A Sad day indeed….

The time has come for my supposed last blog for this class, so let us make a slight recap, shall we? I have given you a walkthrough of a concert done by the metal gods Motorhead. You have been told why so many people disapprove of metallica. You have been shown that there actually is a difference between moshing and hardcore dancing. You have been educated on what a breakdown is, and why it sucks. You have been shown why a metalhead has elitist tendancies when discussing music of any variety. You have been shown a personal mix CD of mine which categorizes most forms of metal and why they are so grand from my own personal opinion. You have been shown a fledgling reporter who is destined to do many great things in his future. Last but not least, you have been shown an article of what my own hard work and dedication have made and is becoming noticed by others.

I have shown you a light that most members of my club carry, one that burns bright in all of those who are passionate about not only metal, but music. You have shown me that many of you are very intrigued by this world I have allowed a peek into, and would like to know more. On that basis alone, I have decided to keep pursuing blogging for the education of the mainstream masses on what exactly this culture is all about. Whether it will be on this specific blog or not, be sure that you will definitely be hearing of me again, and thank you all for reading what I have done thus far….

Bane

\m/

Club Publicity…YAY!

So the oracle posted a story about our club:

Metal club about more than music

By Maria Douaihy, CORRESPONDENT

Published: Monday, November 2, 2009

Updated: Monday, November 2, 2009

Thursday evenings by a common interest: heavy metal. A group of students is drawn together

The Heavy Metal Enthusiasts Club (HMEC) at USF is an outlet for students who enjoy listening to heavy metal music as well as other of metal. sub-genres

Bane, president of HMEC, said he was a part of the heavy metal financial burdens forced him to transfer to USF. scene at UCF until organization at USF at the time, Since there was no heavy metal student members. he started one and used Facebook to find new

and looked for USF students who seemed like “I searched metal bands metal guys and asked them to help start the organization, and they helped me out,” said Bane, a junior majoring in mass communications.

92 members, according to its USF Blackboard Web The group has around Facebook group. Bane said about 25 to site, and nearly 150 fans on its meetings. 35 people regularly attend weekly

president of HMEC, Michael Brady, a senior business major and vice after Bane deemed him he became second-in-command said helping to initiate the club. enthusiastic volunteer in most

“We posted flyers all over campus,” Brady said. “On student organization days, we set up booths with photos of the craziness shenanigans in the club. To be fair, we only probably got about and something.” people by doing that, but it’s five

perform at USF. Meetings used to involve exchanging music or inviting a heavy metal band to

This semester, Brady said the group has been more organized. The Amphitheater at USF Marshall Center “Sorcerer” performed at the band an HMEC event in October. This week, the band “Suggestion” will be playing at the group’s regular meeting.

Meetings have placed a greater emphasis on music education than in the past, Brady said. Officers organize movie and documentary nights, which Brady said are essential for learning about the metal genre.

Selections for movie nights vary. Last semester, the group watched the movie “Orgasmo,” a parody of the pornography industry. But some are more serious, like “SLC Punk,” a movie chronicling the life of a “punk” mid ‘80s. in Salt Lake City during the

documentaries,” Brady said. “Most movies we’ve watched so far have been “It’s important to open up club members to stuff beyond our genre. Punk and metal have a lot in common, though a lot of people don’t want to admit it.”

become a close-knit group of friends, Brady said. head-bangers, HMEC has haven for University Besides serving as a

“To be honest, I don’t look forward to the club so much because of music,” he said. “Before the club was formed, I still listened to the music a lot in my spare time. It’s basically just about friendship — you love.” communicate with who love what about having people to

go with. HMEC, Brady said he would sometimes go to metal shows by himself if he couldn’t find anyone to Before joining

“The entire point of the club is to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen,” Brady said. “It’s making sure we have that community car pools to shows.” behind us, making sure we can organize

stereotypes. dispel a lot of the typical “metalhead” He also said the club tries to

metalheads are very intelligent people — “We want people to know that debauchery,” he said. “Some that it’s not just a den of violence and focus on the aspects of death and destruction, but there are also bands who write a lot of songs about freedom other bands self-empowerment.” and

Selena Razack, who is the “metal scribe” of HMEC, said the group surprised her, as she feels it’s a community of people who share interests. similar

“(The club) is not all about heavy metal,” said Razack, a sophomore music level, German. “We connect with people not only on a majoring in as well.” but on a social level

Before finding the club, Razack had the same problem Brady did when metal bands came to town.

“I wouldn’t go to concerts because I had no one to go with,” she said. “If someone doesn’t have a car or doesn’t want to go alone, there to go.” always someone else who wants is

enjoys exchanging CDs, listening During meetings, Razack said she gossip.” metal music and participating in the week’s “metal to

she said. “It’s a place where we can feel safe and comfortable with each other,”

HMEC meets Thursdays at 9 p.m. in the Marshall Center Room 3705.

Source: http://www.usforacle.com/metal-club-about-more-than-music-1.2047871

You gotta love free publicity. In fact when my officers told me that this had happened, I ran out and still have about 50 copies of this issue, which in the printed version, has a half-page picture of me wearing a Viking helmet and wielding a cardboard battle axe. This is definitely a very big step for my organization. This weeks meeting we gained 4 new members and more, I’m sure, are to follow. I created this group only 2 semesters ago, and now have 101 members via blackboard, contrary to when this we published on Tuesday stating only 92.

I think if this keeps up I can finally pull off the giant showcase of bands that I want to before my time is up at this University. I think the school is still considering us a joke, though, seeing as the same section that published this article in the paper a few weeks ago did a piece on the Star Wars Larpers group on campus. This will only be a slight hold-up though, for as you read, I have great officers and friends, and when something like this is put together and you’re all equally ambitious, it will inevitably happen. Now to get Henry Rollins booked for the week of speakers…

One small step for metalheads, one giant leap for METAL!!!!

Bane

\m/

The Up and Comer

I recently had the pleasure of getting to interview Wes Cambron, an up and coming writer and reviewer for the Tampa Metal Music Examiner. He is only 20 and already making a name for himself among the underground metal scene all over Tampa Bay. I sat down and chit-chatted with him for a bit about what exactly his job entails.

So why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself? How did you get into metal?

Well, I started writing short stories when I was in 4^th grade, and that is what made me want to start writing articles. I did not get into metal until I was 12, specifically death metal.

Really? Death metal at that early of an age?

Yeah, weird, isn’t it? Anyways, A friend of mine wrote comic book reviews for a living, and after I read a few, I thought “hey, this is awesome, I want to do this!” but I did not want to do it with comics, I wanted to do it with metal.

What exactly do you do in your job?

Well this job entails the three main parts of the heavy metal music scene: the bands, the fans, and the business. I listen to and review local bands records’s and typically give a brief background on the history of the genre of metal they are playing. I review concerts and attempt to get more metal fans out there and at the shows telling them which bands to see. I hang with those bands before and after shows getting to know them, interviewing them, and what their long term goals are in this business. A lot of the time I actually have to resort to using AOL instant messenger (AIM) to get the interview since a lot of these guys are so busy.

That is dedication to get an interview! Who have you interviewed? Anyone I know?

Well, my most famous interview is Sally Debauchery from psykill, who just recently opened for crossbreed.

For my Music in the United States Class (MUH 2632) our teacher wanted us to burn him a CD called a “desert Island mix” in which he wanted us to make a CD that, if stranded on a desert island, would contain 10 songs we could not live without. He intends on adding it to the lesson plan for a class next month. I, being the music junky that I am, could never narrow it down to such a small number, so I instead aimed for what I think he wanted, which was diversity in the music, specifically the metal genre. This is the breakdown I wrote him for the class, which I will now be adding a shit-ton (that’s a lot) of links to this for all reference purposes. These are my opinions and I am adding the links to certain things I am sure will make you say “huh?” to, which if there is not a link to something, you can simply leave a comment and I will get back to you.

I had intended on reviewing a CD for you guys this semester anyway, so this is kind of killing two birds with one stone. That being said, read and enjoy.

First and foremost, I found narrowing down the music I could not live without extremely difficult, seeing as how I live and die by it. I would also like to point out that I left off much of my music selection since you said you wanted “Our music” which I believe you meant more current artist as contrary to older bands that are greatly influential upon myself. I attempted to showcase as many of the main sub-genres of metal with this mix for you to get a taste of how diverse this one genre can be. That being said, here is my list:

1. Song: Immigrant Song

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Led Zeppelin

c. Genre: Classic Rock

d.Summary: A classic rock band (open to debate) that heavily influenced many metal bands of today. Robert Plant was one of the first great of what I like to call an epic vocalist, or vocalist consisting of such a powerful voice with the notes he hits that it sends a chill down your spine. Many pop divas also have this affect, difference being that divas make you feel relaxed and at ease after the chill, whereas an epic vocalist such as Plant would make you want to do something epic yourself, such as mosh, speed, fight, or head bang.

2. Song: Painkiller

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Judas Priest

c. Genre: Heavy Metal

d.Summary: In my opinion one of the greatest vocalist of our time. Rob Halford, the lead singer of Judas Priest, has a 4-octave range voice, which he portrays his ability in this song. Judas Priest is also one of the fore-fathers of the metal genre, and has influenced most of the genre (specifically the fashion and association of leather as stated by Gay for a Day) in the metal community. The reason I chose this song? Simple, I can’t help but sing the line “faster than a laser bullet” whenever it is said in the song.

3. Song: Deliverance

a. (Youtube Video) Video is cut short because youtube is stingy.

b.Artist: Opeth

c. Genre: Melodic Death Metal

d.Summary: This band has only a handful of songs that are less than six minutes long. I like this band solely because of the uniqueness of the vocalist, Mikael Åkerfeldt. Very few vocalist can actually sing and bellow, which makes him a dime a dozen. The song structure of this band is also very unique, changing tempo and beat at least three times in this song alone.

4. Song: End of All Hope

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Nightwish

c. Genre: Power Metal/Operatic metal

d.Summary: This is the sole song that got me into metal. I heard this and the beginning notes of Tarja’s (the lead singer) voice, and instantly fell in love. The melding of metal and opera is such an absurd thought that it works stupendously, as I am sure if you listen to this all the way through, you will not be disappointed.

5. Song: Wolf and Raven

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Sonata Arctica

c. Genre: Power Metal

d.Summary: What is fascinating about this band is their lead keyboardist (and the entire opening segment of this song) is played on a keytar. Yes, that’s right, the instrument they invented in the 80s in a sad attempt to make the keyboardist look cool. Fortunately for them, it took a decade for it to actually work.

6. Song: Rational Gaze

a. (Youtube Video) Awesome music video, might I add.

b.Artist: Meshuggah

c. Genre: Progressive Metal

d.Summary: at the UCF metal club we used to play songs and everyone got a turn. If you sucked at picking songs, typically you were heavily mocked. I was constantly mocked when I first attended. This was the first song I picked where the entire club was struck in awe that I had actually played this song and they all liked it.
The odd time signatures make conventional listening of this group nearly impossible. Many bands have tried to mimic this band (such as most Mathcore bands) and have failed miserably. I have found that anyone who has listened in-depth to music before generally falls in love with this band after the first few listens.

7. Song: Raining Blood (Explicit)

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Slayer

c. Genre: Thrash Metal

d.Summary: Slayer is known for causing massive controversy by bashing religion, promoting rape, and supporting Nazis. The ironic part about this? The lead singer, Tom Araya, is a devout Catholic and frequently attends mass. He has gone on record numerous times stating that it is just a job and pissing people off just helps to sell records, and anyone who takes them seriously are morons. Apparently, no one listens.
This is Thrash Metal, the same genre Metallica falls under by default. I say by default because after the first few albums they implemented slower drums and guitar to have a more mainstream sound. This is real thrash, the kind you will never hear on radio, and the kind that does as thrash was meant to do…make you violent!

8. Song: S.Y.L. (HIGHLY Explicit)

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Strapping Young Lad

c. Genre: Progressive Metal

d.Summary: This is my favorite metal band. The guy who originated the idea for the UCF metal club, Justin Gogas, showed me the “way of metal” with this band. They are extreme and the lead singer, Devin Townsend, is a musical genius. If you want to you can look up his solo stuff, it’s not near as angry and its almost as if a different person wrote it altogether (as he is heavily bi-polar).
This band falls under the progressive genre because they use so many variations on every song it is nearly impossible to throw them into any one genre. Use of choirs, orchestras, obscure time signatures, and an ice cream truck theme song (yes, an ice cream truck song) are just a few of them to name.

9. Song: Vredesbyrd (Not sure, but your safe, its in a foreign language)

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Dimmu Borgir

c. Genre: Black Metal/Symphonic Black Metal

d.Summary: This is Black Metal, one of the scariest genres of metal. Most black metal bands wear corpse paint (a mix of black and white face paint that looks demonic). It is very closely related with Death metal. One of the main differences is most black metal is very anti-Christianity in its lyrics, in fact there was a string of black metal bands in the mid-90s that burned down 200-year-old churches. One of the other key factors of black metal is the high pitched evil sounding vocals, which are followed by frequently switching with low bellowing, which adds a very nice evil sound to the music, which in itself is beautifully orchestrated.

10. Song: No Excuses

a. (Youtube Video)

b.Artist: Alice in Chains

c. Genre: Grunge Rock

d.Summary: This is the only non-metal song to make it on my list, and is one of my favorite bands. I consider Grunge Rock to more or less be the “teenage” years of metal as its going through puberty. Jerry Cantrell, the lead guitarist of Alice in Chains, is one of my favorite musicians and the brainchild of the band. Most of the music of my youth came out of the grunge genre, and it still has a special place in my heart…sniff…
The use of distortion and very drawn out, powerful notes is what I believe draws me to this. The vocals of Layne Staley (lead singer) and Cantrell are both around the same range, so when they both sing (instead of using a voice dubbing machine to just copy Staley’s vocals like most “musicians” nowadays) it adds a creepy, almost haunting chill to the music, which I love.

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed my insight to music and if you have any questions or want a copy of the CD, feel free to email me at wstone2@mail.usf.edu .

~Bane

Elitism: What Were Made of...

Unfortunately one of the biggest problems that occur within the metal community is the elitism that accompanies many metalheads. Just look at how people think the typical metal elitist really is. It doesn’t help that people also have an awful perception of the entire community and think it is nothing more then old 70 year old headbangers moshing to regain their youth as stated by porkchop1234. It was brought to my attention after reading this comment on one of my own blogs:

horioppo said...
This is the first post of your's I've read. The first thing that comes to mind is how much fun is lost by knowing something so well. I really enjoy music, but I don't know that much about it. I know what I like. Anytime I learn too much about something, I don't enjoy it as much. You obviously know a whole lot about metal and music(this is a musical strategy in this post), much more than I would want to know. If I knew as much as you, I would probably lose all passion for it.

Basically what horioppo is stating is that he thinks the music is ruined from being highly knowledgeable on the topic. Which granted to some extent it is for the more basic stuff, but it allows you to find and truly appreciate many more artists who are much more worthy of your time and admiration. Many metalheads argue all over the internet this over that exact reason.

The reason for this elitism is because metalheads have a keen ability to do what many classical composers were notorious for doing as well, picking songs apart. A metalhead can differentiate what songs are the bass, drums, guitar (lead and rhythm), and the keyboards. This explains why most death metal sounds like nothing but chaotic noise to the untrained ear, because most don’t comprehend what they are listening to.

I am not saying a non-metalhead can’t do this (hell my mother raised me in a sound booth while running a soundboard at church and that is where she taught me to do it). What I am saying is that many metalheads will snarl at you mentioning Britney Spears and how awesome, unique, and different her songwriting is (especially this guy), not only because the person saying that she is a great “artist” but also the fact that they were told that this is good music and to like it, and they listened.

Think about it,

Bane

Breakdowns: Too Much of a...Thing is a Bad Thing….

Now being the biased metalhead that I am, this topic comes up in debate rather often. The breakdown is something that is essential in many sub-genres of metal (in actuality they would not exist without them) and almost non-existent in others. The breakdown is basically where the song is slowed down so the guitarist can play more intricate notes and the drummer abuses the double-bass pedals, and maybe a repetitive one line chorus is yelled while this is happening, depending on how bad their parents beat them as children….supposedly.

The officer of Death Metal in the Heavy Metal Enthusiast Club at USF (insert shameless plug) had a good quote to explain this: “One single note for an entire riff = boring as hell. Filler content that serves only to kill any momentum the song has. In general they are clinically proven to SUCK ASS!” The whole basis of the breakdown is not for the music (obviously enough), it is for the show. It usually will whip the crowd into a giant frenzy and cause a couple of mosh pits or hardcore pits (see my last post, its scary) to break out. The breakdown is only really abused by -core bands (Metalcore, Hardcore, Mathcore, etc.), which are basically the sub-genres of metal that are formed from teens with angst of whom only their friends are fans.

Now not to be completely biased, there are a few good breakdowns, but they are few and far between, like this one (Starts at 3:15). This is the proper use of a breakdown (in my humble opinion) as its bringing the song to a close (something you would thing the name “breakdown” would generally imply) instead of doing it mid-song. A few metal artists also use it as a bridge, such as Nevermore’s “Final Product” which makes it very intriguing.

Overall its one of those things that is there for a musician to use if he gets desperate, especially when their career sucks anyway.

\m/

Bane

P.S. Thank you Joe and Clay for helping me out on this…and they make such a cute couple too….

Hardcore dancing vs. Moshing: When a Good Thing is Ruined

The origins of hardcore dancing and moshing are simple enough, being both descendants of punk-pogoing in England’s punk scene starting in the late 70s. Moshing has been around for almost four decades and is engrained into the metal community, and if your band cannot get a pit going, your band wont last. Hardcore dancing is a newer version of moshing, mostly full of younger fans of the metal genre who want to prove themselves as being “the tough guy” in the metal community.

The reason this is raising controversy is because the younger crowd is viewing moshing as the old metalheads way of moshing (which if you read this chicks version of why to hate it; you will get a pretty general consensus on what I am referring to, and laugh at her). Hardcore dancing was made for a certain brand of metal (entitled hardcore, hence the name, not the actions granting it the name), but has quickly been spreading to where it is not welcome. Hardcore bands and breakdowns have been on the rise in popularity among the younger crowd of teen metalheads, but for those of us who have been listening to it for more then just teenage angst; we are appalled and ashamed by it.

Moshing in its purest form is what happens when you are overwhelmed by the music. There have been many spin-off versions to moshing, but in its truest form it is just plain fun. A metalhead will get so worked up by the music that he will push the person in front of him, that person will push back, and before you know it, there is 30 of you in a giant circle doing it. One of the most fascinating things about this is when someone falls down, you will not be on the ground for more then 3 seconds, due to the 15 hands that grabbed you and pushed you up. It is a beautiful thing that helps to mold a sub-culture and let us all have fun. Hardcore dancing destroys this process, which is why no one over the age of 25 does it (and if they do….FAIL AT LIFE!).

These hardcore dancers do not even realize that what they are doing is destructive. They flail around with balled up fist swinging them everywhere and doing karate roundhouse kicks actually attempting to hurt people (or more popularly phrased as fighting “invisible ninjas”). This ruins the purity and the fun of moshing to begin with, since now you are paranoid about getting seriously injured. One of the worst parts about these dancers is that they attempt to defend it….keyword being attempt, might I add. At many of the metal shows I have been to I have seen these hardcore dancers come into mosh pits, hit someone, then get pummeled by 6 guys. If that is what they think metal is all about, I welcome them to do it. The world needs more punching bags to make the world a better place and relieve my stress….

Love,

Bane

For anyone who ever said metal is just mindless noise...

Just look at the complexity of this song...

Fuel, Fire, that which is desired….and that is ACTUAL METAL!!!

One of the biggest controversies in the metal community is not an event, death, or an accident…it is a band, and that band is Metallica. For almost all fans Metallica has betrayed them in the worst way possible by not only selling out, but attacking the fans themselves. There are many fans that say otherwise and that Metallica was nothing but justified in their filing of lawsuits against fans and their “musical direction” if you want to call it that; they never sold out, they just experimented with their musical styling and were trying to be more creative. I have one thing to say to that….bullshit!

Metallica are more or less professional rip-off artist. They have released entire albums (namely Garage Inc.) that are nothing but covers from bands that no one had heard of at the time, which granted catapulted those bands into some money, but Metallica still takes all the credit due to their egos. Their first album was nothing but leftovers from their ex-guitarist Dave Mustaine (Megadeth).The two albums up till ride the lightning were nothing but the shit left from that shit. Honestly the current line up did not start writing their own material until the black album, which is when old school fans got pissed and said to hell with it, were just going to follow Mustaine’s career instead.

The ultimate stab in the hearts of the faithful Metallica fan was, of course, the Napster incident. What kind of self-righteous prick sues the people who gave them money and put them where they were to begin with? Lars Ulrich, you fail at life! Fans of Metallica already were backstabbed with the direction the band took, but to add insult to injury they became complete hypocrites. They used to hand out free demo disks during their shows, and now they decided to sue people for doing the same thing they did before they were established? Even when James Hetfield used to tell them to get their hands on their records by any means necessary, whether it be stealing or buying bootlegs? I say we stick to the original plan.

Metallica did do some good, though as little as that good may be. They killed glam metal, but….that is pretty much it. At this point they are just milking their act for every penny its worth, and more. They play for everyone and anyone and have worked their way into most people’s musical preferences. People think what they play is real metal, but if you want real metal, check this out, and if you like it, THEN you like real metal. As for Metallica, I am afraid the only hope for them is if their fans teach them to quit making them bend over and grab their ankles.

Sincerely,

Bane

my apology...

To my father:
Dad, Im sorry I wrecked your car when I was a child. after I snuck into the front seat while you were at church, pretending to be a race car driver, and putting your car in neutral. Since we were on a hill, it rolled back into two other peoples cars, causing a lot of damage, but on the bright side, I was not hurt. I know how obsessed you are with old cars, and doing that damage I know really upset you. If there is ever a day I become rich and can afford to buy you a new car, you can have any car you wish.

Love,

Will

Motörhead at the Ritz in Ybor September 15, 2009

He enters and leaves the stage with the same phrase, "We are fucking Motörhead!” The person I refer to is none other than Lemmy, one of the gods of metal. Some may wonder why he is considered a god of metal, and it is quite simple…because he is old as dirt, and he has yet to lighten up his sound at all. He invented the genre of thrash metal (though if you mention that to his face you may want to run, because according to him he plays rock’n’roll) and is still, after 4 decades of music, still putting on awesome shows.

I had the honor to see this god onstage along with about 8 of my friends from the metal club here at USF. Seeing his fan base was unbelievable. You have old school punkers with denim vests, metal studs lining the hems, and covered in sewn on patches of all sorts of punk bands (Motörhead started in London with the punk scene, hence the heavy influence on his playing style.) 60-year-old bikers were all over the place with silver hair and harshly done prison tattoos. Old groupies with gigantic fake tits and saggy tattoos that riddled their bodies were everywhere. Most amazing of all were all of the younger kids who I would think hated this genre of metal were all over the place. Last but not least, and most fascinating of all, was when an older biker about the age of 50 came through, with his son who was around 30 who had brought his two kids who looked to be about 10 or 12. As they passed me the 30-year-old said, “It amazes me that 20 years later you still drag me to this shit.” Motörhead has spanned over 4 generations, and is still in high demand.

After Reverend Horton Heat, the opening band, left the stage and Motörhead came out, everyone went berserk. It was rather weird since no real moshing took place until at least half of Motörhead’s set was over. Everyone seemed to be in awe of seeing the god before them as he wailed into his microphone while ripping into his heavily distorted bass while blowing out our ear drums in the process. The energy level was incredible, and as they kept playing I watched all of these older fans that surrounded me went from being complete strangers to my peers in less than 3 songs. Beer was thrown, as were people, and of course, metal horns galore throughout the entire show, especially during songs such as Overkill and their trademark song Ace of Spades.

During shows the females get very frisky as well. My friend Francheska and I were standing there during the show and an old cougar (an actual hot older woman that still looks good for her age) walked by and grabbed her ass and groped my balls. This was not the end of this, however, as that cougar’s friend later propositioned my friends Mario and Jeff as we attempted to leave the venue after the show, which granted is hilarious, but is also kind of creepy at the same time. After all of us made it out the front door in one piece, we did the traditional metalhead thing…went to sit and bullshit in a restaurant for an hour or so. Perhaps one of the greatest things we all realized at that point is that all of us were not going to be able to hear a thing the next day, which is proof to us we had just seen one of the greatest men in the metal genre.

Some say that change is good, which I will agree, it is, but when you are creating art, it is better to stay true to yourself. Lemmy is one of the few musicians in the industry nowadays, of any genre, that people seem to forget about that sticks to his guns still to this day. Record companies and the constant change of guitarists to their lineup have always tried to make him refine his sound and he refuses to yield. That is why metalheads hold him on such a high pedestal: refusal to conform, and as Motörhead’s motto states,”Everything louder than everything else!”

The Introductory

Hello, my Name is Will; I am a student at the University of South Florida located in Tampa. I am your typical college student, you know, scraping by on a job that a monkey could do while still getting the same pay as a monkey, mooching off of my parents to the Nth degree, the usual. The one catch in this scenario is that I am a metalhead, a very active one at that. I am also the creator and current president of the Heavy Metal Enthusiast Club at USF.

The reason why I have created such an organization and been working so hard to make is successful is quite simple: ignorance. Constantly people discriminate against fellow enthusiast and me because of how we dress, mannerisms, and actions in public. I do not hold it against them; I just think they do not know what exactly the genre represents merely because the media misleads the general populace to believe otherwise.

I have talked to many people many years my senior about the genre, which was got me into it in the first place. I worked in a hole-in-the-wall restaurants full of rejects, druggies, and ex-cons (yeah, that is another reason for the degenerate stereotype, the mass majority that actually are that bad) who refused to let me listen to anything but classic rock or a band named Lamb of God. Eventually I learned to love these things and started to go deeper into researching it for myself. I found out one of the usuals of the restaurant used to be a roadie for def leppard (A big hair metal band in the 80s) and I talked to him about it. He amazed me with how many bands he told me he had smoked out with (I should mention now that this man is a really old hippie who was completely burned out). I did not believe him until one day when he brought the pictures of him standing next to the band. At that point he brought me a couple of their CDs and I started to build my way up through the decades on the genre.

I went to USF where I met my now good friend Justin Gogas who had just started the Heavy Metal Enthusiast Club at UCF. He along with many members of that club taught me many great bands within the metal genre, specifically from Justin a band named Strapping Young Lad. After a year without Justin’s leadership in that club, though, it was slowly taken over by elitists’ metalheads (another stereotype within this sub-culture you will come to know) and they started to turn away the curious folks, such as myself. When I ran out of money, I moved back home and attended Polk Community College for a year, never forgetting how much I loved that club.
Before I left UCF, I had told Justin how awesome it would be if we had two clubs in two separate major universities, and if I tried to pull if off, would he help me. He said he would and 2 years later I am at USF with a new organization that is thriving thanks to Justin’s ingenuity, my stubbornness to not give up, and a bunch of eager metalheads who want friends who get what the music and culture are all about.

I am making this blog to show, you, the reader, of whom I am hoping I have intrigued a bit as to what I am talking about, what the metal sub-culture really is. If you have a friend who does windmills randomly in the kitchen, has severe hearing problems due to listening to really loud music, owns nothing but band t-shirts, or cringes when you play something off the radio, then I highly suggest you keep reading.