Bands You Hate to Love

This topic came to my mind as I was driving home from work tonight. I was listening to Arghoslent in the car, a band I have discussed before. I absolutely love Arghoslent's music, they write killer riffs with a ton of energy. They basically sound the way that melodeath should sound had it not been watered down over the years.

Unfortunately, I find some of the lyrics of Arghoslent reprehensible. I can handle Satanic and Anti-Christian lyrics. But I have a hard time with racist and misogynistic lyrics. I really can not explain why those topics are so difficult for me, but they really are.

I do not normally judge a band by their lyrics, so obviously I continue to listen to Arghoslent despite my problems with some of their lyrics. That should not be construed as a tacit approval of their lyrics, just that I will not discontinue listening due to them.

Other bands I have issues with lyrically include a number of slam bands. Lyrics dealing with rape and necrophilia among other horrendous topics are pretty commonplace in that genre, which I find unfortunate.

The Arghoslent Quandary

Let me begin by saying that I am not a racist nor will I tolerate racism. Which brings me to the problem with the band Arghoslent. Arghoslent is a band from Virginia that plays some of the most melodic, catchy death metal that I have heard. They write amazing riffs and play fast and loud. The vocals are often limited to grunts and roars.

The problem is that they have some horrid lyrics as one can tell from their song titles: "Flogging the Cargo", "Quelling the Simian Urge", "In Coffles They Were Led", "Manacled Freightage". As you may be able to see, a major source of lyrics for this band is the slave trade. Perhaps this is where the quandary can be settled. Yes, the lyrics are horrible, but the subject is something that happened a long time ago and the band seems to look at it from the perspective of when it was happening. Nowhere do they take the viewpoint that African-Americans should still be treated that way. It is more a history lesson than a commentary.