My Heavy Metal Journey

 I'm going to do something a bit different this week. I went to a Bayside show on Monday. I know I know. Not metal. But fuck you they are great! It's also a band my wife is very much in to and my son fanboys over. His first ever show by the way.  So anyway I am going to do a review of this show in a way. I'll start from the top.  Bayside did a battle of the bands via the Internet for every stop on their tour. First of all this is an amazing thing for any band our package tour to do. The exposure a local band can get from something like this can't be overstated. The band that won the Dallas stop (fan voted) was Mother Freud. So let's get into this. Mother Freud  Alright! I had looked up who won this stop but just figured I would hear them when I got there. My mistake. I wish I had been more prepared. I wish I had learned some songs. I wish I had been right up front headbanging and screaming their lyrics back at them.  To say I was shocked ...

 I have to be honest. When Pantera was in their hayday I had no idea who they were. As I have stated before I got into metal late. This doesn't change the impact Pantera, especially Dimebag Darrel had on my taste in music.  Dime was truly a generational talent. Maybe a lifetime talent. His guitar tones and riffs are truly unique. Even today, when any guitarist, in any metal band, anywhere in the world will point to Dime as an influence.  I don't remember specifically which song or songs got me into Pantera. But I know the first Pantera album I bought was Cowboys From Hell. I couldn't make that disk play loud enough. No car stereo or boombox had the power to match the legendary riffs Dimebag was putting out.  I am a drummer. My brother plays bass. We spent countless hours jamming just bass and drums as as teens. So the rythm section was always the part of a song or band that got me hooked.  Pantera was different though. Dimes work on the guitar ow...

 We are quickly approaching the year 2020. As in I am getting old and there are a ton of "this was popular 20 years ago" articles and videos. I was entering high school in 2000. So the next 4 or so years were the most formative years of my life. Music, of course, was a huge part of this.  This is when I really started getting into metal. As I have stated before nu metal was hugely influential to my taste in music now. It was the gateway drug if you will.  But this post isn't about nu metal specifically.  Rather this is about the power of music. Music has a way of sticking with you in ways nothing else can. Think about hearing a song you haven't heard in years. It can bring back memories you had long forgotten. In some cases you can smell a time and place in which that song was playing. It can remind you of exactly what emotion you were feeling at the time. Nothing can do this like music. I think we can use it to our benefit.  For me a song like P...