A lesson I learned from the old me

So just when you think that you’ve escaped all those burdens that have been clinging onto you for the past several years and somehow they are still hanging off of small spaces in the so-called new life that you thought you found.

No matter how unbearable it is, we still meet some new people every now and then only for them to sneak in a small remark towards certain topics which they don’t know much about.

Now despite it’s only a small remark but even the shortest sentences are enough to slightly set us off because we know that person holds minimal awareness to the topic they attempt to address.

First off, it just outright makes my skin crawl to know that there are those who attempt to hold their opinions to the highest degree on topics that they hold little to no knowledge in whether it be something they haven’t digested enough to understand it let alone never been anywhere near the sort.

I don’t mean to condescend but I know what’s it like to have people unceremoniously spit something out over things that I hold dear to me whether it be my more-than-a-decade fandom for professional wrestling or my taste in my music.

Through out all my years of finding what I was comfortable in, I couldn’t tell if the people around me were being serious about their opinions or if they were putting on an act to provoke some kind of reaction as they clearly were talking from what they saw on the outside without looking through the window.

I want to tackle the constant unjustifiable talks that are always targeted towards musical culture but mainly the misconceptions for the Metal community.

The alternative scene is perceived by the average person as sounds from an evil source all because of some stereotype they picked up on many years ago that is still pervasive and used to target any metal band that is thrown into their faces whether it be based on the imagery, lyrics or the disturbing but artistic growling vocals that takes time to get use to and master.

As a member of the Rock community, I along with others like me have had to put up with all sorts of prejudice words from anybody that has never taken the time to sit down for a reasonable amount of time to give our music a good listen and are quick to pick out anything that goes outside of their taste.

This is shaping into a rant but I am more than willing to go that extra mile and hopefully in return grab the attention of everyone who I am writing this to.

Heavy music is more than just thick toned guitars, strong worded lyrics and vocalists screaming their lungs out.

It is artistic and makes you feel how any other style of music would.

Yes there are bands that adopt the Satanic fragments but it doesn’t truly confirm that the members worship such a thing.

Some of that is for shock value, a play on the ignorant but you can only understand it fully if you took the time to read into the lyrics and place your own interpretation which is honestly a fun thing to do.

If you ever plan on doing the following then just think about all the uplifting ideas that could come into your head that others will be intrigued to listen out for.

From personal experience, I’ll admit that the first time I ever learnt about the existence of Rock/Metal was as a child when I walked into my lounge and saw my sister listening to a music channel which showed a nine-piece band wearing masks that called themselves Slipknot.

After what I saw on the TV screen, I was instantly put off by everything about it from the video, the presentation, the sounds all the way to the band themselves.

I was only a little kid at the time, my sister seemed to like it but I didn’t, until a couple years later when I was in my teen years and I found Linkin Park’s first studio album in her room.

I placed it into the CD player and would listen to the entire disc in my room which then started to change my mind on what I originally thought as a child because the more I listened, the more appreciation I created for the style.

I then somehow discovered bands like Atreyu, Fear Factory, Comeback Kid and Machine Head who are my top favourites at the moment.

Then I broadened my taste by listening to traditional Metal bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Slayer and Pantera just to name a few.

All the above became huge parts of my life and helped shape me into the person I am today.

I can tell you that these bands have helped me cope a lot when I was being bullied and cast aside by my peers all because they didn’t accept the music and interests I had.

Funny enough, I decided to give Slipknot a chance and I started to understand what they truly represented, it was all along just to target the insolence and help the suffering.

What really is the logic behind all of this uncalled for criticism?

Are people truly giving their opinions or are they trying to please the bystanders?

If you ask me, I’m now at the point where I want to go to a place where I’ve never been before as I hereby own up to my bitterness of society failing to back up their own words.

People like myself, try our hardest not to cross that same bridge which a majority of people are blindly stepping over but will they one day look at themselves in the mirror and start to take the blame for their own actions?

In case anyone is getting the wrong end of the stick and going to accuse me of acting like a smart ass, I’ll throw my hands up and admit that I too use to be judgmental towards other people’s musical taste but I was only a teenager who didn’t know any better due to my personal issues back then.

Now in this modern day, I hereby confess that I am in a much better state of mind.

I understand that people are entitled to their own opinions but it would make the world a better place if we all took one good look inside of ourselves and really start to accept the things around us.

We live in a society that loves to judge others but I personally believe it will be so much better if we came together and embrace one another for who we are as people.