vernplum
New member
Written while drunk, and originally posted at:
http://vernonplum.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!6093C62ED6F097F6!218.entry
Heavy Metal is a drug. One of the few legitimate ones still permitted in most civilized territories - mainly due to the fact that it is beyond the comprehension of the authorities. This is so much so that it has blind-sided the various nations' 'drug czars' and polit-bureau-anti-anything-agencies resulting in it having largely escaped categorization into those traditional buckets of Classes A, B or subsequent. Metal remains unbanished and available in good (mainly independent) record stores with liberal back-catalogue stocking policies, however, while usage of Metal resides within the law, 'possession with intent to supply Metal' is still highly illegal and harsh penalties for those caught dealing can be extremely severe in a number of countries, up to and not excluding, death.
The symptoms to look out for those who fear that Metal might be the affectation causing the dreary malaise in their loved ones are hard to discover, given their similarities to those exhibited by addicts to the well known narcotics of the families of the Opiates, Lysergides, Cannanibinols or Methamphetamines. Indicators such as pimply blemishes on the complexion, anti-social behavior such as not talking at the dinner table for the entire duration of a family meal, lank, greasy-looking hair and untenable fashion choices in the faces of their surrounding peers might at least give some pointers to the trained eye, but the real effects might be shown to be far more sinister, deeply rooted and ultimately self-destructive - at least in the conventional sense of their eschewance of conformist, mass acceptance of force-fed media/government messaging institutionalized by a wide gamut of educational systems. In any case the true acid test is the manifestation of the 'Metal Hand' or 'Goat Horn' gesture that seems, after several years of Metal abuse to become reflexive in nature to the infected upon hearing something really, really heavy such as the opening riff of Black Sabbath's song "Iron Man" - in the same way that a knee jerk can be caused by a rubber hammer tap below the patella.
Indeed, the Heavy Metal sufferer might at first glance appear to be a miscreant of savantesque dimensions - unintentionally ironic in his denim clad, badge-of-allegiance patchwork and leather-studded garb, at odds with the colorful designer equipment of the fashionista and the wannabe downstream proletariat that pander to the whims of the costumiers of the moment's popular idols, but in reality, and somewhat surprisingly, his uniform informs a deconstructionist's cynical and insightfully complete view of the world not unlike the pseudo-nirvana enlightenment experienced by the first time magic mushroom tripper who happened to take twice as many grammes as recommended.
If there is any consolation to the parents of the current generation it is that the levels of Metal abuse observed during the now infamous 'Free Hate' years spanning from circa 1980 until circa 1994 (and visually documented in Penelope Spheeris' flawed masterpiece 'Decline Of Western Civilization Pt.1 - the Metal Years') might never be revisited, in the same way that the flower-power movement typified by the Janis Joplin listeners of the mid 60s can also never be recreated - nor can the underlying socio-political temperament or sheer quality of good (and freely available) Metal music that characterized itself (at least by the efforts of the participating purveyors of the material) by willful progression, betterment in the realms of speed, instrumental virtuosity, heaviosity and evil juvenile lyricism - that is to say that really really good metal (the worst type for the individual to imbibe) is increasingly more difficult to find amongst the manufactured dross and musical methadones that successive administrations (at least in the United States) have contrived in order to confuse the casual metal user.
Psychotherapists often cite the case of Vernon (names changed for legal reasons) - a Metal addict from a young age (teachers in his grade school class once wrote to his parents upon observing that he had written "Iron Maiden" on his hand in red ballpoint pen) - who fell into the 'wrong' crowd' around the age of 15. Under analysis, it emerged that Vernon had become disillusioned with the manufactured syntho-pop of the time, unable to identify with the melo-lyrical output of the black artists of the Americas and far too stupid and unsophisticated to appreciate the opei of the Classical sphere. In desiring music ever more heavy, faster and more aggressive Vernon turned to the distorted and angst-ridden sounds of the hard/heavy rock and 'metal' alternatives available via clandestine tape-swapping contacts and the occasional bout of LP piracy. Guitar shops also informed his choice dedication to the Metal brotherhood as it was known (though many psychotherapists dismiss this as an illusory and convenient mental construct to assuage guilt). It is worth noting that Vernon's parents were found to have had no former history in the family of Metal abuse that may have predisposed him to such a path.
Vernon's classic case saw him experiment with a wide variety of Metals including but not restricted to Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Nile, Decapitated, Vader, Death, Pantera and the original paper published in the online version of The Journal Of Psychotherapists can be found here. Despite prolonged treatment for his addiction and spells in and out of rehabilitative residential establishments, Vernon (now 36) tragically still suffers frequent lapses of involuntary head banging, air guitar and torturing small animals for fun.
*Vernon's usual writer is on vacation. He returns in September.
http://vernonplum.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!6093C62ED6F097F6!218.entry
Heavy Metal is a drug. One of the few legitimate ones still permitted in most civilized territories - mainly due to the fact that it is beyond the comprehension of the authorities. This is so much so that it has blind-sided the various nations' 'drug czars' and polit-bureau-anti-anything-agencies resulting in it having largely escaped categorization into those traditional buckets of Classes A, B or subsequent. Metal remains unbanished and available in good (mainly independent) record stores with liberal back-catalogue stocking policies, however, while usage of Metal resides within the law, 'possession with intent to supply Metal' is still highly illegal and harsh penalties for those caught dealing can be extremely severe in a number of countries, up to and not excluding, death.
The symptoms to look out for those who fear that Metal might be the affectation causing the dreary malaise in their loved ones are hard to discover, given their similarities to those exhibited by addicts to the well known narcotics of the families of the Opiates, Lysergides, Cannanibinols or Methamphetamines. Indicators such as pimply blemishes on the complexion, anti-social behavior such as not talking at the dinner table for the entire duration of a family meal, lank, greasy-looking hair and untenable fashion choices in the faces of their surrounding peers might at least give some pointers to the trained eye, but the real effects might be shown to be far more sinister, deeply rooted and ultimately self-destructive - at least in the conventional sense of their eschewance of conformist, mass acceptance of force-fed media/government messaging institutionalized by a wide gamut of educational systems. In any case the true acid test is the manifestation of the 'Metal Hand' or 'Goat Horn' gesture that seems, after several years of Metal abuse to become reflexive in nature to the infected upon hearing something really, really heavy such as the opening riff of Black Sabbath's song "Iron Man" - in the same way that a knee jerk can be caused by a rubber hammer tap below the patella.
Indeed, the Heavy Metal sufferer might at first glance appear to be a miscreant of savantesque dimensions - unintentionally ironic in his denim clad, badge-of-allegiance patchwork and leather-studded garb, at odds with the colorful designer equipment of the fashionista and the wannabe downstream proletariat that pander to the whims of the costumiers of the moment's popular idols, but in reality, and somewhat surprisingly, his uniform informs a deconstructionist's cynical and insightfully complete view of the world not unlike the pseudo-nirvana enlightenment experienced by the first time magic mushroom tripper who happened to take twice as many grammes as recommended.
If there is any consolation to the parents of the current generation it is that the levels of Metal abuse observed during the now infamous 'Free Hate' years spanning from circa 1980 until circa 1994 (and visually documented in Penelope Spheeris' flawed masterpiece 'Decline Of Western Civilization Pt.1 - the Metal Years') might never be revisited, in the same way that the flower-power movement typified by the Janis Joplin listeners of the mid 60s can also never be recreated - nor can the underlying socio-political temperament or sheer quality of good (and freely available) Metal music that characterized itself (at least by the efforts of the participating purveyors of the material) by willful progression, betterment in the realms of speed, instrumental virtuosity, heaviosity and evil juvenile lyricism - that is to say that really really good metal (the worst type for the individual to imbibe) is increasingly more difficult to find amongst the manufactured dross and musical methadones that successive administrations (at least in the United States) have contrived in order to confuse the casual metal user.
Psychotherapists often cite the case of Vernon (names changed for legal reasons) - a Metal addict from a young age (teachers in his grade school class once wrote to his parents upon observing that he had written "Iron Maiden" on his hand in red ballpoint pen) - who fell into the 'wrong' crowd' around the age of 15. Under analysis, it emerged that Vernon had become disillusioned with the manufactured syntho-pop of the time, unable to identify with the melo-lyrical output of the black artists of the Americas and far too stupid and unsophisticated to appreciate the opei of the Classical sphere. In desiring music ever more heavy, faster and more aggressive Vernon turned to the distorted and angst-ridden sounds of the hard/heavy rock and 'metal' alternatives available via clandestine tape-swapping contacts and the occasional bout of LP piracy. Guitar shops also informed his choice dedication to the Metal brotherhood as it was known (though many psychotherapists dismiss this as an illusory and convenient mental construct to assuage guilt). It is worth noting that Vernon's parents were found to have had no former history in the family of Metal abuse that may have predisposed him to such a path.
Vernon's classic case saw him experiment with a wide variety of Metals including but not restricted to Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Nile, Decapitated, Vader, Death, Pantera and the original paper published in the online version of The Journal Of Psychotherapists can be found here. Despite prolonged treatment for his addiction and spells in and out of rehabilitative residential establishments, Vernon (now 36) tragically still suffers frequent lapses of involuntary head banging, air guitar and torturing small animals for fun.
*Vernon's usual writer is on vacation. He returns in September.
)