METAL IS REFLECTIVE: on music, seasons, and yoga
Winter is Heavy Metal
Liz Ragland tells us why.
I’m a “yoga with music” person. I respect the discipline required to practice in a silent room. It’s called for sometimes, especially when I’m overstimulated or my mind is racing. But most days, I’m grooving along with a playlist, using the rhythm to keep me in motion.
Tell me if I’m alone in this, but I think every season has a corresponding musical archetype. I’ve been compiling seasonal playlists (and before that mix CDs) since I can remember.
According to my calculations, this was burned in summer 2005.
While my favorite songs and artists are getting heavy rotation year-round, there are some definite patterns emerging with the shifting seasons. My past couple spring playlists have featured bossa nova and atmospheric pop. Summer is pop and hardcore (Charli XCX, Turnstile) upbeat sing-alongs, and road trip tunes- things that are best played out loud, outdoors. Nostalgic Autumn is what I call “spooky synths” with minor chords and eerie vibes. Which brings me to the present: heavy metal winter.
With its short days, time seems to move differently in this season. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to long tracks with extended intros and outros, meandering guitar riffs, and slower BPMs at this time of year. Our normal activities are paused or severely disrupted at the end of December/beginning of January, and everything in our cultures tells us to examine the past and improve upon the future. It’s been called “the liminal space,” “the void”.
Metallica, 1996.
There’s a reason so many metal videos take place in the snow - the genre just doesn’t hit the same on a sunny beach. With the exception of my emotional rescue playlist (“Reggae For My Seasonal Depression” is publicly listed on Spotify), winter is when I lean into droning, plodding, persistent metal and its long list of subgenres. Without getting into the nitty gritty, I’m scoring my wintertime activities to melodic heavy riffs overlaid with vocals that range from ethereal to deeply primal.
So whether you’re a certified metalhead or have no experience with the genre, I invite you to immerse in a 75 minute curated playlist and accompanying flow Friday, January 16th at 6:30pm. We’ll breathe, reflect inwardly, and shake off some of the stagnant winter energy (or battle our existential wintertime dread). And because merch is a key element of any music scene, locally-printed, limited edition, long sleeve tees will be available for purchase at the event and afterwards.
This could be you