When hearing the word icon, many people think of artists such as the Beatles and The Rolling Stones as well as Prime ministers such as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. They’d never think of someone who’s an alcoholic or has had self harm issues, in a God like way, as to many people this contradicts what an icon is all about. The preconception of an icon to 90% of people is this immaculate person who has done no wrong and will always put others before themselves as a matter of basic decency. If you asked them if they’d idolise someone completely opposite, you’d probably get a very quick, very stubborn one word answer.
In complete contrast, there are people who idolise those who have done wrong and have many issues, as they may feel these people are more relatable and even more ‘human like’ in a way in which this ‘perfect’ person who has done no wrong, could not possibly exist. We idolise those who have done wrong for one simple reason: they have made mistakes and they have overcome them, giving us hope that maybe we can do the same aswell.
Mitch Lucker, who was a singer / songwriter was a prime example of this type of icon. The metal music scene idolised him from the very start of his career in early 2002 as he was something very new and fresh. Born in Riverside, California in 1984, Mitch had a huge love for music from a very early age and started his band, Suicide Silence at the age of just 18. Suicide Silence rose to fame very quickly and by 2007 they had brought out an album which sold 7,250 copies in its first week. Throughout all of his time in the spotlight, Mitch was very open with his problems and insecurities and used these to create lyrics for his songs and to show others that you can overcome your problems with a little bit of hard work and perseverance, as one of the songs he wrote says:
“You only live one life
For a very short time
So make every second divine”
Throughout his life, Mitch became a strong figure in people’s lives. Fans of the band he had created were inspired by his lifestyle and the way he always wanted to help others. By overcoming his battles with alcoholism and self harm, he gave people strength and hope about overcoming their battles too. On the 1st November 2012, Mitch sadly passed away after crashing his motorcycle the night before. It is believed that he was drunk whilst riding the motorcycle he crashed. He left behind his wife, Jolie and his five year old daughter Kenadee along with many devastated fans. On the night of his death, his wife held a candlelit vigil in his memory in which friends and family as well as hundreds of Mitch’s devoted fans attended.
Although there were a lot of people who loved Mitch and idolised who he was and what he had overcome, there were a lot of people who didn’t. Mitch was very well known for his death core band and his very over eccentric music style, which meant he swore a lot in his songs as well as swearing a lot on occasions when he wasn’t singing. Despite the fact that this was all part of his personality, people didn’t like it. They didn’t like the way he expressed himself using foul language and didn’t want to see this rubbing off onto his fans. People also didn’t like how someone like Mitch, who had self harmed in the past and had been very open about it could be idolised by so many people. Mitch didn’t fit into the normal stereotype of what people think idols are and therefore was completely overlooked and even shunned for being such an inspiration to over 186 thousand people. When people heard that Lucker was intoxicated at the time of crashing the motorbike he was on, they were even more adamant that he was someone who should not be idolised at all and some people on the internet have gone as far as stating that his tattoos and the name of his band were big enough features for him to be disliked.
One internet article stated that ‘Mitch Lucker died because he strayed from the Lord; he chose to pursue darkness and not bask in the Lord’s endeavours’, which sent the internet into a huge frenzy, with tweets and facebook posts popping up all over the place. Some people agreed with this post, saying that Mitch should have stayed true to the Lord, where as others argued that Mitch had always stayed true to himself and his beliefs and that was all that mattered.
As much as some people hate it, Mitch was idolised by such a large following of fans, mainly teenagers and young adults, who were in the same position that he had been in at some point in his life. His fans needed help and they felt that Mitch was the person they could turn to. ‘He loved every single one of his fans’ Alex Lopez, the drummer of Suicide Silence explained. ‘He never took anything for granted’ another band member added. ‘He treated everyone with respect, he loved his fans so much’.
As the popularity of the band Mitch fronted grew, Mitch himself became more popular among the metal music scene and more and more people looked up to him as a person. In every interview he gave, he would always talk about helping his fans, which made many people believe in him – something which came after he started believing in himself. With his rise to fame, he was able to help many people overcome their issues and insecurities as well as give advice to those he couldn’t physically reach. His frame of mind was set on helping others and making sure everyone enjoyed the life they led.
You can tell that Mitch Lucker was looked up to by so many people even more after his death, purely by the amount of fans showing support to his friends and family as well as to the rest of the fan base that he had created. Mitch had moulded this circle of people who were able to talk like they’d known each other their whole lives without even meeting. They were able to help each other through the tough times they had, before and after Mitch’s death and they still, to this day have the power to shape people’s lives in the way that Mitch wanted, just by being a loyal follower of his. Mitch has been able to pass on his legacy through so many people and this has not gone unrewarded. His family have benefitted from his fan’s kindness and gratitude and Kenadee – Mitch’s daughter now has a full education fund, raised by a concert held in the singers memory after Adam Elmakias, a photographer and very good friend of his who set up the fund.
‘He knew what he was and obviously we all do. He was an icon’ someone confidently said in the new documentary all about Mitch’s life. ‘But he didn’t see it that way. He was blessed to be living the life he had.’
Mitch had such a large following for one main reason: he broke the mould. He re-shaped the typical ‘idol’ image as well as many people’s lives. He created this very familiar, comforting person who many people could turn to and this was something that a lot of Mitch’s fans didn’t have before he came along. For the metal music scene, Mitch Lucker was as big as Madonna is to pop, but for the complete opposite reason. Yes, people like the music that he and his band created but that was not the reason that they idolised him. He was caring and willing to put all of his time into helping people so they could relieve the stress they had and live a happier life and that was the main reason so many people found comfort in Mitch. They found that he was someone to talk to, he was easier to talk to about the problems they were facing than their parents would be as he had gone through the pain they were feeling and he had overcome it. He was a beacon of hope to so many people and an inspiration to metal music and the people that came with it. As Mitch once said: ‘keep listening to music ‘cause it gets you through everything, I promise.’
saskiasteelswright 