We’ve all heard it: that new metal song that everyone is hailing as the heaviest/brutalest/fastest/most awesomefuckingest thing. But it’s not. To our cultured ears, after years, decades of listening to all the bands that came before, whether Sabbath or Metallica, Anthrax or Cannibal Corpse, we are less than thrilled with the new sounds, or how a band seems to carry itself, or heaven forbid, if it’s poppy. Is it the metal that’s terrible now, or have we as metal fans become jaded to anything that claims it’s new and better?
Metal has been one of the MOST dynamic genres, since its inception by Sabbath, and the proto-metal bands that preceded them. We have seen every single style, good or bad, and every current mutation and permutation of other styles mixed with it. It has spurred some of the most well known bands in any style o music, some of the biggest personalities, and yes, some of the biggest failures and embarrassments. It has done it all, and left one of the biggest marks on its fans, the music scene, and, often enough, the physical landscapes of the venues. So, with a heritage so storied and as littered with hits & memorable things as open air venues are with beer bottles and broken dreams, why does it seem to suck to those with 2 brain cells still left?
It seems to be a mix of things. On one hand, the ever-present ability of anyone with some time, an instrument, or usually a computer, and an idea, can make a song in a few steps on any of thousands of programs found online, in stores, or even make them themselves. The airwaves are positively polluted with this, from pop, to country, to the mishmash that is the dub and electric styles. This has lead to a surplus of content, with a dearth in talent. It has exceeded demand, and begun to water down those bands and artists with actual abilities and legitimate talents into a pool that they almost will not be discovered in. It forces them to put out mediocre content, much below their own abilities, and wants, in the hope of being accidentally discovered on Youtube or the indie download sites like Bandcamp, or the cloud sites like Soundcloud. It becomes a huge ball of white noise, taking everything, good or bad, and setting them all to 11, all at once.
It behooves a casual audiophile to find something new and good, instead of the same, constant dreck that big record labels and suits like to shovel at us. It almost becomes a war of attrition, both sides sacrificing something, to connect to each other in any way that will leave a memory of the meeting. It is a burden not lightly taken by the producers of the music, to be heard in a riot of sounds, ads, marketing, social media. It is a scary world to do so.
On the other hand, once a band or artist finds a label, one that can make them heard far and wide, it invariably changes the fundamental sound they had. Big labels want you to make them money, become hit factories, become sensations. And that means doing whatever is popular right now, chasing trends like a junkie the dragon. You have to lose part of yourself, the part that wants to be you, and wear a friendly, non-unique mask. You must dance to their tune, and if you don’t dance, then you’re no friend of theirs. It is a very harsh road for the soul, but if you do it, fame and fortune can be had. With their money backing you, you get exposure, notoriety, social acceptance. You can push out the same damn thing every release, and the faceless mob that are your adoring fans will never have enough. It’s it’s own slavery, and you will be forever judged by the chains you wear.
Metal seems to have become much more mainstream these past 30 years, from the Glam Rock in the 80s, the Nu Metal and *shiver* Rap Metal trends, to the Core styles and Emo-centric trends of the 00s, metal has worn so much makeup. All to hide the forming wrinkles that the industry has put on her. When it was counter culture to listen to Sabbath, Zeppelin, Thrash, hell, W.A.S.P., it was a commitment. You had to know who you were. Now, you can like metal, you’ll definitely hear it on the radio. But it seems to be a thing of mass production and very soulless. A casual listen to Blackveil Brides, Motionless in White, or any teeny bopper angst machine (dibs on name!) will drive you to a warm whisky and a Hank Williams tape. It just terrible music. A few chords, a heavy sound, passionate, if stupid, vocals that you can chant to, and a stylised look are all you need now. It’s cookie cutter. And it’s affected everywhere now.
Look at a band that came out swinging: All That Remains. The first couple albums, holy hell they were on fire! THey had shredding, it was complex, the vocals were on fire, and the drumming would give you a limp if you tried to copy it. Now fast forward, their current album sounds like their girlfriend broke up with them and now they can’t stop leaving messages for her. It was a far cry from anything they should have put their name behind, and guess what? It’s one of the most commercially known albums from them.Calling and Two Weeks were huge hits on the radio. I like Two Weeks, but not as a metal song. It’s my guilty pleasure. Killswitch Engage, In This Moment, Korn, for a bit Slipknot, Metallica, Slayer, so many great bands just stopped making good music. (if you don’t think Slayer has suffered from being around this long, listen to Reigning Blood vs any of their last 3 albums. Its fuckign pathetic. RIP Jeff Hanneman. And Metallica will never be as good as they ever were, I accepted this LONG ago. St. Anger, your argument is so invalid.) I don’t know why, but it just never had the soul that their first few albums had. It got so you couldn’t feel the energy, the love, the whatever they had that drove them to lose their minds on the mic. Another perfect highlight is Devil You Know. Featuring Howard from Killswitch Engage, its a terrible rip off of the KSE sound, and literally is forgettable right after the songs stop. It is the poster band for what I am talking about. Cookie Cutter is hack. Now Korn is a bit different, always have been. Jonathan Davis just fell in love with Dub, and that’s fine. But no one should ever see the last few albums as anything approaching the absolute monsters that the original lineup had. If you do, fuck you. You must Think Taylor Swift is just an emotional genius of the acoustic guitar.
Now, many titanic bands are starting to make it up by getting that spark back, as shown by the latest Slipknot album. THat was one of the most aggressive albums I have heard in forever from a huge band, and warmed the blackest parts of my still beating heart. It was amazing! It shows me there is hope for the genre, that not everything has been done to death, and that the black muse is still flitting within the shadows of our minds and brain pans. As the darkest memories, the vilest rages, and the pen is able to scratch into the walls of our minds, the genre shall not die. We shall go through thin times, where nothing of substance shall feed our souls, but heroes, villains, monsters of all shapes and sizes shall come and go. Our nightmares are never far from our doors, and no amount of watered down filth can take the spark from those that have the hate deep in their heart. The genre will get back into balance one day, so until then, troll the depths, much more swims in those depths.
