Hi Jim,

I’ve been following you for a while. I’ve always found your musical posts intriguing. It’s always been interesting to see where someone get’s their inspiration from. I was just wondering though… why metal? Most of what you post is metal and you make no secret of that. I’m not judging, but as a non-metal head, when I listen to some of your musical recommendations, some are great, but others sound like a clash of various styles and are hard to follow. I don’t think I hear what you hear. Can you shed a little bit more light on what you hear in metal that get’s the juices flowing?

Thanks,
Tye

Hi Tye,

No problem. Truth be told, metal isn’t for everyone. In some cases, it’s an acquired taste. I was honestly very surprised at all the positive responses I got from people who knew and liked the same kind of music. I always felt like I was in the minority.

I have to admit that your question is a very difficult one to answer. It’s tough to describe what I hear vs. what you hear, but I’ll do my best.  What you hear as a disorganized mess, I hear as harmonious. In many cases when you hear different instruments that you normally wouldn’t think of together, you kind of have to listen past what you’d normally expect and actually consider the harmony. I think this is something metal fans have learned to do over time.

In metal, more so than any other musical form IMHO we see a marriage of various styles, instrumentation, and vocal ranges. Things we never would have thought of, actually going together. We hear people singing in vocal ranges we never thought possible, we hear instruments pushed to their very limits, and beyond. Now I will grant you… often times it doesn’t work and you’ll get a song or album that is thoroughly unlistenable. Lord knows I’ve come across a few in my lifetime… however one success is so great that it’s worth a thousand failures.

As for the why… well to be honest… It’s my drug. Literally, every page I’ve ever written was done so while listening to metal. You feel like you’re being taken on an adventure in a new world you never even imagined before. Every single story I’ve ever written, I’ve come up with by pulling meaning from the melody of a song or songs. Metal songs are supercharged with so much energy, it’s almost radioactive. Whenever I go out to exercise, it’s a metal song that pushes me to run that extra mile. When I suffer writer’s fatigue, if I really need to get another few pages done, it’s a metal song that makes me continue to strike the key with vigor.

When I’m drowsy in the morning, it’s a metal song that keeps coffee from ever staining my teeth.

… … okay I think I got a little preachy there, but hopefully, you and all the other non-metal heads in my follower pool now understand a little bit better. Who knows, maybe this will give you the urge to give metal another try? Or at the very least, open your eyes to another way of looking at music.

Either way, let me know in the comments. Readers, what type of music (if any) helps you write? Why? Let us know!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim