
Reflections of a Lifelong Metalhead - tintinnabula
https://longreads.com/2017/10/11/reflections-of-a-lifelong-metalhead/
======
madengr
Despite being one of the senior engineers at a Fortune 100 company, I wear an
Iron Maiden shirt to work almost every Friday. Screw em..

Despite the 90’s sucking for metal, at least it filtered out all the hair
band, and some really good bands like Dream Theater gained traction.

Maiden is back to selling out arenas. Unfortunately never heard Ghost until
they opened for Maiden this summer; reminds me of old Mercyful Fate, with some
late 80’s Voivod.

~~~
3131s
> _Despite the 90’s sucking for metal_

Not a death metal fan eh? 1990-1994 is generally considered a creative high
point for death metal and starting about 10 years ago there was a huge trend
toward reviving that 'old-school' sound, which involved a lot of blatant aping
in particular of early 90s Swedish bands.

~~~
madengr
Probably not, but one of the first albums (records) I bought was the first
Celtic Frost album. Never really liked all the grunting. I really like
Kreator, Slayer, King D. & MF, but that’s not death metal.

~~~
3131s
I never liked the vocals all that much either actually, but I was singularly
obsessed with death metal from about age 12 onward into my 20s. I don't keep
up with it as rigorously anymore, but for anyone curious I would recommend
bands like Infester, Disembowelment, Wormed, Demilich, Pyrrhon, Orchidectomy,
Gorguts, Flourishing, Sect of Execration, Diskord, Immortal Fate, Pustulated,
Stargazer, Incantation, Wicked Innocence, Miasma, Imprecation, Corpsevomit,
Atheist, Fallen Christ, The Chasm, and more to get a picture of how musically
varied and interesting death metal can be.

------
failrate
One of the few times in my life when I felt the most relaxed was when I
fronted a local noise core band. The crowd thought I was demented based on my
act, but really, the screaming and acting out felt like a release valve for
all of the anger and anxiety. All of it. At the end of the night, I would just
feel super happy and mellow.

~~~
codyb
I love when I can yell and scream for a little. It's half the reason I go to
concerts I think, cause no one cares if you just holler your heart out. It can
be tough to find times to just viscerally yell at the top of your lungs in
NYC.

I'm not even really particularly angry or anxious, I just feel great after
letting go of literally everything and letting my heart and soul and voice and
mind rip for a few minutes.

Sometimes you just want to yell, I understand why it's weird to do so in NYC
and it'd be terrible if people felt more comfortable doing so, but god damn
does it feel good to let the chest soar, the voice yell, and the entire body
become one with that very ephemeral energy.

------
brailsafe
It's refreshing to read comments from engineers who aren't afraid to be who
they are and that there are large companies with minimal dress code policies.

------
nixluser
It's Gojira for me

The irony of loving a band that's name seems to proudly encourage the use of
our issue tracker is not lost on anyone

~~~
bitwize
Gojira is Godzilla in the original Japanese.

The issue tracker was named for Gojira, because it was going up against
Bugzilla at the time.

~~~
senko
Also, Bugzilla was built for Mozilla, called such because it was codename for
Netscape, an upstart against the incumbent Mosaic browser - so Mosaic-killer.

Rabbit hole goes deep!

------
rhizome
The actual article:
[http://marchshredness.com/indefenseofhairmetal](http://marchshredness.com/indefenseofhairmetal)

------
j_s
What is the long term plan for my ears and being able to hear well? Any
thoughts on this from fans of loud music/concerts are appreciated!

~~~
derrekl
Buy some custom earplugs. Foam plugs ruin the sound, heroes don't fit well
enough for most, go custom. I'm a drummer of 30 years and have been to
hundreds of live shows. Here is an example:
[https://www.64audio.com/product/EP-Custom-
EarPlugs](https://www.64audio.com/product/EP-Custom-EarPlugs)

~~~
j_s
I've read good things about these (Etymotic ETY-Plugs High Fidelity Earplugs)
at a $15 entry-level:

[https://amzn.com/dp/B0015WJQ7A](https://amzn.com/dp/B0015WJQ7A)

Is there anything recommendable between the $15 and $200 ends?

~~~
derrekl
The Etymotic earplugs are the same thing as Heroes. For me they don't fit well
and thus don't reduce the sound levels as much as designed. For some people
they probably work well enough, depends on the shape of your ear canal, where
it bends and to what extent. You can get custom in ear plugs for $200
including the molding process (though a bit tough - you have to wait for
sales).

------
YeGoblynQueenne
OK, can I deviate from the main subject a bit? What is it with women's fashion
today that everyone's dressing like '90s metal bands?

Faux-leather jackets, or fliers; trainers; skinny jeans, torn at the knees;
and even band t-s. I was in H&M's (UK) the other day and they had Metallica,
AC/DC and _Iron Maiden_ tees. _Maiden_ tees. With _The Number of the Beast_.
What the hell!?

I used to dress like that when I was a teen (and, er, later) and I enjoyed how
it marked me out as a mosher and so on. "Yep, I'm not a fashion victim like
you, ha". Now everyone's at it. It's giving me a huge sense of cognitive
dissonance, you know?

Also, seriously. Metal tees with gucci handbags? Come _on_!

~~~
dualogy
> _I enjoyed how it marked me out as a mosher and so on. "Yep, I'm not a
> fashion victim like you, ha". Now everyone's at it._

This slap in the face of nostalgia is part of growing up I guess. Don't get me
started on all the coders nowadays and dudes sitting with laptops in cafes,
why & how the heck did my beloved edgy late-90s youth-hood "non-
mainstream"/decidedly-perceived-as-freakish-by-society-back-then identity
become hijacked and something seemingly every jock and Chad adopts! Guess it
all started with Zuck..

~~~
mattgreenrocks
Yeah, it is weird. Coding got reappropriated as hip once it became clear th
adults had ruined lots of other jobs. What I wonder is whether the people who
decried it as nerdy in the past have any sense of cognitive dissonance about
holding it in esteem now.

My guess is no, because pop culture is ahistorical.

------
nether
I grew out of metal. And so should you.

~~~
castis
"I have a highly refined musical palate and I believe it makes me better than
you."

~~~
sandebert
Put that on a t-shirt and I'll buy it. :-)

