Derek Lee Goodreid was Born to Raise Hell
While perusing spotify, I found an artist not typically in the genres I listen to, but that has caught my ear nonetheless. The artist in question, hailing from Australia, is Derek Lee Goodreid and he has delivered a folk-rock blues song that is emotionally intoxicating. Goodreid’s Born to Raise Hell & Sing the Blues, is a testament to pure emotion manifesting itself through a voice. His delivery of the song comes from the diaphragm, but it feels like he’s throat singing because of the raspy nature of his voice. It is easy to hear the honesty and passion in his voice.
The lyrics are also a glowing example of an artist accepting who he is, and what he does. The concept of Born to Raise Hell & Sing the Blues is self-explanatory from the title. Goodreid accepts that his life is what it is, from the metaphysical conversation with the devil about who he is, to the circumstances that he was dealt, like his mother dying and his father leaving him. Even if the verses (and the whole song for that matter) are metaphors, it is hard to tell which sums of the brilliance of passion displayed throughout the three minute track.
The cover is not so self-explanatory, but wraps in with the theme of the song seamlessly. The cover is what I assume is a wolf with fangs bared and pupiless eyes. After doing some research, the symbolism behind the wolf is often seen as having the ability to make quick decisions while trusting one’s own instincts, having control over one’s own life. Disregarding the obvious lyrics of “running with a pack of wolves”, the not-so-obvious lyrics in the first verse compliments my theory of the symbolism behind the wolf as well, as Goodreid had to trust his own instincts being left parentless.
In summary, the song, from the packaging, to the lyrics, is one cohesive and passionate display of Derek Lee Goodreid taking control of his own life, whether for good or bad. If you’re ever feeling rebellious or down on yourself, I would suggest Born to Raise Hell & Sing the Blues as a pick me up or a medium for motivation. Look him up on Spotify and Bandcamp through one of the links in this post as well as his Facebook.
