Mike Scalzi, vocalist/guitarist for Slough Feg, is one of metal’s great iconoclasts. Bullpen Bulletins is his new column to speak his mind. In this inaugural installment, he laments the lack of substance in today’s heavy metal. Slough Feg’s new album The Animal Spirits comes out four weeks from today, on October 26. – C.L.
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BULLPEN BULLETINS #1
WELCOME TO THE GRIND OLE OPRY
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Backdrop for our idealistic hero: “The Emperor wears no clothes, but has ten-inch spikes on his wrists and a Cirith Ungol patch over his crotch”
Imagine your worst Orwellian nightmare. Now imagine it realized, not in some “futuristic” hinterland where mind control, martial law, and foam suit dress codes are in place, but in a world very much like the one you now live in, at least in appearance, but wrought with the strange, insidious undertones (or perhaps overtones) of a desperate, dying countercultural movement turned on its head (and into its very antithesis), scraping and clawing to survive in whatever subverted, bastard form appears wide enough of its origins to stand a chance of slipping past the fickle eyes of the teenagers unrecognized. In a state of vague disbelief, you seem to have become quite adept at mentally dodging the signs as they approaches on the fringes of your consciousness —– yet every so often, you catch a glimpse out of the corner of your eye of the very last shards of the music, fashion and speech of youth/pop culture in the last fifty years, yet somehow seamlessly air-brushed into a “whole is much lesser than the sum of its parts” configuration, revealing only mismatched fragments of what was once a cohesive picture.
Now wake up!! Your nightmare has become a reality!! You’re in the 2010’s!!! Why have you (up until now) only caught glimpses of this out of the corners of your eyes, rather than having it penetrate your frontal lobe? Why does this suddenly hit you as a nauseating and obnoxious surprise, which you know is no true surprise, but more a giving in to worst case scenario suspicions that can no longer be denied?? Well, because it’s been a slow, protracted evolution—–developing over the last twenty years—-so gradual that it’s scarcely perceptible—–that is, until now, that it has finally scraped its way through the many-fold layers of our protective cultural identity——–and penetrated to our most vital organs. And just this it has finally done. No longer can this festering malignancy be dismissed as a disease of “mainstream culture”. It has now penetrated our precious “underground” music scene.
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Scene II: “Requiem for an aging grime-rocker”
It was a mucilaginous afternoon, which I had spent towing my push-iron past café tables whose occupants I’d once written off as bourgeois kids from Idaho thinking they were the first radical punk rockers to show up in the city of San Francisco with Socialist ideas, but now only envied because although the conversations were just as nauseating as I’d imagined when I’d never been close enough to actually listen, it was one of the perhaps five over eighty-degree days in San Francisco of the year, and the girls were wearing short dresses, sticking to the seats of chairs. I’d become so bored with my “convictions” about youth culture that even the blustering prattle of these foppish, emaciated café-cultured males in horn-rimmed glasses and testes that rivaled in size the capers they balanced gingerly on the tips of gesticulated forks (shriveled to even lesser proportions in today’s oppressive sun), did not bring a rise in me—-other than the usual rivalry for “their” girls (as insipid as they were, and of whom I will not burden the reader with further description), who of course weren’t really “their” girls anyway—just more gold-digging fish-wives conveniently coupled with detachable boy toys waiting for the odd potential sugar daddy to show up and bring them babies. It’s always the leafy green salad guy who gets the supermodel, never the guy who can break a Buick with his jaw. He had to take matters in to his own hands—-and that I did.
Not the way you’re thinking, though. I sat down at a vacant table and got out my papers, shuffled them about the cast iron table attempting to appear focused on them——looking down but out of the corners of my eyes probing under tables for the most athletic female ass I could find——always a losing game in San Francisco. When I did finally interrupt the seemingly calm studiousness (which was probably just as phony as my focus on the papers before me) of one suitably pleasant-looking female and her book with a ridiculous comment like: “Man, you’ve gotta stay outside today even if you feel like shit—–. We only get four of these days a year”, or something equally preposterous, to my surprise she agreed to accompany me to the park, where all the kids sit out and drink Mexican beer out of paper bags on such rare days. Completely flabbergasted that (being a long-standing “true metalhead”) I was even conversing with a member of the fair sex—–I made the mistake of asking her where she goes at night, what kind of places she likes—-never thinking this would land me in the middle of a conversation about “metal”. But unfortunately it did—–and this rare oasis of an afternoon quickly turned into a suffocating, toilsome dirge.
Obviously, I was not stupid enough to tell her I was actually in a metal band or anything like that. I’d might just as well tell her that I worked at McDonald’s or that all of my sexual fantasies involved parrots. No, she brought it up. It turned out that she liked “metal”, or so she said. She was probably in her late twenties. Ten years ago I would have been thrilled at this. A girl in San Francisco who likes metal!!! Let’s get to the courthouse!!! But now I’m scared. Scared for my life. When I inquired as to what she meant by “metal”, she rattled off a few names I’d never heard of, and I didn’t bother to ask whether they were names of local or national bands. Could have been either. But the more we talked about metal (much to my chagrin, since I’d have preferred to talk about Gary Puckett and the Union Gap—-or bird watching for that matter), the more I realized what most young people’s impression of “metal” is these days. The conversation quickly turned down the old, familiar road of: “Why do I hate everything? Must we continue to walk the earth spitting venom in every direction at the mere mention the words ‘heavy metal’?”
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Well, it’s not because I don’t like metal anymore. Much to the contrary. There is actually still fantastic metal out there, but you often have to dig very deep to find it, because the people playing it aren’t spending all their time blabbing on the Internet about their band or making the scene at every hip local show——-they’re too busy actually writing and playing music. And perhaps that’s why they’re good—-because they lack the non-music-related motives of about 90% of current hard rock/metal bands, and simply rely on the natural joy of playing good music—-albeit with very few rewards besides this.
Those of us who came up (in our twenties) during the 1990s attempting to play heavy metal with a clean conscience tend more and more to sound as if they hate the very thing they sold their souls for. Sad but true. Born too early—-born too late——overborne?! We feel as if we own it. And we shouldn’t, but we can’t help ourselves. It’s no different that an aging academic who lashes out against any sophomoric whippersnapper who makes the mistake of mentioning Aristotle’s name in conversation. But I digress. What exactly is wrong with having a strong opinion?!?
Okay, I don’t own heavy metal. Maybe Tony Iommi doesn’t even own it. But people these days say: “Oh, you’re in a heavy metal band? Oh that’s that stuff that sounds like, ‘Eeeeeeeerrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhh’”, and they make the sound of a garbage disposal. And that’s exactly what that chick had to say. Her idea of what “metal” is was this formless wall of static noise with someone hacking up phlegm over top of it. I don’t know if there even is a clear concept of what metal is anymore—–but if there is, there’s definitely no content to most heavy metal music. And this is the heart of the problem——and it’s not a problem that is unique to metal——and certainly not unique to only mainstream metal. The problem is ALL CONCEPT, NOT CONTENT. And it is for precisely this reason that I’m so offended, embittered, and spiteful of all of this——because I have my whole life invested in it—–my entire sense of self-worth hangs in the balance!!!
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Now I know there is no accounting for taste——sure. But is music all so subjective that you can’t even form a coherent opinion about it without being narrow-minded? That’s what people seem to be telling me. I listen to what is considered “music” these days, and my response is almost always the same. If it has any melodic quality at all, or even any rhythmic quality, it’s usually so painfully unmemorable that I could hear the record a thousand times over in a six-month period, and on the seventh month not be able to recall even one riff. Sure, I might remember that it sounded “kinda doomy” or “kinda thrashy” due to the guitar sound, vocal style (or the label its on!!), but chances are that’s the only thing I’ll be able to recall.
And why is this? Because there’s no quality control, no demand for any specific content to the music other than its possession of some rudimentary, tertiary qualities of a pre-established and almost always played-out style of music from thirty years ago. That’s our template for success. As long as it sounds like “Stoner Rock”—-or the infinitely more respectable in the underground, yet equally insipid style “Doom Metal”, i.e. it has droning guitars, a slow tempo, and the monotone wailings of some guy who’s somehow convinced his friends he’s imitating Ozzy—-or “Retro Thrash”, i.e. it has a brittle, over-saturated guitar sound and some douchebag that sounds like he’s got balls even smaller that James Hetfield’s (if that’s even possible)—-or probably the worst of them all, “True Metal”, the unoriginality and cookie-cutter-ishness of which I won’t even attempt to describe.
The ever-so-subtle point I’m trying to make here, in my obvious open-mindedness (or perhaps in my bleeding-heart, wear-it-on-my-sleeve-artistic purist, cream-puffish spirit —-which I’ll have you know is actually the antithesis of being jaded), is that “underground” bands are no more immune to trends, bandwagons, unoriginality, or “selling out” (perhaps not in the monetary sense, but in the herd mentality sense) than mainstream bands. The high-concept, low-content approach sells records (or downloads or tickets or whatever) to an ultimately CONSERVATIVE listening audience who does not want to be challenged (i.e., rock and roll has become the very thing it originally sought to destroy)!!! Case in point: why should a record company take a risk on something challenging or new like they did 30 years ago? They can barely stay above water the way it is—–one false move and they go under.
Well, then why should the listener think any differently? It’s human nature——bands would rather fit in than stand out—-regardless of what it is they’re fitting into (perhaps a pair of platform shoes and a shag haircut these days). The lowest common denominator is what matters. Who cares if you don’t write songs? Third-rate, unmemorable, half-baked and randomly arranged Sabbath riffs are good enough. What’s important is the Orange amp you’re using and the Thin Lizzy t-shirt—–that’s what people recognize. That’s what people can easily identify (when actually listening takes too much effort). First impressions are the only impressions in a world with 30000000000000000 bands—-you don’t get time for anything more—–any more than this would make us have to think, evaluate, form an opinion——develop taste. And that is strictly taboo—–for it goes against the prime directive—which is still the money. It trickles down from higher up now, but the incentive is still there.
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Slough Feg’s new album The Animal Spirits comes four weeks from today, on October 26.
You can hear two tracks from it here.
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It’d be interesting to read what metal exists right now that in Scalzi’s opinion transcends these complaints.
This column should be a daily feature. At the very least, weekly.
Todd – I believe Scalzi will address that in future installments.
Great! I was worried this would be a single installment of a column that would stall once the new album is out.
There’s lots to respond to here, but the last paragraph hits on something that’s been on my mind lately. There is so much idolatry and fetishism in media culture right now, and indeed that has trickled down to the symbolism of Orange and Thin Lizzy, Sunn and beards, what have you. And unfortunately, music press has been if not agent, if not even complicit, at least affected by this. Rarely do musicians discuss their music in print, and rarely are they prompted to do so. Instead we hear about tour vans, festival atmospheres, and generally who is bros with whom. It is an unfortunate irony that to complain about the status quo is still a form of participation.
One problem is, of course, that metal press is nowadays dominated by those who couldn’t even listen to metal with a clean conscience in the 1990s.
Add name-dropping and nostalgia to the list of things that commonly take the place of real criticism.
speaking of “a single installment of a column”, what happened to The One Black Guy?
Great post.
There is always something to complain about. Has metal gotten too big? Maybe that’s why everyone – even the woman in the restaurant- has an opinion. I actually enjoy the current size of metal and all their subgenres? It allows for layer after layer after layer of shit until you get to the sweet stuff. Digging is part of the fun in metal. As always, most bands are shitr.
Also, it may be a generational thing. I was kid, but maybe in the 80’s with the emergence of thrash metal there were people in their 30’s and 40’s who felt just like Mike in the park while talking to that girl. Thrash metal? What the fuck is that?
This is my least favorite thing I’ve ever read on IO. It bounces between incomprehensibility, shrill whining, and the loftiest metaller-than-thou-ism, while never getting past vague generalities.
What little point there may be here, I think disagree with, but that’s pretty much beside the point.
I comment rarely, but I felt like I had to express my distaste for this. I love IO, but I’m probably going to skip this column fron now on. One man’s opinion. *awaits more record/show reviews*
You know – this has been the case for a while now, longer than most would care to own up to. The problem has nothing to do with trends and genre’s of music, it has to do with people defining their personalities / identities and very existence along these lines.
I’m pretty sure this guy just took a giant dump on posers. Awesome.
“The problem has nothing to do with trends and genre’s of music, it has to do with people defining their personalities / identities and very existence along these lines.”
Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
As much as I enjoy Slough Feg (and Scalzi’s work with Hammers of Misfortune), this piece strikes me as a funnier version of the same rant that frequent IO commenter Helm has posted on this site several times before. This isn’t intended to be a dig on Scalzi or on Helm, but I’m just not sure how this kind of lament advances the conversation.
Still, I look forward to future installments of the column.
And “Bullpen Bulletins”? Does that mean Scalzi’s a baseball fan?
He sure thinks about other guys’ testicles a lot.
Too many adjectives. I had trouble understanding what he was trying to say because the language was so convoluted that by the time I’d parsed a sentence, I’d forgotten what he was trying to say. There’s something to be said for clarity and precision in writing, I think.
“Too many adjectives. I had trouble understanding what he was trying to say because the language was so convoluted that by the time I’d parsed a sentence, I’d forgotten what he was trying to say. There’s something to be said for clarity and precision in writing, I think.”
Ba-bam. Agreed. And yes, this is kinda holier-than-thou, IMO.
Of course it’s holier than thou! That’s the point: the average metal music fan tolerates mediocrity, and would just as soon have art made by squatters and comedians and critiqued alongside a hamburger than be provoked into realizing s/he he responds to the same basic stimuli as the average viewer of American Idol.
I personally would rather my art be made by those who in fact do allow it to define their existence.
Whew, glad I’m not the only one who found this tiresome and ultimately valueless. I absolutely adore Slough Feg, but I think Scalzi should keep his writing confined to the lyrics realm. Not a fan of this.
Sounds like the rantings of a man who very well understands and acknowledges his God given talent to compose very original and inspiring music. And unfortunately that same man is angrier than the kid that dropped his ice cream cone. Hes angry because he feels under appreciated, and knows that the art he produces will never be given the credit it deserves by the media brainwashed masses. Mr. Scalzi just be happy there’s a select few out there like myself who understand and love the music you make. And will buy your new album, and love it as much as the last. But um…as for the ranting about all the sheep in the world, I’ve heard it before, thought it before, and there’s nothing u or I can do about it. Just keep doing what you do. (minus the bitching)Free thinkers are born that way. You can’t “teach” a robot. Just re-program it.
I love Hammers of Misfortune, but I think Mike misses the point. I feel that when we look back at an era of music, we tend to think about it in glowing terms because a lot of the forgettable, generic music has been, well, forgotten. At the same time, the stuff that gains a critical and popular (at least for metal fans) consensus is lionized by those who are engaged in the music.
Look at hardcore or thrash as examples. Both of those genres are loved by people involved in heavy music, but we most often talk about the touchstones of the genres. The thing is, both of those eras had their fair share of conformity and outright plagiarism. The primary difference is that we remember Master of Puppets or Bonded by Blood or Damaged more than we remember some thirdrate DRI clone. I think that, though metalcore is atrocious, we may look back on the years from 2005-2010 with the same sort of retroactive excitement about certain records while totally forgeting about many of the generic bands which we have to suffer through today.
Very very strange to see this kinda stuff outside of Helm’s comments on IO.
I think I disagree with some of his points here, but enjoyed the ride nonetheless – I’m with IgnacioBrown on the joy of digging through the shit to find the gold. Of course all BM or Grind is noise to the outsider, but those who have put the time in *know* what good stuff is.
Of course, Slough Feg is ‘instant’ music, if you’ve not got a huge smile on your face after the first 15 seconds of Simian Manifesto then you’re pretty much dead to me…
This is interesting. Of course, amongst all the musicians of the (metal) world, there are some that want to ‘belong’ to something, some that want not to belong to anything, and some that do whatever the little voices in their heads keep telling them to do. There are always going to be varying motivations for becoming and staying a musician, and those musicians will all find different audiences.
I find it hard to believe, however, that the situation is objectively worse this year than it was 10 years ago, or 20 years ago. Maybe the opening of so many new communication channels has revealed proportionally more of the stuff that Mike doesn’t like, and he feels the crap is taking over? Or maybe he is trying to define metal in an unnecessarily narrow way, and finding more and more material falling outside this arbitrary boundary?
Anyway, interesting writing, and I’m always happy to see this sort of discussion crop up on IO.
Metal has been experiencing this throughout the course of its existence. How many god-awful bands did I sift through on Mausoleum, Neat, Metal Blade and Noise in 1984-1985? Crossfire? Thrust? Sad Iron? Dark Heart? Tysondog? Avenger? Tyrant?
How many critically acclaimed “next big things” sounded like mediocrity at best, vile putrescent garbage at worst? Grim Reaper? Pretty Maids? Hallow’s Eve? Zoetrope? Helstar?
And the revisionist history that has turned “Ride the Lightning” into a second-rate, meaningless jumble of commercial pandering in some circles just as Manilla Road’s – “Crystal Logic” surpasses the entire body of work issued by Maiden, Priest and Sabbath?
And this is just the 1980s we’re talking about. I won’t even go into the 1990s…
Same as it ever was. Intellectualizing insecurities.
The internet has poisoned metal.
But then again good point Chris.
Scalzi unleashed! I could read this sorta scrib all the ding dong day.
Where is truth? What is genuine, and what is false or ‘hipster’?
You basically proved your own point that your truth is your subjective experience, and that girl’s truth is hers. By why do young folks suddenly find themselves seeking an identity in a genre, that was totally disregarded a decade ago? Fashion. It’s always about fashion.
You, Mike Scalzio, love the music. I do too. It makes us the minority, ‘The Other’, the thing that we have always been. We can use what we are to our advantage. You can use your voice to lecture, to speak of your experience, which you have done. You can also use your voice to ask questions, to listen, and to expect a response, a dialogue. Isn’t that what our modern age is about? This modern technology, this internet, this blog? Moving beyond the voice of authority, absolute truths and falsehoods? Discussing amongst ourselves our own subjective experience, finding common ground, and developing new ideas from them?
You reached and found something in your first article. I’d like to see it go deeper.
Interesting read. I would personally agree that the current state of metal is worse than ever before. Sometimes I feel so disgusted with the way things are that I don’t even want to be involved anymore. At the same time, I’m guessing people who are passionate about the music have felt that way at one time or another since metal began.
Agreed. That’s all, really. Market = far beyond saturated. Audience = mostly ‘clever’ kids who want to feel smart, fit it, namedrop — whatever. Everything except interest in the music itself. In other words, the same type that would stop reading this half-way through because it’s a ‘generic’ complaint. That’s the thing with truth – it’s not always interesting, but it’s always there, tedious and nagging. Like homework.
40 gigabytes per week, spin or two at best, just keep the scrobbler well fed. What’s your favorite band? Depends on who’s asking, but it generally revolves around ‘charisma-free low-fi-no-name-on-the-album-cover elevator music bands A, B and C’.
And tell you what – that’s what I like the most about this article – if you feel like you do, you *should* care. Yeah, it’s pretty hip to crawl up your ass and be ‘chill’, but when you want to actually interact with the world and to shape it into your liking, *caring happens*. We live 24/7 and things rarely go as planned. You often feel trapped. All that caring has to go somewhere and blog entries happen… And then a squad of people — who obviously clearly don’t care, mind you — will probably ride your ass to hell and back for not fitting into the program.
And you know what? That’s exactly how it should be. There’s a lesson here, because that’s exactly what happens when your sentiment spills over to ‘real life’, only that same behavior police will just nod their head while trying to wish you away. This is because a part of them feels the exact same way, but they don’t like that part. It’s that inner child, and for most people, that child is weak and frail because they keep it away from the sun and never nurture it.
That’s why it’s always good to play in a Grindcore-or-whatever band on the side. It’s the waste disposal unit of the music world.
How many critically acclaimed “next big things” sounded like mediocrity at best, vile putrescent garbage at worst? Grim Reaper? Pretty Maids? Hallow’s Eve? Zoetrope? Helstar?
Even as a young metalhead with pretty indiscriminate tastes, I knew Grim Reaper were shit. Turns out time hasn’t improved them. I dunno, though – the Hallow’s Eve track on the first Speed Kills comp is still pretty awesome to me.
From what I was able to glean, the chief complaint is that metal has been replaced by “metal” – music with ironic distance that invokes traditional signifiers of metal culture, but does so with a wink. It’s entertainment as class warfare, musicians and audience alike gone slumming. I get that, and to the extent that I think about it, I find it a little offensive too. But metal, like any other genre of music, has to take on new bits and pieces to stay interesting – even the appreciation of really traditional bands needs those groups for contrast. So it’s going to change, and accusations of “hipsterism”, in my experience, don’t distinguish between bands who are slumming for the amusement of their audience and band who are genuinely combining different things together because they like them and are guilty only of insufficient cred. It’s like the culture has an overactive immune system.
I’m not discouraged. It’s easier for shitty bands to release stuff, it’s easier for shitty bands to find an audience, but as was pointed out above, there have always been shitty bands. But I’m hearing as much metal (as well as hardcore and however many other types of music) that I really like and am excited about now as at any other point, so I’m not worried about it. The good stuff will stand the test of time, and the hipster shit and really unfortunate mutations (see: “crabcore”) will be forgotten because their audience has the attention span of a squirrel on meth.
This post kind of started in a “kids these days” rant and then turned into “old music is overrated rant”. If kids’ music sucks, and dinosaur metal sucks, what is good?
“That’s why it’s always good to play in a Grindcore-or-whatever band on the side. It’s the waste disposal unit of the music world.”
BRILLIANT!
“This post kind of started in a “kids these days” rant and then turned into “old music is overrated rant”. If kids’ music sucks, and dinosaur metal sucks, what is good?”
Your reading comprehension really, really sucks.
Bullpen Bulletins was Stan Lee of Marvel comics personal column in the books telling the readers what was what in the world of Marvel. Kudos.
“Good column bro. You guys are doing killer on merch, there are a few drink tickets left too.”
It’s funny how this all relates to people in a scene. I wonder if anyone considers it possible to define another person’s art inside of one’s own context? Can I listen to Sunn because I like Sunn for my own reasons and divorce myself from the context of what people look like in shows in major cities? This whole thing doesn’t have anything at all to do with music as much as it does sociology.
Mike sounds like a dick without a pussy. He needs to get laid.
Original, AssHammer. Everyone with convictions/strong opinions needs to get laid, right?
As much as I love the articles on this site, the one thing that always turns me off is the comments section. I’d rather read the barely coherent scrawlings on YouTube vids than the over-opinionated nonsense posted here.
What is the train of thought for these posters? “This makes me upset! Instead of moving on to something that doesn’t, I will voice my opinion here and make sure everyone knows of my disapproval for this articles!”. This is whats killing metal. People say band X is for “beardos” or hipsters, or that unless you’re creating complex art that pushes the boundaries of what metal means, you’re a worthless waste of space. Why can’t people just live and let live? I work in a record store, and all day its nothing but people buying the newest deathcore carbon copies and the whatever the hot new indie rock band is.
But do I kill people? Do I make snide comments about their choice of music? No. I ring them up and send them on their way. Is the fact that someone’s buying the new Jimmy Eat World cd going to kill you? Then get on with your life. Lord.
Dez – I don’t hate our comments section, but otherwise I agree with you. I still wonder about the incessant complainers. If I complained about all the wrongs I see on the Internet, I would never sleep.
I like how he states that underground bands are no more immune to trends than the mainstream. It’s something that I see all the time.
And as for the older rockers deriding thrash in the 80s, I remember it like it was yesterday.
I spent all night one night trying to find a song that I liked as much as Black Sabbath’s “The Writ” and discovered Slough Feg’s amazing song Tiger Tiger afterwords finding that Hardworlder could stand up to any of my favorite metal albums. Mike Scalzi has put a huge nail in my mind that I wish to leave there and smash in with a hammer daily to make sure it never leaves.
I’m a huge Slough Feg fan but I don’t share the sentiment that metal has become something fundamentally different and lamentable when compared to some perceived “golden age” in the past. Go to any metal show – it’s still Heavy Metal Parking Lot with shorter hair and higher levels of literacy. You’ll see some people there for the irony, some people there to identify with a “scene,” and still others that are just huge music fans that find something compelling about metal. We all like to think we can tell which is which on sight, but that says a lot more about us than it does about them. It speaks of a failure to let your worldview evolve, instead preferring to cling to nostalgia and judge others by the standards of some time that never existed (i.e. your “golden age” was a thing of your own retroactive creation and means f*ck all to everyone else). It’s the cliched “I don’t understand these kids” mentality, and if you let yourself get there it’s your fault.
This doesn’t mean you can’t judge trends, it simply means that there is virtue in retaining the ability to understand subsequent generations, instead of retreating behind the walls of your prior experience and lamenting “the state of things.” That girl in the cafe could have existed at any time in modern history – it’s nothing new. Just as in the past we still have to actively search for what we can connect with in music by navigating vast fields of mediocrity (which we individually define, by the way).
I’ve been into metal for half my life and can’t think of a better time than now to be into it. On the backs of quality musicians the boundaries of what is possible are constantly being redrawn, both in terms of musicianship and songwriting. There is a tremendous blending of styles and the choices are expanding exponentially. More so than any time in the past, there is a metal for everyone. Or if you prefer to stick to the past exclusively, technology allows us to find virtually anything ever recorded and summon it at will. If you can’t find bands you connect with in this kind of environment, I feel sorry for you. Putting up with some ironic hipsters seems like a small price to pay. Enjoy your metal.
You know, one thing that a commentator pointed out that I failed to address in my first response is the effects that the internet and blogs have had on the number of musical releases in general. So, on that note, I agree with Mike, but I still tend towards the optimist and believe that the really great music of this era will rise to the top, much like previous eras.
As for the comment section, yeah, the meathead comments suck. As long winded as Helm can be, his constructive criticism is vastly preferable to “writer x is a pussy fag that needs to get laid.”
I like what Six Demon Bag wrote.
Touche, douche. I just quit my metal band because I couldn’t go through with the shows, spending all night in a cesspool of conformity, a tidal wave of relentless-shit-noise crashing down on a sea of bobbing black T-shirts… the current metal scene is retarded and most of the music is death-by-torture-of-monotonous-redundancy. Night after night, this is my “listening experience” – there is no recognizable song structure, I can’t hear the guitar progressions, I can’t understand the lyrics, I can’t recall the riffs, I can’t tell one band from another. I take nothing away with me but a headache and a guilty suspicion that I’m participating in something false and ultimately pointless.
@ Scathach
“the current metal scene is retarded”
99.9% of the time if it involves the word “scene,” it’s going to be lame to people that are either older or more ego-formed and no longer need a scene to define them. Conformity is practically embedded in the word scene, so it’s a young person’s game (I mean that either in terms of years or mental age).
The thing is, we all need scenes. Most people that make music a part of their lives have identified with a scene at one time or another, even if only peripherally (just like you and your metal band). Most of the time we’ll become jaded with that scene at some point and reject it – it’s an essential part of intellectual growth. If you study the history of any band (just pick your favorite), I think you’ll usually find that they evolved out of a scene of some kind which they eventually transcended. Most of the bands in that scene probably sucked and were merely mimicking other bands. Aside from rare talents and virtuosos, most great artists of any kind begin by mimicking other artists that inspire them.
The metal scene you’re referring to may be retarded to you, but you never know if a truly great band will emerge from it. Or if not a band, maybe a single musician is honing his skills right now in what you see as a “false” scene and will one day make amazing music when the right circumstances fall into place. I’m not saying you’re wrong to reject it, but there’s value in it as well.
With the saturation of images for the masses to consume, it is too easy for them to define themselves by imparting some kind of mutagenic meaning to whatever symbol will hopefully score the most pussy. They’ve lost, or perhaps(?), delayed the ability to find what truly speaks to the core of their being; always trying to figure out if the person wearing that illegible grindcore shirt is the person they want to be, or even can be. Thankfully, as metal fans we’ve been shown the way by the likes of Scalzi and others that the secret to being true to oneself is to continuously seek out music laced with ideas that challenge our preconceived notions of what is possible. Only with that kind of continuous pursuit of knowledge can we impart the same wisdom to our daily lives while trapped in this reality, burning alongside those who don’t know their entire existence is a lie. As a result, strong opinions, ones that have been there the entire time, tend to emerge.
@ Sturbacious
That may be the first time the words “mutagenic” and “pussy” appear in the same sentence, and for good reason. Although there’s probably a grindcore band somewhere named Mutagenic Pussy.
For the most part I have no idea what you’re trying to say, but the parts I do understand are flawed. Do you really think people adopt imagery from a metal scene to “score pussy?” Since when has being into metal INCREASED someone’s chances of getting laid?
I also don’t understand why you always have to listen to music that “speaks to the core of your being” to be true to yourself. I like lots of different music for many different reasons. Not all of it has to aspire to some lofty goal, such as “challenging our notions of what is possible.” That kind of connection to any art is very rare. Most of the time it’s simply a matter of something in the music appealing to my sensibilities, having the right energy for the moment, sometimes its the lyrics, or maybe it reminds me of something I want to stay connected with. I might listen to Slough Feg for these reasons, just as someone might listen to Lady Gaga for similar reasons.
@Six Demon Bag
Great response, thanks for allowing me the opportunity to clarify myself a bit. My message is generally directed towards this new generation of kids and people getting into metal trying to find their way in a sea of emptiness. I’m using “pussy” in this sense as a metaphor, albeit a mutagenic one
, for whatever an individual is searching for or hoping to ascertain. It might be acceptance, it’s also an easy way to express contempt to the world, or they know there are some hot metal chicks that go to shows and they’re tired of masturbating to Sasha Gray getting thrown around like a fuck doll. By placing emphasis on the external symbol they’ve adopted, they’ve misunderstood, and hopefully just haven’t come to the realization yet, that the reason they’re attracted to this music is because they’re trying to find out how they can be comfortably secure in the body and being they inhabit. Maybe not ALL, but metal is a genre notoriously filled with seekers and jaded individuals. The beauty of metal is that it has numerously great bands poking around the fringes of all facets of existence, but not all have to challenge these ideas because music IS fun and merely a form of entertainment. Metal teaches that it’s OK to have a good time, to do what you want, to think how you want.
I wasn’t really saying that I always have to listen to music that speaks to the core of my being, but was trying to intone that giving up that search to find those specific bands, because they DO exist, is tantamount to giving up on your own personal journey. It’s a lesson that metal has taught me, and one I will carry to my grave. A lot of people can vaguely see the strength contained within the whole of metal, but as Scalzi is lamenting, there are fewer bands with the balls to carry the sword. At the very least they’re becoming harder and harder to find.
@ Sturbacious
“this new generation of kids and people getting into metal trying to find their way in a sea of emptiness”
This is a similar stance that Mike takes in this article, and it’s one that I disagree with. It’s the fallacy that “these kids today” are somehow different than “those kids” at some idealized point in the past. There is nothing fundamentally new about this generation of kids. Part of maturing and developing an identity is struggling to find something that is “you,” something you identify with and try to make your own. Whether it’s some kid sporting a Carcass shirt to distance himself from the dreaded “mainstream” or a kid in the 1950’s styling his hair into a pompadour to emulate Elvis, it’s the same struggle for identity. When I was in high school you had kids into whatever was popular on MTV, some metal kids, and a lot of suburban kids adopting hip-hop culture. All of these groups were trying to establish an identity – different methods, same motives.
To reiterate a previous point, your “golden age” never existed. You invented it, so stop using it to judge “this generation” of kids as if they’re doing anything different than you or I have done.
@ Sturbacious
“but as Scalzi is lamenting, there are fewer bands with the balls to carry the sword. At the very least they’re becoming harder and harder to find.”
I gotta comment on this as well. Metal has never been, and probably never will be, a long-term, commercially viable form of art. Sure there are bands that are successful (some mega-successful) and it seems that there are cycles in which metal comes into and out of favor, but when compared to the number of bands doing it the chances of making a living at it are nil for most people. In this regard, any band playing metal is “carrying the sword.”
Sure there may be a few bands thinking that if they play this way or that way they’ll sell tons of records, but they’re the minority. They’re also fools, because the market for metal is much smaller than the market for pop or accessible rock music. Who were these bands in the past that “carried the sword” for metal? Seems to me you had a few mega-successful bands (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc.), some marginally successful bands, some great bands that may have been big if given the right exposure, and many thousands of other mediocre bands that just wanted to play metal or emulate the successful bands. How is that any different now?
As for bands being harder to find, that’s just insane. With the technology we have I can call up audio of even the most obscure band at will. This is the best time in history for “seekers” that want to find challenging, original, and inspiring music. In the 1980s I’d have to track down ‘zines and trade tapes in the mail to hear new bands. That may be appealing to some in a nostalgic way, but I’ll take the internet any day of the week.
To interject in a fascinating conversation -
“Carrying the sword” isn’t necessarily a given just by playing metal. Just because I play Kerry King riffs on a Kerry King-branded guitar through a Kerry King-branded amp doesn’t mean that I even come close to channeling what Slayer does. Scalzi’s alluding to (though he hasn’t specified, and hopefully he will) a set of values that, in his eyes, the best bands have. Even if, say, all metal bands “carry the sword”, a lot of them tarnish it by wielding it badly or with bad intentions.
As for the difficulty in finding good bands, that has shifted from a dearth to a glut of information. Back in the day, it required effort just to find the bands in the first place. These days, it requires effort to sort through endless piles of mediocrity. Either way, effort is still required.
@ Invisible Oranges
Here’s the thing people conveniently forget: everyone comes from somewhere. I’ll bet if you look into the past of many of our great metal artists you’ll find guys wearing Slayer shirts, playing Slayer riffs, using gear listed in the liner notes of Slayer albums. Like I said earlier, most great artists begin by mimicking the art that inspires them. Many of the people you describe will never become those great artists (although some will), but maybe the friend that they introduced to metal will. In short, there are benefits that we can’t know in the present that stem from lots of people mimicking their favorite artists and playing mediocre music. It’s all part of artistic development. In that regard, everyone participating in metal is carrying the sword. I fail to see how bands playing metal badly have any effect on the greatness of other bands. In my opinion The Sword is utterly mediocre, but if I hadn’t gone to one of their shows back in ‘04 I would never have discovered Slough Feg (who were opening).
I also find it strange that people are complaining about having too much choice when searching for bands. How is this not a good thing? Is it really that difficult for people to find good bands when they can instantly learn almost everything about a band in several minutes? You’ll run across plenty of crap to be sure, but the outlets we have to find good music have never been stronger. I have a healthy diet of awesome music and all I do is read Decibel, talk to fellow metal fans, and prowl the internet to run down tips.
I’d like to add that sites like Invisible Oranges provide an outlet for people all over the world, from many different cultures, to instantly converse about issues like this and are a tremendous resource for chasing down leads on good music. This was not possible even 15 years ago and makes the process of finding good music much easier. When you think about the tools we have it is not difficult at all to sift through the mediocrity. Remember when you had to buy an album to hear what the band sounds like?
I don’t look back on some golden age of metal at all. If anything, my golden age is the present moment because I’ve been privileged enough to find artists that will always reside in my heart. The argument for or against any golden age of metal is irrelevant now with generations of fans discovering the genre at such varied moments in time.
While your other points are valid, I think you’re failing to see the big picture and straying from the conversation at hand. Of course the kids today are the same as kids of yesteryear, but at this very moment in time the choices of who someone wants to be are overwhelming. This is delaying the inevitable realization that seeking identity through external means is lying to yourself. By “carrying the sword” I’m not talking about a band achieving higher levels of fame and becoming some kind of representative of heavy metal, but one that stands on the principles metal embodies. As Scalzi tragically knows all to well, carrying the sword often means extremely limited commercial success, yet album after album the mother fucker brings it.
“This is me. This is Slough Feg. Take it or leave it.”
Metal. Be true to oneself. Look inside your heart. Let it speak to you. Whatever you create, channel through your heart, and what you create will be pure. If what is in your heart at a particular moment is a Sabbath riff, then play a god damn Sabbath riff. Do this and you will realize that you are God personified. Lord of your own creation. You will immediately become aware that many others have come to this same realization, and you will be humbled.
IO makes a great point about bands tarnishing the sword. To convolute the metaphor a bit more, and to reiterate what Scalzi is talking about when mentioning 90% of bands lose sight of the music, great bands continually sharpen and hone their blade.
Anyone who says the internet is ruining metal is an idiot. The internet isn’t ruining shit. Shitty bands are ruining metal. The very fact we can have a philosophical discourse laced with radical ideas about heavy metal is testament to its power. And one last final “Fuck You” to those saying Mike is just whining in his article. Since when do we shit on the ideas and opinions of geniuses? Especially ones with such wholly unique perspectives on what they’re saying? I, for one, am greatly looking forward to the next installment of Bullpen Bulletins and to October 26th when Mike raises the sword yet again on “The Animal Spirits.”
Invisible Oranges – Is there any set schedule for the article? Monthly? Bi-monthly? When ever Mike sends something in?
@ Sturbacious
I’m enjoying the conversation, but with all due respect I think you’re the one who has strayed from the conversation (I’m not sure how the “follow your heart and you’ll be God” stuff is relevant).
Look, Slough Feg is my favorite band and I truly admire the music Mike creates, but I think he’s way off base in this article. In other interviews he’s admitted that he really doesn’t know much about what’s going on in metal and doesn’t know many of the bands these days. He’s always asked what he’s into lately and he usually gives out names of bands that are his friends or who fit into a similar thematic style to SF. So when he makes the assertion that 90% of the bands are about money not music and that they’re all concept and no content, what is the basis for that assumption? How many bands do you really give a chance and take the time to experience thoroughly? If all you’re doing is giving cursory attention to bands and making these grand, sweeping generalizations then of course all you’re going to see is concept. To experience content you have to dig deeper, which Mike admittedly doesn’t do.
Take this statement from the article for example:
“What’s important is the Orange amp you’re using and the Thin Lizzy t-shirt—–that’s what people recognize.”
Ok, so I go to a show and the guitar player is wearing a Lizzy shirt and playing on an Orange amp. Sure, I can just assume that he’s a poser and just using those things to earn scene points (because those people are out there). I can then make the conclusion that this band is indeed all about concept and not content and they just want to play what’s popular to make money and get laid. OR, I can do something truly radical and actually listen to their music before making such presumptuous statements. In some cases I could go even further and do the unthinkable and actually talk to the guy. Maybe he’s just really into Thin Lizzy, maybe even since he was a kid (as if it matters). And maybe he actually just likes the way Orange amps sound…am I being too crazy here? The point is, if you’re the one making these grand statements based largely on what you see on the surface, it says way more about you than it does about anyone else.
Six demon bag: I applaud the sincerity of your comments and your fresh attitude. Refreshing it is, indeed. But with all due respect (I am not being sarcastic by saying this) you are way off base in the following set of statements:
“Ok, so I go to a show and the guitar player is wearing a Lizzy shirt and playing on an Orange amp. Sure, I can just assume that he’s a poser and just using those things to earn scene points (because those people are out there). I can then make the conclusion that this band is indeed all about concept and not content and they just want to play what’s popular to make money and get laid. OR, I can do something truly radical and actually listen to their music before making such presumptuous statements. In some cases I could go even further and do the unthinkable and actually talk to the guy. Maybe he’s just really into Thin Lizzy, maybe even since he was a kid (as if it matters). And maybe he actually just likes the way Orange amps sound…am I being too crazy here? The point is, if you’re the one making these grand statements based largely on what you see on the surface, it says way more about you than it does about anyone else.”
You are confusing cause with consequence. It is the abundance of bad music I’ve encountered that has caused me to stop paying attention to most of what’s going on, not the other way around. You’re assuming that the reason I only hear empty, content-less music is that I don’t listen long or attentively enough to hear the content. But it is because, while listening for so long to underground music, and music in general, so much of the quality has taken a nose-dive, that I can scarcely be bothered checking most stuff out anymore (I usually hear stuff when someone suggests it strongly to me though). It’s often a bad investment of time, when the overwhelming majority of the stuff I do hear (particularly while on the road listening to other bands, trading cd’s, people’s houses, etc.) lacks any kid of substance.
It is not on the basis of the shirt, the amp, etc. that I base my “assumptions about the music.” It is that I often see these things correlated with bad music; I often see the look, the guitar sound, the image, the category, etc. emphasized over the music, because the music itself cannot stand on its own without these images, categorizations, etc. The t-shirt is not first indicator of bland, worthless music. I make no assumptions on the basis of this observation alone. It is that I notice these indicators are often in place when the music is shallow, boring, etc., and all you actually remember about that band is the guy’s t-shirt and the amp he’s using. I talk to many people regularly who meet these descriptions, toured with their bands, served them drinks at bars. Hang out with them. No problems there. They often play in boring bands. Period. The two observations (their amps, dress, etc. and their boring music) may have no causal correlation whatsoever—– I’m certainly not assuming one on the basis of the other. I love Orange Amps myself, and Thin Lizzy for that matter. Of course there’s nothing wrong with that, unless that’s most noteworthy thing about your band. Then it’s really bad.
Hey Mike, I was hoping you’d pop in.
It’s certainly not my contention that there’s not an abundance of bad music, because there certainly is. It’s also not my contention that there aren’t posers and “concept over content” people playing metal, because there certainly are. What I’d be interested in hearing from you is how is the situation you describe today qualitatively different than practically any point in the last 30 years or so?
In past interviews you’ve described your days hanging around the punk scene. Was it not the case that clubs were completely overrun by low-to-no content bands that liked to dress the part and be in the scene? Some of those bands showed greatness, some of them became great, and most of them failed. It seems to me like the aesthetics have changed but the underlying phenomenon is the same, but I didn’t live through that period so I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Given the amount of time you’ve spent in clubs listening to mediocre music I don’t begrudge your disillusionment, but what are your thoughts on my previous point that mimicry is, and has always been, a big part of artistic development? Don’t you think at least some of these bands, or perhaps individuals in those bands, are simply going through that process of developing their own identity? Sure, many of them will probably not progress much further than that early “me-too” stage, but don’t you think it’s presumptuous to say things like “90% of the bands out there are about money/concept over content?”
The main reason I’m so insistent about this is that I think so many people get to a point where they stop having that passion to actively seek out great music, which you’ve admitted to. It’s a long term goal of mine to never lose that drive. It’s unfortunate because there is so much going on right now. You may have to sift through lots of mediocrity, but if this were 1983 how many shitty punk bands would I have to sift through to get to a Black Flag?
Dunno what to think – I’m an ancient first generation metal guy, think Sabbath (first three, most of V4 & Sabotage), Blue Cheer (Vincebus Eruptum & Outside/Inside), Atomic Rooster (DWBY), Cactus (!), the first couple of Trapeze albums, Grand Funk (Red & 1st Live), James Gang w/Joe Walsh (esp. Lauguna Solada), Stooges (Fun House, Raw Power), a few others of the same vintage, some Lemmy-era Hawkwind & I guess I must include some early Motorhead as well. But I never cared for Metallica and the less that can be said about “Deep Purple” the better. Where I wish metal had gone was the Dead Boys/DK/Black Flag route which I guess were precursors of ‘thrash metal’. For me ‘metal’ is a solid guitar tone (humbuckers thru Marshalls, Big Muff optional). a busy drum part usually in 4/4, a bass part that mostly follows the lead (except at breaks) and a vocal part in the bass or tenor ranges. At 54 I like it done well but am kinda tired of it, I find thrash metal more interesting…
Holy shit, this is exactly what the internet was made for. Thank you, whoever made this possible, for actually delivering some content. Mike Scalzi is the real deal. He is to music what Bill Hicks was to comedy: The genius outsider pissing in, and everybody just has to sit still and take it because they all know deep inside that plodders like them could not have written a minute’s worth of Traveller. Of all the people in the scene, he’s the one who most deserves to have me buy him a few beers. The fact that he would write this column (and perhaps more?) is a sign of 1) he’s fucking cool, and 2) you’re fucking lucky.
Six Demon Bag,
I will try to address some of your insightful points in future installments. Interesting stuff—-and worthy of thorough investigation which time currently does not permit.
Mike,
Looking forward to it. Also really looking forward to The Animal Spirits – heard a short clip of each song on Amazon and it sounds amazing as usual.
Mike,
Forgot to mention – I read/heard in some interview a while back about your idea to do a concept album that would be kind of like a wine tasting of philosophy through the ages. I hope you can put that together because it’s a great idea and to my knowledge it hasn’t been done before. I’d love to hear how your background in philosophy would come together with the music.
I’ve been very curious since this article was published to see if Mike would acknowledge this outcry of responses to this article, Really cool you’ve dropped in to let us know your a ‘real’ person. Thanks for what you do. Can’t wait to hear the new album, unfortunately I have to wait till next pay day to order it. I’ll be spinning Hardworlder and The locust years till then to get my fix.
Firstly, as a near decade fan of mr Scalzi’s various magnum opi, and with a pre-orderin’ of the new meaty piece under my belt….CHEERS SIR!
Secondly, I can relate to some of that disillusionment in todays metal climes, but likewise I can think I’ve not delved as deeply as I could perhaps have into the modern times….even if my knowledge of modern “traditional” metal bands is very good. Fundamentally, people have always aped their masters and messed things up in their own kooky way through their parents/friends musical influence or through basic muscle memory or equipment limitations.
I also agree with Six Demon Bag that the perceived GOLDEN AGE was not so rosy. I mean, for every masterpiece of the NWOBHM there were a hundred shitty pub bands who were trying to just have fun/get laid without much talent…BUT basically that’s still more than I find these days just because that’s the “style” of metal I’m more into. These legions of apers were aping stuff I much prefered too, seemingly writing songs I much prefer…with great clean vocals, exciting solos, memorable riffs, sing-a-long choruses more the order of the day.
I find it hard to believe there are bands as good as Di’Anno’s Maiden, Ostrogoth, early Slayer, early Omen, early Fates Warning, early Manowar, early Running Wild (early early) around now…to just name my bigguns. There are hundreds upon hundreds of lesser gems from that time too…and unless I’m missing something there is nothing to float my bloat like this stuff around now apart from VERY few exceptions (Helvetets Port! I insist).
I see a lot of stuff written like “for fans of Cirith Ungol/Judas Priest/early Maiden/Celtic Frost” or something…well that’s me but I can’t remember the last time my metal boner was stroked by a recent release to the same extent.
SUMMARY:
I likes ‘Phantom of the Opera’ but no-one really writes songs as good as that these days. I am more than willing to be shown its equal from the modern stock of course!
Maybe I’m not the right person with the right to speak here, as I’m a mid-30’s buried in Italy, so not exactly at the centre of the scene, but the phenomenon pointed out by Mike Scalzi is really interesting, and IMO it’s not so easy to have the whole picture of it. Let me write down something I noticed.
For a deep view on how bands like Sword (Lars Ulrich is talkin a lot about them, think about it…), Early Man, or the so called indie Kemado Records were born, take a look at this article (don’t be afraid of lenght: just print it and read it whenever you have half an hour of free time, it’s worth it!): “False Metal: The Financial and Farcical Return of Heavy Metal” (http://www.lotfp.com/content.php?editorialid=55). There are bands out there calling themself NWOBHM-inspired, or doom-based, or traditional hard rock, but when you listen to them you discover there’s some kind of trick behind. Apart from metal, look at Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Wolfmother, Black Mountain, or listen to “At war with the mystics” by The Flaming Lips: how many promises you read in the news (Motorhead, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Rainbow – Rainbow!!! – based hard rock???), and then what did you found??? Something you like or some fake, plastic, recycled idea that has no power in it and seems like the new pret-a-porter trend of mainstream rock??? Then think twice about WHERE you did find pieces of info about these bands: was it some undeground rock zine, some tip by a good-taste old friend, or was it maybe some alternative fashion review that you find at the nearest Virgin Megastore?
At first I liked Children debut album “Hard times hanging at the end of the world”, even if I found some bizarre side of it that I didn’t understand. Even now I think that from a musical POV it’s not bad and has some new interesting point. But then I discovered the Kemado story behind it, the Early Man story, i googled some reviews and i hardly found some metal zine or blog, but instead of them a lot of “hip-indie”, “alternative-fashion” web-site, where all the metal you can find is some Metallica and some post-“Divine intervention” Slayer. Then I checked for some live video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaNSfXF-fj4. They are posers. They wear a Slayer T-shirt – which is the only extreme heavy metal band that was accepted by hips? do you have any idea? – The guitar player seems to show some HM cliché while tapping and drinking beer at the same time, and he also seems more interested in his strange cut hair covering perfectly his face than in having fun with the audience. And look at the guys: doesn’t it seem a hip-indie-fashion audience? Are they having fun with the music? I imagine more them thinking at the show as some comic Barnum wrestling-like phenomenon, the so called and once alive and brutal heavy metal. It’s the same self-esteemed audience that in the 80’s laughed at Cronos words thanks to a Thurston Moore b-side, missing completely the point: the fun Venom and the audience where having together in the extreme piece-de-teatre that was a Venom show. That same world now laugh at the same thing, making also some money with it. Clever, isn’t it? Indie intelectuals grew up and went in the market? Compare Children video with a Hirax show in these days to see heavy metal kids having fun together and with the band! http://www.youtube.com/user/Cynogale?feature=mhum#p/f/4/PWk3rHrlIhs.
I think there are very good bands outside today, and one can listen obviously to whatever he likes, even the last post-stoner-sludge-hardcore-Mastodon clone, but I think we have the duty to know where one band is coming from, how many “free market barbarians” strategies are behind it (thanks Mike for the immortal song title), and also to discover some SINCERE music alive and support it. For every form of art, be it more or less avant-garde and rebel, always comes the time of society digesting it and reproposing it in a more safe, domesticated form. That doesn’t necessarily kill the original one!
Sorry for so many words and for my english. Cheers, stay heavy!!
Hemigalus
After actually reading the long article linked by Hemigalus, my thoughts were provoked enough to have to write something on the topic. Those thoughts revolve around my aversion to call out bands for their lack of “authenticity”.
It’s one thing to not like a specific band or a musical movement. It’s safe to say that anyone who would read this far finds most music, even most metal, intolerable. Some things are just nauseating or annoying. It’s pretty natural that self-reflective people are going to look for reasons why they are annoyed or nauseated, and won’t settle for observing that the stuff simply doesn’t suit their taste. In metal, we look for objective-sounding words with which to insult the music that annoys us. That’s why we reach for “posers”, “fake metal”, “plastic” and similar epithets.
The suggestion is that if you’re making metal, no matter who you are, there is only one way to do it authentically. I have several problems with this. One is that it presumes an unrealistic self-awareness on the part of musicians – that they are so in touch with their deep, true nature that they know when they are being true to it and when they are selling it out. But really, who knows themselves so well? Don’t most of us spend years of searching and experimentation on the way to gaining such self-awareness? And if we produce music along the way, is it automatically inauthentic? Consider Metallica, who (I argue) found their true selves in the 90’s. It turns out that their authentic nature is: wanna be southern blues-rockers. That’s makes their Load-era stuff more authentic in my eyes. But sadly, it sucks. Sure, there are some bands who understand themselves well enough to stay true to who they are at each point of their career. But these bands aren’t necessarily good. In general, I’ve found there isn’t much correlation between musical authenticity and non-suckage. Some of the best metal I have is from bands who were trying out the idea of being a metal band to see if it suits them. Remember the 80’s, when everyone was a fake satan follower? Can you get less authentic than that? But do we hold this pretense against all those great bands? I don’t.
So when fans use authenticity insults, it’s pretty clear they not saying that the band fails to be true to their own selves. They’re saying that the band fails to pass some litmus test that they themselves invented. A part of that litmus test tends to be the idea that they must somehow be “serious” about their music. The Sword clearly fails this test. But as far as I can tell, they’re a bunch of guys making noise and having a good time – one step away from, say, a Kiss tribute band. I’ll never like what they play, but how could I be offended by it? I think the same of the 95% of metal that (to my ears) sucks. Some people really can’t escape their sense of irony. Some people really are so eager to please that they will focus-group their audiences to see what tones and topics to include on their next album. Some people are greedy for fame and fortune. There is room for all of these types inside metal. Of course, don’t expect me to like it all.
Mike’s article made me realize that we saddle metal bands with the extra responsibility of being ambassadors who are supposed to represent our way of life. We’re still seen as sketchy outsiders, so we’re eager to show that the suspicion of metal isn’t fair. Inevitably, we find that the metal that people have heard of doesn’t represent us in the way that we see ourselves, so we get mad at those bands for being bad ambassadors. We say they perpetuate misconceptions about what “good” metal is supposed to be. They mislead people by confirming harmful stereotypes that don’t apply to the music we actually listen to. The feeling that we have to apologize for the idiots who look like us has been in metal since the very beginning, and we have a complicated relationship to it. In part, we want it to stop. We want people to see the true diamonds in the rough. But we also might not want to live without it, because we take comfort in the distance that this misunderstanding places between us and the mainstream who just doesn’t understand. We don’t want Pitchfork or frat boys to suddenly see the brilliance in our beloved music, just like we don’t want our parents to see it. So we’ve developed a culture of snobbery that both preserves our self-image as taste-elites, and explains why other sane people don’t jump up to confirm the excellence of our taste: They’re mislead by the “posers” who get all the exposure.
I put it this way because I want it to sound like what it is: a reflection of an insecurity that’s hard to purge but ultimately childish and silly. Good metal bands are just not responsible for the work done by bad ones. But what makes the bad bands bad is a lack of good ideas, not a lack of authenticity. Authenticity has almost nothing to do with it, so I hope we can have this debate without arguing about who’s more “real”.
@ David
Agreed. I also find the debate over “authenticity,” tr00ness, etc. pointless. Not only does it presume an unrealistic level of self-awareness on the part of bands, as you said, but also an impossible level of insight on the part of fans to know what goes on in the hearts and minds of musicians.
The Sword is perhaps the most derided band for their perceived lack of authenticity. Some metal fans act as if these guys were grown in a lab or manufactured by some fashion designer, ala the Sex Pistols, to play soft metal for mass consumption. I personally don’t care for them, but I can confirm that they were in fact real people, working real jobs, playing their asses off to get where they’ve gotten. When they formed back around 2003 I lived in Austin and the singer (JD Cronise) was a cashier at an indie video store I frequented. It’d see him everytime I went in there and I’d see them play small clubs around Austin to 5 other people. Their success was relatively fast, but they spent several years playing ALL the time to mostly empty clubs on weeknights. You may not like their stuff, but they are as “authentic” as any other band.
So, for Scalzi Metal is ethos. For me, it’s “just” music. You’re a Nazi? A vegeterian? A hipster? A total and utter fake? What do I care if I like it? True, I probably won’t like your tofu take on it. Probably because I’ve heard it a million times, just without the poor food choices. It’s sort of amusing that a musician should have any (such?) ideals about his trade. A sign of not-making-it-big. If it wasn’t the money, you’d do it all for free. Many do. But that usually means you’re even less able to live off it. So you’re in a shitty position – you want both the money and the sheep (uhm…something about eating cake in English idiom) – try not to feed it to them, though, they’ll die from lead poisoning
Oh yes, I’d love to hear why isn’t Slough Feg raking in the cash by digitally distributing their music (in FLAC, of course)? (Hm…does that automatically make me too young? :p)
“Too many adjectives.” reminds me of the clueless royal who decried Mozart for having “too many notes” in Amadeus.
If you know the words they’re not difficult to understand. And if his band is any indication I don’t expect Scalzi to start dumbing it down for certain readers… Wasn’t that part of the point of the piece?
I enjoyed the writing and the story. You actually had me going for a while, until I listened to your band. Your esoteric jargon drew me in, but I really see no difference between the homogenized metal sound and your band’s ere 20 years homogenized sound.
You are a good writer, but I think we get caught up in our ideals a bit too much at times. What metal doesn’t need, is more elitists. Art is art regardless of what anyone thinks. You have no right to claim anything is not art. You do have the right to think it is shit, however.
P.S. I play in a mathy, stoner metal, retroglam, jazz band.
Dez, I know what you’re saying. Live and let live, ha. I put my energy into listening to and loving what I love, not worrying about who sucks. If only everyone did that, ah. I mean, really, those bands that suck? They just make the good metal even better.
And ironically I’m too lazy to scroll up and search for who said something about digging through shit to find the gold, but I agree with them, that is half the fun.
Oh, and I forgot.. along with the live and let live…
Even if I think a band sucks, if they are doing what they love, and if there are people who love what they are doing, then GREAT.
There is some music that makes me happier than anything—I can’t express these feelings adequately in words, I only wish that EVERYONE felt that way about music.