At least 22 people, including children, have been killed in a vicious attack last night during a concert in Manchester, England. The deadly attack took place during an Ariana Grande concert, where a suicide bomber detonated an IED at the packed venue, killing many, and wounding at least 59 people.
To say the least, the news of this attack is absolutely sickening, and has already been cited as “the deadliest terrorist assault in Britain since 2005”. Although it took place at a non-metal show, it strikes a nerve in us all as human beings. As metal heads, we attend lots of shows all year round, and living in a world where you’re forced to second guess your safety at a concert is not something that sits well with anyone. Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe took to his Instagram page to address this very issue:
“I am so sick of reading headlines like this. We as a race, THE HUMAN RACE, have to do better than this. A music concert is supposed to be a place where people gather to forget their problems for a few hours, not somewhere to roll the dice with your life. At times like this, I think the only thing a normal person can do is try to be the best, most moral, human they can be- in our jaded era, I believe this is more necessary than ever. For instance, this evening after I read this headline, I ran into a very loose acquaintance at the grocery store & mentioned the news. This person joked ‘Maybe they did it because it was an Ariana Grande show.’ I was too shocked to even say anything- I utterly fail to find the humor in the fact that at least 19 people are dead & many more injured, whatever you may think of someone’s music. I know nothing about Ariana Grande or any of her songs, but I can guarantee that people of many different races, religions, & beliefs were at that show for the same reason- to have a good time. Some of them won’t go home tonight. This is not fucking funny to me. This sort of jaded, joking, mentality is evidence to me of the continual chipping away of our humanity by the pathetically low standards of our era. We are better than this, people. It’s dehumanizing, just like the freakish & twisted beliefs that allowed this asshole terrorist to kill a bunch of people they didn’t know. Everything you do & say has consequences, even if you don’t believe that. Make sure you do your best to think & speak with a moral heart- maybe your kindness will prevent someone from going down a dark path- you never know who you may effect positively. My thoughts & prayers are with y’all in the U.K. tonight.”
As usual, Randy is head on with his thoughts here. As humans, we're all in this together. Our thoughts are with the victims and families of the awful attack.
