Wrong Number

I Don't Know

Song: I Don't Know

Artist: Ozzy Osbourne

^^^

I took Tylor's metal musical challenge seriously. Over the weekend, I planned to look up as many metal artists as I could, but I had no idea on where to begin. I tried scrolling through Spotify playlists, but with so many metal subgenres, I didn't know which one would be the most like Sludgehammer.

Normally, I'd text Simon and ask for his opinion, but I wasn't in the mood to talk with him. What he said about Tylor still pissed me off, and since my metal journey was for Tylor, I didn't want him part of it. And while I also could have texted Clara, she was spending the afternoon with her friends. Interrupting her to talk about metal music wasn't a good idea.

As I opened my contacts, Mystery popped up as one of my "frequent contacts." She'd texted me when bored before, so where was the harm in doing the same?

Do you know anything about metal music?

She instantly responded.

Are you that bored?

No. One of my friends is in a metal band, and he said that I need to look up more metal artists so I will enjoy his shows so I'm trying to figure out where to start.

Aww, that's so sweet!

I actually love metal music. Do you know what subgenre they do?

No clue. I didn't even know there were subgenres till today. I thought it was all hard and metal.

Lol

If you're looking for a good place to start, I recommend either Metallica's Ride The Lightening or Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil. They're pretty good for metal beginners.

Instantly, I pulled up Spotify and played the Avenged Sevenfold album. I'd heard a few of their songs before and liked them, so I didn't know why I didn't think about starting there. At least I had a good place to actually begin.

Listening to the first song, Beast and the Harlot, I liked what I was listening to. Mystery definitely knew a good place to start.

I'm really liking the Avenged Sevenfold one so far.

As I waited for a reply, Kiki knocked on my door. She poked her head in my room and quirked her eyebrow. "Why are you listening to Avenged Sevenfold?"

"I'm learning more about metal music to enjoy my friend's concert."

"Cool." She shuffled in the doorway, glancing around my room anxiously.

Standing up from my desk to relax on my bed, I patted the spot next to me. "You're welcome to join me if you want."

Kiki nodded and walked into my room, closing the door behind her. She laid down on my bed next to me and pulled out her phone. While it didn't seem like much, at least she was opening up and reaching out a hand. Hopefully, she'd tell one of us what was going through her brain soon.

Opening up my messages, I read Mystery's reply.

Good! I love that band. They're one of my favorites. If you ever want another person's opinion of metal music, feel free to ask me. I love all genres, but metal will always hold a special place in my heart.

Can I ask why?

It's hard to explain. The lyrics just make me feel seen and heard. It's like I don't feel so alone anymore. The same goes for punk and hard rock. They're the best genres in my opinion.

What's your favorite metal genre?

Heavy. But I also LOVE death metal

If this is heavy or death metal, I'm really liking it too

:smile emoji:

I'm glad you're enjoying it

Can I ask you something?

Sure

What made you want to ask me for metal advice? I can understand not wanting to lean on your artist friend and have a biased opinion, but do none of your other friends like metal music?

I'm not sure. I know my friends like rock, but we've never talked about metal music.

I mean, I have one friend, but he's been pissing me off so I'm not in the mood to deal with him.

Oh no

What happened?

While it probably wasn't appropriate to talk about Simon and Tylor to a stranger, I needed to talk to someone about it. Someone unbiased. Besides, it wasn't as if Mystery knew who either of them was.

My best friend doesn't like my singer friend, but he's my friend. He said it's because he knew him in middle school and found him to be weird and off-putting, but I don't get that vibe from him now. The metal guy has clearly grown up, and he's a cool person, but my friend doesn't want to see it that way. He even told me he's not really my friend, and it pissed me off. It sucks because we've been friends for years and he's never been this big of an asshole to anyone else and it pissed me off.

I think it's really sweet that you stood up for your new friend. You really stood up for your morals and values, which is quite admirable. Personally, I think you did the right thing by supporting this new friend of yours.

Thanks! That makes me feel a little better.

As for your friend, he might not realize that he's being a jerk. Some people just don't realize that they're in the wrong in the moment until someone calmly explains why they're wrong. If it doesn't seem like he's seeing your side, I'd suggest talking to him and see if you can get him to see your side. There's nothing wrong with talking about it. If you really like this singer friend of yours and care about your best friend, it's good to talk things out and see if he can see your side.

Would Simon actually listen to my side? He seemed adamant of being right, despite being in the wrong. It wasn't like I'd stop being his friend because of this, but that didn't mean he wasn't a dick.

I'll talk to him at school tomorrow. Thanks for your help :insert smile emoji:

In other news, I'm loving the song Bat Country

Good. I'm glad!

That's my favorite from the album as well!

Out of curiosity, do you have a favorite overall song?

Out of all songs in the world? I don't know. I really like the song Turn The Page by Bob Seger. My stepmom likes to sing it when she's working around the house. She's always really happy when she sings it, so I'll sometimes jump in and sing it with her.

Songs that are tied to special memories are always the best

There's actually a metal version of that song. Metallica did the cover of it.

I'll have to check that out after this.

They have an entire cover album that's good. I personally love Queen's Stone Cold Crazy cover.

Mystery and I texted for the next few hours, not stopping our conversation for anything. Even when Clara texted me to let me know she was back home from her friends, I didn't stop. I enjoyed Mystery's time too much, and I didn't want to stop the conversation until I had to.