Aesthetics of Hate

You tried to spit in the eye
Of a dead man's face
Attacked the ways of a man
Not yet in his grave
But your hate was over all too soon
Because nothing is over
And nothing's through,
Till we bury you

For the love of brother
I will sing this fucking song
Aesthetics of hate,
I hope you burn in Hell

The words I read on the screen
Left me fucking sick
I felt the hatred rising
You son of a bitch
You branded us pathetic for our respect
But he made us driven,
Such deep reverence,
Far beyond the rest

For the love of brother
I will sing these fucking words
Aesthetics of hate,
I hope you burn in Hell

Long live memories
Live this freedom vicariously
Defend tenfold
His honor we'll always uphold

For the love of brother
I will say these fucking words
No silence against ignorance
Iconoclast, I hope you burn
Burn in Hell

May the hand of God strike them down

- Machine Head (2007)

Probably one of the current scene's most underrated bands, Machine Head has carved a nice fan base through hard work and perseverance. They have been accused of being trendy (The Burning Red does have some nu-metal influences), but overall their output has been consistently good and their sound has slowly evolved over the years, rather than radically changed (*cough* Metallica *cough* Korn *cough* Disturbed). The Blackening (2007), from which this song is taken, has been hailed as their best album to date (coming both with commercial success and a Grammy nomination).

On December 8, 2004, while on stage and performing with the band Damageplan in Columbus, OH, former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbot was murdered by a crazed Pantera fan. The man had not even been buried when an article in "The Iconoclast" by William Grim, entitled "Aesthetics of Hate - RIP Dimebag Abbot and Good Riddance" appeared to be cheering the death of a heavy metal icon. Grim used the occasion of the murder to argue that Dimebag brought this crime on himself, to insult both metal musicians and fans (including some direct insults to Dimebag himself), to advance a political agenda, and to show his elitism toward almost everyone else in the world.

As you can probably tell, this article enraged a lot of fans and inspired Robb Flynn (founder of the Machine Head) to write the lyrics to the above song. Dimebage was considered an all around great person, a friend to many, an inspiration to many to learn how to play guitar, and one of the best guitar players in the world of rock music. The article not only insulted Dimebag, but broke a long held taboo of never speaking ill of the dead. Flynn calls out Grim for his insults and calls out the fans to defend the honor of a fallen brother. Notice how he doesn't call for violence against Grim... he knows that Grim will be judged upon his death, and he let's him know that God will not forget this black mark in Grim's book of life.

As for deep meaning, there really is none beyond it being a response to a hateful article written by a man who just didn't like heavy metal music. Musically this song does make for a great mosh pit as you can almost feel the spit and venom of Flynn's anger at the insult to the memory of Dimebag. The guitar solos are blistering and a tribute to a man, who with his band Pantera, helped keep heavy metal from fading into irrelevance in the 1990's. I can't call this my favorite Machine Head song (that honor goes to "Imperium") but this is definitely some of Robb Flynn's best songwriting.

You can read a copy of the article here: http://www.otakucenter.com/aesthetics-hate-r-i-p-dimebag-t41005.html

What do you think, Mardi?