Post number ten! Post number ten! What a feat.
Well, not really. But anyway…
Today I’ll be discussing three things (this is how most of
my posts are probably going to go from here on out, at least the weekly ones)
that mostly focus on the “genre” aspect of metal: the infamous “real vs. fake
metal” debate, the newest Turisas song, and outrageous and often-unnecessary
sub-genres. Or rather, their names.
So let’s get started.
“Real” VS. “Fake”
Metal
This whole debate…is really, really sad. I tend to try my
best to ignore those who usually feel a need to say “they’re not real metal” about any band, along with
anyone who feels the need to use silly elementary remarks such as the word
“poser”, but every so often something happens to make me smack my forehead
until its red in shame because of some members of the metal community who feel
the need to say these things. Some people may be familiar with these statements
being said about bands like Black Veil Brides, Asking Alexandria, Chelsea Grin,
etc., and it’s a bit ridiculous. If you don’t like these bands, then stop
giving them attention. I am constantly seeing people complain about
these bands, constantly, to the point
where I see more complaining than I do…”worshipping”, as some people like to
say. I see more bitching than I do praise, and I don’t want to see it. I do not
like any of the aforementioned bands, so I don’t mention them, nor do I wish to
see/hear people talking about them. Yet I never fail to see people complaining
about the bands, the music, and most especially the bands’ fan bases. If you
dislike these bands so much, as much as you say you do, then why the hell do
you keep souring your tongue by speaking their name? If you don’t like them,
why do you keep bringing them up?
That’s a bit of a different topic for another time, so let
me repost here a piece of something that I’ve posted on a topic on the
Headbanger’s Sanctuary forums regarding Bring Me the Horizon:
I
definitely don't understand the fascination that so many people, mostly teen
girls, have over them. What I hate even more, though, is people who make it
their duty to alert others that they hate BMTH. If you're like me and it isn't
your cup of tea, don't listen to it, plain and simple. People don't have to go
out of their way to make a big deal over the fact that they don't like one
band. I've seen people online who are more obsessed with making their hatred
known than some fans are with the band itself, and it's kind of pathetic. The
constant bashing and raging over it is pitiful. Metal's supposed to be a
sanctuary for the "outsiders", the socially-unaccepted people, and
yet now the metalheads are planting themselves on this huge pedestal, portraying
this despicable "holier-than-thou" demeanor towards others, just
because they think one band sucks. When did we
turn into the ones to alienate others? That's what I want to know. We're
supposed to be embracing the outsiders, not bringing out our inner elitists and
shunning others just because they like one band that we don't. We, some of us
(or rather, some of our kin), are turning into what we hated in the first
place, and it's kind of sad, really...
And it isn't just with Bring Me the Horizon, though the overt hatred towards them above all others definitely gets no attempts to remain concealed. The same happens with bands like Asking Alexandria, Blood on the Dance Floor, Black Veil Brides, Chelsea Grin, and quite a few others. When did metalheads turn into such stuck-up elitists? I don't like any of the aforementioned bands, but I don't go out of my way to make it known to the world that I dislike them. I don't like them, I don't listen to them, I keep my mouth shut. Is it so hard? No.
And it isn't just with Bring Me the Horizon, though the overt hatred towards them above all others definitely gets no attempts to remain concealed. The same happens with bands like Asking Alexandria, Blood on the Dance Floor, Black Veil Brides, Chelsea Grin, and quite a few others. When did metalheads turn into such stuck-up elitists? I don't like any of the aforementioned bands, but I don't go out of my way to make it known to the world that I dislike them. I don't like them, I don't listen to them, I keep my mouth shut. Is it so hard? No.
And that’s basically my opinion on the matter in a nutshell.
I have such disdain for people who feel the need to parade around the fact that
they despise Black Veil Brides. Let’s face it, they’re mostly a bunch of
pricks, so negative attitudes towards them as people is kind of understandable,
but for goodness sakes, keep it to yourself! Not liking a band does not make
you superior to a person that does like that band. If you think otherwise, I
feel sorry for you. It’s music, it’s
based on taste, and taste varies for
every individual. Not a single person on earth will have 100%, the exact same
taste in music, or really anything, as you. Get over yourself if you think you
rank above another person on the food chain because you say Black Veil Brides
is false metal.
As far as the term “false” metal goes, that’s just stupid.
By today’s standards for “metal”, or what is considered “heavy” enough to be metal, Black Sabbath would not be
considered metal to most people. Most people. If you think a song has to be the absolute
heaviest song ever conceived in order for it to be considered “real” metal,
take a look at some of what you consider to be “false” metal:
-The Rest of Folk metal-Bag pipes and flutes, are you serious?
-Blind Guardian’s A Night at the Opera-That’s right! You aren’t allowed to listen to “Battlefield” anymore because it’s not “real” metal because it’s not heavy enough! Oh, but you don’t want to give up good old LotR metal, do you? Tough. It’s not heavy enough. Hand over that CD.
- The Rest of Power metal-Sorrrrrrry, it’s not heavy enough to make the cut. It’s too cheery, too corny. Goblins, elves, fairy tales, what? This is metal, isn’t it? We like gore and death and blood! Yeah, anger and testosterone!
-Nightwish-Yep, basically all of Nightwish. No ifs, ands, or buts. I’m sure you can understand that, can’t you? You can see where I’m coming from with that?
-Behemoth’s Sventivith (Storming Near the Baltic)-Yes, I went there. You have to give up Behemoth. “Oh but Matron, Sventivith is black metal, it’s heavy enough! You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Excuse you if you think so, but this album, along with great compositions such as “Wolves Guard My Coffin”, “Hidden in a Fog”, and “From the Pagan Vastlands”, just so happens to possess the song “Hell Dwells in Ice” and oh, ho, ho, that song isn’t heavy at all! You aren’t allowed to have Behemoth anymore because they aren’t heavy enough for you.
What, that’s going too far? Giving up Behemoth is too far
for you?
Then cut that stupid elementary “real” and “fake” shit out
unless you want to have to not listen to Amon Amarth, Gojira, Emperor, Carach
Angren, Sabaton, Opeth, Wintersun…or never discover other great bands like
Asgaard, Savage Messiah, Svartsot, and countless others.
You see how annoying that was, though, probably reading that
in a very condescendingly sarcastic way? Imagine if Turisas is one of your
favorite bands, perhaps the one exception to your “heavy=metal” rule. Imagine
having to never listen to great songs like “Stand Up and Fight”, “To Holmgard
and Beyond”, “Battle Metal”, and several others. You’d have nothing to blame
but your own stupidity, your own elitistm, which is practically the same thing,
to me, as stupidity. It’s not worth it. It really isn’t.
New TURISAS Song-“For
Your Own Good”
Speaking of Turisas...
So the other day, a song from the upcoming Turisas album, Turisas2013, was played on a Finnish
radio station (I believe it was an online-only station but I could be wrong).
Called “For Your Own Good”, it was basically the first time fans heard anything
from the new album. After some people were a bit…disappointed with the upcoming
album’s title and artwork, some with the new outfits (refer back to my most
recent rant where I complained about “metal fashion”), and some even slightly
let down by Stand Up and Fight, hopes
were nonetheless pretty high for the new song.
From what I saw, most people seemed to enjoy it, though, of
course, others were a bit disappointed. But that happens with everything, so
it’s not surprising.
Here’s the course of events I shared via Twitter before and
after listening to it (read from bottom to top):
Not groundbreakingly
amazing, but enjoyable.
That basically sums it up right there. Though, there aren’t
very many groundbreaking things very often…nothing all too new. Most of it has
been done already, just with different twists on it. Perfectly fine. That was
bound to happen eventually, though there is the occasional WOW band popping up
that takes the metal world by storm (Carach Angren is a great example) or album
that completely blows everyone’s minds (Monolith
of Inhumanity, anyone?). But as far as this new Turisas song goes…if you
are a die-hard fan of Battle Metal
and The Varangian Way or were one of
the ones slightly disappointed by Stand
Up and Fight, then you may find yourself asking for your “battle” metal
back upon hearing this track.
This track…doesn’t really feel much like Turisas to me besides
Mathias’ vocals, of which there wasn’t much growling. The chorus was catchy, but
holy symphonic. Even more so than Stand
Up and Fight. The keyboard solo was a bit a curveball, too. As someone
commented similarly on the post on Turisas’ official Facebook page, if I hadn’t
have been told who it was, I may not have guessed it had been Turisas except
maybe for Mathias’ vocals. It was very different, to say the least.
I’m not complaining. As I said, the song was enjoyable, and
I’m looking forward to the new album. For Turisas, it was definitely different,
but definitely not bad. I’m a bit surprised they’ve strayed so far from their
roots so early on (early on as in this is only their fourth album), but it’s
definitely not a bad song or negatively portentous of things to come. If the
rest of the album sounds like “For Your Own Good”, it probably won’t become my
favorite Turisas album, but I won’t dislike it, though only time will tell.
Plus, let's all be honest for a second. After Stand Up and Fight, who really, and I mean REALLY, expected this to be like stuff from Battle Metal or The Varangian Way? It's not a bad song by any means. It has an overall upbeat feel, a pretty tune, a catchy chorus, and that nice keyboard solo. If you don't like this, at least give the rest of the album a chance first.
And my most recent opinion on the new song, after listening to it a few more times (once more from bottom to top):
In case you missed the stream of the song or haven't heard it yet or want to hear it again:
TURISAS-For Your Own
Good (link)
Outrageous and Often Unnecessary
Subgenres
Speaking of Turisas, whenever the hell did “battle metal”
become a genre or form of identification? What the hell even is considered
“battle metal”? Turisas and…? It’s that kind of thing that’s unnecessary. I
don’t care about basic genre names such as death, black, thrash, folk, and
power metal. Hell, I don’t even care if it goes to symphonic, melodic,
blackened *insert basic genre name here* metal. I get annoyed at this:
-Brutal
Death Metal-Though I enjoy the genre, what the hell makes it so “brutal”
that it can’t just be considered death metal? “Brutal” is a superfluous term
here.
-“Slut”
Metal-Butcher Babies is a terrible band that is trying to be innovative and
is only trying to get attention by having its two front women flaunt their
breasts around. Nothing makes your music stand out from anything else,
especially not as far as genres go. Try harder, ladies, and try being talented,
too.
-“Viking”
Metal-I’m sorry, but what even is “Viking” metal? What makes a band Viking
metal? Every band often categorized as Viking metal can easily be categorized
as something else. Amon Amarth, predominantly. Melodic death metal. Apparently
Ensiferum, too? Folk metal. Windir? Black metal. Is it the Viking theme in their
lyrics? That’s silly, because I’ve never before known anyone to categorize
bands based off their lyrical themes. If you want to call Amon Amarth Viking
metal because they sing about Vikings, then we need Egyptian metal for Nile,
pirate metal for Alestorm, ghost metal for Carach Angren, and just…no.
And shit like this:
 |
| Screenshotted and cropped down from AgentSpamCorp's upload on Youtube. |
Extreme majestic
technical epic melodic metal.
If this isn’t your first time tuning into my blog, you’ll
know I am quite the fan of Wintersun. I even plan on seeing them during their
upcoming North American headlining tour towards the end of the summer. I have
the utmost respect for Jari, Teemu, Jukka, and Kai. Really. But if this is what
Jari feels is necessary to define their music…this is ridiculous. If I need two
hands to count the words in the name of your genre, you need to hit the brakes
and shorten that down. This isn’t an attack on Jari, either. This is an attack
(barely) on everyone who uses words just for the sake of using words. Whether it’s extreme majestic technical epic
melodic metal or atmospheric depressive suicidal black metal. It’s unnecessary. I’m not saying all
genres are necessary, only the ones that make you think “really?” after you
read them. After all, if we were to simply refer to literally everything as just
“metal”, then “putting Municipal Waste, Decapitated, Iron Maiden, and Between
the Buried and Me into the same category would just be silly”, even if done indirectly
(quote from Headbanger’s Sanctuary member THCandroid). Sub-genres are supposed
to make things easier as far as organization goes, but instead they’re doing
the exact opposite. They’re nice for when someone asks you to recommend them a
few black metal bands, but I have never heard anyone specifically request an “extreme
majestic technical epic melodic metal” band, and I highly doubt I ever will.
Anyway, I think that’s about it for this post. All of my
previous reviews have been posted on my blog, and you can find links to all of
them off to the right. Reviews include Carach Angren, Hate, Devilish
Impressions, Vesania, and Ghost (live). My next post will probably be another
list, or more than likely something from the choices below.
UPCOMING BLOG TOPICS (in
no order):
-Wintersun
-Hate
-"Two Minutes to Midnight: Short Songs That
Pack a Punch"
-"Irreligious" (a rant on obnoxious
practitioners of their religions/lack thereof)
-My "Top 10" of last year
-Whatever else I feel like
VENOM-Black Metal
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