There’s always a band that you can just go back to for anything. You can use them as an emotional crutch or you can just play them when life decides to go your way. The singer’s voice is so angelic; you cannot believe such a voice exists. When you saw them live, you remember how mental the guitarist went and you could see the sheer passion in each band member’s faces as they were on stage. They’re not just a band, they are more than that. They say everything others won’t say, they make music others are scared to play. They are quite possibly still the underdog, but the singer once said, “Even the underdog gets to have its day.” You cling onto her saying that because you can relate to it. You’re still waiting to have that day, but as each day passes and you get older- you realise something. You realise that this band have been a huge part of your life. You’ve adored them since the very start. You’re proud to call yourself a fan. When you saw them live, it was at such a shut part of your life- but their show slowly but surely dragged you out of the rut you were stuck in. You’re still not sure what the cause was, you can’t go back for answers. Move forward and move to your favourite band. That’s exactly what you did. You screamed every single word back. Am I boring you? I probably am. It’s 1.30am and I’m rambling before I start again.

Everything above is how I feel about Metric.

What Metric are to me is hard to put into words, and with that lengthy introduction I have metaphorically shot myself in the foot. What I dislike is that I can pour all these feelings into describing my love for a band; I can do that- no problem.  Yet I struggle a stupid amount to tell someone how I feel about anything. Not in a “woe is me” kind of way. I guess I just get nervous and frustrated when I have to talk about myself, I guess with writing like this I can do it in a different way. I can be me when I write about a band. I guess it’s my way of saying to certain people, “You got me wrong, I’m not a twat.” But hey, their loss is my gain. It just allows me to write like this. Maybe it is personal, but I want whoever reads what I write to feel it the way I do. I want them to think about the band they love when I write this way. I cannot write without putting my feelings into it. Maybe it makes me a bad writer, maybe it makes me sound like some obsessive fool. Maybe I am. I just love music; it’s the only thing that can make me feel like this. It makes me feel alive when nothing else does. It’s my life.

The way a song can make you feel 10 feet tall but then just break your heart has always fascinated me. How a song can just describe your life in one short sentence is mind-blowing beyond belief. How a certain key change can cause this spark to light up inside you throws you into a whirlwind. Again, this is how I feel about Metric.

Dead Disco was the first song I ever heard by Metric, “Everything has been done.” That line just stuck with me instantly, it still does. Years have passed since I first heard Metric, and that line is still relevant- possibly more now than ever. Old World Underground, Where Are You Now has so much going on. The aggressive riffs, the harsh drums, the raw bass and the angelic vocals. All of this is what makes Metric so appealing to me. Emily Haines is quite frankly highly underrated as a front-woman. She can hold a crowd just as well as anyone else- male or female. She goes wild on stage, she just grips you. I remember when I saw them live, and she held my hand for like 2 seconds, it was just amazing. I also had the honour of doing a phone interview with Jimmy and Emily in 2009.

What I loved about the interview is how personal it was. I didn’t feel like I was talking to members of my favourite band, I felt like I was just talking to two people I sort of knew about music. It was such a relaxed vibe; it was one of the best interviews I’ve ever done. As it was personal, I’ve never wanted to type up the interview. It was just before Fantasies was released and I had a promo copy. I talked to Emily about a song off the album that at that point in my life, just described it. To be able to tell the person who created a song that means the world to you what it means to you is such a euphoric feeling. It is truly remarkable, it always stays with you.

Even if you’ve never seen Metric live, you can easily sense how much they love the music they create on record. The passion just oozes out, it’s just bloody marvellous.

Live It Out is easily my favourite record by the band. I love every single song on the album, especially the title track. The lyrics are, well they just mean a lot. The whole album is just perfect from beginning to end. The album starts with Empty; the build-up in this song just makes you stop still. You cannot do a thing, “There is no way out, the only way out is to give in.” The way Emily sings this is stunning, then the guitar, drums and bass kick in and smack you pleasurably in the face- followed by Emily’s voice echoing, “Shake your head it’s empty.” This live is just out of this world, for 10 minutes they played so brutally. I’ll always hold this gig so dear to me. I’d waited years to see them, and I was front row amongst around 300 people. It was pure bliss.

Poster Of Girl is perfect. Emily singing in French, how could you not lose your mind to it?! Too Little Too Late is probably my favourite off the album, as soon as I publish this entry I may have switched it to Handshakes or something.

Metric’s music just means the world to me, it owns my heart. When I can’t sleep, I usually play some of Emily Haines solo work. It’s just gorgeous. Her delicate voice over a piano is so comforting; it just sends you off into a dream-world.

Acoustic Metric is stunning too, as is their cover of The Strokes song, The End Has No End. Everything about Metric just appeals to me. They posses the Punk ethic and hints of Riot Grrrl- I think it’s because they came out just as the Riot Grrrl movement was fast falling into the unknown, of course it still exists- but it’s underground, I guess that’s what makes it still highly important.

In over a thousand words I have tried to convey my love for Metric into words, instead I think I’ve just ranted like a tired idiot. I am tired; I’ll go to sleep as soon as I’ve posted this.

I just love Metric and I firmly believe they do not get the credit that they are rightfully owned. However, part of me loves this because they feel like “my” band. Nobody really knows of my unconditional love for this band and all they mean to me. I hold them as highly as Morrissey and Bob Dylan (they’ve also covered Dylan brilliantly.) They just mean everything to me, nothing in life is perfect- but I think Metric are close to it.

They are what true musicianship should be. They’ve never changed their sound to fit in, they’ve never stopped doing what they love to adapt to certain trends. They have always been honest and true to themselves.

When I listen to them, they just reignite this fire in me that is all too often being put out, when a band can do that to you- it’s fair to say that they are your life/a huge part of it.

“There’s no glitter in the gutter. There’s no twilight galaxy.”