Has metal traded its soul for its popularity with the “service industry” workers, a/k/a hipsters and indie rockers?
Metal today is probably the most popular its been since the 80’s with bands reaching “the charts” with more frequency, worldwide acceptance in mainstream culture (even hipsters and indie fruitcakes are into it nowadays), feature films and documentaries (The Story of Anvil, Metal: A Headbangers Journey, Hesher). The ability for bands to tour on this side of the globe when in past years they would never had gotten the chance because of lack of label support, the popularity of Metal festivals not only in Europe but now in the U.S. with MDF, Gathering of the Bestial Legion, CIM, 70000 of Metal and others. The involvement of major companies like Scion with the Scion Fest and all the shows they put on and a wider acceptance by major venues like HOB to host Metal shows.
Come to think about it, its a pretty good time to be a Metalhead these days.
On the flipside one can’t help but notice that a lot of what people call Metal these days is utter crap I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. A lot of the bands and music being churned out left and right is unoriginal and emotionless. It is more concerned with fashion and image than with creative riffs and memorable anthems. So much of what kids (old fart voice) listen to nowadays is so watered down,tepid and soulless. Its hard for me to find new bands have any of that spark that would get my heart racing…. memories of listening to Dismember’s Like an Ever Flowing Stream for the first time and headbanging nonstop because you couldn’t help but feel the music. – SDMETAL.org
He makes a good point. Click the link above to read the whole rant.
OK, but think about this. The way I remember things from growing up, Metal was also pretty popular in the mainstream in the late 80s and early 90s. Metallica, Slayer, Danzig, Headbanger’s Ball. Another interpretation might be that the underground explosion coincided with its popularity.
Wait just a gosh darn minute! I never said those things! What’s going on here???? Do you mean to tell me that someone can just enter in the same name as someone else and make it look like they’re saying things they’re not really saying?!?!?!??? Curse this intranet! Of all the dastardly things! Why I never! Harrumph!
Alas, everything shall pass, why not metal ? why complain ? be proud of the acheivements of its time a find the next great thing, man.
This is just redundant talk: on the one hand, nobody seems to remember that there were also thousands of shitty bands in the 80s and 90s which we don’t remember because they didn’t make it, on the other one, there are still good albums and concerts being done these days by bands still active, even if most of them are old classic acts or new ones with old classic musicians.
I don’t really care about hipster/indie metal as I didn’t and don’t care about that crappy old glam metal acts from the 80s or rap metal turds from the 90s, because all that shit is and will always be gradually forgotten. Furthermore, none of the shitty mainstream acts from today has achieved the same popularity as mediocre 80s heavy metal or 90s nu scum, luckily.
This blog talks sometimes more often about hipster metal than it does about actual worthy one, which is rather annoying.
Metal lacking quality… well no shit, metal sucks.