Is this video proof that Italy is uniting under the banner of Black Sabbath?
The global COVID-19 pandemic is showing the world the unpleasant truth about humanity as the media sends us footage of people fighting over toilet paper and selling hand sanitizer for $80 a bottle. But in many other ways, the pandemic and quarantine has outlined the common threads that hold us together via scenes of solidarity, sympathy, and community. One such scene is pictured in a new video posted online which shows quarantined Italians taking to their balconies to celebrate the one universal symbol of hope this world has to offer: Black Sabbath.
The video -- which, full disclosure, turns out to be a fake, as confirmed by Metal Injection -- was originally posted by skateboarder Richie Jackson to his Instagram account. It shows the balconies of a building in Italy under quarantine, with the audio of dozens of voices raised in the first verse of Black Sabbath's 1970 classic War Pigs.
Watch the heartwarming video below:
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Unfortunately, as much as we'd love for this to be proof that all of Italy is uniting under Black Sabbath, this video does appear to be of many doctored to feature the same footage with different songs. The original appears to be this video:
We still want to believe.
Whether or not the Sabbath video is real, Italians taking to their balconies to remind the world of music's unifying power is definitely a continuing movement. Only recently, a video was made public of an Italian guitarist covering Slayer's Raining Blood from his balcony, to the befuddlement of his elderly neighbor.
Overall, the metal community is bonding and communicating with each other in the wake of COVID-19 in ways that have been necessary for a long time. Halestorm's Lzzy Hale recently released a powerful statement asking for music fans to join together under one banner of safety.
"I understand your need for live music, I understand your need to perform onstage," said Lzzy. "I’m with you, I have that same primal need, especially in these tough and confusing times. But… It is extremely irresponsible to promote or participate in large gatherings at this time. The whole 'you can’t scare us' mentality is ridiculous.
"The virus is not a terrorist," she continued. "and it will not be discouraged or impressed by your bravery. This is a pandemic. And by encouraging or attending large gatherings of people you are contributing to the deaths of people who do not have healthy immune systems to fight it. This is someone's grandparent, someone's child, someone's sibling, someone's mom, dad, or someone's friend."
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