Posted on 09/03/2011 10:03:44 PM PDT by dagogo redux
With Labor Day coming up, I find myself again reflecting on the wisdom of our elected leaders, who, in years past, had the insight to offer a holy day of celebration in honor of the American Labor Movement and its Marxist underpinnings.
But that’s not all I found myself doing this fine weekend. No, I was on the road for an extended drive in my fairly new, reliable as hell, non-union-built Toyota Tacoma, which came equipped with Sirius Satellite Radio reception. Our single local “conservative talk” station, in typical lame fashion, had again bumped Rush’s Weekend in Review for some stupid ball game, so I was dialing through the Sirius options.
Then suddenly it happened.
Some backstory (I’ll make it mercifully brief, I hope). I grew up listening to my mother’s old 78s of classical music, and eventually studied such things formally, and have always been in love with such music. But, as a youngster I also grew up with the Rock & Roll of the 50s, the British Invasion of the 60’s and the whole sweep of the folk era. I loved it all.
Musical fads come and go, and some since then seemed more appealing to me than others, but, except for a fond affection for Bevis and Butthead, I never thought Heavy Metal would have enough appeal for me to even bother giving it a listen. I don’t think I ever actually heard a single recording of it. Until today.
It happened as I dialed to the Sirius Heavy Metal station in the opening moments of some song (never caught the name), and my LED display said “Holy Grail” was the name of the artist. The music was simply amazing, like nothing I had ever heard before. The ferocity of the energy and the ecstatic angst of the raw emotional turmoil battered my psyche into submission in a matter of seconds. But the musical bludgeoning then went on and on at this breakneck, unrelenting intensity for what seemed like hours, and when it finally did end, I found myself a convert to this new object of worship.
And to satisfy my longing for that hit of the Divine, an announcer said this was “Beyond the Throne”: an entire weekend devoted to the greatest drummers in the history of Heavy Metal. And then the music started again, another group, another song, but that same sublime, raw, heavenly energy going on and on. Glorious.
The next few hours of the trip home were beyond my ability to describe, or even to assimilate, or recall clearly. I had been born again in my musical tastes, washed clean with the pounding beat and strident riffs descending from a tortured Heaven. Hallelujah!
So why am I posting this Vanity on Free Republic, using up precious bandwidth when the Republic is going to hell in a hand basket, and the bandwidth of FR one of our few lifelines?
Just this. In the midst of the second hour of this dark, high-energy torrent, a stunning insight came to me with the force of a nuclear shock wave of Truth: A people who could conceive, create and enjoy this sort of maniacal musical maelstrom would be a people invincible in the event of an upcoming race war such as many believe we are headed for. A people merely capable of Rap, or whatever angry music the Hispanics listen to, would never be a match for people capable of the sort of controlled mayhem found in Heavy Metal.
I recall, I think, a poll where combat soldiers of our current wars were asked what music they liked to go into battle with, and I seem to recall some Heavy Metal songs among them. It made no sense to me back then, because I had never heard the stuff, but now I have. The perfect energy for facing death. The prefect energy for righteous, even celebratory killing.
My hat’s off to all you fellow FReepers who love this music, and of whom I would have thought lessor until today. I hope you guys are by my side when the SHTF. You guys rock!
Speaking of Heavy Metal...
Classic live show in Moscow by Metalica
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QP-SIW6iKY
I think being armed plays a difference too. I’d take a gun-toting Beethoven-loving friend over a liberal Slayer fan any day. :O)
Heavy Metal Ping!!!
Heavy Metal Ping!!!
Personally, I prefer Alt Nation. I will confess though, that after 9/11, I used to listen to Sandstorm and imagine it being blasted from helicopters as they swept through Iraq or Iran or wherever. It got me through.
You are correct... it is the perfect music for killing, raping and pillaging
It drives me insane in seconds. Can’t stand it.
You cannot consider metal until you’ve gone through Iron Maiden’s whole back catalog. And that spans from 1980 through to 2010 so far. 30 years of some of literally the best metal to be had in the world.
Go through their music, from starting in 1980 through to their current work, in 2010. It’ll only develop a deeper love for the music.
You’ve always struck me as a “Barbara Steisand” kinda of guy, not that there’s anything wrong with that...
I don’t really listen to music anyways. I use to listen to some “Mix” station with regular “rock” music from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s though.
I’m on it! Gonna be doing a whole heck of lot of listening!
It could be 2 or 3 songs off of each album. Doesn’t have to be the whole thing at one time.
Our soldiers listen to the gamut of music, and Hispanics aint into rap.
A lot of metal artists have a classical background. If you really want to hear some wild stuff, try Judas Priest. They have two guitarists, K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton. One is trained in Classical and the other in Blues.
Really? Race war is what you think of? The whole classically trained with a newfound appreciation of heavey metal thing, I get. But you think of race war?
That Holy Grail is really good. Nice to get some real heavy thrash metal these days... Have you listened to Gama Bomb?
I think the Holy Grail piece I heard was My Last Attack. Just caught a You Tube of the Released Version, but what I heard went on, it seemed, a whole heck of a lot longer than 6 minutes.
When I heard that poll about the songs the soldiers liked going into battle, I always thought Hendrix All Along the Watch Tower would do it for me. Probably dates me a bit. :)
Not the right time to talk about stuff like that. Been drinking for a few hours and my mind is on ‘metal’ itself, not background.
But I know exactly what you mean.
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