I opened my eyes, shut off my alarm, and instantly thought, “Oh, hell. I have to see that metal show tonight.” Please understand, my awareness of the genre consists of 3 viewings of Comedy Central’s Metalocalypse and the countless occasions I cringed and turned down Iron Maiden in my boyfriend’s car. Between hearing metal and scraping my eardrums with a pencil, I could, very well, choose the latter. However, I rolled up to Black Tide’s March 19th show at LA's Key Club and was immediately impressed.

As expected, there were the obvious mosh-pits and, of course, with shoulder length hair, I had the shortest locks in the building. Singer Gabriel, lead guitarist Alex, bassist Zakk, and drummer Steven had tresses for miles to ensure that their head-banging would look nothing short of epic, and that they did, greatly in thanks to the flawless lighting. There was a moment in the beginning when all the boys stood front stage, legs up on the monitors, rocking out, hair flying, and found themselves back-lit only. It made them appear as silhouettes in some tripped out Frank Miller comic book. At that moment, I felt introduced to the appeal that is metal.

They even accredit aspects of their music and the Florida rock scene to the combination of long hair and Miami’s “wonderful” weather. “The heat has probably gotten to us and all the other metal and rock bands. You keep enough long haired teens in the heat and eventually, they will produce some good, pissed off music,” Zakk explained.

Finally feeling the vibe, I watched the mosh-pit (from a far distance) as a plastic blow-up doll crowd surfed, every last front-rower screamed each lyric, and high-school-aged-honeys went crazy for Black Tide themselves. A smile stretched across my face as I recalled my youth. Every member is under twenty years old, namely the fifteen-year-old front man, and in the audience, I could see it. Nothing was lacking in instrumental skill or showmanship, but the boy’s loud longings to “get laid and get wasted” as they legally drank only H20 on stage made it hard to forget their age. However, that notion only intensifies Black Tide’s appeal. And don’t let their age fool you, Black Tide was influenced by some classic rock bands, “I love listening to the Drive-By Truckers and The Allman Brothers,” said Zakk, "[and] at the same time, I love Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Guns'n'Roses.” And if you wanna go deeper, Zakk would love to set you straight, “[I get annoyed by] the age question, the next person that asks it is gonna get a punch to the jaw.”

As I watched, I imagined how enthralled I would be by them if we had side-by-side lockers in their hometown Miami high school. They’d be the freaks that would encourage my dad to bring out the shotgun; but, in retrospect, it feels like I know who they are. It’s easy to remember the years of grasping for “cool”, discovering who the hell you are and what you believe, and imagining the inconceivable idea of “sex, drugs, and Rock-n-Roll”. Whether they are living that life in full or just playing it on stage is irrelevant, they put on a great show.

So, kudos to Black Tide for wearing Save Pluto and Minor Threat t-shirts, having a drummer who doubles on keys, rocking hair longer than mine, and opening up my ignorant eyes to something I can dig about metal.

What’s next for Black Tide, you ask?
“World Domination”

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