This Night in Late Fall, The Darkside Opens its Gate
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Last week it was 65 degrees outside – which is quite cool for South Georgia. The temperature change is welcome, as freedom from oppressive summer heat signifies a change in the season as well as in mood. Fall has been my favorite time of year for a while now, because the chillier weather brings an indescribable, existential feeling of time slowing down. For me, the period between the September equinox and December solstice always conjures splendor and authenticity. I know I am not the only person who looks forward to autumn, as many people profess their love for “hoodie weather”.
Like most people, fall makes me gravitate towards certain sounds and aural atmospheres. We all have records that are our own “fall albums”, bringing back memories of autumns past. Personally, fall makes me want to hear slower, textured metal with an otherworldly quality. This is all very subjective, but Baroness’s first two EPs, or Sleep’s Dopesmoker just feel more poignant in fall than any other time. Post-metal like The Fire in our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw by Pelican have lush textures that complement the palette of changing leaves, and Mastodon’s Leviathan will always be the soundtrack to my autumnal strolls. Fall music is also tied to place; Dead Meadow’s Shivering King and Others hark back to blustery Athens’ Octobers, while Danzig’s brooding ballad “Sistinas” carries images of a grey Tucson desertscape.
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Dead Meadow – “I Love You Too”
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A few years back Cosmo wrote a post called Lyrical themes in metal, looking at various tropes’ rates of recurrence. Tallying the four seasons, the results in 2009 were: spring 0, summer 2, autumn 7, and winter 234. Those numbers have now changed to 0, 2, 12, and 286 respectively. Sure, I get that spring is the least metal season, but I figured autumn would have been more popular. Winter is clearly the most popular because it symbolizes the type of death and emptiness that inhuman vocals, cold guitar tones, and stark black and white album covers convey so perfectly. But much like a fruitful harvest, fall provides rich moods and metaphors for heavy metal.
Classically, fall represents a stage of full maturity and the joy of an abundant harvest, but also a bittersweet decline as summer departs, with only the promise of an impending winter and inevitable death. Autumn skies are grey, the air is cold, and people turn inward both mentally and physically. The word “fall” has many meanings besides the season of descending leaves: a loss of innocence (as in capital “F” fall), to drop dead or be killed, to pass on to another condition (like sleep or love), or to be enveloped.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtT3AIX3_js
Darkthrone – “Under a Funeral Moon”
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The lyrics to “Under a Funeral Moon” by Darkthrone illustrate these fall sentiments precisely. The protagonist rejects the world of the living, as he can do no more here, and takes the necessary steps to prepare himself for death on a “night in late October”. While descending to an early grave, becoming enveloped by death is not something to fear, but rather something to greet with “infernal hails”.
Passing into the “land of the damned” is merely another transitory stage in the journey of our souls. This tale of satanic suicide is not about nihilistic self-effacement, but personal maturity, and the path of change. This progression is a necessary and meaningful part of the life cycle, much like autumn. Although the production value and artwork strongly suggests the winter camp, the song actually provides a metaphor for all the seasons. The final stanza alludes to the protagonist’s death, but affirms rebirth: “Flowers of doom / rising in bloom / you will see / our immortality!” I guess spring can be metal after all…
But I digress. I love autumn, and feel that everyone else should too, especially if your hoodie is black and has an illegible logo on it.
What are your favorite “fall albums”? What are your favorite autumn-themed bands/albums/lyrics? How does fall make you feel?
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