Death Metal

Friday night was Jason’s last chance to see one of his student’s band. Kellan had been asking Jason to come to a show throughout the semester. A bit thanks to Jason for waiting, that way I was able to tag along. So there were Jason and I in the middle of a the crowd at the Brass Mug, the center of Tampa Bay’s death metal scene.

It was a smoky bar. The walls and ceiling were all black. Low lighting. But this was all in the background. The most noticeable thing… the people. Here is my advice, if you ever go to a death metal concert, WEAR BLACK! Everyone in the room had a black t-shirt on, usually of other bands. Black was the color. And then there was me, in the middle of this crowd with a bright yellow button down shirt. Yeah, I felt a little out of place. The average length of hair for the guys was probably 12 inches long. As for the music there was lots of screaming and yelling, not one word I was able to make out. The bands have names like Dark Faith and Athiest.

People who walk into a crowd like this start making assumptions about drugs, sex, drinking, education, and the underground of America. But you never know who they truly are. In any room like this across the country there will be someone that stands out that you would never imagine. It was Kellan. Kellan graduates from USF in the theatre department this spring, heavily regarded as one of the top students in the department. From here he’ll be heading to Carnegie Mellon to become one of the top scene designers in the country.

What interested me most throughout my studies in sociology at MSU was subcultures, which is actually something they need to offer a separate class in. Among those subcultures I am particularly interested in youth subculture. From death metal this week, university Greek like last week, and a slough of other experiences, I am absolutely intrigued by it all.