Death Metal 101

This weekend I voluntarily attended my first death metal concert.  Surprisingly, this attendance has been a long time coming.  <3M has a deep death metal love which I sadly, do not share. Luckily for me, he has un-begrudgingly put up with Top 40s themed car rides, acoustic centered dinner music, and even attended a few DMB cover band concerts and honky-tonk country performance.

It was about time I paid my dues to him and death metal music.  Surprisingly, I know a bit more about the death metal music scene than I care to share since <3M’s  obsession occasionally leaks into our everyday conversation and I can’t help but absorb some of it.

My first concert was set to be short and sweet and headlined by Flesh Hoarder. It was their 2nd performance ever and they were only playing a 30 minute set.

Prize awarded to anyone who can tell me exactly what this poster says

Flesh Hoarder sounded good to me, 30 minutes of head banging seemed like a great intro-concert.

Of course my first thought was “What should I wear?!” I knew I had to try and fit in a bit, so obviously my first choice was my Death Metal Girl top!

Sadly, it was dirty on the night of the concert so I had to go with Plan B:

A light black Express tank with a black sequined flower, rolled jean shorts, and some Aldo flip-flops.   All accessorized with a sweet Bow necklace (that can translate from preppy to girly-metal rocker, right?), my Bud Girl bracelet  (because being a beer girl is always cool) and a black Coach clutch to keep the monies and phone safe.

My other accessory for the night – earplugs.  Just in case.

They were the cool, squishy moldable earplugs!

Now that  I was dressed and accessorized I was ready for the concert at Red Eyed Fly.  We got stamped as we entered. And grabbed a couple ShockTops to sip before the show..

It says HOWL, though I would have preferred it to have said HOTT

Heavy Metal Couple.

The venue was half inside, half outside and the vibe was really cool with a slight dive bar feel.  The walls were decorated with band t-shirts from past bands that had played the venue.

I even saw a couple band shirts that I would wear!

I really liked that it was all wooden, kind of like having an outdoor concert on your back deck.  Plus the deck over looked the dumpy part of the Colorado river that runs through Austin, which sort of reminded me of the Pelican’s Nest from home.

While we waited  for the band to start <3M visited with his friend Mike, the Flesh Hoarder guitarist, and I I people watched – a favorite pass time activity.

So there I was, standing there in my Express shirt trying not to look like a tourist.  I don’t think I stood out but I obviously didn’t blend in.  What did stand out in the Death Metal crowd was my blonde hair – I swear I was the only one.  All the other rocker chicks were dressed in ripped band shirts, had dark hair, and super smeared smokey eyeliner – a look I like to save morning after’s.

Peek-a-Boo! He’s surprised I’m actually there!

Sidenote: The part I like best about Metal fans, is that they are all so friendly to everyone – even me, the “outsider!” I also love that when <3M is out and wearing a  band shirt, he’ll get random compliments from other Metal fans on his shirt.  It’s like a secret club – kind of like what boat owners and bikers have, where they give each other a casual nod as they pass by one another.

Right at 9:30 Flesh Hoarder took the stage and did their half hour set.  I really liked their 2nd song – don’t ask me the name because I haven’t a clue.  But I liked the guitar in it.

There were also lots of drums and roaring going on.  I wasn’t quite sure about the lyrics but it was still fun because the musicians are really talented.  I might not love the music, but I really can appreciate their talent and their own dedication and love for Metal.

I love this pic. He’s not throwing the Longhorns symbol, but the Rocker symbol.  It’s really cool to see the whole crowd with their hands in the air and their head banging all in sync.  Honestly, I couldn’t help but bang my head slightly as well.  The music drives the beat into you and as part of the audience, it was really just an automatic response.

Picture this as me but without my hand in the air and with only slight head movement.

Obviously, Metal concerts are known for head banging and moshing.  Although I didn’t get to mosh, I was seriously impressed with the vocalist’s head banging talents.

 

FYI: The head swingin’ was made popular by the Cannibal Corpse vocalist (Fact courtesy of <3M).  I seriously hope the vocalist gets a chiropractic exam after performances because his neck looked like his bones had turned to gel in order to swing that smoothly.  It was literally hypnotizing to watch.

Honestly, I liked the concert. I would go again, just to see <3M so happy in his element . And truthfully, I really enjoyed listening to the band once I knew their story.  I liked that <3M knew so much about the band, their history, and the ins and outs of the Metal industry.  It made the music so much more than what I originally believed to be drums and roaring.

I may never be a true Metal fan or ever listen to it on my own, but I’ll go to another concert or two.  Maybe one day I’ll even earn myself a Death Metal Girl shirt and smoke up my eyeliner to be a true Rocker chick…even if it’s only for a night!