Being that it's now the comically titled ROCKtober month, I'd just like to rant a little bit about a music genre in the same rock family. Heavy Metal. As a fan it pains me a little bit to say this, but the Metal music genre as a whole needs to shape up. It's in trouble really, and is likely on the verge of a mass backlash. While not entirely mainstream, Metal seems to surprisingly be relatively quite popular these days. There's definitely a huge enough following out there that's embraced this music genre. Usually it's the high school / college male demographic that metal has attracted this past decade, and a lot of them can be quite voracious of their support to this music. I'm thinking however, that this is no different than how it was in the late '80s, right before a mass of people abandoned this music genre in droves at the turn of the decade. It will most likely end up once again relegated to the underground scene, only being followed by dedicated fans. So why am I saying this? Who is to blame?
It's obvious to me that part of the problem is that there are now way too many metal bands trying to get people's attention, and too many of them sound the same. Guitar distortion? Check. "Technical" guitar riffs and explosive drum fills with double bass? Check. Passionate singer / screamer with earnest lyrics? Check. That's generally the formula that metal bands of today seem to follow. Either way this music genre is getting "washed out" from too many bands "sounding the same" (admittedly metal music isn't the only genre with that problem). Which is all the more ironic that a lot of people continue to try and add sub-genres like "metalcore," "black metal," "grindcore," etc, to try and establish a differentiation to the overall metal genre.
I've brought this subject to other metal fans, and a common answer I would get is that "if you really listen to the band (like the lyrics), then they'll stand out." Wait. What? What kind of response is that? First off, since many metal bands nowadays are opting for the growling screaming vocals; and a lot are BAD at it, it's hard to really listen to the lyrics that are being said. Secondly, Metal bands also really need to learn how to compose actual songs, as many of them are trapped in the same standard musical sound pattern that's suppose to evoke "hey, listen, I'm heavy metal." Many young metal artists of today needs to look towards metal's history (Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc), to realize that it's equally important for a band to write an actual song that easily stands out among other songs, and not just for it to "sound metal." There's a reason why many up and coming guitarists look towards the bands of the past to pick up a guitar, as I really don't see how musically inspirational a lot of the metal bands of today are.
The other problem are the actual fans themselves. A lot of metal fans claim that Metal is an art form, the neo-classical movement, rock in it's full potential, etc... I can agree with that statement, but will have to add the caveat... "if it's done right." These same fans would say that, but then will just blindly listen to any number of metal bands "just because it's metal." Have some degree of standard will you? I also have a feeling that many of these young high school / college kids will be the type to simply out grow heavy metal, because it was just music they listened to when they were young. I admit that the opposite is also true, with elitist metal fans who feel like it's their right to judge whether a band is "metal enough" to be considered heavy metal. I'd like to say that these elitist metal fans aren't immune from being the type to out grow the genre either. I may be generalizing here, but there are too many fans today that seem to fit in that category of liking metal music because it's the "movement" to be in, as a form to rebel against society and an excuse to validate their existence. There's more to heavy metal than that people. Come on now.
So what's going to happen to the metal music genre? It's not going to completely die out. It'll survive that's for sure. I don't think it'll ever reach the heights of mainstream popularity like it did in the 1980s, but this current growth of popularity will definitely not last. A lot of current metal bands will fall by the way side, and a lot of their fans who was hoping to cling to a possible future legacy will most likely diminish their love for the music when that happens. The good to great metal bands of yesterday AND OF TODAY (they exist, really) will always be around though, bringing along their fans to another new decade of music, and I suppose that's all I'm really asking for.
Saying all of these, all I ask from metal fans out there is this. Are you really a fan of heavy metal for it's musical art form, or are you just a poser that likes to dress up in "dark" clothes and are just looking for an excuse to trash around in fast heavy music to claim that you are soooo hardcore?
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