Demon Hunter - "Not I"

This entry is being made for two reasons: #1. I genuinely like this song and wanted to post on it. #2. Recent events surrounding ignorance and hate that I have encountered on social media websites really fired me up.  This song popped up on my iPod and it resonated with how I was and am currently feeling regarding people who seem to proudly share their bigoted, hateful, and/or racist comments on the internet.

As some of you in the world know, Demon Hunter is a Christian metal band.  Those that are just learning this and never knew that Christian metal existed are probably pretty confused right now.  If you are a metal fan, you really should give this genre a try.  Some of your favorite bands may be a Christian band and you would have never known.  It is the same aggressiveness and loud music, just with positive lyrics.

"Not I" leaves nothing for guesses.  It is a song about standing up for what you believe in.  That belief could be God, equality, ending hate...anything.  For me, this song fired me up regarding my stance against intolerance and hate.  This country has suffered from enough ignorance and violent acts against other people.  These intolerant people "act" in the name of their God/god and damage every step forward we have made as a modern society.  These people then turn around and teach their children these same "values," if they can be called that.  Literally, ignorance is breeding ignorance.  This cycle will NEVER end unless people stand up for what is right and end the vicious cycle of hatred.  I don't care if you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, Gay, Straight, Trans-gender, Latino, Chinese, Black, White, Purple or Green...We all share this world and we must get along if we are to keep it.

I don't want to leave this post short, but to be honest, there really isn't much more for me to say about this song.  I am posting the lyrics below so you can all understand what this song means to me regarding my feelings about hate and intolerance:

So now you're suffering the fallacy of what you said
When you uncover the depression from where you've tread
Breathe over the glass you wrote on
Swallow all that you waste your throat on
You wear the mark and wave the banner they made with sin
Revealing every single lie that you've been breeding within
Wash over the skin you've broken
Think over the tone you spoke in


So lost in your affliction/addiction
The solemn comfort of your grave
If you close your eyes, the light can't take it away


Not I - I won't conform to what I see in you
Not I - I won't surrender what I am
Not I - And even if it was a part of me
Not I - I'll never be that way again


The blind will follow on the path that you created in vain
No guiding light, but just the shadow of the dead will remain
Dig open the the pain you're hiding
Give your hand to the faith you're fighting
The void you suffer is a curse forever bleeding inside
Now you embrace the fatal sickness you should despise
Remember the day you lost that
Where is the shame that will bring your soul back


Reach back behind your pride
And pull the thorn from the burning pain in your side


Sing me a new song
A broken song of redemption and regret
Sing me a new song
And beg for all the mercy you can get

George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Date: October 1, 1968.  Location: Pittsburgh, PA - Fulton Theater.

This was the time and place that George A. Romero unleashed what some call his greatest film, Night of the Living Dead.  The theater was filled with people of all ages, including children.  At that time, the MPAA rating system was not in place, and wouldn't be for another month, so children were allowed into the theater.  96 minutes later, a stunned audience left the theater in silence, not able to comprehend what they just saw.  Sure, they had seen horror films before, but they were not prepared for the film that changed horror forever.

As a film buff, I had been wanting to see Night of the Living Dead for a long time.  I finally got around to seeing it when I was a senior in high school.  At the time, I worked at the public library and when the film landed in my hands to shelve for the next patron to rent it, I couldn't let it go.  I had to see what was go great about this film.

What I saw was a very well made, funny at times, suspenseful, gory, and shocking film that rocked my high school mind.  Horror films from the 60's were typically terribly acted and cheesy to most audiences with exceptions for a few great films.  Film makers filled American movie screens with all kinds of horror such as Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 hit Psycho, Roger Corman's B-films, the cheesy Hammer Horror remakes of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy, and Roman Polanski's classic Rosemary's Baby.  All of these films hold a significant place in film history, but non so much as Night of the Living Dead.

NOTLD took the genre in a new direction, showing audiences how to incorporate social commentary in very abstract ways, though Romero's claims this was unintentional.  The main topics that were explored in NOTLD are the Cold War and racism.  Some feel it was a critique of America's involvement in Vietnam.  Whatever the thought or intention, the finished product had a lasting impact on the horror genre.  NOTLD's zombies established the modern idea of zombieism.  Before this, zombie were related to voodoo and were under the control of someone external.  Romero's zombies were an unstoppable force, created by radiation exposure, and were driven by their hunger for flesh.  The dead rose to feed on the living.  Once someone was bitten by a zombie, it was not long before they too would turn and hunt those around them.

I could go on about the various themes that Romero created through his daring casting, but what I really want to emphasize was the shocking ending.  This is not a film with a happy ending.  I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't see it, but I will say that this film may have created the snap surprise ending that many films still utilize today.  I thought things were going well in the end for the heroes, but I was sadly mistaken and blown away by where the film decided to end.

This is a must see for all fans of horror.  Anyone who claims to be a horror fan and has not seen NOTLD needs to stop what they are doing and rent it.  Or, click on the title of this entry for a link to HULU and watch this film online for FREE! (It is 100% legal...it fell into "public domain" after the distributor failed to put a copyright indication on the prints...thanks guys!)

Avenged Sevenfold - "I Won't See You Tonight (Parts 1 & 2)"

Avenged Sevenfold is a hard rock band that has transcended various genres in the metal world since their inception in 1999.  Originally more of a metalcore sound, the band has taken on a more guitar driven, hard rock sound as the years progressed.  While some attribute this "style change" as selling out when they became famous, it is more of a chance for the band to mature their sound as their musical abilities progress.

I was first introduced to this band, as with most of my metal repertoire, in college through my radio show.  One of the first tracks that my friend showed me was "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1)" from the "Waking the Fallen" album.  I was blown away by the intensity of this song.  It's not a hard song by any means, but could almost be compared to a ballad (but not in the "love song" sense).  Rather, it is the words of this song that are deep and heavy.  To simply state the theme, this is a song about suicide and the thoughts and feelings of the person who is planning to take their own life.  The lyrics themselves are nothing new.  In fact, they are very similar to other songs that talk about suicide written in a letter to a friend or family member.  "Cry alone, I've gone away.  No more night, no more pain.  I've gone alone, took all my strength.  But I've made the change, I won't see you tonight."  It is the intensity and commitment to the theme that singer M. Shadows delivers which makes this song so amazing.  It is a deep and painful look inside the mind of someone who feels there is nothing left in the world for him (Click the title of this entry to listen to Part 1).

Now, as some of you may have noticed, there is a Part 2 to this song (Click here to listen to Part 2).  Where Part 1 was the depressing, reaching out for help kind of song, Part 2 is about the aftermath of the suicide.  This song is very hard and angry told through the eyes of the person who found their deceased friend and the note.  "Come back to me, this is unconceivable.  Breaking apart the ones you love.  Hate runs deep for what you've done to us.  Left alone through suicide."

People criticize songs about suicide stating that they are romanticizing death and making it okay for people to take their own lives.  However, I feel this song is very unique because, as far as I know, there has never been a song told from the survivors view point.  It takes the "romantic" view of suicide and turns it on itself, completing the picture of what suicide actually does to everyone around.  I think Avenged Sevenfold should be commended for this intense portrayal of what suicide is and the power it holds in this world.