Encounter #1

I had listened to metal/hardcore rock music before, but never with the intentions that I had in this case. It was all a former ex-boyfriend of mine would listen to, so before this encounter, I had only listened to the genre in a forced way, or at least not really by choice. To me, this genre of music has never really made sense; metal/hardcore rock music is loud, angry and people tend to beat each other up (and even bleed!) when they go to the concerts and join in the mosh pit. And after that break up with my ex this style became even more repulsive to me, so there really has not been much luck for it in my life. However, I have decided to give it a shot. My internship is at Victory Records for the semester and, ironically enough, about half of the artists we carry on the label are of the metal or hardcore rock genres. So, for my three encounters I have decided to really delve into this type of music so I can better comprehend why I do not understand it and hopefully learn how to better appreciate it.
I chose to first encounter this genre by listening to a band on the Victory Records label called The Sleeping on iTunes. The Sleeping formed near Long Island, New York in 2003 when founding members Salvatore Mignano and Cameron Kym wanted to try something new and different with their sound. In doing this, they began drifting from conventional music and now bring to their Victory Records audience furious hardcore post-punk and melodic indie-rock.
The album I selected to listen to is their newest release entitled What it Takes that debuted just over a year ago in February of 2009. It has 12 songs total with such fan favorites as Bomb the World and You’ll be a Corpse Before your Time. The first song on the album, You’ll be a Corpse Before your Time, instantly got me excited and turned on to the record because it pulls you in with a fast guitar riff which is soon followed by a speedy drum riff; the husky, almost hoarse melodic vocals of front man Doug Robinson with occasional screaming (literally) vocal moments by the other band members break in on top really making a tough, yet enthusiastic sound.
The third song on the album and another popular tune called Bomb the World starts off slower but builds with so much intensity, even including the chorus lyrics stating “We can chase down all our enemies, bring them to their knees. We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace.” It then goes on to say “Violence brings one thing - more, more of the same. Miliatry madness, the smell of flesh and burning pain . . . and I sing power to the peaceful, love to the people y’all.” These lyrics really spoke to me. They are talking about real things - good things - like being peaceful and loving everyone. Listening to the lyrics was hard at times because there is a lot of screaming, but once I looked them up and now that I know what they are describing, I really enjoy and better appreciate the things these guys have to say. Their lyrics are powerfully emotional covering evocative yet incredibly interesting and heart-snaring topics such as chronic frustration, death and even bad acid trips finding their way into the songs. This band is already truly making me reconsider the former misconceptions and stereotypes I had about metal/hardcore rock music. I plan on looking up the lyrics of all of their songs, as well as the lyrics of other artists’ songs of the same genre, and I bet I will be pleasantly surprised.
Overall, this band has a really raw and passionate album on their hands. Listening to them has taught me that metal/hardcore rock music is not just all about murder, hell and suicide -- it is truly good at the heart of things. After listening to this album, I really want to go see The Sleeping live. For my next encounter I plan on seeing one of their upcoming shows and I absolutely cannot wait.