Metal Mettle.

My house has been filled with the foreign sounds of George Jones for the past several days, and while I've been given ample chance to appreciate him, I just can't find the love. Thank goodness, and, of course, I do not mean that I am appreciative of Jeff Hanneman's unfortunate and untimely passing, that there's a change of noise in the house.

You might be surprised to know that when I was in my last semester of high school, I was listening to Slayer. As well as a lot of other heavy metal. I had gravity-defying hair, brought to me by the magicians at Aqua Net; I wore a fringed leather jacket that moved well when headbanging was required; and I somehow made tight jeans with sneakers work.

I can't explain why I loved it. The energy? The bad boys who were associated with it? The subversiveness? Leather?

Tonight I looked low & lower in our basement for the cassette of Reign in Blood that I am fairly certain I still have from those days. Side A and Side B were identical, which was probably not intended genius, but made for a quick repeat of the album without ever having to rewind. I couldn't find it, but I know it's lurking down there somewhere.

Meanwhile, here is the final song:

P.S. I ended up listening to most of the album tonight while previewing videos, and you know what? That is some dark shit. I can't imagine I absorbed any of those lyrics back in the day. I think I just liked driving around raising hell with my friends. While wearing leather.