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| by Cosmo Lee |
Congratulations to Saints quarterback Drew Brees on being named the Super Bowl MVP.
However, for the entire game I couldn’t help but think of a different kind of “brees,” namely, “pig squeals,” namely, the most annoying style of metal vocals ever invented.
I first noticed “brees” as a phenomenon several years ago, when Job for a Cowboy got hot. On MySpaces of metalcore and deathcore bands, I would see fans requesting “more brees.” (See above).
Generally I can get where kids are coming from, having been one myself. But on things like crunkcore and “brees” (the two intersect in Brokencyde’s “Bree Bree”), the generation gap is insurmountable.
Where did this contagion originate? Wikipedia says that Mike Patton invented the technique on Angel Dust. I don’t hear it, even though his versatility is peerless. I’ve also heard a lot of breeing in brutal death metal. When did Cookie Monster become Porky Pig?
If you don’t know of what I speak, YouTube can fix that. See, e.g., The Top 10 Pig Squeals, 10 Awesome Pig Squeals, and The Best Pig Squeals Ever. The most infamous video by far is the pig squeal girl.
JFAC does not do bree brees live any more (not when I saw them with GWAR in November)…revisionist history at hand?
I also absolutely abhor this vocal style, and as a consequence don't know anything about it, since I've been avoiding it like the plague.
First place i heard "Breeing" was Prostitute Disfigurement, I think. Though they are by guarantee not the first to implement it.
Andrew – I'd bet that Job for a Cowboy are part of the trend of deathcore bands "growing up" and downplaying "-core" elements and pig squeals in favor of pure death metal.
Comments on "pig squeal girl" are keeping me going today.
the first swine vocals I ever heard were from grind band Circle of Dead Children. In the context of that band it didn't really sound that stupid. I mean, it still sounded stupid but when you really think about it, growling vocals are a pretty silly concept in general. I think to the listener who isn't used to metal vocals, growling and bree-ing would both sound equally dumb.
Isn't breeing produced as an overtone to a growl? If so, I can see how it grew out of the death metal growl, which is not to say it should be embraced. That said, it can be amusing, as the case in this band seemingly fronted by a frog http://www.myspace.com/gutturalengorgement
I think it started with Devourment (as many stylistic artifacts of this type of music) and the idea was to out-brutal the growl of Suffocation. At least I can hear the connection.
It emotes nothing in itself but then a lot of death metal vocalizations are more concerned with cadence and rhythmic punctuation than making an emotional connection on anything the lyricist is singing. I'm not interested in this vocal style in the extent that I am not interested in brutal death metal (and/or slam) et al. Actually I think the brutal death metal listener needs to be unversed and uninterested in 'less brutal' types of metal as a prequisite to enjoy this type of stuff. At least I haven't met anyone that listens to Devourment that also loves Mercyful Fate or anything (in a non-ironic fashion of course).
"At least I haven't met anyone that listens to Devourment that also loves Mercyful Fate"
**raises hand**
*Raises hand also*
I prefer the Fate (apples and oranges, really), but I can handle Devourment in small doses. Curran Reynolds from Wetnurse is a huge Devourment fan, and while I haven't heard him mention Fate specifically, he's a big fan of old metal.
In fact, there is a thread on Devourment's forum devoted to King Diamond:
http://devourment.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=nonmetal&action;=display&thread;=16833
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2I5Ps8igYo
Chased through the Woods by a Rapist. The bree in this song can be interpreted as "I like shredded WHEEEEEEEET"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-x95Q0SJfY
Entombment of a Machine
My friends and I used to listen to these all the time in high school because they were so fucking funny. We're all expert pig squealers now.
Also, A.S.R.A. on This Comp Kills Fascists have a really funny song called "Pig Squealer."
Cosmo, can you do a post about breakdowns in screamo bands next? I'll give you one to start off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DScZ42PPIyo listen at 1:40 and wait till the end of the breakdown.
Ohhh yeahhhh.
Whenever I see these bands I can't imagine them as anything other than an intentional attempt to make fun of Metal.
Fair enough on Devourment + King Diamond, but then again King Diamond/Mercyful Fate tends to be more well remembered than other 80's metal artifacts. A fairer question is if any of the fans of newer bands inspired by Devourment (like Walking the Cadaver) openly enjoy say, Omen, or Manilla Road.
@Helm – I wouldn't call that a fair challenge. For example, I think it wouldn't have been difficult (and still likely wouldn't) to have found rather prolific names in the Death Metal and Black Metal scenes of the late 80's / early 90's that knew little to nothing about Omen and Manilla Road.
The great thing about guys like Helm is they can always move the goalposts just far enough that they're hipper/more informed/more "true" than whoever they're talking to. It reminds me of the old statement about how Ginger Rogers was a better dancer than Fred Astaire because she did everything he did, but backwards and in high heels. Keep dancin', Helm.
http://www.wikihow.com/Pig-Squeal-(Bree)
The Wolf, if that's so then what would be a fairer challenge? Something like Accept or Saxon?
@Helm – I suppose those would work well enough since they're hardly the biggest names in the game, but certain have had moments of glory/fame.
If I were to interview for example one of these bree-core deathcore bands I'd shoot at them a number of band names of varying size to see what sticks and what doesn't.
The Wolf, here is Born of Osiris not knowing who well, anyone else but their own breecore peers are:
http://www.metalsucks.net/2009/07/27/dirt-fest-13-interviews-part-1-born-of-osiris-whos-glenn-danzig/
Ouch…. that was plain painful to read.
A fairer question is if any of the fans of newer bands inspired by Devourment (like Walking the Cadaver) openly enjoy say, Omen, or Manilla Road.
Recently this traveling metal festival called Bonecrusher Fest visited the Netherlands. Line-up: Black Dahlia Murder, 3 Inches of Blood, Necrophobic, The Faceless, Carnifex, Obscura and Ingested.
Behorehand there were a lot of complaints by the deathcorekids of the addition of "sucky bands" like Necrophobic and 3IoB. They couldn't stand the vocals on 3IoB and Necrophobic look lame in their leather pants and nail bands. Somehow almost none of them got the musical connection between Necrophobic and their favorite BDM, which is extremely obvious to this thirty-something.
At the show all bands (I missed Ingested) turned out to be very good – The Faceless were a real discovery – although Obscura and Necrophobic suffered from bad sound. Carnifex is not very interesting musically, but what they do, they did extremely well. Interesting thing to see is that all the kids stood like frozen during the fast parts of the song and only started moshing during the breakdowns.
The post show Last.fm comments showed that some of the kids reluctantly admitted having liked 3IoB as a sort of guilty pleasure, but they all still hated Necrophobic.
Oh, what's great about this deathcore scene: lots of girls. And I mean this both in a creepy sexist – I prefer the sight of pig squeal girls over beer bellied metalheads – and political-correct "great that girls are now allowed to enjoy br00tal music" way.
Martijn – Thanks for the insightful commentary. The breakdown as crutch, for both performer and audience, is most unfortunate.