"A song that sums up everything that the people around you, Rafael, want to say."
OPEN LETTER TO RAFAEL MASINI
By Daniel Dystyler
Rafinha,
You know very well that I've written this text before… Something similar, actually…
It was in the recent past: 2 years, 5 months and 3 days ago…
That time, it hurt a lot…
But this time… There’s no comparison… There are no words to describe it… It was something I had never felt before…
To understand their pain. The pain of those who care about you. My pain. The difficulty in comprehending why someone so young, so good, so cheerful, with so much ahead of them in life, had to leave so soon. And to feel, on top of that, the sensation that after such an event, nothing else matters. Everything else becomes small and unimportant.
In the chapter describing the plane crash involving the late Randy Rhoads from the excellent book ' I Am Ozzy ', the autobiography of the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, it's there again: That same feeling that everything becomes small and insignificant compared to such a loss. Everything. Fame, shows, records, tours, good songs, bad songs, lawsuits, etc. Everything loses its meaning.
And if you're not a rock star like Ozzy, it doesn't matter: the feeling is the same. Only the activities are different, but they also become small and meaningless: everyday discussions, getting the car serviced, work meetings, enrolling the kids in school, reading the newspaper, going to a concert, buying a wedding gift, paying bills, going on vacation, rehearsing a play, taking the dog to the vet, writing texts. Everything becomes smaller and unimportant.
And when death isn't just a story told in a book, but something that strikes with such excessive violence at our soul because it involves someone you knew and loved, that feeling of 'nothing else matters' becomes almost unbearable.
In the days that followed, I thought about many things… About everything we've experienced together since the 'Roadies of Sunrise' in the 80s (see the photo above)… About the creation of Wikimetal… About the joys we've shared and now this great pain… And I thought about several moments that we unfortunately had to live through at the beginning of this September, some that I will never forget, no matter how much I wanted to…
It's... Everything becomes small and meaningless...
But at the same time that everything else becomes smaller and less important, and however terrible and senseless this unexpected death may be, as the hours and days pass, an absolute truth slowly emerges:
Life will go on.
And the more time passes, the more this truth gains strength. And the things that make up our lives, big things (like our relationships with the people we truly care about) and small things (like writing a text, buying a CD, or watching a game) begin to matter again.
These are two conflicting and very present feelings: Nothing else matters when a 33-year-old girl, with such a good soul, leaves us like that, from one moment to the next. And at the same time, everything has to continue to matter, a lot, because whether we like it or not, life will go on.
Metallica talks about this in several songs from their fantastic discography, including ' Broken, Beat & Scarred ', ' My Friend Of Misery ', ' Escape ', ' Eye Of The Beholder ' and ' Fade To Black ', but I think it's in ' Of Wolf And Man ', by drawing the similarities between Men and Wolves, that Metallica best summarizes why everything has to keep mattering:
Back to the meaning of life.
I hunt, therefore I am..
The meaning of our existence is directly linked to our actions, our activities, our deeds. In short, to the things we actually do during our lives.
I've been thinking a lot about the comment that Nando's mother, Helô Machado, left on the post we published in honor of Mirela, "The Spirit Follows ." I've always felt very proud of everything we're creating and achieving with Wikimetal. And even more proud to have you and Nando by my side. Brothers. And realizing that it was Wikimetal that brought us so close to face this moment together, in itself, already makes Wikimetal one of the best things I've ever done in my life.
Another thing I think I did well was choosing ' The Spirit Carries On ' by Dream Theater for the small tribute we made to Mirela on our website. I think it touched many people, especially you, Nando, and the people close to you.
Now, I'd like to leave a second Dream Theater song here.
But this time, the song is for you, Rafael.
A song in which Dream Theater sums up everything that I, and all the people who are very present and by their side, want to say.
I Walk Beside You
Dream Theater
There's a story in your eyes
I can see the hurt behind your smile
For every sign I recognize
Another one escapes me
Let me know what plagues your mind
Let me be the one to know you best
Be the one to hold you up
When you feel like you're sinking
Tell me once again
What's beneath the pain you're feeling
Don't abandon me
Or think you can't be saved
I walk beside you
Wherever you are
Whatever it takes
No matter how far
Through all that may come
And all that may go
I walk beside you
I walk beside you
Summon up your ghosts for me
Rest your tired thoughts upon my hands
Step inside this sacred place
When all your dreams seem broken
Resonate inside this temple
Let me be the one who understands
Be the one to carry you
When you can walk no further
Tell me once again
What's below the surface bleeding
If you've lost your way
I will take you in
I walk beside you
Wherever you are
Whatever it takes
No matter how far
Through all that may come
And all that may go
I walk beside you
I walk beside you
Oh when everything is wrong
Oh when hopelessness surrounds you
Oh the sun will rise again
The tide you swim against will carry you back home
So don't give up
Don't give in
I walk beside you
Wherever you are
Whatever it takes
No matter how far
Through all that may come
And all that may go
I walk beside you
I walk beside you
—
That's it, Rafinha. Many people are walking alongside you. And we will continue.
I'm proud to be on this journey.
Big hug, Dany.
PS – And after the sensitivity and emotion, the lyrics and melodies of these two Dream Theater songs, some idiots, morons, and ignorant blockheads still come along saying that Heavy Metal is just noise, drug addict stuff, and that it's associated with violence… Screw those idiots…
Click here to see other texts written by Daniel Dystyler.
