READERS CHOICE: Mental Health Awareness Month

Readers Choice is back and what a great way to kick it off with honouring mental health awareness month as the first theme. Band members and readers picked songs and albums that either resonated with them whilst going through ill mental health or ones that help give them a morale boost. Some of their choices can be found on the latest playlist.

Tom O’Dell – Battle Born

Caladan Brood’s Echoes Of Battle is the perfect album. I am always in the mood for it. I will also say Wintersun’s Sons Of Winter And Stars is the perfect song. If you have got the perfect song and the perfect album, you are sorted.

Jack Reynolds – Battle Born

I have a soft spot for The Smokeless Fires by Lunar Shadow. It’s a strange mix of songs but it hits the spot.

Derek

So many go to songs to suit the mood.
Paradise On Fire – The Big Dirty (find it hypnotic & power from the song)
Until It Sleeps – Metallica (the power.)
In My Head – Falling Red (any of their songs as they’re introspective)
Lost Control – FACE UP
Most recently, Love Hate song by The Rews

Becky

Anything by Warkings or Serenity gives me an adrenaline boost to face the day.

Dan

The band Eleine helps me through a lot and song I’d choose is As I Breathe.

Beth Blade – Beth Blade And The Beautiful Disasters

Since the last BBATBD album release, I have been through some awful things. I am very open about this, I am a domestic violence survivor. Music was the thing that kept me going and an album that I turned to was Joni Mitchell’s Blue that I played on repeat because it allowed me to feel those feelings that I had to bottle up when I was in that situation as I wasn’t allowed to express those emotions. Through those songs, she tells her whole life and you can tell it’s so close to her. I really admire that and it gets through to you because it’s so relatable.

The new Halestorm album is another one I turn to. Lzzy Hale is a huge influence and she had the same issue in lockdown as in feeling like you have lost your purpose as musician during lockdown. There’s a song called My Redemption is about forgiving yourself for feeling those feelings during lockdown.

Lotty interviewed Beth Blade in the lead up to their album. She goes into more detail with her choice so stay tuned for this interview.

Matthew Corry – Fellowship

I would say Forget And Not Slow Down by Relient K is my go to album, what an album. I used to use it as a break up album as it’s a concept album written after the lead vocalist was I think accused of cheating. Most of the songs are about you having to believe me. That has so many things about accepting the things that have happened and moving on.

Lotty also interview Matt about Fellowship’s upcoming record. A more detailed version of this answer will be in that interview. Stay tuned.

Steph

Edguy – Holy Water is usually one of my “go-to” songs when I’m feel depressed. Sometimes I just want to shut the world out and just listen to this song; this is when I’m either going through a downward spiral, a bereavement, break up or feeling like I’m not good enough.

I might seem happy or bubbly but I’m also a very self – conscious person with low self-esteem and anxiety. It’s my coping mechanism. I’m one of the lucky ones who recognises their triggers and able to use strategies to help ride through the storm.

The lyrics such as “I feel like I’ve been left behind, my heart is frozen” are relatable as I feel this pain and get so frustrated that I still get these moments. Even though it’s normal to have these moments, I feel like I’ve gone two steps back.

When I listen to this song, it’s like all my condensed emotions explode similar to the relief sensation of crying; especially when I hear the line “Rain is falling, pouring down on me, Holy water to ease my pain”. Sometimes I can cry, sometimes I’m just numb that no tears can reach the surface, so I use this song as my release.

Patrick

I actually had mental health problems last year, and the song that helped me most was Zephyr by Countless Skies, actually their whole album Glow was spinning a lot. Plus The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest by Anneke van Giersbergen helped to heal my soul. And another great song with a simple and important message is Be Good To Yourself by Journey. All combined with my therapy, plus a lot of talking with friends and family, helped me get through it.