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JJ's Bizarre Blog #49 - Chronicles of Historical Significance
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Greetings and salutations, everyone! Welcome to the latest chapter in the Bizarre Saga. You know, looking back, I think it's pretty historic what we've been through so far. And there's so much more to come! So let's keep on that same track then. Throughout history, before written language even existed, songs were used as the primary method of preserving knowledge and passing down the stories of the past to future generations. While other, more reliable means of doing so have been created since, this purpose of music to sing remembrance of important moments and events never really went away. So now, on the heels of the Ides of March, let's celebrate this exact thing. Let's explore music about history and inspired by historical events!
As I said, music has been used for the longest time as a method of preserving knowledge and it was the main medium through which history, mythology, folklore and traditions were passed down. And whenever a specific huge even would take place, bards would sing its praises and spread their songs through the people in order to preserve that vital memory. Throughout all of history, songs made in the moment of important events would go on to become pieces of living history, the only way for the people that came after to relive this pivotal points. Sadly, countless such songs have been lost to time, tales of ancient lives, knowledge from time immemorial, odes to long forgotten gods. But this function remains to this day in a more modern form. Let's take it back to the past and see how!
While a lot of ancient music has been lost, some has miraculously survived to this day. A lot of traditional folk music is the retellings of real history, either of big events that deserved to be remembered or of seemingly mundane events used to serve as a life lesson for generations to come. Whatever culture around the world, whatever the case may be, folk music was a medium to preserve traditions and history and is an indispensable and irreplaceable piece of cultural heritage that should be cherished and protected.
The so-called "shanties" were a great such offshoot. While most were generally jolly songs sung by sailors, soldiers, farmers and other people of a tough lot, used primarily to help lift up spirits and spur motivation during their daily hardships, plenty of songs were also the primary method for these people (who in old times were oft illiterate) to preserve the important events from their lives, spreading those legends amongst themselves and making sure that even all those outside of their realms knew of their struggles and triumphs. The strife of the everyman is often forgotten by history and this is one way to try and change that.
As civilization evolved, culture became elevated, but some of its functions remained the same. As classical music rose, art of all varieties retained this purpose of preserving the knowledge of historical events, both those of the distant past, written down while the witnesses were still around and of new grand events as they transpired. After all, if you're a king on the quest to be seen as glorious and fearsome by your people, what better way than to get the greatest composers of your time to write symphonies in honour of your successful conquests!
Moving into modern times, art was still used to preserve history, but new technologies allowed many more ways to do this that were unfeasible before. The biggest one of the 20th century was definitely film, as we quickly realized that this new form of entertainment could also reenact and preserve historical moments in a more living and real way that ever before. Naturally, what is a great film without a great score, so the grand compositions for the silver screen inherited the purpose of classical music and helped to elevate history and keep it alive for people to relive again and again.
Technological evolution would soon skyrocket and begin to advance at a breakneck pace. With the advent and popularization of computers and the internet, a new medium stepped forth - video games! As they became more and more advanced, people quickly realized the great power that can be found in being able to not only witness a reenactment or recreating of a historical event, but to be able to live through it and participate yourself. Maybe even...change it? With growing graphical fidelity and greater technological capabilities, video games based on historical time periods have become a staple, allowing us all to both remember vital events from our own lore and also immerse ourselves in worlds that haven't existed for millennia!
Of course, as recording techniques came along and popular music as we know it came about, while the topic was never at the forefront, there was never a shortage of chart worthy tunes that sung the tales of historical events. While this was quite uncommon in pop music, this wasn't the case when it came to rock, which was never shy of delving into the annals of history. The Cold War of the 60s proved a somber motivator for a lot of rebellious music to be made in protest and inspire generations into action.
It would however be rock's grittier offspring, heavy metal, that would truly embrace it all. Darker and more uncouth topics were the bread and butter of the lyricism that helped metal stand out and given that history is far from a pure tale and full of bone chilling moments (and given that a lot of metalheads from the very start were on the nerdier side and enjoyed digging into old books), it's no surprise that metal embraced historical tales and sung many of them in their own way. Especially singing about those less savoury moments that the big wigs would rather leave forgotten.
The biggest spearhead would be the titanic and unforgettable Iron Maiden! Growing to be the biggest thing in metal, Maiden loved their history and fully embraced this as a core of their lyrics. The epic musicianship and lengthy compositions combined with Bruce Dickinson's masterful storytelling abilities also made them a perfect vehicle to bring heroic tales from across millennia to the new age! Naturally, a favourite topic of theirs is the great courage and valour shown by their English countrymen, displayed across many eras all throughout the centuries.
Iron Maiden's signature sound would become a core building block for the birth of power metal and their historical lyrics were carried over as well. I said before that metalheads were always somewhat nerdy and power metal fans are even more so. While they weren't busy singing about slaying dragons and questing across Middle Earth, power metal fans often used their shreddy grandiose epicness to forge new odes to tales all throughout time that should never be forgotten. These served as both fun tales of honour and vital preservations of lessons learned.
We can't talk about history, without talking about the band most commonly associated with all of this - Sabaton! Yeah, you knew this was coming. These charming Swedes, clad in their camo pants and armour plates, strutting their literal tanks and planes on to the stage, sing pretty much exclusively about history! While the two World Wars are their most preferred topics, they go all the way back to antiquity and retell epic stories from all over the world. Their epic sound, hard hitting rhythms, memorable melodies and insanely catchy choruses have guaranteed their success and have helped them become one of the biggest acts in all of metal for many years now, showing no signs of slowing down.
This tank armada are beloved all over the world, but especially all across Europe, where they never fail to sell out any venue. Here in Bulgaria, these legends are an institution that is worshipped by countless of us. We are maybe outdone only by Poland, who have a song about them on almost every album. Deserved definitely, they have had quite the past. Sabaton are so infectious with their historical lyrics that I really believe that they are some grand conspiracy theory by history teachers to use catchy power metal to trick young people into learning something. Well, it definitely worked!
There are many other proud history teachers in the genre of course. If you wanna gone more oldschool, try the speed/power metal pioneers Grave Digger from Germany! These legends play a classic, hard hitting sound with awesome riffs and tons of raw energy and a ton of their albums are conceptually oriented around various historical events and time periods. Whether it be the dubiously historic tales of King Arthur and the round table, the grand conquests of the Crusades or many others. By far their favourite topic however is Scotland and their struggles for liberation, as these rockers have several entire albums dedicated to this! And the Clans still march to this day!
While power metal goes for the epic approach, folk metal strives for more authenticity and take the ancient tradition of using folk music to preserve culture and heritage and bring it into the modern age, making it catchier and more approachable. While also being just as epic! Folk metal has always been a gateway into inspiring new generations to engage with ancient culture and traditions and the preservation of historical knowledge is a vital aspect of that too.
If you're instead looking for something that is, shall we say, less authentic but more honest, try thrash metal. No folk instruments to be found here, but the speed, ruthless aggression and raw emotion will surely put you right into the shoes of the people that were there when history was written. No compromise made, no details spared, no quarter given, thrash metal is always a cathartic and unforgettable experience and what better way to describe the majority of history than that.
If even that's not enough, you can unleash the full assault with death metal. Like it or not, it's undeniable that history is shaped by strife and conflict and few genres dare to depict this in such a real and visceral way. But besides that, if it's not that unfiltered immersion you're looking for, the pure fun factor of death metal putting you into these vital moments of the past is more than enough to make it worthwhile!
When it comes to historical death metal, one band stands head and shoulders above the rest and that's British war machine Bolt Thrower! This amazing but sadly no longer active band, featuring one of the first ladies to play in extreme metal, are one of the pinnacles of the genre and all of their albums are dedicated to the brutality but also the honour and valour found on the battlefields all throughout history. Even delving into fiction too! With crushing riffs like a tank plowing through trenches, rhythms like unyielding machine gun fire and clashing swords and vocals like a rabid war cry, Bolt Thrower are unrelenting and their tales of heroic sacrifice are equal parts inspiring, harrowing and just plain cool! Every single album is another new saga that captivates you from beginning to end. While we all hope that all conflicts end for good, it'll be good if this particular warband came back together to march forth once more.
For delving into history's darkest moments, it's only fitting to go to metal's darkest subgenre - black metal! While they might not want to admit it, the brooding black metal fans are up there with power metal as some of the nerdiest ones out there and when they aren't busy singing dark odes of fantastical realms, history is a very beloved subject. After all, many also try to use their music to stay in touch with their culture and heritage, both factual and mythological. History is enthralling, mystifying and sometimes shocking, so black metal is a natural fit to explore it in its purest form, it's atmospheric and immersive nature being a perfect vehicle to reminisce of times long gone.
There are several black metal acts that are actually entirely dedicated to historical reenactment. In recent times, the Great War has proven to be a favoured topic of many. One of the biggest and most captivating among these are the enigmatic duo Minenwerfer. This very European sounding band with their cold and desolate vibe, hailing from the most cold and desolate place...Sacramento, California, are one of the masters of atmospheric black metal. Long drawn out compositions, enveloping tremolo riffs interspliced with soaring melodic guitar solos, precise sniper-like drumming and bass that is both melodic and thunderous, they are truly enchanting with the honest and real way they capture the zeitgeist of one of the darkest periods in human history. Combine that with some real samples and sound effects from the time and you have the pinnacle of immersion. You'll genuinely feel like you're there in the trenches, even though sometimes you might wish you weren't.
A different approach to the same objective can be found in the, this time actually German, one man army that is Kanonenfieber. Playing a fine mix of black and death metal, a perfect blend of dense atmosphere and relentless heaviness, this band's monstrous riffs and straightforward attitude are different from the former band, but just as engaging and just as authentic to the real deal. Their relatively short but relentlessly intense tracks really help sell what it was like to get hammered by artillery in no man's land. For we must not forget such moments of the past, lest we allow them to happen again.
All of these are just some of the fantastic examples across the metal spectrum of how various artists have approached depicting history within their music. It doesn't end there though, far from it. There's countless band across all kinds of other sounds and styles that likewise engage with the topic and that cannot in any way be put under the same umbrella. Just like how it's shockingly difficult for historians to divide the past into neat little eras and epoch without lots of overlap, fuzzy division and unclear definitions, so too is it tough to put all music into neat little boxes. But it's still something that needs to be experienced and I'll at least try and give you all a little taste test.
While history is a never ending story, chronicles like this one must come to an end at some point. I hope you enjoyed this in-depth exploration into historical music, both songs about tales of old and tracks that immortalized the present they were made in and became historical with the passage of time. I know a lot of us didn't enjoy history class back in school, I know I didn't for a good chunk of time, but it was thanks to the last history teacher I had that I gained appreciation and understanding for the subject. Instead of memorizing dates and names, it's more important to remember that history is an ongoing process and each new event is a consequence of the past and will go on to influence the future. By analyzing this, we can gain insight into how and why things transpire the way they do and gain wisdom from what we should and shouldn't do. The most important aspect of history is to learn lessons from the past, so that we may build a brighter tomorrow. And music is one of the easiest and most engaging ways to immerse ourselves in history, preserve it for generations to come and never forget what it entails for us. I hope you felt this way after this journey too. Now it's time to keep writing the history of today and look forward to what's to come. So go out there and make your tale one that will echo through the ages! See you all very soon with a huge milestone anniversary! Take care!
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