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Teenage Angst and Heavy Metal
Tom Gordon

I have grown up in a relatively safe environment. My parents are really nice people, and I get along and love everyone in my family. I go to a good school and have managed reasonably successfully to balance work with a social life. I am also of the Christian faith. One of the questions I often ask myself is, “Why do I like heavy Metal music?” and “How can I relate to the hate and angst of Metal and Nu-Metal bands?

The answer can be given from a lot of different angles. Most adults I have talked to tend to say that their teenage years were the most stressful time of their lives. Angst tends to be put in the same basket as stress. Perhaps the angst of metal can act as a potential relaxant during these periods, a way to get away from any problems you might have. A reasonably solid example of this is me falling asleep comfortably to “The Deftones”, a heavy metal band. As angst was released through the music, I escaped from my own stress angst. This is the inverse of my mother, who would much rather prefer to listen to the dulcet crooning of “Sarah McLaughlin” to sleep/relax.

Another common reason given for metal enjoyment is simply that you like the music, rather than the lyrics. The lyrics are merely there to “back-up” the music. Your first taste of metal, I believe, determines your outlook on the entire genre. In other words, if your first taste of metal is crap, you are more likely to dislike it all. Metal is also the most heavily stereotyped genre of music. If you heard one R ‘n’ B song you didn’t like, you wouldn’t abandon the genre.

My mother can not take four bars of metal without putting her hands over her ears to block it out. This is another point. People listen differently to music. Some may take the lyrics to effect them personally, rather than looking at it objectively and take it as the artist’s feelings, not directly their own. The artist is not trying to offend you; he is trying to get you on his/her wavelength to appreciate the music fully.

In the western social structure, there is one defined stereotype, the “Goth”. The stereotypical Goth is angry, wears black all the time and listens to Death or Black Metal. They are also supposed to be constantly on the brink of suicide, or to be “worshippers of Satan”. The reality is quite different. Goths generally wear black, because it reflects the music they are passionate about and that is an outlet for their angst. They are quite frequently sociable and easy to get along with. Most of the time, they seem as I am. Happy with who they are. The reasons people commit suicides are diverse and complex. Not all Goths don’t like their life or want to end it all the time.

Going to an extremely diverse school, I have noticed how people from different backgrounds handle their teenage lives. There are people who “go with the flow” and are ready for anything. These people are happy and positive. There are also kids who stress hugely over little things. In general, the Year 9s at my school are more stressed than the Year 11s or even the Yr 12s. I have asked them why they are stressed, and occasionally you get down to the fact that there is no outlet, no one to talk their problems over, be they minor or major. I was stressed in Yr 9. At the end of the year, I discovered Metal. I had a release.

Heavy Metal should not be judged on the cds that are released. The real side of Metal is at a live performance. In the mosh pit. “Shock, horror! The mosh pit! Wasn’t some guy killed in one of those?! Be careful. In fact, avoid it if you can.” Yes, people have been killed in mosh pits. But this was not because they were trampled. They were dehydrated, or diabetic. As long as you take precautions, the mosh pit can be a great experience.

“It's primitive and tribal, a very intense way to find a sense of community and belonging - and it's nothing short of exhilarating.”

"Aren't we here to lift the emotional strain, pain and whatever else, aren't we here to help that? I use the band I'm in as an outlet to get out things like hate and anger."

“The angry men from Iowa pumped out music that you don't just hear - you feel it from the inside.”

The psychologist Sigmund Freud can be used as an explanation of the feeling of relief after a mosh. He said that our un-conscious mind is mainly made up of mental or sexual aggression. He invented psychoanalysis techniques to access this part of the mind and free some of our anger. Maybe these mosh pits are a kind of therapy. You become part of a mass of people who have all heard the same thing, and you feel right.

Dunno!

What an interesting weekend! Mixed with both music and movies, and homework. I may have achieved the "VCE balance" all the teachers talk of. I may even be the best student in the world! On Saturday i woke up and did hmwork. After this, I went to JB Hi-fi with only a little to spend. Little did i know i found a cd i wanted at HALF PRICE! Now i'm sure this is a common occurance for all you "Sale people", but i'm not a "sale people" so therefore,..i don't sale?

On today i went to Greensborough to see a movie. The movie was entitled "Closer". It was about 50/50 on the so-called "Tom-Pat" movie liking scale, with Tom being good heist movie with sexual references and Pat being Complicated movie with underlying somethings that aren't always easy to grip on to. It starred Natalie Portman. Enough said.

So then i came home, watched a bit of Series 1 of "Family Guy", and a Quote came to mind that kelvin once said, ie. "Tom Gordon could build a house out of DVD Boxsets". Perhaps he is right. By the way, today i saw Farscape series 1-3 for $75 each!! Now thats quality.

I got home, went to church and came home again, had tea, worked on the site a bit, worked on the Last Words script a bit, and finalised my new one, "Rain Window" I'll swing u v.1 if u want me to.

This week i get to take care of year 9's with Kelvin. That should be ok. Bye dudes.

Yea yea so school has now officially started. At the moment, through some extremely lucky course of nature my holidays seem to be continuing over an extended period of time. First there was the big day out. I got to c the hives, slipknot, JBT, Wolfmother, and lots of others. The Slipknot mosh was truly an experience not to be missed; we waited their for an hour b4 they came on so we could have a good spot.

They played some awesome crowd pleasers, with Duality and Spit It Out seeming top of the crop.(at least for me). Once it was over i walked out of the mosh and felt this kind of unity with the other "maggots". Truly awesome.

I cannot forget the beastie boys either. They played a hugely entertaining set, which always left u wondering "what nxt"? It was a thumping show and MMM (mix master mike) led it with amazing turntable skillz.

Then after all that, one day of school, then today i got to meet the slipknot lead drummer, Joey jordison. Wow. I got a poster singed, i think im gonna frame it. Incidentally, he is quite short... Later dudes!