Come All Ye Misfits and Metalheads

Perhaps the metalheads out there will understand this. It is basically my interpretation and thoughts of a metal show, and all the sights, sounds, and feelings that are experienced.

Hundreds of heads -- sometimes it may seem like thousands -- swirling about in the enclosed space of a standing room venue, and each face is different. That is, if they stay in one spot long enough for you to get a good look at them. Faces of awe, excitement, stoicism, grim set faces trying to be as badass and brutal as the band on stage. Some form communitas, since us metalheads have always been a society of outcasts, and us outcasts seem to stay together.

 

And that's the thing you have to remember about metal music: it is powerful, it is aggressive. It gets inside of you.

 

And it can be mind altering; it can change your perception. The heavy distortion bounces off the very air and disrupts that calm flow, and that chaos encompasses you and distorts every single atom in your body and causes your blood to boil. The synths haunting echo in the background somehow brings the music together: the guitars, the drums, the bass... the synths harmonizes all those screaming notes that tear their way through your eardrums and explodes in your head. And the drums are merciless compared to the rest. Frantic; it seems as if human legs couldn't possible move that fast. But the double bass rises above it all and you can feel it pounding and reverberating, and suddenly the rhythm of your heart is altered in time with each thundering note.

 

And it is empowering. Suddenly there's a power flowing inside you, throughout you. It flows down your veins and up again until it violently reverberates through your chest. And it hits you like a brick wall, and suddenly you have to move, move along with all this chaos. But there is reason to chaos, to moshing that is. Feeling that power flowing through you and surrendering typical social conduct. Moshing is a stage of liminality because the people are no longer a part of society, nor reestablished back into it.

 

We are a society of outcasts, and to some the chaos is too much. To some this feeling reminds them of something forbidden. To some... well, perhaps they can't accept acting outside their comfort zone, the comfort of order and moral grounds. Nothing wrong with that. But for those who know; you can see it in the person, in their eyes, in their actions, and talking about personal experiences. We know our kind, I think, and that's what makes us a completely separate culture.

Author's Note

If any particular phrase seems completely ambiguous or needs to be reworded, do not hesitate to tell me. Also, if there are any spelling errors, please let me know as well.

Reviews

[Rememberance]

Err...are you sure we know you? Is this the same person I'm thinking of? Kay? Kayl? Holy-crap-that's-somefantasticwritingIneverknewyoucouldwritelike. Ahem. I'm getting ahead of myself. WOW.

[MusicHack]

*applauds* Amazing, Kay!