Upping The Irons! The Heavy Origins of 365 Infantry

Heaven-Sent, Hell-Bound, and Born for Burning...

The Metallic Tapestry Upon Which We Ride…Who’s Your Favorite?

NOTE: I am making this special, massive behind-the-scenes article FREE TO ALL until JUNE 5TH, the day Issue 5 of 365 INFANTRY launches. Consider it both a humble show of gratitude to all the wonderful readers out there, and an invitation to learn just how much heart, soul, and knowledge goes into this series. Read on, Soldier!

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Introduction

365 Infantry was born from a triforce of influences: a love of machines, a love of science fiction, and a love of music. When I write for the series, I’m typically listening to a carefully curated blend of vintage soundtracks and library music. When I’m looking for concepts or ideas, nothing is off limits. Your favorite story may have come from a jazz bender, a jukebox marathon, or a good old-fashioned scrub-through of Miami Vice.

But as our first platter of metallic might “Wolves of Steel” goes to show, the series owes its soul to the heaviest of rockers, the most gifted of shredders, and the loudest voices on the planet. An identity founded on the street-level slaughter of punk, the white-knuckled escape of speed and thrash, the everyman headbanging of hard rock, and even shots of black and glam. 365 is forever tied to its metal roots, and that’s what I want to explore today.

Now, it would be all too easy (and all too tedious) to go through and itemize every reference to heavy metal and hard rock lore in the series. None are subtle either, such as Lt. Gibson’s bike “Exciter” being a nod to the Judas Priest speed metal classic off of 1978’s Stained Class, or Nic Ridgefield’s thinly veiled Motörhead sendup taking their name “Metropolis” from a track off 1979’s Overkill. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the dozens of lyrical references, imagery, and direct namedrops either.

No, what I want to discuss today is what doesn’t fully register on the written page. This will be a guided experience through the exact points at which the series drew on its metallic inspirations to craft signature staples and core elements of the series. And it all begins…with a Superchat.

Let me explain.