John Sullivan's Column

John Sullivan is a featured writer for Azur Magazine. We expect articles concerning alterntaive/rock and heavy metal from John's resource of writing endeavors. He, also, plans to upload his own blog/web site. . . We'll keep you posted on when you can get more information on John's blogspot. For now, we'll feature a column in our magazine offering insight on the history of heavy metal and other notable events concerning that genre. We expect to post a column by John every issue. If you'd like more information regarding John Sullivan or his column . . .please contact us at azurmagazine@gmail.com .

WHERE DID THE METAL GO ? Once upon a time a long, long time ago heavy metal was born. Europe was its birthplace and its founding fathers, well that was the question many ponder. Was it Black Sabbath? Many believe they were. Some believe it was Judas Priest what with the leather and motorcycle image. Some even believe it was Iron Maiden while others blame Accept for creating this controversial sound. Whoever it was, all I know is heavy metal was born and it was about to infect ( or should I say unite ) millions of fans in a very good way. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest originated in England whereas Accept hail from Germany. Black Sabbath had success with Ozzy Osbourne but after firing Ozzy for substance abuse they laid low compared to their counterparts. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Accept however took the world by storm for decades and their merciful onslaught was welcomed with open arms. The fans were a unity beyond unities. An inexplicable bond, a force that could not be reckoned with. Ozzy Osbourne reigned supreme as a solo artist. Many times referred to as the king of metal. No metalhead was a true brother or sister of the united clan unless Ozzy was part of the fanbase. The fans owe a big thank you to Sharon Osbourne his wife who he married early in his career which was a good move considering she was the success behind him cleaning up his act from substance abuse because without her he would certainly have gone the way of those before and after him that fell victim to this sad and tragic demise. Heavy Metal was considered a threat to our youth back when it originated and for countless decades to follow as it was a very misunderstood art form that narrow minded individuals refused to accept and religious fanatics continuously denounced as satanic due to its explicit images and lyrics that were dark and brooding and many times menacing to those that didn't or wouldn't understand. Lyrically however most songs were anti-government, some denounced satan and hellfire, while many were about youth rebelling against a corrupt society. All I know is I joined the metal brotherhood and sisterhood back in my teens and have never looked back. I grew up in Germany and Bahrain so disco was king back then but metal was like a big happy slap in the face and I always welcomed another and another and another. Heavy Metal stayed true to its sound and we were one big happy clan and then along came Thrash Metal ( or Speed Metal as it was referred to by many ). This new sound was unheard of. Who were these guys? Where did they come from? WOW!! Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax THE BIG 4 as they were and are to this day referred as. They were the reason metal took on a whole new sound. I actually wasn't a fan until later in life. I became a fan after I climbed out of the bottom of a beer can and after years of seeing the light from the bottom of a12oz. can I finally climbed up that slippery side and emerged victorious. I walked into a record store and purchased Slayers entire discography. Thrash helped me cope with the side effects of sobriety. The anxiety, depression and frustrations that I faced every day were remedied by thrash. I'm proud to say I never became an AA member and the big 4 was like my medication. They were my tool to cope with my new life. They guided me through troubled times and What a rush!!. Being a drummer myself I was in awe of Dave Lombardos power house drum styling as well as the anger Tom Arraya depicted in his vocals as well as the merciless onslaught that Jeff Hanemann and Kerry King unleashed upon the world. Then Metallica. What can I say. Not enough. Master Of Puppets one of the greatest thrash albums of all time ( one mans opinion ). All four bands were welcomed with open arms the world over. And unlike their founding fathers, all four are from the U.S.A. Their lyrics conveyed a different message and they changed the face of music and influenced a new kind of youth. Their image was also different: Slayer with their images of demons, hellfire and corpses depicted in various degrees of suffering although Tom Arraya ( vocals ) said in an interview once that he is catholic and the images are just that, nothing else. The album God Hates Us All is just a title and song he once said. He said he doesn't believe god hates anyone, he just liked the title. But like any new style of music it would be put under the microscope and pulled apart piece by piece like a body in an autopsy room. Other images of the numbers 666 and upside down crosses would still be controversial with various classes of people. I just loved it either way and being catholic myself I became a fan because a good song is just that and imagery is just part of it. Then came Hair Metal and MTV. I guess MTV was created just for hair bands and a whole different message was being conveyed: partying, strippers, and lots of spandex and having a good time. Some bands used lots of makeup and then the powerballad was born. It was all about image and money. I admit I liked hair metal before thrash but it didn't last long and hair metal in my opinion was just a passing fancy. And now a new sound. How can heavy metal get any darker, any angrier, any louder or faster? But it did. Death Metal/Metalcore/Satanic Metal. Yes I said satanic metal. Could this be, why? Im not a fan and I will tell you why. Isn't it ironic that back in the late 70's early 80's metal was perceived as satanic by narrow minded individuals and religious groups when it was the complete opposite but 40 years later there are satanic metal bands? I don't have much to say because I don't get it but then again my parents didn't get my taste in music so I guess we all turn into our parents over time. In conclusion I would like to say that im a huge fan of heavy metal but maybe I'm just too old to understand the path its taken. Can heavy metal get any crazier? Well in 40 some years its changed 4 times so I guess future generations will find out. JOHN SULLIVAN drummer for The King Is Hypnotized

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