Sunday night, while jogging in the rain, I was pleasantly surprised by my iPod, which started the evening random playlist with the song "Eagle fly free" by the teutonic heavy metal of Helloween. The band and the song were among the favorites of my early teenage years. For the first time, I noticed that the drummer in the band was actually quite good. The double-bass drum -driven assault was fluid and all over the set, and there was actually a groove, which is by no means a given in such a context.


I seemed to remember that the drummer had later killed himself. A curious association to one of my childhood friends, a great fan of the band and song at the same time. We lost touch in our later teens, me taking the beaten path to academic studies, him choosing a life of drugs. Last year I saw his obituary in Helsingin Sanomat. I still don't know what happened to him.

There is a curious and sad triangle between the dead drummer, the song and my friend wandering off the beaten path. The bridge and chorus of the song are the following:


In the sky a mighty eagle
Doesn’t care ’bout what’s illegal
On it’s wings the rainbow’s light
It’s flying to eternity

Eagle fly free
Let people see
Just make it your own way
Leave time behind
Follow the sign
Together we’ll fly someday