Waktu berjalan begitu cepat. Dahulu Anggun begitu memuja-muja Reva meskipun mereka belum saling mengenal. Sejak pertama kali bertemu, Anggun sudah merasakan sesuatu yang beda. Akan tetapi Anggun selalu bersabar menunggu saat dimana mereka akan saling mengenal. Momen itu terasa begitu lama datangnya. Hingga suatu saat seorang sahabat Anggun saling memperkenalkan mereka.
Namun kisah cinta ini belum berakhir sampai disitu. Sejak mereka saling mengenal, mereka harus melakukan suatu tahapan menuju jenjang cinta, yaitu ‘PDKT’ alias pendekatan. Tahap ini berjalan begitu sangat lama pula, berlangsung hingga 3 Tahun. Anggun pun merasakan Reva yang sepertinya mustahil untuk jatuh hati padanya. Akhirnya Anggun memutuskan untuk menyerah menunggu Reva, dan memutuskan untuk fokus ke UN SMK yang sudah di depan mata. Walaupun begitu Anggun dan Reva masih tetap saling berkomunikasi jarak jauh seperti biasa.
Finally hari kelulusanpun tiba, seluruh siswa berkerumunan saling berdesakan di papan pengumuman, untuk melihat hasil UN. Fortunately! Enggak ada yang terlihat menangis stelah melihat papan pengumuman. Itu berarti enggak ada yang enggak lulus. Saat itu kami semua sangat bahagia, namun juga sangat bersedih karena kita akan meninggalkan masa putih abu-abu. Kita akan mencari jenjang yang lebih tinggi bisa kerja maupun kuliah.
Saat hari kelulusan itu hampir seluruh siswa terutama laki-laki yang mencoret-coret baju mereka, dengan berbagai tanda tangan dan sepidol yang berwarna-warni pula. Sekarang tak ada lagi yang namanya saling mencontek, saling lempar tipeks, saling nongkrong depan kelas, jailin guru, dihukum guru di depan kelas dll. Begitu cepat waktu berlalu.
Suatu malam, terlihat Anggun yang sedang berada di jendela dan sedang memandangi langit malam. Malam itu Anggun sedang membayangkan Reva. Walaupun hari ini dia bahagia karena telah lulus, namun terasa ada yang kurang, hingga membuatnya gundah gulana sperti itu. Kemudian terdengar alunan lagu pilihan hati dari Geisha yang membuyarkan lamunannya. Anggun tahu bahwa yang mengeluarkan suara itu adalah poselnya. Lalu dia merogoh ponsel yang berada di atas kasurnya. Sembari menatap layar ponselnya, dia melongo, ternyata yang memanggilnya adalah cowo yang dipujanya sedari kelas 1 SMK. Dengan jantung yang tiba-tiba begetar Segera ia menekan tombol hijau. Tiiit…
“hallooo… malem putri mammoth” terdengar suara Reva di seberang sana yang biasa memanggil Anggun dengan sebutan Putri Mammoth, entah apa yang ada dipikiran Reva saat menciptakan nama hewan purba itu.
“ya haloo kak Reva, tumben nelpon, kenapa kak?”
“kamu udah lulus ya? Congratulation for your success darling!!!” ucap Reva yang memberikan selamat pada Anggun.
“thanks kak, kakak nelpon aku Cuma mau ngomong gitu aja?”
“hmmm… ya enggaklah sayang, aku juga mau ngomong sesuatu sama kamu”
“apaan kak?”
“hmmm, sebenernya… aku suka sama kamu dari dulu, tapi karena nungguin kamu lulus dulu aku baru mau nembak kamu” tuturnya dengan nada yang berkesan.
Mendengar ucapan itu jantung Anggun udah seperti mau loncat-loncat keluar. Anggun seakan terbius, dan tak bisa ngomong apa-apa. Ternyata bener yang dibilang temen-temennya. Reva pasti Cuma mau nungguin dia lulus dulu, karena Reva sudah kerja. Reva pasti memikirkan keadaan juga saat Anggun masih sekolah, dia tidak mau mengganggunya.
“kenapa diem? Apa kamu udah punya pacar saat ini?”
Anggun segera sadar “ahh… be.. belum kak” kata-kata Anggun terpatah-patah.
“lalu kamu apa nggak terima cinta aku Nggun?”
Tanpa pikir panjang dan bagaikan terhipnotis Anggun bilang “ya tentu kak.”
“aku.. aku juga suka kakak dari pertama aku lihat kakak” tutur Anggun.
Kini kebahagiaan Anggun telah bertambah dengan adanya Reva sebagai pacarnya.
Mereka sudah menjalin hubungan sudah hampir setahun. Dan selama itu mereka memutuskan bekerja di tempat yang berbeda, agar tidak ada personal problem di tempat kerja. Meskipun mereka harus jarang bertemu, karena keduanya memiliki kesibukan tersendiri. Tapi mereka tetap saling menghubungi dan mempercayai satu sama lain.
Beberapa bulan hubungan masih berjalan baik-baik saja. Namun suatu hal yang manis tidak akan selamanya bertahan, kata pepatah tak ada yang abadi. Begitu juga dengan suatu hubungan pasti ada pahit manisnya karena live is never flat. Entah apa telah yang terjadi, suatu saat tiba-tiba Reva mengajak Anggun ke Taman Kota.
“Anggun kamu tahu enggak kenapa aku ngajak kamu ke tempat ini tiba-tiba?” tanya Reva mengawali percakapan.
“enggak, ada apa kak? Kakak mau ngomong sesuatu?”
Reva terdiam namun Anggun menyadari raut wajah kekasihnya itu memancarkan kesedihan, dia terlihat berkaca-kaca namun Anggun yakin dia pasti sedang menahan air mata itu menyentuh pipinya.
“kak, ada sesuatu yang kakak sembunyiin? Kenapa wajah kakak tampak sedih dan pucat, tak seperti biasa, kakak sakit?” tanya Anggun yang heran melihat pacarnya, kemudian menjulurkan tangannya dan menyentuh kening Reva untuk merasakan suhu tubuh Reva.
“enggak sayang, aku enggak sakit, aku baik-baik aja, Anggun…” Reva menggantung kalimatnya. Anggun hanya sedikit memiringkan kepalanya heran.
“kamu masih sayang sama aku?” sambung Reva.
“tentu saja kak, kenapa kakak nanya kaya gitu, kakak udah enggak sayang sama aku lagi?” Anggun merasakan feel yang aneh saat mendengar pertanyaan kekasihnya.
“Anggun gimana misalnya kalau suatu saat nanti kita berpisah karena sesuatu?” Reva tak menjawab pertanyaan Anggun, malah melontarkan pertanyaan yang aneh lagi.
“kenapa nanya gitu lagi? Apa kakak mau putusin aku? Kenapa? Ada masalah apa? apa kakak udah punya cewe lain?”
“bukan gitu Anggun, aku masih sayang banget sama kamu,dan enggak ada sedikit pikiran terlintas untuk mencari cewe lain, bahkan aku sempat berfikir untuk menjadikanmu yang terakhir dalam hidupku” tutur Reva yang terlihat sangat serius dan penuh makna.
“tapi Nggun, ada masalah besar antara kita”
“masalah besar apa?” tanya Anggun spontan. Lalu Reva menarik nafas panjang sebelum menjawab, seakan dia menghadapi sesuatu yang menegangkan.
“orang tuaku… enggak menyetujui hubungan kita”
“apa?” Anggun sangat shock mendengar pegakuan itu.
“tapi kenapa, bukannya ibumu udah tau aku? Kita kan satu Desa, apa yang membuat ibu seperti itu?” sambung Anggun.
“bukannya dia enggak setuju Nggun, tapi dia trauma akan kejadian yang dulu menimpa ayahku, dia takut itu akan terjadi”
“kamu pernah denger kan keyakinan orang-orang desa, bahwa pria dari desaku enggak boleh menikah dengan gadis dari desamu” Reva menjelaskan cerita takahayul di Desak mereka, yang katanya bila gadis dan lelaki antara desa mereka menikah maka yang wanita akan menjadi janda secepatnya, seperti halnya yang telah terjadi pada ibu Reva. Tapi Anggun selalu berfikir itu hanyalah mitos belaka.
Garis hidup seseorang hanya diatur oleh Tuhan, bukan manusia yang percaya begitu saja dengan apa yang mereka dengarkan. Seseorang pasti akan mengakhiri hidupnya dengan kematian, jika tidak sekarang mungkin besok atau suatu saat nanti, tapi kita tidak tahu.
“lalu, apa kita mesti percaya mitos seperti itu?” Anggun yang sepenuhnya sangat tidak menyetujui keputusan itu.
“aku memang enggak percaya, tapi ibuku sangat mempercayainya karena dia yang mengalaminya, ibu ditinggal ayah saat ku masih dalam kandungan” tutur Reva menjelaskan, dia memang sangat menyayangi ibunya, hal itu salah satu yang membuat Anggun mengaguminya selain ketampanannya.
“tapi ku yakin itu hanyalah takdir Tuhan, dan semua orang pasti akan mengakhiri hidupnya dengan kematian, aku enggak mau pisah dengan kakak aku sayang kakak.” Anggun mulai terlihat sangat ketakutan untuk berpisah dengan Reva.
“ya, aku pun sama sepertimu, tapi aku enggak berani menentang ibu, dia yang telah membesarkanku tanpa peran seorang suami”
“baiklah kak, aku mengerti, jangan pernah menentang ibumu kak” ucap Anggun dengan mata berkaca-kaca, namun ia langsung berlari agar tak dilihat Reva. Namun Reva mengejar dan menarik Anggun ke dalam pelukannya. Saat itu langit diselimuti awal tebal. Kemudian jatuhlah butir-butir air dari langit, yang membasahi mereka berdua di taman kota.
“Anggun maafkan aku, aku enggak bisa mempertahankan cinta kita, aku memang pengecut, aku enggak bisa berbuat apa-apa” aku Reva
Anggun hanya terdiam dalam pelukan Reva, dia tetap menangis.
“Aku enggak bakal nyari pengganti kakak” bisik Anggun dalam benaknya.
Kemudian Reva melepas pelukannya. “kamu jangan nangis lagi ya, kamu pasti dapat yang lebih baik dari aku” kata Reva sambil mengusap air mata yang di wajah Anggun yang sudah berbaur dengan air hujan. Kemudian mencium kening, mata dan bibir Anggun. Anggun membiarkannya, dia hanya terdiam.
Semenjak kejadian malam itu, hidup Anggun mulai berubah. Anggun yang biasa terkenal jail dan ceria, kini berubah menjadi Anggun yang pemurung, pendiam, dan tak pernah tertawa, meski itu hanya untuk tersenyum sedikit. Semakin hari wajahnya semakin pucat lesu. Hingga akhirnya kondisinya semakin memburuk, jatuh sakit dan harus di opname.
Seminggu ini Anggun koma di rumah sakit, dan seperti biasa ibunya selalu berada di sisi anaknya. Ibu Anggun sangat terkejut saat melihat anaknya tiba-tiba mengigau “Kak Reva… kak reva… kak Reva!!!”. Lalu Ibunya segera memanggil dokter.
Setelah diperiksa, Dokter mengatakan bahwa suhu tubuh Anggun sangat tinggi, detak jantungnya juga tidak teratur, lalu dokter menyuruh Ibu memanggil Reva. Sebenarnya, Anggun memang mempunyai penyakit jantung, namun sudah lama tak pernah kambuh, sampai sekarang ini.
Keesokan harinya Anggun sadar dari komanya. Dia membuka matanya secara perlahan, dan melihat sekeliling.
“Ibu!!!” anggun melihat ibunya tertidur di sampingnya. Air matanya mulai mengalir, dari ujung mata membasahi pipinya.
“kamu udah sadar sayang” ibu Anggun terbangun, Anggun segera mengusap air matanya yang membalut wajahnya. “ibu, udah makan, pasti belum, ibu pulang aja ya, aku nggak apa kok sendiri”
“Tapi nak…” perkakataan ibu diputus” uda nggak apa kok bu…”
“ya sudah, ibu pulang ya, ayahmu pasti juga udah mau pulang sekarang” sebelum pulang ibu mencium kening Anggun.
Beberapa hari di Rumah sakit, sosok yang diharapkannya datang tak kunjung datang menghampirinya. Semakin hari harapannya semakin pupus bersamaan dengan kondisinya yang semakin melemah.
Di suatu malam Anggun tersadar, dia memandang sekelilingnya, tak ada siapa. Saat itu semua keluarga tidur di luar ruangan Anggun.
“Tuhan, inikah akhir hidupku?” Anggun tak dapat membendung air matanya, mengalir begitu saja menyiram wajahnya yang pucat pasi.
“apa arti kesetiaan saya selama ini? Apa salah saya? Mana keadilanmu? Sedari kecil saya selalu menderita, dan kini saya harus terluka lagi, entahlah, apa gunanya saya di dunia ini?” sedu Anggun dalam hati.
Keesokan harinya, kondisi Anggun sangat memprihatinkan, seakan tak ada harapan hidup lagi. Detak jantungnya semakin meningkat, sang ibu sangat gelisah, ketika menyaksikan sang anak yang sedang ditangani Dokter.
Saat dokter sedang memeriksa Anggun, Reva tiba-tiba datang. Seiring keluarnya dokter, Reva pun sampai di antara keluarga Anggun.
“Bu, gimana keadaan Anggun?” tanya Reva pada Ibu Anggun.
“begitulah Va, kondisi Anggun sangat buruk sekali” ucap Ibu sambil meneteskan air mata.
“Ibu, kita harus terus berdoa dan berdoa, jangan menyerah, masih ada harapan” kemudian dokter selesai menangani Anggun. Saat dokter keluar dari ruangan Anggun, Ibu dan Reva menghampirinya.
“gimana dok, Anggun nggak apa-apa kan?” tanya ibu.
Dokter hanya menjawab dengan gelengan kepala.
“dok anak saya baik-baik saja kan dok?” tegas ibu sekali lagi,
“semua sudah kami lakukan semaksimal mungkin, namun…” Dokter menggelengkan kepalanya lagi.
“apa?” ibu langsung pingsan setelah mendengar semua itu, kemudian dokter membawanya ke ruang pengobatan. Sementara Reva masuk ke ruangan Anggun. Dia menuju sisi Anggun, kemudian menggenggam tangan Anggun.
“Anggun… bangun sayang, bangun!! Ini Reva, ayo bangun, kamu sayang aku kan?, please jangan tinggalin aku, Nggun!!!” teriak reva sambil mengguncang Anggun. Kini Reva benar-benar menangis, lalu ia memegang kepalanya sendiri dengan kedua tangannya sambil menangis.
Lalu…
“Kak Reva…” Reva mendengar suara itu, lalu ia membuka matanya, benar, ternyata Anggun yang memanggilnya.
“Anggun!! Kamu masih Hidup” Reva langsung terbangun dari duduknya, dan mengelus pipi Anggun.
“ya, hanya untuk bertemu kakak” jawab Anggun.
“aku panggil dokter dulu”
Baru akan berbalik badan…
“kak tunggu!!” sambil memegang tangan Reva.
Lalu Anggun meletakkn jari telunjuk kanannya di bibir.
“kak, aku hanya sebentar, hanya 15 menit, aku udah menunggu saat ini, aku nggak mau semua tahu” ucap Anggun
“kamu jangan ngomong gitu, kamu akan tetap bersama kakak” Anggun hanya tersenyum lalu berkata “aku mencintaimu, sangat mencintaimu, dimanapun aku berada akan selalu mencintaimu”
“aku juga mencintaimu” balas Reva
“kak, aku.. aku nggak mau kakak menentang Ibu kakak, demi aku, aku akan selalu melindungi dan menyayangi kakak” tutur Anggun
“nggak, kamu harus tetap hidup sama aku, kamu nggak boleh pergi!”
Tiba-tiba, nafas Anggun tersedat, detak jantungnya meningkat, namun masih bisa ngomong patah-patah.
Reva memeluknya dengan erat, seakan tak akan melepaskannya. Anggun juga membalasnya.
“Aku.. mencintaimu… kak”
“aku juga, sangat mencintaimu”
“semoga kau bahagia kak” kemudian Reva merasakan pelukan Anggun semakin merenggang, lalu perlahan tangan Anggun terlepas dari tubuhh Reva.
“Anggun… Anggunnn!!! bangunnnn!!! Kamu nggak boleh pergi!!!´teriak Reva sambil mengguncang tubuh Anggun. Namun Anggun tetap terdiam dengan mata tertutup, tapi seulas senyum tersungging di bibirnya. Bagi Reva, itu adalah senyum termaniis yang pernah dilihatnya, dan tak ada yang memilikinya selain gadis yang saat ini berada di pelukannya.
Senin, 14 Oktober 2013
Minggu, 13 Oktober 2013
Ruang untuk Kita
Selamat malam Tuan yang entah mengapa terasa semakin jauh. Aku datang baik-baik untuk bertanya mengenai hal-hal manis yang kita jalani selama ini. Sejak dua puluh enam agustus tahun dua ribu tiga belas, kamu menyelip dalam ruang hatiku, menjadi sosok baru yang nampaknya menarik jika kunikmati dari berbagai sisi. Aku hanya ingin kamu tahu, kamu sudah jadi seseorang yang kuhargai keberadaannya, kutunggu pesan singkatnya, dan kurindukan suara beratnya. Kamu sudah jadi teman malamku, sapaan renyah pagiku, dan terik matahari siang yang membakar semangatku.
Kita sudah saling tahu sejak satu tahun lalu. Saat kautahu aku lebih memilih UI dan menanggalkan pengumuman diterima di UGM melalui jalur SNMPTN. Penasaran, itulah caramu menjelaskan awal perkenalan kita. Saat pesan singkatmu menggetarkan handphone-ku untuk pertama kalinya, saat tulisan besar kecil dengan tanda baca penuh itu memenuhi kotak masuk poselku; demi bumi dan langit, aku tak ingin membawa hubungan itu ke jenjang lebih serius. Cukup jadi teman.
Lalu, setahun kemudian kamu muncul dengan gaya baru. Bahasa yang tertata rapi yang membuatku kagum setengah mati. Jaket kuningku bersanding dengan jaket abu-abu kehijauan milikmu. Percakapan kita malam itu diawali dengan membandingkan UI dan UGM, tidak ada ketegangan, hanya rasa canggung yang kurasakan. Aku tak pernah berbicara senyaman ini dengan orang asing yang wajahnya belum pernah kutatap secara langsung. Pembicaraan panas itu merambat ke pembicaraan hangat, saat kauberbicara tentang puisi Chairil Anwar, cerpen Seno Gumira Ajidarma, serta kekagumanmu pada guru besar FIB UI; Sapardi Djoko Damono.
Hampir setiap malam, kamu menjadi bagian dalam hari-hariku, jadi tawa yang membawa damai sebelum tidur malamku. Tak hanya itu, kaudan aku rela terlelap hingga subuh, hanya karena tak ingin saling melepaskan. Terlalu terburu-burukah jika aku mencoba menyebut ini cinta? Jika terlalu tergesa-gesa, lalu apa namanya perasaan tak ingin melepaskan meskipun kutahu kamu tak mungkin berada dalam genggaman?
Dan, kedekatan kita, Tuan, sepertinya memang bukan lagi sebatas teman. Ketika kauberani mengganti "Dwit", menjadi "Ntaa." Singkatan dari cinta, katamu; yang berhasil membuatku muntah pelangi berak surgawi. Oke, jelek, ya, diksi yang kugunakan? Maaf, ya, siapalah aku ini dibanding sastrawan serba misterius seperti kamu?
Awalnya, semua ini baik-baik saja. Sampai pada akhirnya aku tak tahan dengan kelancanganmu menyebut semua penghuni Gembira Loka dan Safari, saat kita bertengkar, soal pesan singkat yang kubalas lama, telepon yang tidak kujawab, dan isi mention bersama seorang pria yang tidak kaukenal. Aku membuka suara, kita sudah bicarakan hal ini berkali-kali. Aku sempat tak ingin membawa semua ke arah yang lebih serius karena kita berbeda, tolong garis bawahi itu, dan kauterima pendapat itu dengan lapang dada.
Awalnya, Tuan, kita membuat kesepakatan, namun nampaknya cinta itu seperti kekuatan brengsek yang membuat aku dan kamu juga ingin melawan dalam ketidakberdayaan kita. Oke, kita sepakat tak pernah membawa semua ini ke dalam hubungan serius, tapi aku dan kamu ternyata mematahkan komitmen itu. Kita berontak, marah sama keadaan, marah dengan jarak, marah sama cinta, marah dengan kesepakatan awal. Aku dan kamu terlalu gengsi untuk membawa hubungan ini ke arah yang lebih serius. Selain terlalu gengsi, juga merasa belum siap pada jarak, pada perbedaan kita, pada masalah rindu, pada kurang ajarnya sinyal ponsel, pada ratusan kilometer jarak antara Bogor dan Jogjakarta. Kita marah sama siapapun, sama apapun yang membuat aku dan kamu selalu emosi setiap mendengar kalimat "Sebenarnya status kita ini apa? Siapa kita? Apa yang kita rasakan?"
Setelah lelah marah pada keadaan, kamu menyuruhku untuk mencari penggantimu. Aku tertawa, bergelak kencang sekali. Lalu, setelah tawaku diam, kamu berikan alasan. Kamu ingin lihat aku bahagia dengan yang lain, agar kamu punya alasan untuk melepaskanku dan tidak lagi mengharapkanku. Aku tertawa semakin geli, tapi mataku basah karena tertawa terlalu kencang. Kusambut saranmu dengan menyuruhmu juga mencari yang lain, agar aku bisa melepaskanmu dan melihatmu bahagia; meskipun kebahagiaanmu tidak lagi membutuhkanku.
Sekarang, rasanya keinginan kita sudah terwujud. Keinginan dua orang bodoh yang terlalu gengsi menyatakan perasaan, terlalu takut meminta kejelasan, dan terlalu takut melawan keadaan. Kamu entah dengan siapa sementara aku dengan dia. Hahaha! Terluka.
Ini bodoh, sungguh, maksudku apa susahnya bilang kalau aku dan kamu inginkan penyatuan? Punya satu tujuan? Mau saling memperjuangkan? Iya, berbicara cinta dan sayang memang tak mudah, tapi bukankah lebih menyakitkan jika kita hanya bisa saling gengsi, saling diam, tapi juga cemburu? Bukankah lebih menyedihkan jika aku dan kamu hanya bisa tertawa sebenarnya kita sangat tersiksa?
Bisakah kaubayangkan rasanya jadi dua orang yang saling mencintai tapi mereka termakan gengsi sendiri? Bisakah kaurasakan sakitnya dua orang yang saling merindukan, tapi hati mereka tak saling menyatukan? Tuan, bisakah kauresapi air mata dua orang yang saling berjauhan hanya karena mereka takut pada arus cinta yang semakin dijauhi justru semakin deras?
Hatimu sudah jadi milikku, hatiku sudah jadi milikmu. Namun, mengapa aku dan kamu tak kunjung menciptakan ruang untuk kita? Ruang tempat kita saling memahami juga mencintai, tanpa harus memerhatikan gengsi yang mematikan semua urat-urat hati.
untuk yang selalu percaya
saya tak punya cinta
saya tak pernah punya rindu
saya tak punya perasaan
Padahal, diam-diam;
dia sudah jadi segala– dalam kepala.
Kita sudah saling tahu sejak satu tahun lalu. Saat kautahu aku lebih memilih UI dan menanggalkan pengumuman diterima di UGM melalui jalur SNMPTN. Penasaran, itulah caramu menjelaskan awal perkenalan kita. Saat pesan singkatmu menggetarkan handphone-ku untuk pertama kalinya, saat tulisan besar kecil dengan tanda baca penuh itu memenuhi kotak masuk poselku; demi bumi dan langit, aku tak ingin membawa hubungan itu ke jenjang lebih serius. Cukup jadi teman.
Lalu, setahun kemudian kamu muncul dengan gaya baru. Bahasa yang tertata rapi yang membuatku kagum setengah mati. Jaket kuningku bersanding dengan jaket abu-abu kehijauan milikmu. Percakapan kita malam itu diawali dengan membandingkan UI dan UGM, tidak ada ketegangan, hanya rasa canggung yang kurasakan. Aku tak pernah berbicara senyaman ini dengan orang asing yang wajahnya belum pernah kutatap secara langsung. Pembicaraan panas itu merambat ke pembicaraan hangat, saat kauberbicara tentang puisi Chairil Anwar, cerpen Seno Gumira Ajidarma, serta kekagumanmu pada guru besar FIB UI; Sapardi Djoko Damono.
Hampir setiap malam, kamu menjadi bagian dalam hari-hariku, jadi tawa yang membawa damai sebelum tidur malamku. Tak hanya itu, kaudan aku rela terlelap hingga subuh, hanya karena tak ingin saling melepaskan. Terlalu terburu-burukah jika aku mencoba menyebut ini cinta? Jika terlalu tergesa-gesa, lalu apa namanya perasaan tak ingin melepaskan meskipun kutahu kamu tak mungkin berada dalam genggaman?
Dan, kedekatan kita, Tuan, sepertinya memang bukan lagi sebatas teman. Ketika kauberani mengganti "Dwit", menjadi "Ntaa." Singkatan dari cinta, katamu; yang berhasil membuatku muntah pelangi berak surgawi. Oke, jelek, ya, diksi yang kugunakan? Maaf, ya, siapalah aku ini dibanding sastrawan serba misterius seperti kamu?
Awalnya, semua ini baik-baik saja. Sampai pada akhirnya aku tak tahan dengan kelancanganmu menyebut semua penghuni Gembira Loka dan Safari, saat kita bertengkar, soal pesan singkat yang kubalas lama, telepon yang tidak kujawab, dan isi mention bersama seorang pria yang tidak kaukenal. Aku membuka suara, kita sudah bicarakan hal ini berkali-kali. Aku sempat tak ingin membawa semua ke arah yang lebih serius karena kita berbeda, tolong garis bawahi itu, dan kauterima pendapat itu dengan lapang dada.
Awalnya, Tuan, kita membuat kesepakatan, namun nampaknya cinta itu seperti kekuatan brengsek yang membuat aku dan kamu juga ingin melawan dalam ketidakberdayaan kita. Oke, kita sepakat tak pernah membawa semua ini ke dalam hubungan serius, tapi aku dan kamu ternyata mematahkan komitmen itu. Kita berontak, marah sama keadaan, marah dengan jarak, marah sama cinta, marah dengan kesepakatan awal. Aku dan kamu terlalu gengsi untuk membawa hubungan ini ke arah yang lebih serius. Selain terlalu gengsi, juga merasa belum siap pada jarak, pada perbedaan kita, pada masalah rindu, pada kurang ajarnya sinyal ponsel, pada ratusan kilometer jarak antara Bogor dan Jogjakarta. Kita marah sama siapapun, sama apapun yang membuat aku dan kamu selalu emosi setiap mendengar kalimat "Sebenarnya status kita ini apa? Siapa kita? Apa yang kita rasakan?"
Setelah lelah marah pada keadaan, kamu menyuruhku untuk mencari penggantimu. Aku tertawa, bergelak kencang sekali. Lalu, setelah tawaku diam, kamu berikan alasan. Kamu ingin lihat aku bahagia dengan yang lain, agar kamu punya alasan untuk melepaskanku dan tidak lagi mengharapkanku. Aku tertawa semakin geli, tapi mataku basah karena tertawa terlalu kencang. Kusambut saranmu dengan menyuruhmu juga mencari yang lain, agar aku bisa melepaskanmu dan melihatmu bahagia; meskipun kebahagiaanmu tidak lagi membutuhkanku.
Sekarang, rasanya keinginan kita sudah terwujud. Keinginan dua orang bodoh yang terlalu gengsi menyatakan perasaan, terlalu takut meminta kejelasan, dan terlalu takut melawan keadaan. Kamu entah dengan siapa sementara aku dengan dia. Hahaha! Terluka.
Ini bodoh, sungguh, maksudku apa susahnya bilang kalau aku dan kamu inginkan penyatuan? Punya satu tujuan? Mau saling memperjuangkan? Iya, berbicara cinta dan sayang memang tak mudah, tapi bukankah lebih menyakitkan jika kita hanya bisa saling gengsi, saling diam, tapi juga cemburu? Bukankah lebih menyedihkan jika aku dan kamu hanya bisa tertawa sebenarnya kita sangat tersiksa?
Bisakah kaubayangkan rasanya jadi dua orang yang saling mencintai tapi mereka termakan gengsi sendiri? Bisakah kaurasakan sakitnya dua orang yang saling merindukan, tapi hati mereka tak saling menyatukan? Tuan, bisakah kauresapi air mata dua orang yang saling berjauhan hanya karena mereka takut pada arus cinta yang semakin dijauhi justru semakin deras?
Hatimu sudah jadi milikku, hatiku sudah jadi milikmu. Namun, mengapa aku dan kamu tak kunjung menciptakan ruang untuk kita? Ruang tempat kita saling memahami juga mencintai, tanpa harus memerhatikan gengsi yang mematikan semua urat-urat hati.
untuk yang selalu percaya
saya tak punya cinta
saya tak pernah punya rindu
saya tak punya perasaan
Padahal, diam-diam;
dia sudah jadi segala– dalam kepala.
Jumat, 11 Oktober 2013
Biography Lamb Of God
There are metal bands and then there is Lamb of God.
A new breed of modern American metal was erected in the 2000s, with Lamb of God serving as an architect, designing the blueprint that would become the standard by which bands that came after them would be judged. So often, the European metal scene has set the tone and established the creative high watermark of the global metal scene, providing the template that their American brethren would follow. Then Lamb of God came along and all bets were off.
It was Lamb of God who rewrote the rules, devised a new playbook and raised the standard. The genre was forever and irrefutably changed by what the band has done.
By the mid-00s, there was a full metal Renaissance, if you will, in America, with the genre enjoying several years of renewed success and critical respect. Lamb of God worked to establish themselves without question as the scene's alpha males, dominating at every turn, leaving a parade of other acts to merely feast on their leftovers and scraps. Mind you, this was not a scene, style or era populated by middling acts. The era was filled quality bands and still, it was Lamb of God who defined the time period and that quickly ascended as the game changers and torch bearers. No. Questions. Asked.
Turns out, they've merely nicked the surface of what they can do and plan on accomplishing.
In 2012, Lamb of God remain the pre-eminent metal band and not by default, either. The scene is still healthy, even if some of the peers who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them during that period of growth have fallen by the wayside. Lamb of God still reign atop of the genre thanks to their consistent ability to feed fans with only the best extreme metal there is. Their seventh album Resolution finds the band firing on all cylinders and doing things their way. As if we'd expect anything less from this Virginia wrecking crew.
With a rich history including three Grammy nominations, an invitation to tour with Metallica (which they did in 2008 through 2010 on the World Magnetic trek); multiple debuts in the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 (2009's Wrath debuted at No. 2 while 2006's Sacrament debuted at No. 8); multiple Platinum-selling DVDs (Killadelphia and Walk With Me in Hell); an arena tour with Slipknot (which took place in 2005); the main stage of OZZfest (2006) and wearing the fact that they were banned in Los Angeles (the Forum had a problem with their name and booted them off the bill of two shows, one with Slipknot and one with Metallica) as a badge of honor, there's no question that Lamb of God rule the metal roost. Everyone else is left to watch and marvel, and choke on their dust. However, they're not resting on past successes or what they've done. For Lamb of God, what happened in 2002 happened in 2002. It's about the right now and what's next: Resolution.
With Resolution, Lamb of God emerged from their haven in the South as powerful, as hungry and as extreme as ever. While most bands are running on fumes or coasting and sputtering to album No. 7, Lamb of God are reinvigorated. They still have something to say and more to prove…to themselves and no one else. This sonic terror squad has come along way from playing squats in basements as Burn the Priest with one constant element: the instinct to make legit, honest music their way, which is just what they've done with Resolution.
“The first and foremost thing that you have to realize about LOG is that we do exactly what we want, when we want, and how we want to," declares vocalist Randy Blythe. "We always have and we always will. That’s why each record is a snapshot in time. We never consciously sit down and say 'We’re going to keep it heavy. We’re going to keep it metal.' We just do that because that’s what we want to do. If we felt like putting out a polka record tomorrow, we would. We’re trying to make 'smart' heavy music.”
Point taken and mission most certainly accomplished with Resolution, a 100 percent trend-free and intelligently constructed album that could power a small country with its unstoppable energy and potent riffery. In a scene littered with "here today, gone tomorrow" bands, Lamb of God have survived because nothing stops them from staying the course they've purposely chosen to embark upon. They're not here to collect a check or respond to a label exec's request to pen a "radio song." It's none of the above for Lamb of God. The men that comprise the band are a little older now, a lot wiser and have families to support. Yet despite all those realities, making this music and making it their way is something that compels them, drives them and sustains them.
“You can still be a band that goes to the practice space, actually writes music together and then records. Being an actual band is still a viable option," Blythe says. "Bands are disappearing with digital recording today. Things are progressing to the point where people are just playing a riff or pattern and programming the drums, and at the end of the day, they have a technically perfect record, but it isn’t a real record. We didn’t do that. Our record is a REAL record.” Indeed, there is blood and adrenaline coursing through every vein of Resolution and its pulse will be felt by all who listen. It's an incredibly human record.
"We're not spitting out a Lamb of God template record," guitarist Mark Morton says. "If it's uninspired or you have nothing left to say, you stop. We're all putting other things in life off to do this, and we're not going to do it if gets boring to us. It's still exciting on our seventh studio record. We're still gaining momentum and getting better." That's not a quality you come across often with aggressive bands. Playing physically taxing music at full tilt leads to wear and tear on the body and the mind, but Lamb of God are not affected by such issues. They're like mutants made stronger by challenging themselves. While 2009's Wrath was sonically forceful enough to shift tectonic plates, Resolution finds the band knocking out their songs with the signature groove and swagger that made them heir apparent to Pantera's throne --an accolade left at LOG's doorstep by critics over time-- but with a little more refinement and attention to dynamics.
Overall, Morton feels that Resolution is the natural next chapter in his band's history, albeit one that harks back to the past, saying, "It almost completes the circle. There is a purity in the music, like when you first begin and you don't have those big aspirations, in a business sense, other than to play."
Drummer Chris Adler, long regarded as one of the most jaw-droppingly talented and proficient rhythm keepers in metal concurs, "Wrath was a bit of a first round knock-out punch to the face album and was purposefully very aggressive. Resolution is much more of a dynamic album.” He also feels that Resolution is born of the desire to surprise himself along with the fans who are happily along for the ride. He says, “A lot of bands get to the point where they put out seven or eight records and fans start to take them for granted. They aren’t the 'cool guys' anymore. I’m not immune to that, and we wanted to push ourselves and surprise ourselves by not resting on prior successes and by default surprising our fans.” Even so, he's not interested in following any sort of trends. He continued, “The biggest thing is that we don’t all want to be the next 'fill in the blank.' We don’t have a unified influence as a band. Because of that, our approach and our sound is slightly different than most bands. We fight and argue which makes it a more honest process.” As bandmate Blythe said earlier, Lamb of God, as an entity is like a living, breathing creature, not one that is plugged in.
The desire to maintain a "personal best" also keeps Adler and his bandmates at the very top of their game this deep into an enviable career. “What inspires me is to outdo the 21-year-old that I was," he states. "I have to prove to myself that I am still a player in this game and keep up with the best. As a band it was important to us to prove to ourselves that we have something left to offer. We don’t need to put out records anymore, but we want to put out records. We don’t want to tarnish the legacy of the band, so whatever we do has to be stronger than what we’ve done. And we’ve done it with Resolution.”
As Blythe decreed, the fact that the band owns the same goals since their humble beginning is what makes the album so real. Bassist John Campbell says, “Putting out heavy music has been our aim since we started this. We wanted to be a great, heavy band. It was never a thought to us that this would be conceptual commercially. We’re all the original members and this is what we do. This isn’t a contrived business thing to get famous and make money. Our core value is to write heavy music, and I think that’s what makes a great band.”
Amen to that!
So with that mindset firmly and collectively in place, when it came time to write and record Resolution, and to get into the the guts of the album, the band elected to let producer Josh Wilbur become involved sooner, to direct what was flowing out of them, egos be damned. "We did incorporate Josh [Wilbur] a bit earlier in the process this time around," guitarist Willie Adler says. "To have an objective ear early on in the process allowed us to sideline our egos at times and really drive for the best shit possible. We also wanted, as far as guitars are concerned, to really capture our live tone to record.”
Morton also revealed that the band did try something new and different with Resolution. “Unlike any other album before, this album was written over the course of a couple of years, at least with the guitars. Willie and I starting songwriting as soon as we started touring with Wrath," instead of their usual M.O. of touring writing upon their return from the road. "Due to having the recording software, we were able to take down ideas," he says about the head start. As a result, Resolution boasts some of the most punk rock moments and some of the bluesiest moments of the band's recorded career, perhaps fostered along by the liveliness of the writing-on-the-road process.
The album may display some of the band's deeper and less obvious influences, but Chris Adler is quick to assess the album's frantic energy. You can feel tension and release in the songs, making the album as a whole a truly cathartic experience. He says, “We really were living on a bit of the edge of our capabilities. There are some frantic moments in the music; they sound almost panic-inducing. The album is overwhelmingly aggressive and will definitely get people off their asses and driving fast.”
Blythe, he of the booming, bellowing voice, is known for spitting out provocative verses in a militaristic, almost drill-sergeant style bark. His voice and his style demand and command your attention. What he declares in the space of his lyrics isn't always comfortable –for him or for you- but he will always make you think about what he is saying. "I’m 40 years old, and I’m just now really getting some clarity on where my place in my life is," Blythe admits. "This is about me getting clarity after partying for a long amount of time, looking at my life and saying 'This is where I am, where do I want to go now?'"
Asking that question, which is something more than a fair share of the band's red-blooded, average American fans are likely to pose to themselves, allowed the singer to enter an entirely different zone on Resolution. While he may have experienced discomfort, LOG ended up with a better and more honest record for it. He continues, "It’s an introspective record and goes over some uncomfortable things for me. I hope people that hear those lyrics will look at themselves and look at the world around them and say 'This is where I am, I don’t like this.' and try to invoke a change in themselves. My overall feeling for this record is 'awakening.'"
The singer admits that he was attracted to underground, aggressive music in his youth because it offered a voice of dissent, one that he could relate to, so he attempts to distill that same feeling into Lamb of God. "That’s what I’m trying to put forth in my music," he says. "Not everything is really okay. You can have your cable TV and Xbox in your car or whatever, but that doesn’t mean that everything is okay and you can just stop because it’s easy. The root of what I try to put forth lyrically is 'Think for yourself.' Do something, do anything.” And that's precisely what bonds Lamb of God to their legion of loyal fans that have stuck with them for seven albums. Well, that and those bludgeoning riffs and technically proficient grooves have something to do with it, as well!
While Resolution admittedly contains some of "the swampiest, sludgiest stuff" of their career, according to Morton, as well as some of the aforementioned "most punk" songs they've ever laid to tape, the album also boldly goes elsewhere and features strings, orchestral movements and bluesy, acoustic guitars living among the band's patented, potent groove and swagger. The song "Insurrection" is a signature, natural and instinctive moment for Chris Adler, who revealed the song was born when the group was locked together in a room and tasked with seeing what it could come up with.
Album closer "King Me" is a real showpiece on an album full of showpieces. As Resolution's punctuation mark, it's a beautiful piece of music from grizzled, meat-and-potatoes-peddling veterans. It was purposely placed at the end of the album, as an unexpected pay off for the fan who spent an hour of his or her life listening to what came before it. Even though Lamb of God make music that could put hair on your chest, underneath the buzz of the guitars, the thunder of the percussion and the ferocity of the vocal declarations, this is still thinking man's metal.
""King Me' is an epic song," Blythe declares without hesitation. "It fits that definition, there’s no way around it. When a song is an epic song, you want to make it as big as possible, which is what we did with the opera singer and the string incorporation." Morton shared a little more about the process and how they arrived at such an "epic" moment, saying, "This isn’t necessarily us changing our songwriting approach or the method, but we really stretched out in the way we 'treated' the songs. Those are things that are added to the song after the fact, but they have a very impact on the overall sound. I don’t think we looked at it as 're-inventing' ourselves; it’s really as simple as that we’re continuing to strive to make music that we’re interested in and that we’re challenged to play, and that we enjoy performing.”
Now that Resolution is in the books and has asserted its rightful place as one of the most cohesive, dynamic and boot-to-the-throat heavy albums in Lamb of God's already extensive body of work, complete with epic and provocative moments, the goal remains singular: to move fans and connect with them, all the while creatively stimulating themselves. Lamb of God are pleased with the album. The only question mark is the fans and judging from the heft and the intensity of Resolution, there will be nothing but pleased fans once they get a load of the album.
Willie Adler said, "To see someone who has really been touched by the music is inspiring to me. Regardless of what emotion they’re feeling, what they’re going thru in their life at that moment, as long as they feel something, I feel as though I’ve done my job.” It's true that Resolution has the capacity to connect with its listener on multiple emotional levels, in addition to the sonic one.
Perhaps Morton sums up Resolution the best: "If it doesn't make you want to push the accelerator to the floor a little harder, flip off a cop or throw a bottle against a brick wall, then I haven't have done my job."
Few bands can craft an album that's as thoughtful as it is visceral. One is often sacrificed in favor of the other. But such is not the case here. Lamb of God have managed to create a masterwork that allows the listener to unlock layers of sound and meaning on each consecutive listen.
There's a whole host of reasons that Lamb of God remain at the top of their game in 2012, while others have faded and fallen away. Resolution is evidence of the band's stronghold on heavy metal in 2012. None can match it, nor do they come close.
In 2012, and with Resolution, Lamb of God has earned their place in the metal pantheon.
A new breed of modern American metal was erected in the 2000s, with Lamb of God serving as an architect, designing the blueprint that would become the standard by which bands that came after them would be judged. So often, the European metal scene has set the tone and established the creative high watermark of the global metal scene, providing the template that their American brethren would follow. Then Lamb of God came along and all bets were off.
It was Lamb of God who rewrote the rules, devised a new playbook and raised the standard. The genre was forever and irrefutably changed by what the band has done.
By the mid-00s, there was a full metal Renaissance, if you will, in America, with the genre enjoying several years of renewed success and critical respect. Lamb of God worked to establish themselves without question as the scene's alpha males, dominating at every turn, leaving a parade of other acts to merely feast on their leftovers and scraps. Mind you, this was not a scene, style or era populated by middling acts. The era was filled quality bands and still, it was Lamb of God who defined the time period and that quickly ascended as the game changers and torch bearers. No. Questions. Asked.
Turns out, they've merely nicked the surface of what they can do and plan on accomplishing.
In 2012, Lamb of God remain the pre-eminent metal band and not by default, either. The scene is still healthy, even if some of the peers who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them during that period of growth have fallen by the wayside. Lamb of God still reign atop of the genre thanks to their consistent ability to feed fans with only the best extreme metal there is. Their seventh album Resolution finds the band firing on all cylinders and doing things their way. As if we'd expect anything less from this Virginia wrecking crew.
With a rich history including three Grammy nominations, an invitation to tour with Metallica (which they did in 2008 through 2010 on the World Magnetic trek); multiple debuts in the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 (2009's Wrath debuted at No. 2 while 2006's Sacrament debuted at No. 8); multiple Platinum-selling DVDs (Killadelphia and Walk With Me in Hell); an arena tour with Slipknot (which took place in 2005); the main stage of OZZfest (2006) and wearing the fact that they were banned in Los Angeles (the Forum had a problem with their name and booted them off the bill of two shows, one with Slipknot and one with Metallica) as a badge of honor, there's no question that Lamb of God rule the metal roost. Everyone else is left to watch and marvel, and choke on their dust. However, they're not resting on past successes or what they've done. For Lamb of God, what happened in 2002 happened in 2002. It's about the right now and what's next: Resolution.
With Resolution, Lamb of God emerged from their haven in the South as powerful, as hungry and as extreme as ever. While most bands are running on fumes or coasting and sputtering to album No. 7, Lamb of God are reinvigorated. They still have something to say and more to prove…to themselves and no one else. This sonic terror squad has come along way from playing squats in basements as Burn the Priest with one constant element: the instinct to make legit, honest music their way, which is just what they've done with Resolution.
“The first and foremost thing that you have to realize about LOG is that we do exactly what we want, when we want, and how we want to," declares vocalist Randy Blythe. "We always have and we always will. That’s why each record is a snapshot in time. We never consciously sit down and say 'We’re going to keep it heavy. We’re going to keep it metal.' We just do that because that’s what we want to do. If we felt like putting out a polka record tomorrow, we would. We’re trying to make 'smart' heavy music.”
Point taken and mission most certainly accomplished with Resolution, a 100 percent trend-free and intelligently constructed album that could power a small country with its unstoppable energy and potent riffery. In a scene littered with "here today, gone tomorrow" bands, Lamb of God have survived because nothing stops them from staying the course they've purposely chosen to embark upon. They're not here to collect a check or respond to a label exec's request to pen a "radio song." It's none of the above for Lamb of God. The men that comprise the band are a little older now, a lot wiser and have families to support. Yet despite all those realities, making this music and making it their way is something that compels them, drives them and sustains them.
“You can still be a band that goes to the practice space, actually writes music together and then records. Being an actual band is still a viable option," Blythe says. "Bands are disappearing with digital recording today. Things are progressing to the point where people are just playing a riff or pattern and programming the drums, and at the end of the day, they have a technically perfect record, but it isn’t a real record. We didn’t do that. Our record is a REAL record.” Indeed, there is blood and adrenaline coursing through every vein of Resolution and its pulse will be felt by all who listen. It's an incredibly human record.
"We're not spitting out a Lamb of God template record," guitarist Mark Morton says. "If it's uninspired or you have nothing left to say, you stop. We're all putting other things in life off to do this, and we're not going to do it if gets boring to us. It's still exciting on our seventh studio record. We're still gaining momentum and getting better." That's not a quality you come across often with aggressive bands. Playing physically taxing music at full tilt leads to wear and tear on the body and the mind, but Lamb of God are not affected by such issues. They're like mutants made stronger by challenging themselves. While 2009's Wrath was sonically forceful enough to shift tectonic plates, Resolution finds the band knocking out their songs with the signature groove and swagger that made them heir apparent to Pantera's throne --an accolade left at LOG's doorstep by critics over time-- but with a little more refinement and attention to dynamics.
Overall, Morton feels that Resolution is the natural next chapter in his band's history, albeit one that harks back to the past, saying, "It almost completes the circle. There is a purity in the music, like when you first begin and you don't have those big aspirations, in a business sense, other than to play."
Drummer Chris Adler, long regarded as one of the most jaw-droppingly talented and proficient rhythm keepers in metal concurs, "Wrath was a bit of a first round knock-out punch to the face album and was purposefully very aggressive. Resolution is much more of a dynamic album.” He also feels that Resolution is born of the desire to surprise himself along with the fans who are happily along for the ride. He says, “A lot of bands get to the point where they put out seven or eight records and fans start to take them for granted. They aren’t the 'cool guys' anymore. I’m not immune to that, and we wanted to push ourselves and surprise ourselves by not resting on prior successes and by default surprising our fans.” Even so, he's not interested in following any sort of trends. He continued, “The biggest thing is that we don’t all want to be the next 'fill in the blank.' We don’t have a unified influence as a band. Because of that, our approach and our sound is slightly different than most bands. We fight and argue which makes it a more honest process.” As bandmate Blythe said earlier, Lamb of God, as an entity is like a living, breathing creature, not one that is plugged in.
The desire to maintain a "personal best" also keeps Adler and his bandmates at the very top of their game this deep into an enviable career. “What inspires me is to outdo the 21-year-old that I was," he states. "I have to prove to myself that I am still a player in this game and keep up with the best. As a band it was important to us to prove to ourselves that we have something left to offer. We don’t need to put out records anymore, but we want to put out records. We don’t want to tarnish the legacy of the band, so whatever we do has to be stronger than what we’ve done. And we’ve done it with Resolution.”
As Blythe decreed, the fact that the band owns the same goals since their humble beginning is what makes the album so real. Bassist John Campbell says, “Putting out heavy music has been our aim since we started this. We wanted to be a great, heavy band. It was never a thought to us that this would be conceptual commercially. We’re all the original members and this is what we do. This isn’t a contrived business thing to get famous and make money. Our core value is to write heavy music, and I think that’s what makes a great band.”
Amen to that!
So with that mindset firmly and collectively in place, when it came time to write and record Resolution, and to get into the the guts of the album, the band elected to let producer Josh Wilbur become involved sooner, to direct what was flowing out of them, egos be damned. "We did incorporate Josh [Wilbur] a bit earlier in the process this time around," guitarist Willie Adler says. "To have an objective ear early on in the process allowed us to sideline our egos at times and really drive for the best shit possible. We also wanted, as far as guitars are concerned, to really capture our live tone to record.”
Morton also revealed that the band did try something new and different with Resolution. “Unlike any other album before, this album was written over the course of a couple of years, at least with the guitars. Willie and I starting songwriting as soon as we started touring with Wrath," instead of their usual M.O. of touring writing upon their return from the road. "Due to having the recording software, we were able to take down ideas," he says about the head start. As a result, Resolution boasts some of the most punk rock moments and some of the bluesiest moments of the band's recorded career, perhaps fostered along by the liveliness of the writing-on-the-road process.
The album may display some of the band's deeper and less obvious influences, but Chris Adler is quick to assess the album's frantic energy. You can feel tension and release in the songs, making the album as a whole a truly cathartic experience. He says, “We really were living on a bit of the edge of our capabilities. There are some frantic moments in the music; they sound almost panic-inducing. The album is overwhelmingly aggressive and will definitely get people off their asses and driving fast.”
Blythe, he of the booming, bellowing voice, is known for spitting out provocative verses in a militaristic, almost drill-sergeant style bark. His voice and his style demand and command your attention. What he declares in the space of his lyrics isn't always comfortable –for him or for you- but he will always make you think about what he is saying. "I’m 40 years old, and I’m just now really getting some clarity on where my place in my life is," Blythe admits. "This is about me getting clarity after partying for a long amount of time, looking at my life and saying 'This is where I am, where do I want to go now?'"
Asking that question, which is something more than a fair share of the band's red-blooded, average American fans are likely to pose to themselves, allowed the singer to enter an entirely different zone on Resolution. While he may have experienced discomfort, LOG ended up with a better and more honest record for it. He continues, "It’s an introspective record and goes over some uncomfortable things for me. I hope people that hear those lyrics will look at themselves and look at the world around them and say 'This is where I am, I don’t like this.' and try to invoke a change in themselves. My overall feeling for this record is 'awakening.'"
The singer admits that he was attracted to underground, aggressive music in his youth because it offered a voice of dissent, one that he could relate to, so he attempts to distill that same feeling into Lamb of God. "That’s what I’m trying to put forth in my music," he says. "Not everything is really okay. You can have your cable TV and Xbox in your car or whatever, but that doesn’t mean that everything is okay and you can just stop because it’s easy. The root of what I try to put forth lyrically is 'Think for yourself.' Do something, do anything.” And that's precisely what bonds Lamb of God to their legion of loyal fans that have stuck with them for seven albums. Well, that and those bludgeoning riffs and technically proficient grooves have something to do with it, as well!
While Resolution admittedly contains some of "the swampiest, sludgiest stuff" of their career, according to Morton, as well as some of the aforementioned "most punk" songs they've ever laid to tape, the album also boldly goes elsewhere and features strings, orchestral movements and bluesy, acoustic guitars living among the band's patented, potent groove and swagger. The song "Insurrection" is a signature, natural and instinctive moment for Chris Adler, who revealed the song was born when the group was locked together in a room and tasked with seeing what it could come up with.
Album closer "King Me" is a real showpiece on an album full of showpieces. As Resolution's punctuation mark, it's a beautiful piece of music from grizzled, meat-and-potatoes-peddling veterans. It was purposely placed at the end of the album, as an unexpected pay off for the fan who spent an hour of his or her life listening to what came before it. Even though Lamb of God make music that could put hair on your chest, underneath the buzz of the guitars, the thunder of the percussion and the ferocity of the vocal declarations, this is still thinking man's metal.
""King Me' is an epic song," Blythe declares without hesitation. "It fits that definition, there’s no way around it. When a song is an epic song, you want to make it as big as possible, which is what we did with the opera singer and the string incorporation." Morton shared a little more about the process and how they arrived at such an "epic" moment, saying, "This isn’t necessarily us changing our songwriting approach or the method, but we really stretched out in the way we 'treated' the songs. Those are things that are added to the song after the fact, but they have a very impact on the overall sound. I don’t think we looked at it as 're-inventing' ourselves; it’s really as simple as that we’re continuing to strive to make music that we’re interested in and that we’re challenged to play, and that we enjoy performing.”
Now that Resolution is in the books and has asserted its rightful place as one of the most cohesive, dynamic and boot-to-the-throat heavy albums in Lamb of God's already extensive body of work, complete with epic and provocative moments, the goal remains singular: to move fans and connect with them, all the while creatively stimulating themselves. Lamb of God are pleased with the album. The only question mark is the fans and judging from the heft and the intensity of Resolution, there will be nothing but pleased fans once they get a load of the album.
Willie Adler said, "To see someone who has really been touched by the music is inspiring to me. Regardless of what emotion they’re feeling, what they’re going thru in their life at that moment, as long as they feel something, I feel as though I’ve done my job.” It's true that Resolution has the capacity to connect with its listener on multiple emotional levels, in addition to the sonic one.
Perhaps Morton sums up Resolution the best: "If it doesn't make you want to push the accelerator to the floor a little harder, flip off a cop or throw a bottle against a brick wall, then I haven't have done my job."
Few bands can craft an album that's as thoughtful as it is visceral. One is often sacrificed in favor of the other. But such is not the case here. Lamb of God have managed to create a masterwork that allows the listener to unlock layers of sound and meaning on each consecutive listen.
There's a whole host of reasons that Lamb of God remain at the top of their game in 2012, while others have faded and fallen away. Resolution is evidence of the band's stronghold on heavy metal in 2012. None can match it, nor do they come close.
In 2012, and with Resolution, Lamb of God has earned their place in the metal pantheon.
Minggu, 06 Oktober 2013
Tips Tattoo
tips tattoo : Hati-hati jika anda merajah kulit jangan asal-asalan tanpa memperhatikan kesehatan, karena bisa menyebabkan terinfeksi hiv, hepatitis c dan lain lain. Pastikan semua serba baru bukan hanya Jarum, tapi semuanya harus Segel, dan Pastikan anda sendirilah yang membuka segel tersebut sebelum Bertattoo, dan jgn lupa lihat dulu Portfolio dari Artist Tattoo tersebut, thanks GOOD TATTOOS ARE NOT CHEAPS, CHEAPS TATTOO ARE NOT GOOD.
Nih tips dari RAUHA TATTOO
Nih tips dari RAUHA TATTOO
Jumat, 04 Oktober 2013
Suicide Silence - New Vocalist
Suicide Silence Officially Announce Eddie Hermida (All Shall Perish) as New Vocalist
Rumors surfaced on Wednesday that Suicide Silence had tapped Eddie Hermida of All Shall Perish to fill their vocalist spot, just short of the one-year anniversary of Mitch Lucker’s tragic death. Later on they posted an audio snippet of a song with a mystery vocalist. Rumors they are no more: according to Lambgoat – who also broke the initial story on Wednesday – the band has officially announced the move, with a new promo photo (above) and all.
Here’s a statement from the band via Facebook half an hour ago:
Suicide Silence is pleased to announce the addition of Eddie Hermida to the family. Many of you may be familiar with Eddie through his work with All Shall Perish. For those of you unfamiliar, our relationship with Eddie goes way back to the Spreading Disease Tour, our first U.S. headlining run, in 2006.
Mitch and Eddie remained long-time friends and we felt that if the band were to continue it should be with someone Mitch knew personally and respected as both a friend and an artist. We’ve chosen Eddie as our new frontman in association with this long-standing relationship and countless other attributes from his quality of character to his dynamic vocal abilities that make him the absolute best fit for this band. We hope you all will embrace this decision with open arms understanding that this is what Mitch would have wanted. He would want his brothers to stick together & carry forward what he helped create. Every time we step on stage it will be in his honor and for his legacy. Suicide Silence will continue.
As we said on Wednesday Hermida certainly makes a whole lot of sense, although we’re still uncertain what the future holds for All Shall Perish. [Update: He has left All Shall Perish. Read ASP's statement here. -Ed.] Can Hermida pull double duty in two actively touring bands?
No word yet on immediate touring or recording plans for Suicide Silence.
Rumors surfaced on Wednesday that Suicide Silence had tapped Eddie Hermida of All Shall Perish to fill their vocalist spot, just short of the one-year anniversary of Mitch Lucker’s tragic death. Later on they posted an audio snippet of a song with a mystery vocalist. Rumors they are no more: according to Lambgoat – who also broke the initial story on Wednesday – the band has officially announced the move, with a new promo photo (above) and all.
Here’s a statement from the band via Facebook half an hour ago:
Suicide Silence is pleased to announce the addition of Eddie Hermida to the family. Many of you may be familiar with Eddie through his work with All Shall Perish. For those of you unfamiliar, our relationship with Eddie goes way back to the Spreading Disease Tour, our first U.S. headlining run, in 2006.
Mitch and Eddie remained long-time friends and we felt that if the band were to continue it should be with someone Mitch knew personally and respected as both a friend and an artist. We’ve chosen Eddie as our new frontman in association with this long-standing relationship and countless other attributes from his quality of character to his dynamic vocal abilities that make him the absolute best fit for this band. We hope you all will embrace this decision with open arms understanding that this is what Mitch would have wanted. He would want his brothers to stick together & carry forward what he helped create. Every time we step on stage it will be in his honor and for his legacy. Suicide Silence will continue.
As we said on Wednesday Hermida certainly makes a whole lot of sense, although we’re still uncertain what the future holds for All Shall Perish. [Update: He has left All Shall Perish. Read ASP's statement here. -Ed.] Can Hermida pull double duty in two actively touring bands?
No word yet on immediate touring or recording plans for Suicide Silence.
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