The Man Who Laughs

I am totally, entirely, and until I die a headbanger (A guy who listens to heavy metal while vigorously nodding his head up and down). To my greatest satisfaction, my son David became a headbanger, as well. I did not raise him to be a headbanger; the first videotape and cassette tape that I presented to him was Michael Jackson’s HIStory. At some point, he discovered my metal music collection and then became a ‘banger himself.

We have had some excellent times together, since then. Our first concert together was Queensryche and Judas Priest, in Virginia. After that, we went to Ozzfest 2005, where we saw Rob Zombie, Iron Maiden and the original Black Sabbath lineup (Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward). In 2006 we went to see Iron Maiden in New Jersey, and then we went to a small club in Baltimore where Queensryche put on a stage presentation of ‘Operation Mind Crime’ parts one and two. In 2007 and 2008 we saw Rush in Raleigh and Charlotte. Interestingly, it was all on the ‘Snakes and Arrows’ tour. We missed 2009 because I was in Kuwait. In 2010, we went to Charlotte and saw the “Gruesome Twosome” show. Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. At the age of 62, Alice Cooper still kicks ass!

We’ve seen Zombie twice and watched his movies. I never really thought about the meaning of any of his music, until I became curious about ‘The Man Who Laughs’. It is a nine minute song with orchestral accompaniment. As it turns out, the song is about a man that is disfigured, but the girl in story loves him because she can see his true nature while not seeing his unusual face (She is blind, and wonders why he’s always smiling. He is not smiling; those that kidnapped him disfigure children so that they can beg for money, and his face appears to always be smiling as a result). His name is Gwynplaine, and he is descended from royalty. When invited back in to the Royalty, he refuses to be royal, and wants to go with his love. His love dies, and he joins her in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

I am no romantic, nor do I favor love stories. However, Rob Zombie made a song about “The Man Who Laughs”; I continue to listen to it (good drum solo) and am appreciative to learn about the background of “The Man Who Laughs”.

I’m listening to “Werewolf Women of the SS” right now, so don’t think that I’m some kind of pussy.