I previously mentioned in my post about Bloodstock Festival the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, and I thought I should talk about other charity work supported by people in music. The two examples which I immediately thought of were:
Gojira and Sea Shepherd
Gojira are a French band who (according to wikipedia) are a blend of "technical death metal, thrash metal, and progressive metal" whatever that means. I'm not big on putting bands into categories.
I would say their music is vocally heavy, groove based, rhythmically complex. The best way to describe them is to show you some of their music.
Their music is themed around environmental messages and they support and endorse the charity Sea Shepherd which aims to educate and take action to protect the marine environment and wildlife.
The Agonist and PETA
The Agonist are a Canadian band whose music I would describe as being quite complicated - often changing time signatures and using unusual chord progressions and intervals in the vocal melodies.
The singer, Alissa White-Gluz, who I mentioned before in my post about women in metal is well known for her vocal range from very soft singing to heavy growls. (This is one of their more accessible tracks)
Alissa is vegan and an active supporter of PETA who are an animal rights organisation. She often speaks in interviews about her views on animal rights and veganism.
In August I went to Bloodstock Festival which is a heavy metal festival held in Catton Park, Derbyshire.
I went for the Saturday (Hopefully I'll go for the whole weekend next year) and the main bands I went to see were:
Nationality: German. Themes: Mixed/Theatrical (Plenty of guest appearances!)
Sabaton
Nationality: Swedish. Themes: Historical figures and wars.
Gojira
Nationality: French. Themes: The environment.
A few other notes about bloodstock is that it is genuinely one of the most friendly and welcoming atmospheres you can experience, here are a whole mix of people there, of all ages from toddlers to old timers, all with one shared love: Heavy Metal. Unlike a lot of festivals these days it genuinely is about the music.
To sum up the feeling that I get from being part of this community, here is a quote from Simon Hall of Beholder which he said during their set:
"There's a lot of sh*t that happens in this world... but what we have to remember is we're all flesh and blood, and at the moment I'm stood in a field with my best friends... It's about what you have in your heart... It's about the way you live your life."
On this note, Bloodstock festival also supports The Sophie Lancaster Foundation which is a charity set up after a young girl and her boyfriend were violently assaulted for the way that they dressed. She died from her injuries. The charity aims to raise awareness for this kind of hate crime. If people can be taught to be more open minded and less prejudiced this sort of thing should not happen again.
This blog is a collection of music and musical experiences which have left me with ringing ears and a buzzing heart. Anyone who loves music will know this feeling. It's incomparable to anything else and in my opinion is one of the most positive feelings a person can feel. I will mostly be talking about Heavy Metal and Rock, but I might stray from that occasionally.
Enjoy.
