In this bimonthly column, staff writer Doug Moore takes a very close look at extreme metal lyrics. Some will be serious, some will be silly, but they’ll all go under the microscope.
On April Fools’ Day of this year, KEN Mode won the first-ever Juno Award for Best Metal/Hard Music Album.
The Juno Awards are the Canadian analog to America’s Grammy awards. Like the Grammys, the Junos favor sales over artistic merit. Disaster struck when the Grammys introduced a similar category in 1988; skepticism about the Canuck version was inevitable.
But KEN Mode’s Venerable won out over a field of worthy competitors—Devin Townsend, Fuck the Facts and Cauldron. (Anvil was nominated too, but they’re…less worthy.) And it did so despite its gritty, unfashionable approach to the genre.
It was a hard-earned victory. Since 1999, KEN Mode have built their reputation the old-fashioned way: with incessant touring and a DIY work ethic. Tellingly, their name comes from Henry Rollins’ Black Flag tour diaries. “KEN Mode” stands for Kill Everything Now Mode–Rollins’ term for the Flag’s legendary road-dogging.
Touring with an underground metal band for thirteen years is no mean feat. Most people risk physical or emotional collapse under the strain, but a scarce few thrive on the adversity. Vocalist/guitarist Jesse Matthewson locates himself in this second category in “The Ugliest Happy You’ve Ever Seen,” from Venerable.
No matter how much I do,
There is an overwhelming sense
That I’m not doing enough;
In every facet of my life.
It’s a heavy psychological burden to be carrying;
Like a backpack full of fifty-five pound plates.
But it brings with it a clear fucking message:
To never accept mediocrity.
It’s a hunger that can never be fed;
True satisfaction never felt.
Within this state I find life.
True satisfaction never felt.
Within this state I find life.
Couple this with a deep-rooted, unspecified anger that has existed
And remained constant for the greater part of my post-pubescent life,
Save for a few short periods of general contentment.
And we’re starting to paint a seemingly dreary picture.
But fret not my dear, for within this state I am driven.
Within this state I cannot fail.
Within this state I will attack
The challenges I’ve laid before myself
Without reserve and with unbridled passion.
This is the ugliest happy
The ugliest happy you’ve ever seen.
Within this state I cannot fail.
Within this state I find life.
KEN Mode have deep roots in hardcore, where directness is a virtue. The language of these lyrics speaks to those roots—clear and efficient, like the band’s power-trio arrangements.
Their meaning is plain, too. No deep reading required here; Matthewson discusses his psychology in conversational terms. Like so many people in the metal world, he feels angry often and for no easily identifiable reason. He’s also driven, even workaholic, and plagued by feelings of inadequacy.
This combination of traits can be dangerous. Paired with the wrong catalysts, they sometimes provide the impetus for some really bad life decisions. But they can also be channeled into creative productivity. The anger gives you something to say, and the ambition keeps you moving. After a while, this channeling becomes self-sustaining. The projects you devised to quiet your demons become your whole life.
And so Matthewson has channeled his burden into his art. He, his brother Shane (on drums), and a rotating cast of bassists have played and driven and lugged amps and recorded and lost money and starved for thirteen tireless years. And now they’ve finally received some well-deserved recognition, as such musicians so rarely do.
So congratulations, KEN Mode. Keep playing those ugly tunes. I hope the happy lasts.
