Two weeks ago, I had my iPod on shuffle as I was trying to drift off to sleep. A usual occurrence, skipping through any tracks that I felt did not suit my mood. I have stuff on there that I literally haven't listened to in years. The song "Streets" by Avenged Sevenfold was one of them, but when it suddenly came on that night, I listened to it with ears wide open. It was like encountering an old friend: like when you bump into them and they have this huge smile on their face, and you hug them upon recognizing them and your mind is suddenly flooded with all the laughs you used to share together...
That old friend just happened to be my fifteen year old self.
She was a happy one.
Avenged Sevenfold happened to be her favourite band of all time.
Like other bands that I've adored over the years, they inspired every aspect of my being. Right down to the way I dressed. Through their music, I learned that a story can be just as powerful when told through a guitar solo as it is through lyrics. I learned that it's cool to reinterpret and make art out of something most normal people would deem "controversial", (their earlier work consists of songs inspired by biblical stories). I learned that it's okay to be different. To be a little "dark" and "weird". That it's perfectly okay to have "unreachable" dreams, and to believe in yourself, and to have a cool name like "Synyster Gates", "Zacky Vengeance", "M.Shadows", and "Johnny Christ".
I recieved their album "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet" for christmas one year. What most people don't know is that they were all only eighteen years old when they recorded it. If you listen to it, however, you can hear the immense and promising talent they had. They sounded like seasoned professionals, with a clear vision, passion, and powerful dreams of superstardom. The overall feeling generated by this entire album is actually quite mature. Somehow, you can just tell that this was only the beginning from this group of high school friends. Together they were going to take over the world.
All of this is what I meant to write two weeks ago.
For some reason I didn't.
I'm writing about it today, only two days after the drummer of that band that I drifted away from, was found dead.
I've never before felt so strongly affected by a complete stranger's passing. And I never thought that I'd feel like this for someone who's music I haven't listened to in years. All I know is that my fifteen year old friend's world has been interrupted. I don't think she'll ever smile the same way at me again.
The Reverend Tholomew Plague, better known as James Sullivan to his family, was only 28.
