Heavy Metal Poetics

Submitted by KristinG on February 10, 2011 - 3:14pm
in
Scurrilous
Protest the Hero

Today’s heavy metal music shares surprising similarities with the classical music of the past. In Beethoven’s day, his music was thought by some to be distasteful and chaotic; Bach and Vivaldi shocked with their upbeat and technical compositions.  How will the future judge musical pioneers of the present?

"Every word ever written will fall short of its intent

Even sung or spoke or screamed they will betray what they have meant

Language is the heart's lament, a weak attempt to circumvent

the loneliness inherent in the search for permanence"

These are the opening lines of the song Spoils by Canadian metal band Protest the Hero from their 2008 album Fortress.
Poetic and evocative writing like this is the norm for the group, delivered by scorching vocals, shredding riffs, and crazy rhythms seemingly at odds with such literary turns of phrase and frequent references to mythology.  Don’t miss their upcoming album, Scurrilous (get out your dictionaries), and check them out at the Marquis Theatre on April 16th.
If you like Protest, try:

Comments

Submitted by jackiecheese on September 12, 2011 - 12:16pm.

are you the music buyer for the denver public library? i'm pretty stunned at the up to date indie selection and if it's your doing i'd like to thank you... thank you ;)

Submitted by KristinG on September 12, 2011 - 12:38pm.

Thanks for your comment! It's not me, but rather the library's Collection Development department. Consider them thanked - :)

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