One nation under the gun
Where forward thinking is shunned
A morbid tradition
Of archaic value systems
In 1994, a twelve-year-old me bought my first two albums with my very own money. One was Dave Matthew’s Band’s Under the Table and Dreaming. The other was the Offspring’s Smash. Two very different albums, two very different musical paths to follow, and with all due respect to DMB, I took the Offspring path and never looked back.
Where violence justified
Is just another pride
Under the surface lies
A holy plastic empire
Punk was new to me, and the Offspring dished out a relentless sonic assault that captivated my ears. It was fast, it was angry, it was jaded, it was unapologetic, there was cursing. Lots of it. It was scary and angsty and sexy and grown-up, delivered via crunching, white-hot guitars and pounding drums reminiscent of a heart on the verge of cardiac arrest. Perhaps it was the onset of puberty, or my safe, comfy suburban upbringing, or my recently (at the time) diagnosed ADHD, or maybe it’s just who I am, but I was hooked on fast, aggressive music from that day forward. Sure, I gave DMB a spin every once in a while, and grew to appreciate Carter Beauford’s virtuosic playing, but eventually I admitted to myself that I was only listening to it to justify the purchase. Dave and I parted ways amicably, and, springboarding off the Offspring, I dove head-first into the seedy genres of punk, thrash, death metal, and grindcore (hereafter referred to under the umbrella term “extreme metal”), needing to hear faster, more intense, more explosive music.
With guarded golden fences
Where misfortune
Shelters decisions
A pain wrought from blood flowing green
The number one complaint people have about extreme metal is this: “I can’t understand a thing they’re saying!” It’s important to understand this is a feature, not a bug. First, lots of metal bands, in the quest to be as extreme and “brutal” as possible, write about some pretty gnarly themes. It goes hand-in-hand with the over-the-top musical style. I don’t come to extreme metal for the fantastical themes related to horror, so I’d rather not hear word-for-word what is being said. The vocals add a percussive element to the auditory onslaught, and there is an incredible range of vocal styles in this regard. From high-pitched shrieks, to low, guttural, “cookie monster” vocals, there’s a range of screams, shouts, barks, and yes, even some singing, that embellishes the instruments in a way that is unique to the genre.
The myth of protection
Is a sick fascination
A culture of violence is what you are feeding
Fear is an heirloom
And hate is contagious
A nation of sadists is what you are breeding
But sometimes, you want to hear what they’re saying. You catch a snippet of a sentence, maybe a few words burbling up clearly through the swamp of sound that makes you sit up and take notice. This was the case when I was listening to the song that is the subject of this diary. The band is called Darkest Hour, and they wrote this song in 2003.
It's everywhere
It's everywhere that you see
The song is called “the Sadist Nation”, and to this day, after hundreds (hell, maybe over a thousand) of listens, it still gives me goosebumps. As you can see from the quoted lyrics, Darkest Hour is taking a pretty firm position on the effect of gun-worship on this country, and the (seemingly) inevitable path to fascism gun fetishization leads down. This is something they clocked twenty-one years ago.
But who decides
If you watch or turn the other cheek
And only in your mind
Is it your given right to be armed to the teeth
But here’s the thing about this song. It cannot be a folk song. Or a pop song. Or a country song. Only extreme metal, only screaming, can deliver this message with the punch it requires. I’m well aware that most of the DK audience is not accustomed to this type of music, and I’m doing my best to prepare your ears for what you’re hopefully about to hear (really hoping you give the song a listen!). When a grown person is screaming at you, so passionately and so loud their voice distorts, you tend to take notice. This song will grab you by the lapels and pin you to the spittle-flecked wall. But why would you choose to subject yourself to this anger, like I have time and time again?
It's a common disease
The only immunity is to disarm
This holy plastic empire disease
I think of Sandy Hook, I think of Uvalde, I think of the countless mass shootings that too many (almost entirely republican) politicians could act to prevent, but don’t. I think of the families of the victims, and the rage, the frustration, the sadness, the complete and utter inability to stop it, and it just boils over, it spills out, and suddenly, I’m screaming along with Darkest Hour, as Darkest Hour screams for us, for the victims, I am locked in, impassioned, it’s shout therapy, baby. Let me say it again, Darkest Hour isn’t shouting at you, they’re shouting for you. They’re screaming for the victims of gun violence and fascism and for those who can’t scream, and they’re doing it the best way they can. They are pounding this message into every ear that will listen with the only vehicle that can deliver the appropriate level of horror and alarm.
A nation of sadists is what you are breeding
This is just one of the appeals of extreme metal to me, especially when the music delivers a progressive or liberal message. Republicans love to dress up progressives as tie-dye wearing milksops. The image of a large, tattooed, camo-and-leather clad, pissed off people writing punishing, face-melting music, aggressively and powerfully shouting their progressive ideas in their face is counter to their narrative. And I can't get enough of it.
Here is a video of the song with lyrics, and I highly encourage you to read along. Like magic, you’ll understand every angst-ridden word. If you couldn’t tell by this point, I highly recommend giving it a listen, as loud as is comfortable for you:
If you like what you hear, consider supporting the band!* Darkest Hour (Bandcamp)
*Full disclosure, I have no affiliation with the band, but I did stay for a night at the current bass player’s house before he was in the band, back when my band was on tour. I actually only recently found out he started playing with DH, despite having loved DH for decades.
