I'm listening to Opeth while makin' dinner and just letting my mind wander; I think of a conversation I had with my dad a few weeks back where he asked what I liked about some of the bands I listen to. Meshuggah, for example; abusively loud, shouted lyrics of which I understand not a word, set to riffs that you'll likely not be able to follow, let alone hum. I didn't have a good answer at the time, but now I do.
I love metal because it's silly. Its inherent silliness brings me happiness. I'll try to explain.
Metal bands seem to consist almost uniformly of supremely talented, technically savvy musicians with range and depth not found in many other genres. They're able to pull off time signatures, riffs and dynamic changes seemingly without fail; they're fucking phenomenal, in other words.
And what do they do with all that talent? Sing about dwarfs on motorcycles fighting elves; or just how fucking awesome Satan is; or about wizards throwing fireballs at dragons; or about how your face is going to be rocked right the fuck off by the end of this song; etc.. It's fucking amazing to see all that talent put towards such silly ends.
To my mind it's kinda like if da Vinci gave the Mona Lisa three boobs and a mohawk; or if Enzo Ferrari designed a three-wheeled race car that could only turn left so you could do fucking AWESOME donuts; or if Gordon Ramsey would only ever serve food shaped like a cock and balls; or if Bruce Lee would only fight while dressed as a clown.
You get the idea; talent and skill that's used to fuck with people is always going to amuse me.
Friday, June 17, 2011
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