Between rock and a hard place

You’d think it was something off a vampire movie set in the middle ages. The black apparel, appalling facial make up, silver chains, crosses, studs and rings, spiked gauntlets (arm guards) and wrist bands; the ultimate signs of a rocker.

Though slow, there is certainly a revolution. Kenyan Rock is today what European and American Rock were in the 70s; unacceptable, deplorable, evil, a bad influence even.

In 1993, Norwegian Kristian Varg Vikernes, a Goth Rock guitarist for the Mayhem Band, was charged with murder and arson. He not only accepted responsibility for burning four churches in Bergen, Norway, but also openly castigated Christians for being pretentious and openly endorsed Satanism.

Ancient Goths who originated from Germany seem to have had some influence on the kind of Gothic Black Metal genre that emerged in the early 80s, which Varg Vikernes subscribed to.
In an interview for the documentary Head banger’s Journey, he was in the least bit remorseful.

“Satanism represents freedom, that’s why we are burning down churches because Christians are against us.”

Vikernes was sentenced to 21 years in prison from where the interview was held. This month, he was released on parole after serving 16 years.

Well, the situation in Kenya is yet to get to that point. Bands like Last Year’s Tragedy (LYT) however are trying to change the perception of the heavier more grungy and metallic sounding genres of rock.

Gothic Rock, or simply Goth, considered the darkest of Rock’s sub-genres is yet to make its mark in the Kenyan Rock scene.

The sub-genre is characterised by disturbing and depressing lyrical outbursts, chants and growls backed by heavy sounds of banging guitars, drums and keyboards.

Ruto Kipkulei, a 25-year-old classically trained pianist plays with LYT and refers to the Rock Lifestyle simply as the love of rock music.

“The claims made about rockers drinking blood and sheep brain, having sex orgies or sniffing and smoking illegal stimulants at Goth parties is absolute nonsense,” he says.

But Steve Ochieng’, a university student, has been to those rockers’ parties and disagrees with Ruto. “They are nasty,” he says. Steve can tell you that the sex stories in these parties hosted in private homes are real.

“It’s almost like an orgy,” he continues. “It is very hard to persevere what goes on there. So you must be high on something, and that’s how drugs come in, just before the drinking and the sex.”

But Shiv Mandavia knows that Kenyans are yet to fully understand what Goth is and therefore things haven’t can’t be that bizarre. “Most young guys call themselves Goths because they think it sounds cool,” he says.

“Kenyan rock lovers have not got to the point where they would do stupid things like burn churches or have orgies just for the heck of it and I don’t believe they will, because we are an intelligent people”.

Martin Kirui, who would rather go by the name Bleed, is a die-hard metal fan. He believes that the Kenyan Goth community though minute, does exist.

“Goths acknowledge a deep sense of death and the acceptance of it as a normal happening, and that there’s beauty in death as there is in life,” he explains. The Gothic signature black adornment, it would appear, is supposed to symbolise their zero fear of death.

Logging on to www.rock.co.ke you’ll find discussions about rockers having a party at the memorial war cemetery near the CocaCola Stadium! And some sick talk of blood and sheep brain for refreshments.

Clearly, Rock is not just music, but a lifestyle. And John “Tazz” Matasa lives the life. As a regular at rock concerts all over Nairobi, he has certainly been exposed to rock’s varied sub-genres such as Viking Metal, Black Metal, Screamo, Emo (Emotional), Speed and Melodic Metal.

But his association with Rock doesn’t end there. Tazz owns a rock regalia shop that sells Gothic paraphernalia from gauntlets to chains and leather jackets and trousers.

Every month, the Rezorus Club in Nairobi’s Westlands organises the ‘Battle of the Bands’, a concert where Kenyan rock bands outdo each other. For the fans who can’t wait for the annual Rocktober Fest, usually held in October, the Daas Restaurant and Go Down Arts Centre will keep their heads banging every so often.

The lifestyle that many have associated with Satanism, death, drug abuse, and even sex orgies is closer home than you think.

But Njeri Muchai, a university student and fan of the rock lifestyle is quick to defend her craze and insists that all rockers want is some freedom, which has been interpreted, in many circles, as rebellion.

“There’s a great release that comes with moshing (dancing) in the mosh pit.” Mosh pit being the dance floor. “That’s the freedom that we rockers want,” she adds.

With names like Last Year’s Tragedy (LYT), Demon Hunter, Killswitch Engage, Rage Against the Machine, Destroy the Runner and Daylight Dies, who would blame the skeptics?

If you are hearing these names and getting exposed to this kind of music for the first time, you would quickly dismiss it as ‘devilish’. In fact, some Christian rock bands like Demon Hunter, might have a hard time explaining themselves.

But Ruto is quick to associate the weird names with creative bohemianism and the genre as a spiritual one. Psychologists have a lot to say about rockers and rebellion.

“All they want to do is to go against their parents, often in reaction to a difficult past or present with restrictive parents. They feel that rock music will give them the freedom they are looking for,” says Mercy Kemboi, a youth counsellor in Nairobi.

While what Kemboi says may be true, the rock genre cannot entirely be blamed for all acts rebellious since the airwaves are currently clogged with R&B music that is idolising sex and Hip Hop which portrays murder as cool.

Rockers like Ruto and Bleed insist that the lifestyle entails a lot of discipline and intelligence to get the final product on stage.

“With all the practice we do to perfect our skills, there is simply no time to engage in drugs or sex orgies,” says Bleed.

As for the blood drinking, Bleed likens it to a tradition that some Kenyan communities identify with though he clarifies that there’s no human blood involved.