. . .
When Invisible Oranges editor Aaron Lariviere told me of his desire to step down, I intended to shut the site down. (I continued to own the site after leaving its daily operations in September 2011.) Running a blog the size of IO is difficult, and no successors to Aaron were readily in sight.
Then, at the urging of a frequent and skilled contributor to IO, photographer Greg Cristman, Fred Pessaro approached me with a plan to unite BV and IO. BV is Brooklyn Vegan, an indie rock blog that has amassed formidable reach despite its name. (It began as a food blog.) Fred handles metal content for BV, which means that he operates in enemy territory. If any crowd can be nastier and more judgmental than metalheads, it’s indie rockers. (I’ll avoid the h-word; it’s tiresome.) The comments sections for Fred’s metal posts at BV are cesspools rivaling Blabbermouth’s. Fred has had it tough.
And yet he’s been tough, cranking out metal content for BV with consistency and timeliness. He’s shot photos, published tour dates, premiered new audio, and put on shows – the most thankless yet perhaps most essential job in metal’s infrastructure. Fred has done great work for the cause.
His plan was simple: combine his news content at BV with IO’s editorial content. IO’s content would thus grow in scope and frequency. BV, with its superior financial and technical resources, would run IO. I liked the plan. I want people to do what they’re meant to do. Fred is meant to run a metal blog. In his years at BV, he’s shown the dedication and skill to do so. In discussions with me about IO’s future, he’s shown the vision to do so. The merger may seem like an unlikely match, but I have full confidence in Fred and Dave (BV’s founder) to grow IO while staying true to its ideals.
As of now, BV has taken over IO. Fred will be IO’s next editor-in-chief. The InvisibleOranges.com URL will stay intact. IO will remain a site dedicated to metal, as it should be. Metal is bigger than any of us, but it depends on human shoulders to hoist it. I’m happy to pass IO’s torch to Fred and Dave. Please welcome them and help them make IO the best metal community it can be.
. . .
There are very few web sites that command the deserved respect of the mighty Invisible Oranges, not only for its near perfect curation but for its stellar writing. Since inception, IO has proven to be the rightful powerhouse and an authority on all things heavy. We feel humbled and honored to not only be a part of such a prestigious zine, but to be helping ensure its long-term survival.
We will strive to live up IO’s stellar reputation the only way we know how, through hard work and determination. We hope that we can make you all proud while promoting and discussing the music we mutually love.
If you want blood, you got it.
— Fred Pessaro and the BrooklynVegan staff
really cool to see Cosmo post something on here again, as well- BVs metal content has always been of a pretty high caliber considering how hip the rest of their fare has always seemed. It makes sense now. I’m extremely excited that IO found a way to avoid this, as it remains the only exclusive metal blog to put out both intelligent discourse, entertaining articles and a relevant selection of bands.
Best of luck.
I think this is fantastic. Fred is the man.
Finally IO will be revived, I can now visit IO more often, you know what i will add it to my Google reader list, because it had been removed ever since the original editor stepped down.
Congrats to IO and Fred, as well as Cosmo and Aaron. So stoked to see how this evolves.
Good luck! Looking forward to seeing and knowing wherever IO is headed.
PS- What ever happened to Cryogenic Husk? That blog was fucking awesome!
Excellent news. Congrats to you both.
Great news…especially when the alternative is the end of the blog. I’ve been a Brooklyn Vegan fan for a long time and I hope this union helps both sites grow.
Excellent news, really looking forward to seeing how things progress. Mike/Phantom Glue
Pretentious Crap: “There are very few web sites that command the deserved respect of the mighty Invisible Oranges, not only for its near perfect curation but for its stellar writing. Since inception, IO has proven to be the rightful powerhouse and an authority on all things heavy. We feel humbled and honored to not only be a part of such a prestigious zine, but to be helping ensure its long-term survival.”
Yeah, what posers, right? If they really wanted to be true to the cause, they would shut the site down. That way, instead of bitching about how much better the site was back in the day, we could bitch about how there aren’t any good sites for metal anymore and how it’s all trendy pop crap. Because that’s what metalheads do.
Me, I’m glad for this. I just combed through the year in review lists and found a bunch of stuff I really liked, and I really don’t want to have to find a new go-to source for new metal music.
Posers? No. Thought never entered my mind. The quotation I relayed above just goes to show you arrogant and an unrealistic importance these guys place on themselves at Invisible Oranges. I am sure a lot of people find value in this site, but it is certainly dispensable, as there a ton of other sites that do an excellent job and cover much the same content that Invisible does. I find a lot of the stuff on this site superfluous and quite contrived. Consolidation is a good thing with regard to Invisible’s new move.
You’ll note, perhaps, or perhaps not, that those words were posted by one Fred Pessaro, the new editor in chief of Invisible Oranges. Unless, of course, paranoia and suspicion being a thing you do, you believe that one of the pre-Brooklyn Vegan acquires Invisible Oranges staffers penned those words.
But you wouldn’t believe such a thing, because you are a reasonable man, and noted that those words were posted by one Fred Pessaro, the NEW editor in chief of Invisible Oranges.
Certainly. Noted, and understood on the one that wrote that comment. I have no clue on the balance of what you are saying…
The core of what I’m saying is that we’re not tooting our own horns…our new editor in chief is. (And we like compliments) It doesn’t make sense to call the existing staff out for placing outsize importance on ourselves when it’s somebody from outside the staff doing it. And you might even be right that we do consider ourselves unrealistically important, but I’m not in a place to judge that.
What I can say for sure is that we’re all fans of metal and that we like writing about it. And that we hope people enjoy our posts.
Also, if you think we suck, useful criticism is appreciated.
You do indeed have a point. I figured since he is now taking the helm, he is kinda of speaking on both sides, but I’ll digress any further. I don’t think you guys suck. I look at your site a lot, but things have changed over the years….Its a highly fragmented place this Metal culture is. ….
You’re right, metal has become fragmented. Our Top 75 list and the crazy range of post topics reflect that.
Is there something in particular you’d like to see more coverage of? A genre, a type of post?
Good question. I would have to think about that. No particular genre. I like sites that focus less on the High Profile bands and more the unknown bands despite the genre of Metal or whatever type of music. There is a wealth of excellence out there that just doesn’t get the attention it deserves. What strikes me as the most obvious problem with the medium tiered to larger popular blogs, are that there is too much focus placed on the same higher profile bands via features and/or top 10/favorite lists and features, i.e. just a ton of redundancies and overlap.
With regard to Invisible Oranges, I would say more reviews, and less of the rest.
Good question. I would have to think about that. No particular genre. I like sites that focus less on the High Profile bands and more the unknown bands despite the genre of Metal or whatever type of music. There is a wealth of excellence out there that just doesn’t get the attention it deserves. What strikes me as the most obvious problem with the medium tiered to larger popular blogs, are that there is too much focus placed on the same higher profile bands via features and/or top 10/favorite lists and features, i.e. just a ton of redundancies and overlap.
With regard to Invisible Oranges, I would say more reviews, and less of the rest.
@Patrick
It’s great that you give advice but I wonder if your demands are too high? Hear me out, it is correct of you to call IO to attention on their content and indeed to suggest more useful directions.
However, in this day in age, one has to wonder, if you see a problem with the way it is done, why not try fixing it yourself? Discover the bands, write the reviews, commentary etc? Contribute to the quality of the site.
Just a thought.
I only stated my opinion because you asked what I thought would be better. So it seems you were bating me. I don’t know about my demands being too high. I am not asking or hoping Invisible Oranges to do anything or make any changes. I just stated what I like to see in general. There are plenty of sites to jump back and forth on to get the skinny on a ton of new albums coming out, be it high profile (or less) low profile. I’ll end this here. No point in discussing further.
Patrick, thanks for the feedback. I don’t know yet what our mix of post types will be, but we do try help get people into bands we think are cool, but not well known.
just randomly commenting to say that you people rule and I hope the “merger” makes the site even better, keep up the good work
Fred is great. I think this is a good move. Kudos to everyone who has kept this thing going! IO will never die!
brooklyn vegan sounds pretty weak
The commentary and debates on Invisible Oranges are always positive and intelligent. IO has been a welcoming environment for metal fans to exchange ideas and viewpoints on various topics relating to our favorite form of music. Despite having strong content, Brooklyn Vegan Metal’s commentary and debates, however, are almost exclusively negative, bitter, homophobic, etc. It gives hipsters with an axe to grind a place to blow off some steam. I’m happy to see the IO torch carried on, but how will the balance be maintained between two websites with very different readers?
It will take people like you, who contribute thoughtful and intelligent comments, to continue posting and drown out any potential negativity; keep the good discussions going amongst the muck. Much like in real life, loud-mouths dominate because good people see the futility in competing with pathological personalities. As long as those who have something insightful to say continue to do so in spite of others, IO should maintain its integrity. Hell, it may even convert an asshole or two.
Few words strike more fear into the heart of a hessian than “INDIE ROCK BLOG”
This is great news, two sites of the highest integrity for metal content in my opinion. Is the intent for all BV metal content to move over to IO exclusively? That could definitely alleviate the unwanted and unnecessary comments we’ve all seen at BV.
I look forward to watching the evolution.
Excellent news! Long live IO!
It is the intent to migrate BV Metal content to IO. Thanks for the support, all!
-FP
To me, this is awesome news, because I prefer the scope of Fred’s work at Brooklyn Vegan to IO’s, but hate the format of BV and the bizarre, hybrid trollbeast that is the BV comments section. Long live Brooklyn Oranges! Invisible Brooklyn? Vegan Oranges?
I read IO and BV regularly. IO has much more content. BV seems to focus mostly who played or who is playing. The most worrisome part of this is the potential for the comments section in IO to get destroyed by the crap that is always present in the comments section at BV. Moderate that shit, as it is almost totally useless and infantile.
Long live IO.
This is unexpected and pleasant news. Fred does great work at Brooklyn Vegan, I expect the same here. Onward.
As long as you get rid of street jammer i am cool with whatever you do
You want this, don’t you? The hate is swelling in you now. Take your keyboard. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger. With each passing moment you make yourself more my servant.
Not that surprising seeing IO’s 75 Metal albums of 2012 is a hipsters playlist
I, for one, would like to see the divide between metal and non-metal a little bit wider. Pussy fairie pop metal should not be covered as much, (less ‘clean singing’, less use of the words ‘cascade’ ‘transcending’ ’soaring’ ‘elegant’ ‘post’, etc.) in favor of grimy underground ugly hesher intimidating outsider music (Look to Hells Headbangers or Nuclear War Now labels, for an easy example). This is metal we’re talking about here. Bullet belts, bad attitudes, getting wasted, eating meat, FOAD, and bang your fuckin’ head. Just a personal suggestion.
Yeah, I hate it when music gets in the way of my lifestyle too.
Yeah, we never cover stuff Hells Headbangers or Nuclear War Now you’re right about that. The search field confirms that.
I don’t know much about Brooklyn Vegan, but I’m happy IO is carrying on, and, as a longtime reader and sometimes commenter, I appreciate the work Aaron put in during his tenure as editor. Following Cosmo–who, to be honest, pretty was the site–was guaranteed to be a thankless job, but Aaron kept this a place worth visiting, over and against the laments of people with nothing better to do than pine away for the past (another common metalhead trait, to be sure). Looking forward to IO’s future.
Thanks for the kind words, dude. Very much appreciated. I’ve enjoyed reading your comments as long as I’ve been commenting here myself. Cheers!
I should add that I hope you stick around IO in some capacity, either as a writer or a commentor /editor emeritus.
Again: thanks, man.
I’m not going anywhere far. I need to clear my head for a minute, but once that’s done I’d like to come back and crank out all the features I didn’t have time to write while I was running the site. Along with a few other side ventures, I plan to stay busy as hell over the coming months. Luckily I’ve still got a big mouth
*pretty much was the site
And that’s why I don’t edit a metal blog. That and the fact that nobody wants to read a 400-page dissertation about how great “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is.
I’d read the shit outta that.
hopefully this means a proliferation of a wider range of content, right? it’s seemed for a while like a blur of same-y live reports and too-short, limited-context reviews, interspersed with the occasional brilliant interview and “books they carried” type features. i want more depth!
Interesting. Historically, I’ve found both here and elsewhere that readers prefer short- to mid-length (say 300-500 word) reviews, and tend to bail on long reviews before they’re done. What do you like about the longer ones?
This is pretty freaking awesome. And so much better than killing IO.
Curious about how Invisible Oranges will be affected by BV’s NYC focus.
BV is the best concert calendar there is and their metal coverage is top-notch. This is definitely good news. However, I would like to see the bitter scarves continue to squirm over there. Keep pissing them off please. Thanks!
Does that mean IO will have a concert calendar? Because that would be great. If so, I hope it’s as comprehensive as possible. I like all sorts of metal, and will go see almost anything live. I know that type of thing must be a pain to keep updated, but it’s valuable for people like me who have to travel at least an hour or so to most shows and make schedule arrangements in advance.
I misrepresented a bit. It’s not a calendar per se. They post a daily rundown of all shows happening that night. I still love it and rely on it. I have seen more fantastic shows last minute due to BV than anything else. They also run a feature called Evillive which lays out the metal shows specifically for the coming week-plus.
And that’s good enough for me. Most metal shows don’t sell out anyway. You’re probably already aware of the ones that do.
IO will eventually have a concert calendar associated with it, correct. Thanks for the support all!
-FP
Bitter Scarves, very nice.
Jesus Christ, the guy from Brooklynvegan who constantly calls imaginary hipster trolls scarves on that site posts here too? Disappointing.
The thing that everyone here seems to be ignoring, and which will become painfully obvious once the sites merge is this:
You may be extremely determined to have a spirited discussion about the music you listen to. However, there are people like that who already post at BV. The simple fact is that your voice will inevitably be drowned out by that of a couple of fucking idiots who post the same incredibly repetitive and stupid insults over and over again. It’s the internet equivalent of banging your head against a wall over and over again. Put quite simply, most of the people here looking forward to the merger of the two sites are going to be extremely disappointed unless something drastic changes with regards to the comments section over at BV.
The bottom line is that if you visit this site with any regularity, it’s safe to assume that you do so at least in part due to the fact that you’re able to engage in intelligent discourse about the music you enjoy. Wait until you see what’s in store once the scumbags that occupy that site mix with the people at IO. Unless some drastic changes are in store, this is unfortunately going to suck.
With that being said. Thank you, Invisible Oranges for not only turning me onto a lot of music I wouldn’t have previously checked out on my own, but also for allowing the music to be discussed in a way that simply wasn’t available to me before the existence of this site. It’s been an enjoyable ride. Hopefully I’m wrong about how all of this will turn out.
No.
Great news. IO has been a huge influence on my mid-life conversion to the world of extreme metal, and I’m excited to see it continue to grow.
O
\_w
Surprised that no one has mentioned that this means IO will now be under the wing of the Buzzmedia group.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzmedia
LOL. The fucking Kardashians? Britney Schpears? Listed under “talent sites?” Although I have seen Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton rock Maiden tees. Seems like a little detail I woulda mentioned.
BV is actually independently owned. Buzzmedia does ad sales for them/us, though.
BV is, to borrow a phrase from Company Flow, “independent as fuck”. Buzzmedia sells ads for us.
Good to see a note from Cosmo, definitely made me pay attention. Onward, brethren and sistren.
Get ready for every band mentioned to be called either a “crew” or a “horde.”
Good luck … as other posters mentioned previously … your gonna need it especially with that rather vocal anti-metal contingency over at BV …