mainstream success and metal...

[metal_nerve]

how many of you people give a thumbs up to this mainstream success and money making thing being introduced in metal? metal was never about mainstream success and never will be. but the new bands concentrate on number of albums sold or the amount of money they got from the latest gig they performed at. cannibal corpse is an ideal metal band. in one of their documentaries they say "we never knew we would be getting money for doing what we love". where has this attitude disappeared from metal heads.???

[FatherAlabaster]

We have a couple of similar topics: http://metalforum.com/deep-meaningful/5053-mainstream-metal-yes-no.html http://metalforum.com/general-chat/3264-do-you-think-metal-could-ever-become-massively-popular-again.html Bands have been making money in metal for decades. And they'd be dumb not to care about how much money they bring in on gigs, because being in a gigging band isn't cheap. That has nothing to do with their artistic integrity. There's enough of an audience worldwide that a lot of metal definitely is about mainstream success. There's also a ton of good music being written all the time by underground bands that are happy just to get their name out and get their chance to play, so I wouldn't say the DIY attitude you're talking about has disappeared. There's certainly a bunch of commercial garbage out there. Some bands that have had decent careers are still writing good music. I wouldn't call Cannibal Corpse one of them, though. I like most of their CDs, up to The Wretched Spawn, but they haven't done anything to push their own boundaries since Gallery Of Suicide. They're totally phoning it in, and if they didn't know they'd be making money when they started, they certainly knew it by the time they dumbed everything down for The Bleeding, and they haven't taken any risks that could alienate their target audience in ages.

[Iceni]

The government does not subsidize metal music production, so it's not exactly easy for metal bands to be creative while earning a reliable income. As an example, BAN works as head of a transportation company, FA is a stay-at-home father who has worked a number of jobs in the past, and even Matt Barlow of Iced Earth had to get a job as a policeman for a while. Being a professional musician means making an album that people will want to buy. Sometimes that album is an interesting and captivating manifestation of the band's creative abilities, and sometimes it's Spheric Universe Experience's 'The New Eve'. One recent trend I can point to is 'djent' - people really lap this stuff up even though there are very few bands doing anything even remotely interesting with it. There's no incentive for them to put more than a modicum of work into their material until people actually demand it.

[metal_nerve]

yeah bro thats pretty true.. but the "bunch of commercial garbage" u mentioned is what im talkin about... i mean is that the only thing? changing metal as they want to get as much as money possible??? and is it all about money??? cannibal corpse has done its work. their hammer smashed face is still the best death metal song ever. so i got no hitch upon them. just that i would appreciate them if they continued making their band better after the gallery of suicide.. i agree with u in that context. but dude you get money from the gigs and albums you sell i have no prob. but making metal music into party type of a song to get records sold is what kills me.. get money get prosperity gain name.. but i beg u please dont change the reason for what metal is meant for or rather say for what metal emerged in the first place.. connect to people.. connect to their thoughts.. this is metal..and by mainstream success i meant to say making music only for money and nothing else sorry if i made u get it wrong

[FatherAlabaster]

I think you'll find that you agree with most of us here about that. There's a huge amount of great new music being recorded all the time, and we talk about it pretty frequently. I've gotten a ton of good recommendations here. If you don't like the commercialism, it's safe to just ignore those bands. I bet that you can find a lot of things you enjoy just by going through the recommendations threads in the death metal and black metal sections.

[metal_nerve]

yeah thats a good suggestion.. i went through them... and after all we newbies get to learn from people like u...

[deathstorm]

Metal nevre try obscura. Chthonic. Insomnium

[deathstorm]

Guys the most mainstream metal. Was. Glam bad nu metal. I remember. In nu metal they rap in it. That was mainstream. In glam they used pop. Plus the fact. Power ballads. Was thing that was getting metal bands. Into the mainstream. But that died when nirvana. Made grunge. I. A way certain areas. Of metal. Was more mainstream then other

[metal_nerve]

my only wish is that metal should remain pure as ever... no rap no pop no emo shit...

[deathstorm]

True nerve but you can't stop evolution in the genre which is a. Shame

[fallen angel666]

from what i've learned as a metalhead over the years is that no matter how many decades go by i believe and trust that metal will still be what it is and it will keep motivating and inspiring us. there may be many mainstream bands who only care about their profits. but i can assure you true metal will never die. it's immortal. it's a way of life.(this is just my opinion)

[metal_nerve]

yeah deathstorm..its a real shame..

[metal_nerve]

i agree... i agree with u fallen angel...metal is a way of life... its how we life... loud music... quite a bit of isolation.. chugging up beers.. headbanging... scream our gutts out at giggs.. its the way our life proceeds... n i wouldnt like anyone make changes in my way of life for their profit... thats y i condemn the idea of main stream thinking of bands... yeah man get money... get fame... get every shit u need... i dont have any prob... but pls don fuckin get pop n rap n emo shit into metal (my way of life)

[Iceni]

my only wish is that metal should remain pure as ever... no rap no pop no emo shit...

Oh, not this crap again. If cross-genre influences were anathema the Arabian scale would be forbidden, as would elements from folk (so that's quite a lot of the black metal market axed, as well as all folk metal) jazz (several tech-death bands) neoclassical (Yngwie Malmsteen and countless power, black and tech-death groups), techno (all industrial metal) symphonic music (a vast swath of black, death and power metal) blues (a large chunk of traditional metal, many prog groups). Also, no DSO, Unexpect, Akphaezya, Karaboudjan, Myrath, Panzerballett, Thy Catafalque, or Sigh. I'm so sick and tired of these slope-skulled quadrupeds grunting their inquietude about the 'purity of metal'. It's not a problem if somebody wants to listen to the same four albums rehashed over and over, but when they decry the defilement of their genre as if they're Angel Clare bemoaning the seduction of Tess it just gets tiresome. If they don't like evolution then the question has to be asked why they're still following metal news in the first place when they're clearly of the opinion that metal history stopped in 1994.

[deathstorm]

We whouldnt. See doris. Nooooooooooooooooo

[fallen angel666]

it was just an opinion. i think everybody is entitled to think what they want. so why don't you just calm the fuck down huh.

[deathstorm]

Hey fallen we know. Some people get Touchy. With certain subjects in here

[deathstorm]

I agree what you said there. Fallen plus the fact We also. Get stereotype saying We are satanic. People that. Scarificed. Goats. Draw pentagrams and stuff. These people who calls us that are just ingorant. Mindless dillholes that listein. To Miley Cryus. Justin beiber horseshit plus the fact. They got a lot. Of exposure on tmz. Doing. Drugs. Driving Drunk. Shit like. That mainstream is like. That's ok. But us metal heads. Nope we are just outcasts to modern society. That's. Fine by us. I rather be a outcast. Then being. Mainstream primadonnas anyway

[Bastet]

Music changes everyday. Just like any genre of music there is always some new sub-genre being added. I personally think that people don't know what they are doing anymore, and just copy others saying that it is a new thing. But after sitting in a studio with a metal band that is new to the scene and than a veteran band that has been around a while, opened my eyes for sure. Seeing (well more hearing) what people think is metal today is kinda of sad... What happened to all the good metal in the world?

[Iceni]

What happened to all the good metal in the world?

It's still being produced, it just has much smaller advertising campaigns. There's plenty of great stuff being made right now.

[Midi]

I personally think that people don't know what they are doing anymore' date=' and just copy others saying that it is a new thing.[/quote'] I think there are very few bands who actually copy bands. There's a difference between 'copying' and 'being influenced by'. These 2 things may sound similar to the ear when put to music, but are worlds apart. Furthermore, one's own inspiration may also resemble an already existing idea, which may seem like copying, but actually be an idea that person thought of all by itself.

[JBaker]

See, things like this sort of exemplify my annoyance with certain sectors of the metal community. If you want metal to remain relevant in the 21st century, it has to evolve and grow; it has to explore new ground. By attempting to keep it as 'pure' as possible, which is a nonsense expression anyway given that genres as old as thrash fused metal with the pace of punk (which obviously filters down to 'post' thrash genres such as black and death metal as well), you're essentially gonna make it one-dimensional and you're gonna have a very exclusive, 'elitist' community; one that will ultimately die out when we do or even before that when people get bored of listening to the same old '80s albums over and over again. You certainly can't expect to pick up many new followers. This sort of regressive thinking does metal far more harm than good. I'm nowhere near the metal expert that some users are on here, and I listen to both 'rap metal' (not to mention rap itself) and what I guess you'd describe as 'pop metal'. I love the more extreme/'authentic' side of metal as well, but have a guess which I started with? Why don't we just agree that heavy music in general is fucking awesome and, if we encounter people who seemingly possess only a shallow relationship with metal (say, people who only listen to the mainstream bands), maybe we should try to widen their vocabulary rather than getting pissy with them or spending time complaining on the internet? There are many bands out there producing extreme and intelligent metal. I wonder if the problem here is that you're comparing the underground old school stuff with the modern mainstream stuff? I could compare glam metal from the 80s with modern death metal and come to the conclusion that 'old' metal' is crap and the modern stuff is so much better! Shitty commercialised metal has existed in every era. In the 80s it was glam, in the '90s/early 2000s it was nu metal, in the mid-2000s it was watered down melodic metalcore, now it's even more watered down metalcore. Regardless, as has been pointed out, the commercial metal has a big advertising campaign behind it, and the only way I can see to hope counterbalance this is to, rather than play it safe and stick to the old favourites, actually take the time to seek out the better stuff being produced today and give it some exposure.

[JBaker]

Some bands that have had decent careers are still writing good music. I wouldn't call Cannibal Corpse one of them' date=' though. I like most of their CDs, up to The Wretched Spawn, but they haven't done anything to push their own boundaries since Gallery Of Suicide. They're totally phoning it in, and if they didn't know they'd be making money when they started, they certainly knew it by the time they dumbed everything down for The Bleeding, and they haven't taken any risks that could alienate their target audience in ages.[/quote']Interesting. There are plenty of bands I love precisely because I want to hear them explore new ground on each release. I can't say Cannibal Corpse are one of them, though. When I put them on, it's pretty much because I want one-dimensional bludgeoning death metal. If you can do it with up-to-date production, as CC have done with their later albums), I'm even happier. I really wasn't into Gallery of Suicide for the very reason that the rough production stripped it of its meatiness and brutality.

[FatherAlabaster]

JBaker, I think that's precisely my point. Cannibal Corpse has a career doing exactly what you'd expect. I don't really care for the production on the newer stuff, and I think the music has turned into a parody of itself. If I want to listen to them doing the same shtick, I'll just put on one of their older albums. Other people have already said it, but hybridization keeps metal music fresh and interesting. Honestly, I'm always surprised when we get a batch of close-minded new people in here reinforcing each other's prejudices. I love the shit from the 90s, but there's a ton of good new music coming out - more than ever right now, in several different genres. People who lament about "what happened to the good old days" just aren't looking hard enough. There's more than enough good music to go around. You should be spending your time finding what you enjoy, rather than shitting on what you don't, especially if it's just some generalized, uninformed statement about "metal bands these days".

it was just an opinion. i think everybody is entitled to think what they want. so why don't you just calm the fuck down huh.

You think saying you're "entitled to think what you want" lets you say whatever you think, and then tell everyone to shut up if they disagree? No, that's not how this works. I see people hiding behind the phrase "it's just my opinion" all the time and I'm fucking sick of it. We're just as "entitled" to tell you if your opinion sucks, or call you on it if you're basing your opinion on a lack of information. If your "opinion" consists of ignorant ranting, I'm not sure what you're doing on a discussion forum in the first place.

[JBaker]

I see people hiding behind the phrase "it's just my opinion" all the time and I'm fucking sick of it. We're just as "entitled" to tell you if your opinion sucks' date=' or call you on it if you're basing your opinion on a lack of information. If your "opinion" consists of ignorant ranting, I'm not sure what you're doing on a discussion forum in the first place.[/quote']You been debating with people on the Huffington Post's Facebook page as well?