Love it or not, metal and hard rock has always shown a fecundity for romantic expression alongside all the fiery carnage and blasphemy. Whether that’s in the traditional Romantic sense of Milton and Byron or the anti-love song and break-up ballad-laden 2000s courtesy of legions of screamy but sensitive post-hardcore and metalcore bands, armed to the teeth with youthful heartsickness, skinny jeans and drop tunings. As Cupid sets out to test his aim once more, here’s a mosher’s guide to a select few songs that take us on the proverbial rollercoaster which that most dizzying of human feelings insists we all take a wild ride on.
Warmness on the Soul – Avenged Sevenfold
The Avenged boys are no strangers to touching on relationships. Their now extensive, body of work contains multiple songs regarding the theme of love, be it fraternal, familial or when showing their everlasting devotion to the memory of fallen drummer, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Prior to releasing classic tracks such as Dear God or Coming Home, which deal with feelings of hiraeth and a longing to be in the company of much missed loved ones – a huge and constant sacrifice for any worldwide touring act, the band showcased their musical versatility early on, as frontman M. Shadows penned an open love letter with Warmness on the Soul.
Written for his then girlfriend and now wife for many years, Val, this early instalment from A7X is a piano-driven number, featuring a young Shadows’ budding but still instantly recognisable voice, which he used to great effect, giving vocal tribute to the woman who has provided him with unwavering companionship. During the band’s early years, she even took on tour managing and merch booth duties, appeared in the video for the song in focus, and occasionally provided live guest vocals that would make a banshee shudder for The Art of Subconscious Illusion. Several years later, she would famously star alongside the band once more, this time in the much more ambitious Seize the Day music video, all of these things etching her name and contributions into the genetic history of the band. In true power ballad fashion, Warmness on the Soul includes a compulsory but tasteful 80s/90s hard rock style guitar solo and a big crescendo to bring the song home and to match the passion of the lyrics. Even if you think it’s a cheesy entry in the Avenged Sevenfold catalogue, the fact that the singer and his heavy metal muse are still together all these years later is testimony to the young Shadows’ faith being well placed and their partnership being clearly built to last.
Then again, it doesn’t even come close to the wholesome and heartwarming romcom antics of A Little Piece of Heaven…
Just a Car Crash Away – Marilyn Manson
“Is love only sweeter if one of us dies?”
The fifth track from the often overlooked and misunderstood sixth record from the God of Fu…Love? No, we’re not opting for the all too obvious, though heavily allegorical, The Love Song or Valentine’s Day. 2007’s EAT ME, DRINK ME is an album overflowing with references to the works of Nabokov, the imagined world of Lewis Carroll and, through a retrospective lens at least, is a display of proto-emo sensibility and aesthetic fixtures (darkened semi-smart attire, blood-soaked scenes and bouquets with carving knives in place of roses). The more personal animus behind the record was the emotional states the legendary frontman found himself swept into during and following his separation from acclaimed vedette, Dita Von Teese. Both accurately and pejoratively referred to as his “divorce album” by fans and critics alike, it proved his most human, vulnerable and introspective effort to date at the time.
In Just a Car Crash Away, Manson paints images of love entwined with death and rot, boldly and dejectedly stating that love is a fire, burning down all that it sees, crooning and wailing in turmoil and grim acceptance of the demise of a once promising and seemingly dreamlike partnership. The singer confessed that, around the time of release, he could not bear to listen to the song and that it brought him to tears, the saddest track on an already emotionally complex and heavy record. The cynical lyricism is emblematic of just what an all-consuming blaze love can be and the damage it can do when one stands too close to the flames. Manson’s jaded words are relatable for any listener familiar with heartache and the labour of working through the fallout that a parting of the romantic ways with someone who was once so special to you inevitably brings with it. Sonically, it’s as stripped back and slow-paced a Manson song as you can get, filled with subtle and nuanced guitar playing from the frontman’s co-writer Tim Skold, who later erupts into a soaring, forlorn solo backed the whole time by steady drums and basslines. It’s probably inappropriate, lyrically speaking, to serenade your partner with this one, but you can still have one hell of a melancholic slow dance or, solitarily, let the mascara flow, all whilst hearing the scariest man in rock pour his blackened, but all too human, heart out.
Love Lost in a Hail of Gunfire – Bleeding Through
“There was a firefight!”
An oh so touching soundbite taken from Willem Dafoe’s performance in a gritty 1999 movie, placed just before being thrown full throttle into the greatest riff At The Gates never wrote, all before the 20-second mark? Here’s a truly charming classic from another set of sleeveless t-shirt-wearing, eyeliner-donning Orange County veterans, the pugnacious, lesser-famed but meaner big brother of the stadium-selling band we opened this piece with.
Bleeding Through are a perfect amalgam of styles, influences and background; or a complete contradiction depending on your perspective. Hardcore roots, hair styling school, gym ownership, simultaneous Emperor and Morrissey appreciation and finally, romance-infused breakdowns and blast beats for a signature. What’s not to love!? They’re the only metal band that has consistently written so much lyrical material about heartbreak, failed relationships, spousal betrayal, or emotional yearnings for revenge, and made it so effing heavy! Just look how many tracks they have with the ‘L’ word in the title, yet this has never taken away from BT’s trait of kicking teeth out with a catchy riff and some death metal drums. They’re the ultimate blend of extreme metal, hardcore and 2000s so-called “girly Warped Tour metalcore” sentiment – with Brandan’s trademark aggressive emo-esque lyrics (albeit with added testosterone) and raw vocal delivery never failing to rouse absolute carnage at the band’s live shows, whilst still tapping into something emotionally honest, if somewhat artistically melodramatic. A band that always delivers the soundtrack for a fierce mosh pit (something also analogous to love) whilst reading like a tormented, private diary entry.
In a writhing repertoire of tunes, we offer you this classic track and genre staple, the aorta-tearing opener from their revered third album, This Is Love, This Is Murderous. Bang your head, soak up the symphonic-blackened-metallic-hardcore glory and know that it’s okay to imagine you’re 15 again, going through your first angsty breakup, when singing “And my heart belongs to you, so save me”…If you haven’t seen the cover art of this album before, let’s just say it sums up the band’s sound, themes and image at the time perfectly, and I wasn’t just going for hyperbolic sensationalism when I chose the descriptor “aorta tearing”. Sorry vegans.
Eternally Yours – Motionless In White
It’s like a love story from Tim Burton’s mind, but with an absolutely anthemic chorus, mighty breakdown and of course, a venomous “Blegh!”.
The grand final track of the band’s fourth studio album, Graveyard Shift, Eternally Yours has rightfully become many people’s favourite Motionless tune and a modern metal classic, and it’s not just because it’s a love song singalong with a blegh – though that’s reason enough! It’s a telling of two imperfect and damaged but solemn souls, finding solace in one another, loosening the grip of past troubles and traumas for that of each other’s trusting embrace, comparing and healing one another’s scars, flaws and mistakes. Cloaked in gothic symbolism and cemeterial metaphors, frontman and lead songwriter Chris Motionless has stated that the song, while indeed being a metalcore love ballad including the previously mentioned narrative themes at face value, is in fact also a much deeper and more personal piece of work. This is palpable through the passion and quality of his vocal parts and diligent songwriting expertise here. It cannot be overstated that this is one of the band’s finest choruses to date, seemingly hitting harder every time it comes around after the barrage of Slipknotty riffs throughout the verses, a composition that begs to be replayed over and over. These qualities ensure the track never fails to get a huge reception live, more often than not closing out the band’s ever-growing shows, with Chris dedicating it to the fans and tossing roses into eagerly awaiting hands.
To rewind slightly, the band has used their masterful blending of synths and keys with crushing metal to the utmost virtuosity on this track. The song’s intro is a melodic motif, recognisable by the first note, meant to be chanted along to by arenas full of fans as much as it is to be hummed between lovers in privacy. Letting it play for mere seconds will have you hooked once more, needing to hear the band come crashing in alongside the daintiness of the initial intro tune, yearning to sing along to the chorus, anticipating the breakdown and the epic final act that follows. The song’s earworm motif contrasts and complements the heavier moments beautifully, as do the big, sung hooks with the saturated and ever crisp screams, creating a sense of unity and chaos, much like the characters in the story and, dare we say, love in a wider sense. The music video is also a quintessential goth metal feast for the eyes. Gently lit by a thematically befitting, soothing synthwave palette, consisting of equal parts slick band performance and other scenes leading up to what can only be described as a coffin’ snoggin’ for 2. The latter of which has undoubtedly led to many alternative ladies pestering their partners for their own cute coffin bed.
A special mention has to be given to the band’s (s)inematic version, also part of The Motion Picture Collection, which is pure orchestral bliss and can prove emotionally overwhelming, portraying some genuinely moving vocal performances and arrangements to rival any musical or film score, truly leaving nothing to be desired. It’s no wonder alternative brides the world over have been walking down the aisle to the delicacy and grandeur of this brilliantly composed piece, quite possibly followed by vows of “I’m more than willing to rot in Hell with you”. On the official band commentary accompanying Graveyard Shift at the time, Chris Motionless stated that Eternally Yours was his proudest vocal performance to date; it’s amazing to think he would then outshine this achievement with his strong and gorgeous vocals on the cinematic version alongside those of his female counterpart, Crystal Joilena. A true career high for anyone behind the mic. These vocal feats, partnered with the deeply intimate yet spooky lyrics and chilling score on this version, give us the confidence to assume that Danny Elfman would be proud.
Love You to Death – Type O Negative
This one is a strong contender for the ultimate goth and metal romance anthem. It’s an obvious choice which needs no introduction or explanation as to why it’s featured here – unless you’ve been living under a large, chaste boulder for almost three decades.
Type O Negative embodied the inextricable links between love, sex and death, Eros and Thanatos, danger and passion. Much of what they gave us is la petite mort made music. They boast a renowned and beloved oeuvre which oozes sensual and sexual tension, soundscapes of candlelit erotica and vampiric lust. They were also notorious for skit tracks, satirical lyrics and bouts of sardonic political incorrectness, but let’s not kill the mood.
Love You to Death is the third track, but first song proper (don’t ask) on The Drab Four’s fourth record. Ushered in by graceful string and piano melodies, evincing images of a suprasensual, oneiric woodland walk, and soon joined by gloomy but luscious guitar riffs, further conjuring the trance-like atmosphere. Acknowledged also, for possessing some of late great towering frontman Peter Steele’s catchiest vocals. We hear him seamlessly transition from his rich and sonorous but softly sung tones to lachrymose belting and mesmerising falsetto, giving the audial liminal space created by the instrumental a voice.
Conceptually, Pete candidly divulges his desire to place himself in servitude to a divine female being à la Venus in Furs, but with more genuine romance and haunting class. Steele’s musical latria has him assuming the role of a raven-haired hierodule, pulsing with adoration and not just obsequious, submissive wish fulfilment. Fain to worship and bestow tender affection upon his inamorata through choice and not forced, uxorious duty. The use of a Red Riding Hood figure in the accompanying music video and Pete’s repeated mentions of a “beast” inside of him, hinting at no longer being contained, also play into this observation. Our besotted giant is still able to playfully taunt and tease the figure he has pledged servility to; he’s only under her control because he enjoys being there. It’s well documented how much of a morbid romantic and lover of nature’s tranquillity Steele was, and his given epithet of ‘The Green Man’ is most fitting here. This name, of course, being borrowed from the almost ubiquitous folkloric figure representing the forces of nature and fertility, befitting for Steele’s meditations on both human nature and the natural world and aligning with his status as an alternative sex icon.
Visually, the music video is a cornucopia of serotinal shades of green giving way to the autumnal copper tones of falling leaves, forming a sort of, well, October rust. The optical aspect of the work binds the motifs of changing seasons, of life into death and relationships from bloom to decay, subjects that were prevalent in Steele’s creative mind and poetic heart. Type O’s track listing is not short on both tragic and fawning love-focused material whatsoever but Love You to Death captures all of their elements neatly together whilst pushing the appetency to the fore. The studio version of the song is of prodigious length, pretty standard for the bathos-loving Brooklynites, allowing it to steadily seep into the evening air, an absolute must play during a goth Valentine’s evening in, or as the soundtrack for other amatory nocturnal happenings.
By Tye Jozefowicz
Skull & Roses Photo Credit: Nik Merkulov
DEVO-TED – Touching & Tormented Songs for Valentine’s Day
Here you’ll find a hand?picked selection of tracks chosen by the Devolution Magazine team — a lovingly twisted mix of touching and tormented songs for Valentine’s Day.
Click on the image below to be taken to the Spotify playlist.
