Top 10 Heavy Metal songs for rough times EP: 1
Heavy metal music is often seen as making listeners angry, violent and “likely to commit a violent act.” However, this could be no further from the truth. Heavy metal is extremely influential in ways that are hard to see to those who do not listen. A YouTube comment I saw some time ago stated, “There is meaning behind the screaming.” It is a simple sentence, but when looked upon from a distance, holds more weight than the eye sees.
When listened to with an open mind, many individuals find that they can enjoy some heavy metal. This enjoyment can progress further when an individual is going, or has gone, through what the songs are about. There are metal songs for break-ups, loss of a loved one, having a hard childhood, feeling alone, anxious and depressed, etc. What I am trying to say is, there is a heavy metal song for everybody, however, many people just do not realize it.
1. “The Devil in I” – Slipknot
“The Devil in I” starts with a slow climbing riff which explodes into a massive guitar riff from Jim Root and Mick Thompson, backed by percussion from Shawn Crahan and Chris Fehn, which leads into fast-paced drumming by newly acquired Jay Weinberg. Lead vocalist Corey Taylor sounds angelic during the first verse, which is accompanied by beautiful bass and main guitars. The breakdown sees Corey yelling “Step inside… see the Devil in I” before switching back to harmonic vocals with “You’ll realize I’m not your Devil anymore.” This alludes to going deep inside of yourself, finding the problems you have within and understanding that those problems have no more power over you once they are confronted.
The song ends with Corey screaming “See the devil in I” one final time, and this final scream leads into a few seconds of what seems like a manic laugh. The song then slows down with Jay’s drums, Sid Wilson on the DJ table and fading guitar riffs from Jim and Mick.
During an interview with Kerrang!, Corey gave the exact meaning of the song. “’The Devil In I’ is one of the, I’d say, three songs that really represent the war inside us individually, dealing with the depression that came after losing Paul, dealing with the anger, the guilt… just trying to get our hands around the grief process, basically, and realizing that we have to let ourselves feel these feelings before we can move forward, and ‘The Devil In I’ represents looking at that selfishness in the mirror and saying, ‘Okay, I have to let myself feel this before I can go any further.'”
Percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan also gave his thoughts on the song during a behind-the-scenes video shoot. “Basically, this song is about finding past Devils, past things, becoming one with it and then doing away with it.”
The lyrical content of “The Devil in I” is heavy, but also has an extremely useful life lesson. Whenever you find yourself struggling with an internal issue, external issue or just letting go of certain feelings, “The Devil in I” is a fantastic listen to help you confront, become one with and finally do away with your Devils.
