Last week I attended a beloved aunt’s funeral. Here in Brazil , funeral services are mostly
like an opportunity to meet with relatives and folks you haven’t seen for a
while. So, I sat away from from all that chatting and talking and started to
wonder why we are so afraid of this ol’ bitch called Death. Truth is that,
despite all theories about life after
death, no one has returned to tell us what it’s like to be on the other
side. Or even if there is another
side. Where are we going? Who will we meet there? Is there really life after death?
Artists are
sensitive people in general. Through mankind’s history, poets, authors,
painters and composers have always shown us their interpretation of this
infamous passage to another dimension, and have revealed the same doubts we
still have today. In music it’s not different. And I don’t quote here the most
obvious genre: heavy metal – the ugliest and loudest rock’s bastard - and yet one of the most venerated of all times. From Delta blues players through new wave gothics and
post-punks, to the extreme and so-called death metal, the subject of death has
been in every lyric and themes of music.
With all
its crying and moaning, the Blues dealt with death and suffering as a
punishment for mainly love and
woman-related sins. By the end of the sixties, Jim Morrison opened the doors of
his sanity with morbid poetry and painful speeches, taking abuse of LSD, heroin
and any other substance that could could take
him faster to meet his maker. In the early 70s, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath performed their sonic masses evoking
death and supernatural matters, always guided by Tony Iommi’s dark and powerful
riffs; the outrageous Alice Cooper saluted us with suggestive albums and song
titles along with bloody stage performances; Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant flirted
with the occult, wizards and alchemy. Punks and post punks embedded
in their aggressiveness and rebellion a great frustration with their lives,
almost worshiping death as a logic consequence of their philosophy. But it was
with that aforementioned heavy side of rock and roll, perpetuated since the
early 80s, that this mysterious lady was quoted, mentioned, and honored with entire songs or even album titles.
From Judas Priest’s razor-bladed guitar
riffs, day-to-day themes and realistic lyrics, down to the dark and gloomy
London alleys and their ghoulish characters portrayed by Iron Maiden. In
Saxon’s leathered epic songs, Motorhead’s warlike contents, and even with
Motley Crue’s juvenile irresponsibility
and their “Live fast Die fast” motto, Mrs. Death became the main theme to be played in world’s theatre of
heavy metal. Since then, several others have started worshipping her: Megadeth,
Slayer, Death Angel, Metallica and Death, only to name a few.
But no one
managed to represent death in such an intelligent and subtle way as a guy named
Ronald James Padavona, also known as “little big man” Ronnie James Dio. Since
his first reign with Blackmore’s Rainbow , passing through Black Sabbath and
holding out to his self-named band
DIO, the Man on the silver mountain approached doubts, questions, the dualities
of universe, life and death, presenting us with classics such as "A light in Black",
"Rainbow in the dark", "Heaven and Hell", "The last in
line", "Mystery" and "After All". Leading Heaven and
Hell and still at the top of his career, Dio found himself as a mere mortal
being - he faced the Dragon of his
disease, stood up and shouted at death’s ugly mask until his last breath.
"Too many flames with too much too burn
And life's only made of paper..." - Over and Over - Black Sabbath
And life's only made of paper..." - Over and Over - Black Sabbath
I bet when
you were a kid you used to draw skulls in your books, or hang up Eddie the Head posters
on your bedroom wall. And I bet you proudly wore your favorite heavy metal t-shirts until they turned gray. Some time later, you probably felt
lonely, abandoned, and confused in the abysses of life. You wanted to
kill – or die - for a first love. And now, as a responsible grown-up, you still
think about Mrs.Death and her mysterious ways.
Maybe
that’s why she’s so popular. She’s always on the news. She’s famous,
undeniable. Sneaky and tricky. And when she finally knocks on our door ..
“We’ll
know for the first time... if we’re evil or divine… We’re the last in line!"
As I was writing I listened to...
Judas Priest - "Killing Machine", "The Ripper"; Iron Maiden - "Killers", "Prowler", "Purgatory", "Hallowed be thy name", "Die with your boots On"; Saxon - "Crusader"; DIO - "The last in line", "Mystery", "Lock up the Wolves"; Black Sabbath - "Over and over"; Ozzy Osbourne - "See you on the other side".
As I was writing I listened to...
Judas Priest - "Killing Machine", "The Ripper"; Iron Maiden - "Killers", "Prowler", "Purgatory", "Hallowed be thy name", "Die with your boots On"; Saxon - "Crusader"; DIO - "The last in line", "Mystery", "Lock up the Wolves"; Black Sabbath - "Over and over"; Ozzy Osbourne - "See you on the other side".
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