The heavy metal band whose song “Bodies” was the only video listed on Jared Loughtner’s YouTube page is denying suggestions that one of their songs had anything to do with last weekend’s shootings.
A recent Washington Post article chronicles instances in which music has apparently influenced killers, most notably Charles Manson, whose fascination with the Beatles song “Helter Skelter” guided some of the killings for which he was convicted.
The Post noted similar parallels in a song by the heavy metal band Drowning Pool: “‘Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor,’ the singer barks in a refrain that carries an eerie echo in the context of the shooting rampage Saturday in Tucson.”
Members of Drowning Pool disagree. “‘Bodies’ was written about the brotherhood of the mosh pit and the respect people have for each other in the pit. If you push others down, you have to pick them back up. It was never about violence. It’s about a certain amount of respect and a code,” the band said in a statement
A few days later, Drowning Pool again took to their website to express frustration at the Post story, saying it was a fallacy to cite their music as a reason for the carnage and cited their past good works performing for the troops in harms way.
“The Washington Post ran an article on ‘Bodies’ and the Tucson shootings. But instead of telling the whole story, the writer decided to edit what we had to say in order to make it seem like we were somehow responsible for what happened last weekend. He left out some really important facts,” they wrote.
“We find it inappropriate to imply that our song or rock music in general is to blame for this tragic event. It is premature to make this assumption without having all the facts in the case. It is just as likely that this horrible act was caused by the irresponsible and violent rhetoric used by mainstream media outlets such as the Washington Post.
“Listening to Drowning Pool music does not make you a bad person. Misleading people does.’”
