Honesty and Humanity in Heavy Music

This above is Keith Buckley.  He is currently the lead vocalist for the hardcore/southern rock band Every Time I Die.  The band is known for their fast guitar riffs, unorthodox shifting time signatures, and in-your-face screaming vocals.  They released their fifth album last fall called New Junk Aesthetic which was greeted with positive reviews and great fan reception.  Keith Buckley leads the band on stage and is known for his somewhat off-center sense of humor, insane vocals, and equally insane partying habits.  And what was Mr. Buckley before he developed this reputation?  An English teacher.  As a matter of fact, it is said that had music never had worked out, he would have gone back to teaching (thank you, Wikipedia).  While it’s not what one would expect from the vocalist of  a band that used to sell t-shirts that simply said “Bang Your Fucking Head” on the back, if you were to inspect theirs lyrics, you might not be so surprised.  Once you learn to interpret the yelling, you can get a sense of the poetic undertones of the music.  To give an example, here is the first music video from the latest album called “Wanderlust.”  I picked the video specifically for it’s lyrics and the subtitles.

So I never imagined that I would be posting about the heavier music that I listen to.  I understand that it’s an acquired taste and I guess that’s part of the reason why it’s so special.  Anyway, I’m not really posting about the band but instead about this video I recently found of Keith Buckley basically narrating a motorcycle road trip he did with some friends.  It has more depth than a normal narration but I still can’t quite call it poetry or spoken word.  More than anything else it’s just a stream of consciousness view into the way this guy sees the world.  What appealed to me more than anything else is its simplicity and humanity.  As Buckley weaves in and out of thought the listener gets glimpses of simple bits of true human nature that exist within everyone to a certain degree like insecurity and sincerity.  Whatever, I need to stop talking for this.  I think it talks for itself well enough.

Explore posts in the same categories: ReOpt Audio, ReOpt televised

Tags: every time i die, keith buckley, new junk aesthetic, road trip, the inaugural ride of easy tigers in denim, wanderlust

You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.