Poll: Metal and it's Deterioration in the Pop Music World

[Not Good]

Back in the days when I listed to Michael Jackson when he was still black, I remember having my Vice City radio constantly tuned to VRock. It's music was awesome and I regarded it as such. Later I got the songs off of those stations from Limewire and listened to them constantly until they became old. Since that day I've been an avid fan of Metal and it's subcategorities. However I am dismayed at the poor quality of metal in the mainstream ex: Underoath, Children of Bodom, Dragonforce etc.

Why do I mention those three bands? They are covered (more or less) in various sets of media. Underoath and Children of Bodom by the Mainstream media and Dragonforce for including their song in Guitar Hero III (inb4 "I herd of them before GH III." Don't kid yourself).

My main problem with such bands is that they either 1: overproduce, 2: Are excessive amounts of concentrated fail, and 3: The fact that what they do as musicans has been done before and better. All three bands demonstrate my point. Dragonforce overproduces to the point that they have to rely on speeding themselves up in studio recordings as well as making the song itself almost impossible to recreate live. I won't even go into how I dislike Underoath, but let's just say it's fans are not my favorite type of people. I would've liked Children of Bodom if I had listened to them earlier, but most of the time when I listen to them I'm seeing much of what made previous bands innovative and/or advanced musicans.

The Bands and musicans I do enjoy have either had their best work already made or they have been deceased for some time or the band is now defunct. Bands such as Megadeth, Death, Mayhem, Venom, Autopsy and I could go on for a while. Megadeth, while they have had a recent comeback, are still living in the shadows of their previos musical ventures, Death's main member, Chuck Shuldiner has been deceased, Mayhem is... Well their original members have killed each-other/themselves.

So I present to you this question: Does Pop culture and releated media outlets give them more exposure to the brainwashed masses, or do they retain all of what made them great in the first place?

 

[cobrasting14]

You have to look at it this way; either the music is good, or the music is not. There are plenty of bands out there that have the money and power to push their music into the media for the masses to hear (Such as the 3 bands you have just listed) and there are also the ones who get their stuff played because they actually have chops as artist.

For example, a few bands are currently on the rise in the media because they actually play well, such as Bullet for my Valentine (Who are amazing live), Avenged Sevenfold (Also excellent live) and Killswitch Engage. These are bands who started small and have come to enjoy a large fanbase because their music is good, and they can play it live. *Sorry for anyone who does not like these bands, this is just my personal opinion.*

And then, for metal, there is always the underground music, which can be much better that some of the crap you hear on the radio, but then again, if you do not have a taste for the music you may not respect it or like to listen to it. Some of my favorite bands are After the Burial, As I Lay Dying, Chimaira, Protest the Hero, and War of Ages; and not many people can say they have heard of these bands. Why? Because they don't focus on getting noticed in the media, they focus on playing fast, intense, and awesome music.

 

[Not Good]

The definition of mainstream media that I'm using is very broad, and your misconception is that the three bands you listed don't have much money aside from ticket sales and the royalties from records. Their Record companies have immense amounts of money and ties to the media, and they are the ones giving large sum of time and money into your three example bands so that they can get more money, meaning that the bands are forced to become much more streamlined in music qulaity. Your other misconception is that I haven't herd of As I Lay Dying and Chimaira and they are, in my book, akin to Underoath.

 

[cobrasting14]

True, those bands are now well supported by their record labels, but they had to write some kind of material that people like in the first place to receive deals with the big record companies. Technically speaking, this is the case for any band.

I guess I don't understand your gripe, are you saying that the record companies are forcing the bands to play different, more mainstreamed music? Because this is most definitely true for many bands (Look at the latest Disturbed album, many fans complain of it being mindless jargon and all the songs sound the same) but then again there are bands that try to stick to their roots, and play the music they want to play. You brought up Chimaira and As I Lay Dying; both of these bands have stuck to their roots, and neither have changed in a drastic manner to become more "mainstream".

 

[Not Good]

All I am trying to convey here is that is there a connection between Metal's intertwining with Pop Media and my resulting displeasure of the music.

 

[cobrasting14]

The basic answer then, would be no. You just don't like the music. Just because they play it on the radio, or put it in guitar hero, or you hear it on a commercial doesn't make you dislike it; you dislike it because it is not appealing to you. My only suggestion for you is to go searching for some lesser known metal, and just experiment with new artists until you find one that you enjoy.

 

[TheBluesader]

"Your [sic] stupid and you need to get a life."

If you are, friend, then so am I. Word to the wise: you need to scope out non-English metal. Finland and Japan have amazing, unpolluted metal scenes. I've even heard stuff from frickin' Egypt that was awesome. Look to places where metal is still underground and hated. Like it used to be in the West. Therein lies your salvation, young Patowan.

 

[Not Good]

The basic answer then, would be no. You just don't like the music. Just because they play it on the radio, or put it in guitar hero, or you hear it on a commercial doesn't make you dislike it; you dislike it because it is not appealing to you. My only suggestion for you is to go searching for some lesser known metal, and just experiment with new artists until you find one that you enjoy.

This is in direct contradiction with my enjoyment of Metallica. A prime example as they had very obviously diverted to more mainstream songs on the Black Album. On fanboyish note, I own all of Metallica's Discography from 1983-1991 including an original Garage Days Re-Revisited LP.

 

[CrafterMan]

Woo war of ages haha, Christian metal XD

 

[TSED]

Mainstream music makes everything bad not because it rots away the 'musicianship' but because the mainstream has terrible taste in music. 'They' prefer rather simple songs that are a little catchy, that their relatively untrained ears can discern and digest. (Find me a music teacher that likes rap or hip hop, I dare you.)

Now, not every untrained person has an inability to digest more complicated rhythm, melodies, harmonies, etc. And some that do even still like 'simpler' music (though I'll never be sure why). I'm merely pointing out that some people are more musically inclined than others, and the more inclined some one is the more complicated they TEND to prefer their music. There are going to be tons of counter examples. I don't need them, they won't prove my point wrong.

So yes, being mainstream kills the point and power of metal. But being a mainstream metal-guy doesn't actually mean you're personally killing metal. It's your fans' fault.

A great example is Death. They're the best selling death metal band of all time. 1,500,000 lifetime unit sales. Compare that to something a little more mainstream (I'm using Wikipedia as a source). Disturbed's new album shipped over 253,000 units in its opening WEEK. Compared to 25 years (83-08) of sale opportunity for Death. And Death is *the best selling death metal band.*

But in 25 more years, who do you think will be more known? Death or Disturbed (which I don't even think of as metal)? Death, the founders of a genre, or Disturbed, who recycled riffs over and over again and had a big advertising budget?

Or a more personal example. I went to the Twilight of the Thunder God tour to see The Absence, who've been my favourite band since I discovered Riders of the Plague. (Almost) every one else there was there for Amon Amarth. Amon Amarth is big time famous for metal standards, and they... Well, let's just say their music isn't very complicated.

And yes, I had heard Dragonforce before GH3. I hated them then, too. Now that they have fans with this terrible taste in music (every song is the same, slightly different melody played at different points in the scale over and over and over and over and over again as fast as possible. DO NOT WANT) spewing about how great they are because they hit the mainstream stride when GH3 came out... Ugh. I didn't actively 'hate' them before, I was just of the opinion that it wasn't my thing. Now I hate them.

Yeah, that's elitist of me. So what?


tl;dr: Mainstream audiences just don't want good metal. That's ok. Let it go, let them enjoy their terrible music and pound your chest at your obvious superiority in musical taste. Sometimes you just need a reason to feel better than some one else.

 

[Not Good]

TSED, say hello to the sacred doors of Win.

 

[TSED]

You say that like it's a new experience.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

While I agree it's because artists are trying to hard to please the mainstream crowd, I think the blame can be attributed to labels. A lot of bands turned out worse when labels acquired them, that I can't be bothered to listen to them anymore. Right now it seems like the only leading "artists" are the ones who specialize in RnB, hip hop, rap, reggae, etc. It's shameful too. Then again, I'm constantly reminded that people are willing to waste their money on crap all the time so long as it's been praised by jaded fucks, and is properly advertised

 

[Saskwach]

Back in the days when I listed to Michael Jackson when he was still black, I remember having my Vice City radio constantly tuned to VRock.

This is a time paradox.

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

Back in the days when I listed to Michael Jackson when he was still black, I remember having my Vice City radio constantly tuned to VRock. It's music was awesome and I regarded it as such. Later I got the songs off of those stations from Limewire and listened to them constantly until they became old. Since that day I've been an avid fan of Metal and it's subcategorities. However I am dismayed at the poor quality of metal in the mainstream ex: Underoath, Children of Bodom, Dragonforce etc.

Why do I mention those three bands? They are covered (more or less) in various sets of media. Underoath and Children of Bodom by the Mainstream media and Dragonforce for including their song in Guitar Hero III (inb4 "I herd of them before GH III." Don't kid yourself).

My main problem with such bands is that they either 1: overproduce, 2: Are excessive amounts of concentrated fail, and 3: The fact that what they do as musicans has been done before and better. All three bands demonstrate my point. Dragonforce overproduces to the point that they have to rely on speeding themselves up in studio recordings as well as making the song itself almost impossible to recreate live. I won't even go into how I dislike Underoath, but let's just say it's fans are not my favorite type of people. I would've liked Children of Bodom if I had listened to them earlier, but most of the time when I listen to them I'm seeing much of what made previous bands innovative and/or advanced musicans.

The Bands and musicans I do enjoy have either had their best work already made or they have been deceased for some time or the band is now defunct. Bands such as Megadeth, Death, Mayhem, Venom, Autopsy and I could go on for a while. Megadeth, while they have had a recent comeback, are still living in the shadows of their previos musical ventures, Death's main member, Chuck Shuldiner has been deceased, Mayhem is... Well their original members have killed each-other/themselves.

So I present to you this question: Does Pop culture and releated media outlets give them more exposure to the brainwashed masses, or do they retain all of what made them great in the first place?

Hey now, I like Children of Bodom and Dragonforce! Don't even get me started defending DF-- I've done it far too many times.

Anyway, I suppose I should make a point or something. Claiming that any entity of music is "better" than another is pointless. There is no true basis for "good" music outside of an individual's personal taste.

That said, I see increasing numbers of people abandoning the mainstream and exploring underground genres-- which is a good thing, I suppose, although they also seem to have gotten it into their mind that anything that has ever been on the radio or sold a significant number of albums is shit. People abandon artists they used to enjoy as they grow in popularity-- the overuse of phrases like "their old stuff was pretty good, I guess" is proof of that. I tend to attribute this to a combination of nostalgia and the drive to be "trendy".

 

[Lord Krunk]

Back in the days when I listed to Michael Jackson when he was still black, I remember having my Vice City radio constantly tuned to VRock.

This is a time paradox.

That's what I was thinking.

Anyways, I really don't like metal. I could understand why people like it, but I think it has too much guitar and screaming butt-ugly guys for me to do so. I hate Dragonforce blatantly, and Metallica, while okay, I find that removing the guitar and adding a Jazz ensemble makes their songs so much easier on the ears.

All in all, I really wouldn't know if it is deteriorating or not.

 

[Alex_P]

I think that, for fairness' sake, you'd have to compare Dragonforce to another band that sings about wizards rather than a band that sings about rebellion and alienation (metal's stock tropes). Rainbow or Uriah Heep, for example.

-- Alex

 

[Madrak the Red]

Why all the hate on Dragonforce? They rule, man. It's just that Inhuman Rampage,the album to which everyone is exposed to, is, how should I say, not brilliant. Ultra Beatdown and Valley of the Damned are brilliant, and they can replicate their songs live, they are not speeded up digitally. I have seen them live and they are fething AMAZING. So blerugh.

Call me a fanboy, but I am not. I only say this because it is true.

Oh, and it should be 'You're stupid and need to get a life.'

And I wholeheartedly agree that significant amounts of people abandon big bands and seek lesser known ones in a drive to be trendy. I just stick with what I like, and I will try new stuff, and I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks.

It's the whole 'I want to be differnt, just like everyone else.' mentality.

Also, to people who illegaly download stuff: buy the damn songs, especially for smaller bands, they need the money!

 

[xitel]

Music, as with all art, is a matter of personal opinion. Some people will like something that other people think is total crap. For example, I hate rap, but love Nu-Metal. My friend, on the other hand, loves rap, but can't stand metal of any kind. It's a matter of opinion.

As to mainstream making music crap, It's a matter of getting tired of a song. I used to love Hey There Delilah when it first came out. Then it got played ad nauseum on the radio, and I got sick of hearing it. It's happened to me with plenty of songs before.

Another factor is the ridicule assosciated with the mainstream. Metal is one ofthose genres wher being mainstream is seen as "selling out", not "achieving success", as it is seen in other genres. So when someone says "I like blahdity blah", everyone else goes "no you don't, they suck, they sold out, you're stupid for having an opinion". From that point on, you don't want to listento their songs, because you don't want to get ridiculed agan.

In short, no, mainstream media is not destroying metal, the fans of metal destroy metal that goes mainstream.