No one really starts out loving heavy music. At least no one my age (34) did. In the late 90s my parents were pushing strictly worship music. What can you expect though? This is the nature of religious life in Mississippi. Up until around 1998 worship music was all I had heard. Sure there was the occasional household reference to The Sound of Music, but that was it.
Then one day something happened that changed my life forever. A friend at church gave me a copy of DcTalk’s Jesus Freak. Now, I know what you’re thinking. That isn’t metal. It’s not even heavy. You would be correct. However, up until then I had never heard music with heavy guitars, rapping, screaming, etc. I remember loving it instantly. My parents, however, did not love it. It would be many more years until I was permitted to listen to DcTalk again.
Bosnia
It was during my time living in Bosnia in the early 2000’s that really started to solidify my love of music. I was restrained to religious music only, but at the time I was content with it. DcTalk, Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, and the like were staples of my CD collection. Every new artist or album had to be reviewed by my parents to ensure that I was getting the full christian message in each musical choice.
While in Bosnia my sister and I would put on little concerts for my parents. We’d stack crates to build a stage and then set up flashlights around a blacked out room to create a light show. We’d then lip sync to our favorite songs and make our parents watch and applaud.
I do remember one such instant being pulled aside by my parents and told I needed to make sure that my movements on stage glorified god and that some of my “moves” were borderline at best.
Upon our return to the states my love of music only grew. The heaviness of my music taste grew. I found myself a frequent listener of Creed, POD, Pillar, Kutless, etc. However, in 2004, a song came out that changed my musical journey entirely.
I used to listen to this christian music video show. One week they debuted a little song called “Reinventing Your Exit” by Underoath. This was the first song I could remember hearing with screaming in it. It was and is a very catchy track, but it was the first time I remember hearing someone screaming like that. I immediately wanted to be in a band like that.
This opened a flood gate of musical exploration. Shortly after I found Norma Jean, and non christian bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Atreyu. I was hooked. I loved the heaviness, the aesthetic, the honesty and brutality of it all. I had never experienced anything like it.
The Solemn Vow Years
In 2005 I started a band called Solemn Vow with a friend of mine. We would spend the next 5 years exploring the metal genre. Influenced by bands like As I Lay Dying, Enter Shikari, and eventually Attack Attack we played as often as we could and met some amazing bands. Friendships were formed with touring and local bands alike.
It was the moments after shows that really solicited the metal community for me. People were very honest, very tribal, and had an almost religious devotion to heavy music. I was very privileged to be welcomed into that community. While the music had brought me in, the sense of community kept me.
We played at Cornerstone Music Festival a couple of years. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a music festival where you camp out and play little shows and have the opportunity to see large bands as well. Many late nights were spent chatting with bands like Before There Was Rosalyn and Through Fallen Skies. These were open and honest chats about music, faith, and everything in between.
Metal As An Adult
Yes, I still listen to it. Much to my wife’s chagrin, it’s the dominant thing you’d hear on a car ride with me. When I moved to Florida I took a break from the local scene. It wasn’t until 2020 that I rejoined the local scene. That sense of community was still there. The scene in Tampa welcomed me into it and I’ve been afforded some great opportunities due to it. I’ve included on this page a playlist of some of the best bands in the scene here.
Though I now have a family and live a very corporate life in some regard, I find that the music brings me back time and time again. It’s a dominant part of who I am. It shaped me. It continues to shape me and I can’t imagine a life without it.
