The week is almost over, and it’s been a good one for us. We discovered Shining and Thrudvangar — and we also came across some random, eye-catching visual stuff that gives us an excuse for another installment of our irregular feature called “That’s Metal” — But It’s Not Music.
That visual stuff (photos and videos) happened to fall more or less neatly into the theme of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” — and each item struck us as being pretty fucking metal, even though it’s not music. So, what the hell, we thought we’d share.
First up: Automobiles. Or more accurately roads where you can drive automobiles. This example came our way via the blog of Steff Metal, our favorite metal maven from the Antipodes. Her “Linking Horn” feature consistently turns us on to interesting shit we’d never otherwise see.
Case in point: The 19 Most Complex and Dangerous Roads in the World. Follow that link and you’ll see photos of some breathtaking roadways, like the one above — the Stelvio Pass Road in the Eastern Alps of Italy. It’s got 48 hairpin turns at an altitude of 1.7 miles above sea level. Or check out the next photo (after the jump . . .)
This is the Trollstigen road in Norway. “Trollstigen” apparently means “The Troll Ladder.” Can’t imagine why they gave the road that name. Or how about this one:
This one is called Los Caracoles. It passes though the Andreas Mountains on the way between Chile and Argentina.
Why are these roads metal? (A) Because some poor fuckers actually built these roads — and that’s pretty goddamned metal; and (B) because the thought of hauling ass along these things with some Exodus blaring over the car stereo is a seriously metal fantasy (even if it would most likely be the last act of our lives).
Next up: Trains. To be more specific a freight train versus a tornado. Guess which one wins. (We hope we don’t have to explain why this is metal.)
Next up: Planes. Well, not really planes. Just lunatics who think they’re planes. The footage below shows people wearing “wingsuits” base-jumping from some really high places. Personally, I’d rather get a good buzz on, settle back on a comfy sofa, and crank out some Immolation. I have trouble even watching this shit. Even the thought of actually doing it makes me wanna cry like a little girl.
(Again, we don’t think we need to explain why this is metal.)
Well, there you have it. Hope you liked all this stuff. We’ll get back to music tomorrow.