Metal to the End

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Metal to the End

The lead singer of the band finished screaming out the last words of the song, the twelfth they’d played so far.  The drummer was in a frenzy even as the lead guitarist held a wailing note.  The lead singer, who was also the bass player, just held his own instrument.  The drummer and lead guitar continued for a few more seconds… then the song abruptly ended.

A wall of noise washed over them.  More than thirty-thousand fans stood on the field in front of the stage, all wearing their favourite heavy-metal band T-shirts.

A few wore t-shirts of the band who were playing, but only a few.  That was fine.  Tonight was for the fans.  This would be the band’s last live gig.  They wanted it to be a great one.

This wasn’t the biggest crowd they’d played to.  They’d played at festivals with close to a hundred and fifty thousand people.  They’d played sold-out stadiums.  Yet this show was by far the most important, even with a smaller crowd.  Because this would be their last show.

As cheering continued to ring out the lead singer glanced at the watch on his wrist, then glanced at the sky.  He pulled the microphone in close and roared into it.  The crowd roared back!  But then, when he raised his hand, they fell silent.  So silent he could have heard a pin drop.

“All good things must come to an end, my friends,” he bellowed.  “And tonight that goes for us.  This will be our final song.  I just have a message from me and the rest of the band.  We love you all.  Thank you so much.  It’s been an amazing ride.  Now here’s the song you’ve all been waiting for…”

The band launched into their biggest hit.  The speakers were now cranked up to a level which meant half those in the audience would probably have hearing loss within days.  That was fine.  This was the last song.  The band wouldn’t be doing an encore.  No one would.

They gave it everything, every ounce of energy they had left, and the crowd responded in kind.  Crowd surfers were everywhere.  The mosh pit took up most of the crowd.  Everyone was throwing their horns and roaring along with the song almost loudly enough to overwhelm the music.  This was the last song and they were determined to get the most out of it!

The song was four minutes long.  By the time the band were two minutes in there was a bright light in the sky.  By three minutes it was blindingly bright, but neither the band nor the crowd paid it the slightest bit of attention.  They were in the moment, living the last song.  Nothing else mattered.

At three minutes and twenty-three seconds the song entered the main chorus for the final time.  The band belted it out and the crowd screamed along.  The combined sound was so loud it almost drowned out the roar as the asteroid streaked across the sky.  Still the band played… and still the crowd went wild.

The asteroid struck the ground less than two seconds later.  This was no ordinary asteroid.  It was immense, an extinction event.  Parts of it were still in the vacuum of space as it struck the ground only forty miles from where the band played.

Moments later all life within a hundred mile radius was gone.  The band, and the crowd, were killed in an instant.  Vaporised so fast they weren’t even aware of it happening.  It was so fast that they all ended their lives in the way they’d chosen – unified with those around them, part of an awesome metal concert.  There’d even been a dark joke going around, saying the band would be changing their style to death metal for their final show!

It was a fabulous end for a band who’d had twenty-five years of massive success, creating hit after hit and bringing joy to millions of fans.  There couldn’t have been a more metal way for the band to bow out than playing to their fans as the world ended.

That was the last gig ever played by the band Turbulence.  And they were most certainly metal to the end!

The End

(For Danny, Spencer, and a very young me!)

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