So you want to be Emo...

"Unbearable, isn't it? The suffering of strangers... the agony of friends. There is a secret song at the center of the world, and its sound is like razors through flesh."
- Pinhead, Hellrazer III.

Nothing says "Cry me a river of blood," like that line from the new horror classic, Hellrazer. Then again, very little says it better than razors through the proverbial flesh. It's amazing to me that the term Emo has been loosely tied to razor blade fans, rather than to the tear-jerking lyrics, songs, and fans of good old-fashioned Emo bands.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Goth, and Emo is like Goth on steroids that forgot to take its lithium. I can really get behind flesh-flaying. In fact, I can think of a few folks on the planet I'd like to slice into long, thin strips right now.

Perhaps it's the overly emotional bands? I mean they're all crying and stuff. Certainly it's possible that's where the confusion came from. A logical person might think that the reason for this is the thumbtacks in the lead singer's underwear. Perhaps he accidentally swallowed a razor blade he was licking. Heck, he could have even stubbed his ingrown toenail on a Fender amp as he got on stage. There are a seemingly endless number of possibilities.

It's not just the lyrics. Have you ever heard Evanescence's song, "My Immortal"? That'll make the Grinch cry. I'm pretty sure that band isn't considered Emo.

As for the fans... who knows -- or, in fact, cares -- what they do at home? No, it can't really be the fans that caused Emo to gain notoriety as the self-butchering fad it seems to have become today.

Perhaps some of them are secretly seeking a cheaper means of circumcision than is offered by the local 24 hour clinic? Surely, the blood, the obvious agony, and perhaps the peculiar gait of the affected person led folks to assume that he was into cutting himself. Conversion to a new faith can hurt.

It's also just possible that Goth people appear to be in pain (some of their outfits certainly look painful) and since Emo is just like a rabid version of Goth, they took the next illogical step; cut themselves to bring tears to an otherwise monotonous life of grief.

One never knows. It's clear however, that Pinhead is hardcore Emo. If only he could sing.