Low Teens

2016 | Metal

Spotify | Amazon

“Teach me to breathe, don't let me think. -- Wipe out my past, break me in half.”

Trivia

• Every Time I Die are a metalcore outfit out of Buffalo, NY, formed in 1998.
• Low Teens hit #23 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
• The three core members of the band from it's groundling days are borthers Jordan & Keith Buckley on lead guitar and vocals respectively, as well as Andy Williams on rhythm guitar.

THE HOT TAKES

Luke Tatum

"New clothes! New home! New job! New god!" This song gets at a comparison that many of the more hardcore anarchist types make frequently. The state is like a cult. Don't get me wrong, the song seems to just be about joining a cult. But if you apply it to statism, a few things should fall into place. Hoppe presented us with one of the best book titles of all time in "Democracy: The God That Failed." The logical fallacies are everywhere! We apparently need government to help people make the right decisions because people are too stupid to make the right choices themselves. At the same time, we leave the selection of leaders--the very people who will be making these laws--to the public. You have probably seen the bumper sticker that says, "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!" But have you also seen a political sticker on the same vehicle? Bernie 2016, Romney 2012, Obama 2008, and so forth. Regardless of which politician it is, the irony should be clear. Stupid people in large groups are the ones carrying these monsters like heroes into positions of power.

Sherry Voluntary

I don't know why, but this song brings images of the movie Idiocracy to mind. Maybe it's the screaming, maybe it's the sheer stupidity of the subject matter, clearly the cult is the military. Very fitting for Memorial Day, methinks. The steps to joining the military are eerily similar to the brainwashing of a cult. Clearing the head, changing the appearance, “fill me with song” like cadences they learn to march to. Even worse though are the goals, which are eerily similar too: break down the individual until he makes the collective's needs and desires his own. Break and rebuild in the image you wish. As bad as being in a religions cult is, I speak from experience here, the death cult of The State can invade, kidnap, torture, and murder with impunity. No other cult has ever been so deadly. I will always do my best to discourage any young person from joining up. The State's power only stands because there are those who enforce their wil, without soldiers, it's impotent. Larken Rose has it right, Statism really is the most dangerous superstition, and far more deadly than any other cult has ever been. #dontenlist

Nicky P

I’ve hated authority my entire life. I’ve scoffed at the morons that buy into the cult forever. I’ve never bought into the bullshit...but even I have had my moment of weakness. In a moment of uncertainty and disdain for the monotony and drudgery I went to a recruiting office to see about enlisting. I wish I was as dumb as the eighteen year olds they routinely pick up but I was 21 and a college graduate looking out at the empty job market with a worthless degree. As I sat in that office going over my options and possible problems I never once thought about what I’d be doing. I thought about what I could gain from a career guaranteed by the state. Ultimately I walked out never to return with a name of a doctor that could help me get in and a hilarious irritation with the most superficial aspect imaginable. Had they not said no more tattoos i might be a career boy in the airforce. Thankfully my vanity over my body art kept me out of the cult.