US Air Force's metal band
Max Impact is the Air Force's nu metal band. The frontman, Master Sergeant Ryan Carson, was a college student majoring in opera before enlisting. He begins each concert with the invocation: "We're going to rock your face off!" From the lyrics to the Max Impact tune "Locked and Loaded":
Air Force Nu Metal band (Danger Room)“Walk in the shade of the clouds at night,"
"Crawling in the dirt, calling an A-10 strike,"
"Dancing in the shadows, lives are on the line,"
"Bombs are gonna fall, just in time.”
the latest
latest episodes
I keep re-reading the first sentence of this post - "Max Impact is the Air Force's nu metal band" - but my mind refuses to wrap itself around the concept. It's just not right for so many reasons.
Great band name (uh, if you like band names that sound like James Bond knock-off names). How about Flying Asskickers? Or We Make Stuff Go Boom? Either would be an improvement.
Great lyrics, too (um, especially if you have been recently lobotomized). Since the guy was opera-trained, I am imagining them sung a la King Diamond, with lots of falsetto and screams.
And with the lead singer's invocation ("We're going to rock your face off!"), we have achieved the ultimate lameness trifecta.
Where can I find a list of tour dates?
murdering civilians has never bean so romantic and rhytmical before
There has got to be a better clip than this:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OgPe_MDokQw
..not very metal..
The mission of the Air Force (propaganda aside) is to drop multi-billion dollar, state-of-the-art ordinance onto the heads of predominantly brown skinned, dirt poor belligerents who have the temerity to dispute America's right to their sovereign nation's resources.
Some of them play music?
BFD.
Merry X-mas.
Way to generalize. You have to realize that some people join the Air Force and other military branches for reasons other than dropping bombs on people's homes. They join to make a difference, to protect, etc.
Call it propaganda if you wish. I'll just feel sorry for you since you seem to think every human being is inherently evil.
Yes, lots of bad things, regrettable things happen in war. These recent wars have been horrible, more than likely mistakes on our part. But that doesn't mean absolutely NO good comes out of our soldiers being there.
Back on topic:
I have to agree with Rational Pragmatist on the band name and lyrics... Not very metal-ish or even too inspiring at all.
That's it. Metal's canceled.
Someone call Jack Black... The Air Force killed The Metal.
I guess that wearing black and inverted pentagram jewellery doesn't cut it anymore for Metal credibility in these demanding times.
Is this just so they don't have to outsource their torture music any longer?
One of the military's greatest assets is the pervasive narrative throughout society that serving in the military is an honorable, epic, and totally badass thing to do.
These days the military is actively cannibalizing that narrative, simultaneously exploiting it to draw in young idealistic kids and then putting them in situations which are anything but honorable and epic.
A band like this is a perfect response - a way to perpetuate the romanticized macho image of the military without having to actually stay true to that image in practice.
They need umlauts. Can't have a metal band without umlauts.
But Mäx Impäct is still a boring name.
How am I not surprised?
Not bad for a two umlaut band name.
I am opposed to the execution, not the idea. Our brave men and women in uniform deserve an ass-kicking metal band. Think of how awesome it would be if this band did face melting covers of "Ride The Lightning" and "Aces High"? Pretty awesome, I think.
>> Way to generalize.
My comments were specific, not general. Which is why you take exception.
>> You have to realize that some people join the Air Force and other military branches for reasons other than dropping bombs on people's homes.
Intentions exist in the minds of the perpetrators. Bombs exist in the physical world of the victims. Which do you think carry greater significance?
>> They join to make a difference, to protect, etc.
More et cetera than the other two.
Every soldier I know has told me they "served" because they needed cash for college, a truck, or because they wanted to travel on the government's dime. You probably just know more heroes than I do.
>> Call it propaganda if you wish.
I do.
>> I'll just feel sorry for you since you seem to think every human being is inherently evil.
You extrapolated that from my brief criticism of the US Air Force? Bit of a stretch.
>> Yes, lots of bad things, regrettable things happen in war.
Crocodile tears.
>> These recent wars have been horrible, more than likely mistakes on our part.
How generous of you.
>> But that doesn't mean absolutely NO good comes out of our soldiers being there.
Arsonist hands out moist towelettes at hotel fire. Film at 11.
what is more important: motive or result?
If you're a marine, you have given up on being an individual. What you stand for, is what the marines stand for. If you make music, you make marine music.
It is not a tune I will march to.
Come back to me when you're allowed to grow hair, and we'll drink a beer and have a chat, allright?! :-)
@ # 17 - If you're a marine, you have given up on being an individual.
Yes. Unlike trendy urbaniods like "goths" or "yuppies". Seriously, do you know of any marines you can point to as examples of people with no individuality?
@#2 -re: Murdering Civilians - What could be more dark and appropriate for a Metal band than murdering civilians?
Marcel - You'll never party harder than with a bunch of Marines. And, they don't give up their individuality other than while in the act of serving their country - y lttl pssy.
now now Tom
Geez, get some perspective. You live in a nation-state, for now. The United States has a military; almost all military forces have bands (it helps with the whole marching thing, don't you know)...it's not anything more or less than that. Get over it.
@ #17, you presume that you're someone that I'd like to chat with. Not likely. :-)
from Making Light:
December 23, 2008
Christmas, not doing
Posted by Teresa at 06:07 PM * 83 comments
Dear All—
A thousand apologies—this is neither the place to issue nor rescind invitations—but Patrick and I will not be holding our open house on Christmas Day. I’ve come down with some kind of vile bug, and I can only stay upright for brief spells. Besides, “contagion” is not what we mean by “the spirit of Christmas giving.”
Wishing you and yours a much nicer holiday than this—
Teresa Nielsen Hayden
Good to see some nice rational debate here
Listen up, kids. If you can't play nice, I'm taking your presents back. You have been warned.
Yeah, the music is so-so, but then again, they are not playing for me. They are playing for a narrow audience, just like the myriad other bands started by late-teen/twenty-somethings in shared social spaces like dormitory halls or the local coffee house. I say more power to 'em.
I also played in a band with other soldiers from my unit. We played gawd-awful covers of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. We probably sucked just as bad as Max Impact, or maybe even worse, but the guys in our unit loved it and we thought we were the shit.
And now, a little off-topicking:
Fred Rated at #15 said:
I, for one, served because at the time I thought it was the right thing to do. There are many more like me, and I'll wager a few of them even read the comments section of BoingBoing occasionally. My feelings about serving in the armed forces have become more nuanced and ambivalent since I served a couple decades ago. I am probably not unique in this respect. I could go on, but to do so would drag this thread even further off-topic.
Tak -
Good results generally require both good motives and the ability (intellectual or otherwise) to carry them out. Rarely do good results happen without either of those.
People can say that results only matter, but that's a smokescreen. "The best intentions" is different from motive, of course.
.02
Heh. They do need a better name. How 'bout Rhytmo? Or Frag Rock?
Or maybe the guy shouyld revert to his operatic roots. I'd love to see an opera about the invasion of Iraq.
Or maybe I should learn to type.
Do they have any cool and thrilling songs about brain-damage? I myself like to rock out to songs about forgotten veterans, kids who were snookered into the whole guts-n-glory thing, and are now lying in their own pss in a cot in a trailerpark, trying to remember what the hell happened to them.
Oh, I also like me some hot rad tunes about families getting all blowed up, with wedding parties turned instantly into house-sized bowls of screaming American chop-suey because they were too close to someplace that somebody paid somebody else to say was where some militants were hiding out. I guess those are most favorite.
Yeah. Rock on dudes. Cool.
@ #10 (Zikzak)
Great point. Problem is, this music is terrible, tween mall nu-metal. This fails at propaganda, this fails at entertaining actual metalheads in the USAF -- I'd imagine there are many, it's a pretty hardcore job.
Now, if they were actually called "Fetus Grinder" and sang in death growl about overpressure ripping Charlie's orphaned childrens' lungs out through their mouths, this might actually work.
Solstice is a time for amnesty when we remind each other that if we don't cooperate and forgive, we won't live to see spring.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=HcGBcJKalrQ
"Military justice is to justice as military music is to music."
We're in even more trouble than I thought.
@3: Better link, with the guy in the photo actually singing, as opposed to the black girl. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zPVV76lFWY4 Still, not that metal.
@all: Nothing like a military article to bring out the all the standard "baby killer" and "brainless" tropes from 40 years ago. Retro is so dead. 8==D ~~~
Retro is so dead.
Not as dead as all those wedding guests.
Can someone tell me what teh deuce "nu-metal" is? Metal this group is most certainly not....
Come on! - Yes, the wedding deaths was a horrible tragedy. War sucks. The way the US started the war and occupation sucks. Blame the president, the Brass, whoever - but the young men and women fighting this war are in good spirits, believe in their fight, and are patriotic to the core.
If you're angry about the war - take it out on those in charge. You should know as well as I that even though our strikes are more accurate than ever, there WILL be some mistakes. Let's just hope that our military will be pulled out soon and we can put this tragedy behind us.
what do you think of Viet Nam, Tom?
Tom,
When your family burns to death at their own wedding, come talk to me about the accuracy of our strikes. If you have a soul, look into it.
I think the war in Viet Nam was a huge fuck up. I support the men that fought in that war.
Who was wrong? Who was right? It didn't matter in the thick of the fight.
I think history is what decides whether a war was fought for the right or wrong reasons.
OK. Then where is the lesson of history that Viet Nam should have taught those now in Iraq?
Antinous, I know all about it. I hate what happened. I know about a lot of horrible things - all that I wish hadn't happened. I also believe that our military leaders hate what happened just as much as I do.
Takuan, you tell me - its 2:15 am here - I'll address this tomorrow.
I have a problem with my tax dollars being spent on stuff like this. We've got military jazz bands, US Army video games (America's Army), and now the Air Force metal band. I have no problem with my hard-earned tax dollars being spent on national defense. Defending our borders? Yes! Protecting us from people who want to hurt our citizens? Yes! But, the money being spent on these brainwashing, propaganda efforts is ridiculous. How much money (TOTAL) is being spent on all this stuff? We as a nation are broke. I can think of one good way to save some money.
I guess I'd rather have them try to sing nu metal than try to convert the occupied territories to Christianity.
>Blame the president, the Brass, whoever - but the young men and women fighting this war are in good spirits, believe in their fight, and are patriotic to the core.
Maybe they shouldn't be.
Oh great, an Air Force nu metal band. That sounds almost as genuine as a Christian rock band. Do they cover SOAD's BYOB? ("Why do they always send the poor?")
Oh and those are some stirring lyrics there. Makes me want to join the heavy metal Air Force so I can "dance in the shadows" with "lives on the line".
What dicks. It's not genuine nu-metal music. It's a recruiting tool to help persuade more idiots how hip it would be to be in the military, like Christian rock tries to make it hip to believe. What next... a goth band?
Frankly when it involves the loss of human life, I don't find those kinds of "mistakes" to be within acceptable boundaries.
@44 Binary Loop: I hardly think much of your tax dollars are being spent on this band. I'm sure there are a number of bands formed within the military, and it's done on the soldiers' free time, as something for them to do, just like how any other band starts.
Also these guys fail at even being nu metal; this is like awful college bar butt-rock. No metal singer should ever casually stroll around the stage saying "Come on, clap your hands!"
"Frankly when it involves the loss of human life, I don't find those kinds of "mistakes" to be within acceptable boundaries."
What's the alternative? Not going to war at all - right? I assume you meant, "...the loss of innocent human life." Any informed person knows that when thousands of air strikes are being carried out, a few of them are going to hit the wrong target. I agree that this is not acceptable, but I'm realistic enough to know that this sort of horrible thing is going to occur.
are you realistic enough to stop the war?
"We're Max Sphincterstrain, and we're here to rock your fanny off!"
I'd love to stop the war. Hopefully Obama and his staff will figure a way to get our boys home ASAP.
if those currently misled into fighting in a war in Iraq did not benefit from the lesson of the lie of the Viet Nam war (and so fell for the lie of the Iraq war) what hope is there that anyone will not be deceived by the lie for the next war? What is needed to prevent people from being lied to (and falling for it)?
it's a very old, oft quoted lesson:
"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY."
--Goering at the Nuremberg Trials
What's the alternative? Not going to war at all - right?
Only if you actually think there's always only two possible choices for every situation.
Also, as I'm sure other people have mentioned before, the whole "War is hell" thing never really comes up when talking about the events of 9/11.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=CIEwKyxr2bU&feature=PlayList&p=01BCB4DA0E1DA108&index=0&playnext=1
If we're not paying for this band, we do pay for multiple ads every Super Bowl, before every new blockbuster movie, during high-value-target primetime tv, at every sporting event, in more and more video games, on Hulu...
Combined Recruitment and Advertising Budget for the Kill on Command crowd in 2006? $1,407,100,000. ( http://radicalreference.info/node/1111 )
And, really, people, if you're going to bring up the atrocities of Iraq, please try to remember Fallujah. Bombing weddings is easy to dismiss as an aberration. Turning off the drinking water for an entire city and attacking the population with white phosphorous (read: napalm) are harder to justify (and war crimes, for those keeping track).
willy pete is much worse than napalm.
Ridl - If you tend to believe reports made by US enemies or people against the US's occupation in Iraq, I'm sure you do believe the way white phosphorous was used is a war crime. If what US military leaders say about its use is true, then it isn't a war crime. I tend to believe what our side says before I believe what our enemies say. Every report I've seen about WP use against civilians was unsubstantiated.
Any info I've been able to find about the US denying water to Fallujah (that I believe is reliable info) states that it was done in an attempt to force civilians and insurgents to leave. I couldn't find an official response or remark on this subject and I'm not going to believe a report made on an anti war or anti US site about the matter.
If you have any info on either of these subjects that isn't biased against the US, I'd like to read it. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, just that I've searched for info on the subjects for a good 30 minutes and haven't found any damning reports so far.
@#57:
Yeah, I remember Fallujah, specifically how the US military and government started off claiming "No, we didn't use white phosphorus at all.", then it became "Yeah we used it, but just for illumination rounds." and then finally "We used it directly as a weapon. And you're not going to do shit about it, so STFU.".
Fallujah was collective punishment. Nothing more.
Tom: it appears that any criticism of American military actions automatically is being made by an "enemy". At least the way you phrase it. I do not believe you are that simple minded. It does not fit many of your previous postings. Might I enquire what you intend?
Takuan, that's not what I meant to imply - So many of the sites that had info on the discussed subjects were obviously anti US. I wanted to find something put out by a major newspaper or news organization. I'm sorry, but I can't believe info put out by any Aljazeera wanna-be sites.
Regarding criticism of US military actions - when our military does something wrong, I'd like to know about it. I didn't recall hearing about the 2 subjects on our national news.
Where and when would like to begin?
I should also add that I don't necessarily consider someone that's against the US presence in Iraq an enemy. I wish we had left Iraq a long time ago. Of course it will just go to hell in a hand basket when we leave and we'll probably be back in 20 years or so to take care of the leaders we put in place this time. Who knows what we should do with Iraq? This is a damn complicated matter - I personally can't see any good to come out of it.
http://ivaw.org/faq
Are we going to have to agree to disagree about this? I read your linked Iraq Veterans Against the War. I thing that reasons 1,2,3, 5, 7, and 8 under, "Why we're against the war," are total BS.
I would like a withdrawal from Iraq ASAP though. And I think reasons 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 under "Why we should leave Iraq," are correct.
If you won't believe the American troops who actually were there, why would you believe anything the Iraqi victims say? Or non-American media? Or anyone?
would you believe a camera?
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7aIm7RHVCvQ
You're exaggerating. I believe the American troops who actually were there. Their reasons that I think are BS have nothing to do with having served in the military. .eg - #2 "The United States assaulted and occupied Iraq without the consent of the UN Security Council. In doing so they violated the same body of laws they accused Iraq of breaching." - Why would someone that served in the military have more knowledge about this than anyone else?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_use_in_Iraq#First_major_assault_on_Fallujah
here's a wikipedia article on WP in Iraq.
because they can read the newspaper?
From thart article:
On November 15, 2005, Dept. of Defense spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Venable confirmed to the BBC that white phosphorus had been used as an incendiary antipersonnel weapon in Fallujah:
"Yes, it was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants. When you have enemy forces that are in covered positions that your high explosive artillery rounds are not having an impact on and you wish to get them out of those positions, one technique is to fire a white phosphorus round into the position because the combined effects of the fire and smoke - and in some case the terror brought about by the explosion on the ground - will drive them out of the holes so that you can kill them with high explosives."[8]
Tom - Heading off to Xmas dinner, I may post a longer response later, although as always Tak has done an admirable job defending the side of right and good (kidding)(kind of).
I just want to quickly say that I find (an obviously intelligent, educated person) placing your loyalty and trust primarily with the nation-state very strange and a bit antediluvian at this point in human history. Nor do I consider even overtly revolutionary politics "anti-US" - let alone anti-war or anti-corporatist politics - the government is not the people, the map is not the territory, and the World is more precious than the Flag.
Peace.
this was heavily covered in the British press - and available worldwide on the web;
http://www.deepjournal.com/p/7/a/en/56.html
Downing Street memo from wikipedia
Ridl, I hope that no one thinks I'm Not on the side of right and good. I hold my county's best interests at heart.
What's this about "the nation state?" Is "the nation state," the same as "The Man?"
I'd like to make this clear, If Bush, the military, or any other facet of US government is guilty of war crimes, lying about reasons for starting the war or illegal actions taken during the war and occupation, I want them to be tried and prosecuted as appropriate.
#73:
the government is not the people, the map is not the territory, and the World is more precious than the Flag.
Damn well said, Ridl.
"If Bush, the military, or any other facet of US government is guilty of war crimes, lying about reasons for starting the war or illegal actions taken during the war and occupation, I want them to be tried and prosecuted as appropriate."
Don't you believe in presumption of innocence? "If" they are guilty? First, you need a trial.
Would you agree there is enough evidence to charge and try them? And then, if they are found guilty, punish them?
Would should be done to people who create a war for personal gain?
OK, split hairs - you know what I meant.
"Would should be done to people who create a war for personal gain?"
I don't know, put them in jail? - see my last post.
Tom, you said earlier: "If you have any info on either of these subjects that isn't biased against the US, I'd like to read it."
Do you have any comments on the wikipedia article I linked @ 70, and quoted @ 72?
Can I assume you want to see them stand trial?
I read the wikipedia article.
The white phosphorous was used in explosives directed at insurgents, to illuminate an area, to create smoke, and to create confusion, not sprayed indiscriminately over an area as napalm was used in past wars. At least, that's what US officials said. Others said that W.P. was used on civilians - and if that's true, it is a war crime.
"Jeff Englehart, a former marine who spent two days in Fallujah during the battle, said he heard the order go out over military communication that WP was to be dropped. In the RAI film, Mr Englehart, now an outspoken critic of the war, says: "I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military jargon it's known as Willy Pete ... Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone ... I saw the burned bodies of women and children."
General Peter Pace said: "It is not a chemical weapon. It is an incendiary. And it is well within the law of war to use those weapons as they're being used, for marking and for screening".
But he was clearly contradicted by Dept. of Defense spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Venable, who said: "Yes, it was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants. When you have enemy forces that are in covered positions that your high explosive artillery rounds are not having an impact on and you wish to get them out of those positions, one technique is to fire a white phosphorus round into the position because the combined effects of the fire and smoke - and in some case the terror brought about by the explosion on the ground - will drive them out of the holes so that you can kill them with high explosives."
This is clearly saying the WP was fired directly at the combatant, not just used as an ambient smokescreen.
http://ftssoldier.blogspot.com/2005/09/anonymous-said.html
Tom, "willy peter" is as bad as fucking napalm! It burns right through you. It's very concentrated. POP! SIZZLE!
Yes, white phosphorous was used against insurgents. I haven't stated otherwise. That's why I say, hey man nice shot. What a good shot man.
"I saw the burned bodies of women and children."
WP wasn't used against the innocent. It was used to flush insurgents into the open so they could be killed with ordinary ordinance. It wasn't sprayed over an area the way napalm was - yes, I'm sure if it got on you, its as bad as napalm, but it was not used that way.
We're getting close to rewriting WarDogs by Black Sabbath.
In the film [Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre], Giuliana Sgrena quotes city refugees testimonies from Fallujah about the reported danger of weapons effects:
"In particular, some women had tried to enter their homes, and they had found a certain dust spread all over the house. The Americans themselves had told them to clean the houses with detergents, because that dust was very dangerous. In fact, they had some effect on their bodies, leading to some very strange things."
[On June 22, 2007 New York Times correspondent Michael R.] Gordon was asked about civilian casualties in Baquba, Iraq. He responded by saying "Yeah, there have been civilian casualties. I was just talking to our photographer and he had seen people who are hurt by phosphorus shells."
Disclosure: The photographer was not identified in the interview and the report was not corroborated.
#84 says it all
"Article 1 of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons defines an incendiary weapon as 'any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target'. The same protocol also prohibits the use of incendiary weapons against civilians (already forbidden by the Geneva Conventions) or in civilian areas."
That's War Pigs/b>
friggin' stray tag, makin' me look silly
"Military regulations
Within the US Army, there appears to be conflicting advice on the use of WP against humans. According to the field manual on the Rule of Land Warfare, "The use of weapons which employ fire, such as tracer ammunition, flamethrowers, napalm and other incendiary agents, against targets requiring their use is not violative of international law."[32] However, the ST 100-3 Battle Book, a student text published by the US Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth states that "It is against the law of land warfare to employ WP against personnel targets."[33] At the same time, other field manuals discuss the use of white phosphorus against personnel."
Incendiary weapons: The big white lie
"Lt-Col Barry Venable said the incendiary shells were a regular part of the troops' munitions. "I would not rule out the possibility that it has been used in other locations." The Pentagon's admission of WP's use - it can burn a person down to the bone - has proved to be a huge embarrassment to some elements of the US government."
"In a letter to this newspaper, the American ambassador to London, Robert Tuttle, claimed that US forces "do not use napalm or WP as weapons" ."
"But the article two, protocol III of the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Weapons bans their use against civilians.
Perhaps of crucial importance to the Iraqi investigators, the treaty also restricts their use against military targets "inside a concentration of civilians except when such military objective is clearly separated from the concentration of civilians"."
And we've been rewriting War Pigs since it was written.
Arrrrgh! - Yes, War Pigs! - my wife would kick my ass if she saw that mistake. I was mixing it with Dogs of War, by Pink Floyd.
Civilians always get splashed by whatever weapons are used. That's how tens of thousands have been killed. Not car bombs, or walking bombs. Nine out of ten are killed by aerial bombs, artillery, mortars, small arms, etc. The same way that upwards to 20% of American casualties are friendly fire. Everybody gets splashed by excessive firepower. It's unavoidable, tragic, and inevitable. It's sickening.
Bah, I've ruined my mood. I'm going to bed....
good summary link Arkie,I'll remember that one.
find a chaser for Buddy
Yeah, it definitely hits the angles..
BuddyAid
BuddyAid 2
BuddyAid 3
shot in the dark..
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=0HQEhuylZmg
Yeeaah..!
http://www.bendib.com/newones/2005/november/small/10-23-White-Phosphorus.jpg
how many tracks is that?
"The cost of sending a single soldier to fight for a year in Afghanistan or Iraq is about $775,000"
ahem...real metal:
Soldier boy, made of clay
Now an empty shell
Twenty one, only son
But he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
Just do as we say
Finished here, Greeting Death
He's yours to take away
Back to the front
You will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front
You will die when I say, you must die
Back to the front
You coward
You servant
You blindman
Though I no longer have the long hair and patches on my jacket, alack and alas, I will have to draw the line at Depleted Uranium. These aren't the Lovecraftian thrashing shanties of young greasy long haired dispossessed former punks, these are sanctioned jackbooted imperialistic narcocorridos.
FUCK WAR! FUCK SENSELESS MAYHEM! FUCK DOMINION! FUCK MURDER!
FUCK FASCISM!
(rant off)
"Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, the head of emergency services at the Gaza Ministry of Health, said at least 140 Palestinians were killed in [Friday's] raid. Most were members of the security forces of Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, but a few civilians were also among the dead, including children.
splash
That youtube of the band is for real (the female vocalist matches the band bio image for the band), my guess is that they aren't actually METAL but instead are the watered down pop-rock propaganda ala every other band created by an oppressive institution to promote their message. Reminds me of "Hot Pursuit" the Columbus Police DARE (drug abuse resistance education) band that wrote such lyrics as "DARE to give a kid some hope" "DARE to keep a kid off dope". http://www.thejointlibrary.org/archives/TheTimes/1988/1988-03-10/pg_0001.pdf
"...created by an oppressive institution to promote their message." What a dick. They're a metal band. Even military personnel have hobbies. And so far, I haven't met anyone in the US that felt oppressed by their government. I have met a Lot of people from other countries that have enjoyed the freedom that they have here. If you think the US is oppressive, you need to try living elsewhere.
"I haven't met anyone in the US that felt oppressed by their government"
hee!
There's nothing that odd about the USAF having their own rock band-- they've been doing that since the 70's at least (in fact the navy and army also had their own rock bands at various points).
Metal has traditionally had violent lyrics, so for this band it's not surprising at all; can you imagine ANY metal band having lyrics about picking daisies and baking cakes? Of course what seems to grate on people is that in this case they really MEAN it, whereas most metal bands (a few Scandinavian bands excepted) are just play-acting.
Also it is a strangely sick form of propaganda, and reminds me of that bit from "Alice's Restaurant" when Arlo screams about wanting to "KILL KILL KILL KILL!!" and the recruiter slaps a medal on him and says "You're our boy!"-- do we really want to be glorifying killing? The armed forces exist to keep the peace and protect the country, not to glorify slaughter. If serving in the USAF is honorable then they should keep it so by not being a bunch of numbskull Viking-wanna-bes. Or maybe we should just change their uniforms to something out of "Road Warrior."
Killing is a necessary evil with regards to the armed forces, but it is still evil and we shouldn't be proud of it.
lessee, you're trying to achieve a coherent objective against an armed enemy and you have a bunch of young boys with guns to do it with... yeah, it might be a good idea to not have them too hopped up - leastways the ones walking behind you.