Consider this a disclaimer. This rant is not going to be a vulgar one but it's not going to be about fluffy bunnies either. And before I go into this I need to make a few very important notes.

1. I am not going to say that horrorcore is bad, Satanic, evil, etc. If you're under the impression that it is, read at your own risk.

2. I am not going to talk about Juggalos. Adding them into this rant would be opening up another huge can of worms, and make what I want to say more complicated. And since what I want to rant about doesn't directly concern Juggalos, it's just unnecessary.

3. The reason I'm ranting about this is because, quite frankly, I'm tired that horror is given such a bad time in practically every single form of entertainment out there. And now suddenly it seems that someone has finally gone full-out insane and has given everyone a reason to say that horrorcore will bring on the Rapture. I have to say something.

Before I do, how about a little test?

Okay, I'm going to give you an excerpt from three different songs. Two of these songs come from either professional or amateur horrorcore artists. One will not. I challenge you to guess which one of these songs ISN'T horrorcore. (And no Googling.)

EXCERPT ONE
That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is)
My love will never change (My love will never change)
That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is)
(Mamma)

EXCERPT TWO
Your dreams are filled with blood and gore.
Now they're right outside your door
They're gonna get you.

EXCERPT THREE
Welcome to my dark side, the dark side yeah
The dark side, that sick side
Welcome to my dark side, the dark side yeah
The dark side, the place you're gonna die

So, pick which one is NOT from a horrorcore band. Excerpt 1, 2, or 3?

The origins of the songs (along with the answer) will be at the end of the journal.

I'm ranting and whining about this guy: [link] and while you go through that, skim this as well so I don't have to explain everything: [link]

*Sigh.* What can I really say about this dude? This dude is crazy. This dude is into horrorcore. But what this dude ISN'T, is a representative of horrorcore or horror in general.

I'm into a little horrorcore myself. I even like several Insane Clown Posse songs. I like writing about blood and gore. Does that mean I'm going to go on a mass murder spree? No.

Now, I could make a comparison here between this nut's music and other horrorcore, but I don't think letting your ears bleed will help as you listen to him growling over what is almost MIDI music. I could make a comparison with the Bible which has a lot of violence and slaughter itself, but that would be saying the Bible is a messed-up book, and it's not. I even own one and I read passages from it from time to time. I've got nothing against the Bible itself.

What I am against is people using horror from multimedia as a scapegoat for whenever someone goes berserk and kills people. I mean, why isn't football being scapegoated? People get into fights over it all the time. And let's throw in the pigskin-as-football argument. There you go: common sense, the Bible, and PETA are all against football; let's get rid of it. (And that was NOT comparing the Bible to anything, so this doesn't conflict with what I say in the above paragraph.)

This kid obviously had issues. He was obviously messed up, but I'd say he was messed up way before any fascination with horror. That was the only thing he could connect with; he never talked with anyone, no chance to grow really, and no way to figure out his emotions or even who he is.

I've had that problem. I'd hazard a guess to say we all have had that problem, figuring out who we are. I've been interested in horror myself, but for many years the fact that I was interested in it, disturbed me. Why? Because everyone else saying about how horror will corrupt you and/or make you go on mass killing sprees made me paranoid. I want to figure things otu for myself; why I am the way I am. Was I normal? A psycho waiting to happen? Back then, I had no idea. I just knew I liked blood and guts. I liked (and still like) writing about it. It makes me a little self-conscious saying that outright, but I need to be honest here. I'm not a violent person, no matter what part of society tries to suggest otherwise.

Here's the part where I say that what makes me different from Syko Sam is the fact that I can tell the difference from right and wrong. Yes, that's correct but it goes much deeper. I have a lot of friends, a caring mother, places and people I could turn to when times get ugly. Horrorcore also helps calm me, but that's almost just an added bonus. I can see and feel that I can make a future for myself. Despite all the paranoia I've had in my life, worrying that perhaps I was crazy or messed-up, I have a positive outlook on life. And the world. I'm going to make a future for myself. I'm going to have a family someday. I just got to keep moving ahead.

The only thing Syko Sam had was the music. He didn't have anything else to go on; only horror. Horror can help you understand any "dark sides" to yourself, but it's not going to explain to you who you are and I think that's what he tried to do. He didn't have anyone to talk to, anywhere to go, and I highly doubt he saw any future for himself. He only had the music and it got to the point where that wasn't enough. So he did the only thing he thought he could do: try and make it real. Try to kill people for real.

The Chinese speak about the yin and the yang; light side and the dark side. In my life I'm given the opportunity to explore and discover both sides of myself. Syko Sam could only explore his dark side. And that's what ultimately caused him to do what he did.

Don't blame music.
Don't blame horror.
Blame a lack of experiencing life.

I'll give you two more links, a blog and a CNN transcript about this that further reflect what I'm trying to say:

[link]

[link]

Now the answers, but first let's put the excerpts up again:

EXCERPT ONE
That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is)
My love will never change (My love will never change)
That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is)
(Mamma)

EXCERPT TWO
Your dreams are filled with blood and gore.
Now they're right outside your door
They're gonna get you.

EXCERPT THREE
Welcome to my dark side, the dark side yeah
The dark side, that sick side
Welcome to my dark side, the dark side yeah
The dark side, the place you're gonna die




I hope you didn't pick Excerpt One. It's a nice lyric with nothing offensive at all in it, yet it's also a lyric by Insane Clown Posse. It's "Mom Song." (And if you did like this excerpt, listen to it on YouTube, even if you're not a fan. I've shown my friend this song and she's not into horrorcore or ICP and she loves it.)

If any of you picked Exceprt Three, you're probably all having doubts at this point. As you should. The song is "My Dark Side," by Syko Sam himself.

But if any of you picked Excerpt Two, congratulations. Despite lyrics of blood and gore, despite the song title being "Witches" and despite the band being "Switchblade Symphony," the band is NOT horrorcore. More hip-hop and dark wave.

The reason I gave you this test was to show that one can't always judge the world of horrorcore by what it contains. Was horrorcore a warning sign in the case of Syko Sam? Perhaps, but it certainly wasn't the biggest sign.

By showing sweet non-offensive lyrics from a controversial group, and bloody lyrics from a band that was never controversial, it shows that you can't always take horror at face-value. Taking things at face-value is a big reason for most of the problems today.

Well that's that. Thank you for reading.