenger", "The curse of El Charro"... I could go on for a while. Truth is, Lemmy has no real talent in acting, obviously! But there is something about this movie. Priceless: The saxophone guys who took their roles way too seriously, considering!

Detroit Rock City feat. KISS
Who can forget this surprisingly good movie produced by Gene Simmons himself? Priceless: "Knights in Satan's Service"!

Married with Children feat. Anthrax
Quite shy within the movie world Anthrax only appeared briefly in the movie "Calendar girls" [believe it or not!]. Scott Ian also portrayed a quite convincing zombie in "The walking dead" TV series. But what can top the band's cameo appearance in "Married with children"? Priceless: Scott without a beard and Belladonna's non-aging face! Seriously, what's wrong with that guy?

Little Nicky feat. Ozzy
I wouldn't expect to ever say this but I honestly think Ozzy's got talent in acting! From his appearance in "The American way",  "The jerky boys", or his amazing performance as a reverend (no, you are not hallucinating) in "Trick or treat"....advocating against rock pornography! My own personal favourite though has to be his role in "Little Nicky" purely because I can't believe how awful that movie was and how much better Ozzy made it. Priceless: The bat incident taken to a whole new level!

Pirates of the Caribbean feat. Keith Richards 
"Does this face look like it's been to the fountain of youth?" Need I say more?

                                                                                                                                                                                            
Image credits:
http://screenrant.com/

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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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Ozzy: Rock Legend or Just a (Old) Man?

I have just watched the documentary "God Bless Ozzy Osbourne" which was apparently directed by his son Jack Osbourne. It has been characterised from monumental to insightful and generally received good reviews.

While watching it, I couldn't help but feel proud of myself for choosing to (still) listen to and admire such great rock legends as Ozzy, Lemmy, Keith Richards and many others. I don't know what it is about, but I have realised through the years what all heavy metal documentaries portray as the "heavy metal family" pride (well sort of). I mean, if somebody asked me, after watching the documentary with me, what I found fascinating and remarkable about the story and the rock legend in question, I would honestly go mad! Especially if they started arguing with me about the standard clichés of drug addiction in Rock N' Roll. Really, you can't see it?!

Still! Despite me going me(n)tal toward an unsuspecting bystander with probably a more objective critical view on things (and probably a keen interest in the "oh-so-mainstream-and-fashionable-pop-music" as well.....come on, you know I can't help it!), I kind of see it. I see IT! I see the great Ozzy Osbourne pissed by drugs and alcohol, a walking zombie and can't stop questioning my judgement. Are these the people I wish to call my "idols"?

(And just about now, all metal fans reading this would want to kick me in the head! But bear with me and my long train of thoughts!)

This epiphany surprised me and my overly critical mind which is narrow in terms of music. Although I hate drugs and generally whatever alters what it is a shitty yet beautiful reality, I can't just abandon my "metal family"! Mr. Osbourne was presented as a regretful rock legend, family man, human being.

And here comes my big Eureka moment! Ozzy Osbourne is actually an old man. Isn't he? Of course he is the Prince of Darkness, the Voice, the father of metal etc etc. But he is an old man. He's been a naive teenager, with low self-esteem, with family and personal issues, could not handle fame and fortune, a dysfunctional human being throughout his lifetime... Just like all of us?

My psychological background taught me that different people cope through different adaptive or maladaptive ways. He chose the second. And apparently he is still alive for some strange reason (genetics mostly!). He is portrayed as a winner, someone you should admire because he survived and is now sober. As soon as my other critical self turned to ask me (the musically narrow-minded self) "so what? there are lots of non-famous people out there overcoming the same issues" I nearly kicked me (my critical self) in the head too!

Sure there are people out there deserving great admiration. On the other hand, rock legends are ought to be happy and grateful right? They are wealthy and better off than a "normal" person. Not quite. Rock legends were led to believe they had money, led to believe they owned their music and the reasons for the ones that actually do have money are stupendous deals such as the Osbourne family reality show (something I wish not to get into!). My point is, Heavy Metal doesn't give the wealth that pop "music" provides it's puppies with.

I, therefore, feel proud to say I admire Mr. Osbourne and the gang. Because my dear friends, Ozzy and the gang are  just old men. Old men who overcame their maladaptive behaviours while still managing to work, while still creating rock history, while still entertaining with (a)live shows, all under the public eye, as openly and as honestly as they could, only to become the legends they are (and deserve to be) today. And the great thing is that they are still alive to tell their story!
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Image credits:
http://metal-army.com/
http://www.rockpic.net

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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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