Surgical steel (well, metal anyway)
February 9, 2008 § 3 Comments
Most people are not familiar with medical terminology. To some it’s just a lot of mumbo jumbo. To others it’s a source of horror.
The foremost purveyor of horror in music is death metal. Raging drums, ripping guitars and growling vocals all combine to create a dark and aggressive expression. Some bands choose to top this off with lyrics about war and destruction. Others feed off the shock effect of the prince of darkness. And some turn to medicine and surgery for help.
I’ll take you on a tour of some of the strangest choices of band name. Strange, that is, from a medical perspective.The meaning of the names are not always as horrific as they may sound. For people familiar with the terminology these bands don’t necessarily come across as very shocking. It’s funny, but I think it also says something about how the “outside” world looks upon medicine and surgery – as something inherently horrifying. Words that are used everyday by health care workers may conjure up the most nightmarish images in others.
My favorite of all the death metal band names I’ve dug up (and the one that made me dig up the others) belongs to the band who’s logo introduces this post – General Surgery from Sweden (photo credit). I can’t stop thinking they must have thought about the military rank. A general named Surgery at least sounds a bit cool.
Putting down in words what many residents feel, Perpetual Surgery brings new dimensions to medical horror. I don’t know if it’s a speciality of it’s own yet, but Nauseous Surgery is probably something we all can relate to at times. What about those guys behind the ether screen. You know, the people who put the patient into narcosis. They probably listen to, well…Narcosis.
An OR in, or somewhere close to, Transylvania.
If you got cervical cancer you might consider having a radical hysterectomy. I don’t know the exact indications for a Grotesque Hysterectomy, though.
When we’re on the subject, a British band simply called themselves Cancer. A bit to little specific for some, it might seem. Sarcoma, on the other hand, that’s a real bone-afide name. Anyway, I think we can agree that cancer is far more horrifying than Psoriasis.
Now let’s move on to the actual handiwork of surgery. First and foremost it’s made up of meticulous Dissection, more precisely Surgical Dissection. A surgical procedure can involve the drainage of an Abscess. To do this, the surgeons often start with an incision. It actually sounds even more shocking when spelled Insision…
During an operation the patient usually loses some blood, and blood is scary. Especially in medical terms, like Visceral Bleeding or internal Haemorrhage as it’s also called.
Pathology is a great source for scary words. The band Carcass made most of their song titles by combining words from pathology text books (“Manifestation On Verrucose Urethra”, “Hepatic Tissue Fermentation”). There’s even an American band whose members are all certified pathologists. The name? The County Medical Examiners.
I’ll finish this off with the band name I personally find the least gruesome sounding: Hypothermia.
The Sterile Eye 
Death metal is, like all metal, fun and games. Don’t forget about the GROTESQUE HYSTERECTOMY, kids!
Quick update: Asphyx, Scar Symmetry, Septic Flesh, Internal Bleeding, Post Mortem, Autopsy Torment.
The scariest yet: Insomnium (Uhaa!! I can’t sleep!!)
From the song “Leprosy” by the band Death. Right-from-the-texbook-feel:
Tuberculoid the most severe
Decay of the nerves comes fast
Sense of feeling soon to be gone
Life will never last
Thanks for the additions, Øys!
Here are some that didn’t make it to the post: Medicine Death, Medical Waste, Anorexia Nervosa.