Saturday, April 11, 2009

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.

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