SIX HOURS OF CRUST PUNK

There was a time when my username me_headbanger was my sole identity. Somehow, me_headbanger got lost in between junk folders and parental guidance. Yet, the little headbanger still lies deep inside the heart, ready to come to life every chance it gets.

So when I got the opportunity to sign up for six hours of crust punk- which apparently is a sub-genre of extreme metal, I happily said yes. And here I am now, sitting comfortably in my jet black pyjamas, ready to newly explore the beautiful and sunshiny world of hardcore punk and heavy metal:

Hour 1

I have never heard of crust punk before. The internet says crust punk songs are majorly about militarism, nuclear war, animal rights and the lyrics tend to be quite nihilistic. Well, count me in.

The first band that attracts me is Crustina Aguilera. I turn up the volume and listen to the song called Image of Man. I carefully try to understand the lyrics but the vocalist's shrieks don't make much sense. Maybe that's the whole point of the song- the image of man does not make much sense either, after all.

I'm already impressed and inspired.

Hour 2

YouTube has a pretty good crust punk playlist. The current track is Sunshine Ward by Amebix. It started with a low beat, but as soon as we reached the middle of the song- I think my whole ward became full of sunshine even in this dark, dark night. The vocalist screaming "there is no stairway we're stuck on this floor" is all I want to listen to for the rest of my life.

Hour 3

I'm now watching The Grindmother's Any Cost video. Here is a 67 year old grandmother doing things with her voice I can't even dare to. Her rough voice scratching the lines "breach your privilege" is basically #goals. What an eye opener, really.

I show The Grindmother to my mother dearest and ask her to be more like the grandmother. She rolls her eyes and tells me to find a new mom and a new house if I am so keen on listening to such loud music. Oh mom.

Hour 4

I think I'm slipping into another universe. No, this isn't Satan land. This is something much more refined and punk. This is my trump card to the world's age old secrets and more. I can feel several strands of punk hair growing at the back of my scalp. My nails are painting themselves black, and my already black soul is turning blacker. My skin is turning into a denim jacket covered in studs and spikes. I am becoming a crustie, slowly, and then all at once.

Hour 5

Up The Punx by Fleas and Lice is one of the most insightful songs I have ever listened to. It speaks to me so much I can't even describe. "Up, up, up the punks"- it says, and up the punks I go. Doom's Sick With Society gets how wounded we are by deceit, how injured our pride is and how crippled by apathy we are. This is also the only song whose lyrics I could find today.

Hour 6

This is it. I have found my calling. I have decided to bring back me_headbanger, no matter what they say. Heck, I might even change it to me_crustieapu_headbanger.

Fear no more the world's atrocities, ye headbangers. Protest, survive, annihilate and crust punk it up.

Mashiat Lamisa is often seen frowning at the sight of people who dislike poetry and tomatoes. She can be reached at [email protected].