Resurrection by the Riff

In a world where power is situated atop oppressive hierarchies, readily accessible to the rich and breathtakingly corrupt leaders of the world, restoring one’s connection to the ability to decide what life should look like seems like a futile exercise. Until you touch down at a rock show. The world could be resting its entire foot on my neck, but when I feel the bassline in my chest, no tax bill could steal the rich, fresh breath that fills my lungs. Rock shows are a spiritual experience for me; drowned out by the screaming of lead guitars, I am born again on the right side of the Wall of Death. And through this rebirth, my inner spark for life and resistance comes alive.

Without indulging too many delusions of grandeur, youth and metal are aesthetically aligned, if not grounded in many of the same values. It’s Rash covering “Is This Love?” by Bob Marley, taking a classic and honoring it by putting your own spin on things. There is beauty within the urge to figure life out for oneself and perhaps to take a walk on the punk side of life. Divinity is realized when you embrace chaos for the sake of embodying the experiences that have shaped you. This is art and artful living. Finding myself tossed in the stormy sea of the mosh pit, I recognize that I’m in a space where the world is mine to dance with, mine to disrupt. It’s not every day you relish people howling, growling and screaming; sweaty bodies, locs and spike-ridden jackets are repellant out and about in the world and yet here, they carry a soul back home to its wildness.

Through the performance that is participating in a metal show, people put themselves back together. Putting a middle finger up to the forces that want to sap the life from our voices, we mirror the act of resistance that is waking up everyday, living, loving, and fighting for the rightful place of people within the world we desire. You can’t listen to songs like Irony Destroyed’s “Rise of the Phoenix” without feeling a gathering of all your forsaken ashes.https://youtu.be/2odlncS3UtM?si=fvDjPwndQ_dDBzny