cabbitzilla

As some already know, I have a tendency to use music to either level the manic highs off or lever myself out of depression; the last few days it's been the latter... and only marginally successful. The playlist rolled around to some of Iced Earth's material, and for whatever reason it sparked off this particular tangent.

As a passionate history enthusiast and one-time historical re-enactor, it's never been difficult for me to immerse myself in the pageantry of history. But the consistent reaction to my enthusiasm, outside my spiritkin, is almost always the objection of 'History? It's so dry and boring...'. There are always going to be exceptions, but the vast majority of folk (at least here) seem to fall into that class. Most of the blame can be laid at the feet of the US' 'memorize and spit it back' learning by rote school system. It simply doesn't lend itself to making things interesting, instead choosing to cram the what/where/when information into the students without the badly needed why that gives the topic life. The government's insistence on making everything the same, reducing the excellent to the lowest common denominator, crushing the bright students in the name of making everyone equal. Different people have different aptitudes and learning rates; forcing a potentially brilliant student into the spoonfed pap designed for the slow and the unmotivated can (and often does) completely kill the joy of learning.

So when something that's actually educational appears in the mainstream music scene, it's something that tends to stick out in my mind. The metal scene is -not- known for deep thoughts and historical musings, but there -are- exceptions. In particular, the most recent release from Iced Earth, The Glorious Burden, applies here. Of particular interest, particularly to US History enthusiasts, will be the Gettysburg suite on the second CD.

But it's far from the dry materials of history textbooks; given the framing within contemporary power metal this is history in a vibrant, easily learnable format. Everyone's seen the outcast loner, singing along with the pounding metal screaming from their headphones at volumes that make the folk around them cringe. It's a ubiquitous image, visible almost anywhere within the US. But what happens when you replace the 'normal' rants about the system screwing the little man over with historical information given life and breath alongside the pounding drums and screaming guitars?

You learn. If the rhythms connect at /all/, some of the facts and information will be absorbed. Suddenly you've got kids who not only can give you names and places, they can give you an accurate verbal portrait of the scene as a whole. Suddenly it's not boring anymore...

The rest of the tracks on the album range from patriotic anthems to angry rants, but littered through them are other historical tidbits to be found. For the most part, they're tiny morsels that are far from complete facts, aimed more at sparking an interest in finding out more than at direct educating... but there are two other pieces that stand out: Valley Forge and Waterloo. While not as comprehensive as the Gettysburg pieces, they still are plugging names and places and numbers in, again making it vivid and real for the listener.

Yes, I'm plugging the band; they're one of my favorites. But past albums were based in fantasy and fiction; /this/ album not only appeals to my musical tastes, it's crammed with information that seems to be getting lost in the rush to shove dates and places in just long enough to regurgitate it on a test.

And that's important, at least to me.