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Thoughts on metal and negativity


SpaceBrain

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39 minutes ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

Aren't the majority of Drudkh's lyrics just taken from poems by Taras Schevchenko and other Ukrainian poets? Like they don't even write their own lyrics is what I mean, they just take poems that were already written and put them to music?

I currently have a Drudkh album coming in the mail: A Furrow Cut Short. I'm really looking forward to it getting here.

To the best of my understanding that is correct for the most/best of their albums.  I think there are a few albums, however, that do have printed lyrics that are not attributed to a poet.

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23 hours ago, Balor said:

To the best of my understanding that is correct for the most/best of their albums.  I think there are a few albums, however, that do have printed lyrics that are not attributed to a poet.

Well when I saw that Hell's Headbangers had Drudkh, I had to snap it up. It's not often that you find Drudkh albums around in the US. I got some other relatively rare stuff as well. Hells Headbangers has been on a roll lately with having great material for me to order.

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16 hours ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

Well when I saw that Hell's Headbangers had Drudkh, I had to snap it up. It's not often that you find Drudkh albums around in the US. I got some other relatively rare stuff as well. Hells Headbangers has been on a roll lately with having great material for me to order.

I don't think their stuff is too hard to get in the US, as their record label has a US distro: https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?p=1&q=drudkh

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  • 2 months later...

For me, my newfound passion for thrash metal has a lot to do with a discovery of a new type of mood and attitude.

I am the kind of person who has always been considered really meek and shy, and I never get the least bit angry at anyone if it isn't something really really serious, and I am very easily moved to tears by things.
So thrash metal feels quite liberating in a way, since it has a lot of energy and intensity to it.

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4 hours ago, Miss_Teala said:

For me, my newfound passion for thrash metal has a lot to do with a discovery of a new type of mood and attitude.

I am the kind of person who has always been considered really meek and shy, and I never get the least bit angry at anyone if it isn't something really really serious, and I am very easily moved to tears by things.
So thrash metal feels quite liberating in a way, since it has a lot of energy and intensity to it.

There's an old "common wisdom" that the reason most metal musicians and fans are pretty mellow and friendly IRL is because they get their aggression out via the music. And to an extent I think that it's true. Now the opposite may just as well be true too, that metal attracts people who are of a similar mental mindset, who knows? But for me growing up I can definitely say that metal helped me release emotions I didn't know how to process or express.

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2 hours ago, Sheol said:

There's an old "common wisdom" that the reason most metal musicians and fans are pretty mellow and friendly IRL is because they get their aggression out via the music. And to an extent I think that it's true. Now the opposite may just as well be true too, that metal attracts people who are of a similar mental mindset, who knows? But for me growing up I can definitely say that metal helped me release emotions I didn't know how to process or express.

Ah yes, that sounds very logical.

I think that in my case it is largely because thrash metal is like the complete opposite of my personality;
I have always been extremely meek and non-confrontational, and also quite a bit shy, so thrash metal feels like a burst of energy in that way, if that makes sense, haha.

It is quite funny when people do figure out that I enjoy this genre, since I tend to come off as this delicate girl who probably listen exclusively to slow ballads and boy bands or something of that nature.
And while I do enjoy those kinds of bands, I have also found a new passion in thrash metal. ^-^

I am not really bothered by my core personality, except a bit when I know that I should be more assertive, so I am not really trying to use thrash metal to "change" myself in that way or anything - but it is an uplifting new experience. ^-^

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Well anything that makes us grow and feel positive about ourselves is a win I reckon. Music is funny in that way that it truly connects people all over the world and across cultures. Litterature and movies are pretty reliant on a common language. I have music where I have zero clue what they're saying, or even how to pronounce the songs but they make me feel things!

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I agree that music connects people across cultures etc, but it's also amazing how often it can have the complete opposite effect. I'm not sure if it's quite the same with the kiddies these days, but back in the 80's there was a definite divide between metalheads and other genres. It wasn't always a negative divide and there was often no rhyme or reason to which songs or bands did it, but just as soon as one song did divide another similar song connected. There is a reason why for years people has said music is a universal langauge.

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1 hour ago, KillaKukumba said:

I agree that music connects people across cultures etc, but it's also amazing how often it can have the complete opposite effect. I'm not sure if it's quite the same with the kiddies these days, but back in the 80's there was a definite divide between metalheads and other genres. It wasn't always a negative divide and there was often no rhyme or reason to which songs or bands did it, but just as soon as one song did divide another similar song connected. There is a reason why for years people has said music is a universal langauge.

When my sister went to middle school in the 80's there were two entrances, one for metal heads and one for synthesizers. Woe if you entered through the wrong one! 😄 It's kind of cute now, but they took it pretty serious then. As only middle schoolers can.

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When I was in high school in the late 70's there were two main factions, the disco kids which were the largest block, and the Dead heads. It wasn't even just rock music in general it was hippie rock. Metalheads didn't exist yet in the 70's. You kinda had to pick a side unless like me you picked neither, because obviously I hated disco but I hated all that lame hippie shit like The Dead and The Band too. Having long hair and scruffy chin whiskers I probably got lumped in with the hippie kids a lot (when I wasn't being accused of being a narc because I guess I must have looked a little older than some of the other kids) but I didn't share their lame taste in music and I made sure to tell them how much the Dead sucked every chance I got. So I see music as dividing people much more than I've see it unifying them.

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46 minutes ago, Sheol said:

When my sister went to middle school in the 80's there were two entrances, one for metal heads and one for synthesizers. Woe if you entered through the wrong one! 😄 It's kind of cute now, but they took it pretty serious then. As only middle schoolers can.

When it comes to music I don't think we had that visual segregation of people here. There was obviously groups of people who liked a particular genre of music and they'd congregate together, that's natural and happens everywhere but the groups didn't generally cause each other problems. Melbourne had such a huge music scene in the 80's that nearly every block in the city would have one pub playing top 40, one metal and one dance, occasionally tensions blew up but it wasn't often.

If anything the only time fights actually became an issue was with stupid metalheads fighting amongst themselves over which genre was superior. It didn't happen that often in the 80's but the early 90's saw quite a few fights, most of which ended up with very little blood and lots of name calling between groups. It gave metal here a bad name because most people who read headlines about heavy metal fans fighting didn't care about genres it was all one genre to them. The riots at the Sepultura gig in 92 (maybe 93 I can't remember now) showed just how fucking stupid metalheads were getting. Cars turned over, windows smashed, shit everywhere and 90% of the crowd didn't even know why they were doing it. And of course the media didn't care either all they cared about was "heavy metal fans rioting in the streets, should heavy metal bands be banned?" In some ways it was a good thing because it did get bands and promoters to a  point where more bands moved into the suburbs, certain pubs and clubs became known for a particular style of metal, heavier gigs went into smaller venues and crowds became much more manageable. But we shouldn't have gotten to the point where a riot was needed to make people think. Metal in this country did go through a very negative time around then but it was deserved because the fans were idiots.

 

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I think it's kind of a stereotype that metal is supposed to be negative, sad, angry or violent, and that everyone who listens to it are walking around feeling those things all the time.
That's what I was hit with by my very religious family and school as a teenager. They were terrified of me becoming a satanist etc.

As I've grown up I've learned that metal is very diverse, there's something for practically any mood.

I'd say that some bands do an excellent job of expressing the darker feelings in life, like mental illness, drug use, breaking free from oppression, being unhappy with politics, religion or our society, etc. And that the heaviness of the instruments and slightly melancholic tune of the music can make those messages sound even more powerful. And I find comfort in that kind of music if I'm feeling down myself.

But that's not all bands or all of the time.

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7 hours ago, Stormblaast said:


As I've grown up I've learned that metal is very diverse, there's something for practically any mood.
 

Yeah I agree, both the fans the and bands are very diverse these days.

8 hours ago, Stormblaast said:

I'd say that some bands do an excellent job of expressing the darker feelings in life, like mental illness, drug use, breaking free from oppression, being unhappy with politics, religion or our society, etc. And that the heaviness of the instruments and slightly melancholic tune of the music can make those messages sound even more powerful. And I find comfort in that kind of music if I'm feeling down myself.
 

Some bands are good at it others I'm not so sure. When my kids were growing up and being pushed by their friends towards bands like Black Veil Brides and those sort of bands there was a lot of negativity in what they wrote about. Kids, teenagers, young adults, seemed to like the "woe is me, my life sucks" lyrics those bands seemed to write about. As an old man that yells at the clouds I don't think those sort of bands did particularly well with many of their topics, and dare I say it really only did it to cash in, but that is opinion only based on my dislike of most of those bands. However the important thing is that if someone else gets something out of the music, no matter what the topic or the band, then it's not an entirely bad thing.

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4 hours ago, KillaKukumba said:

 When my kids were growing up and being pushed by their friends towards bands like Black Veil Brides and those sort of bands

 

Who the fuck are the Black Veil Brides? Something I would hate I take it. I must've missed them. I think my daughter would have been too old for them, according to Wikipedia she had already graduated 2 years before their first album came out in 2010.

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33 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

 

Who the fuck are the Black Veil Brides? Something I would hate I take it. I must've missed them. I think my daughter would have been too old for them, according to Wikipedia she had already graduated 2 years before their first album came out in 2010.

80's comparison, BVB = Motley Crue with black eye-liner singing about how hard their lives are instead of drugs and girls.

I was never a fan so my opinion is tainted, but there was a whole bunch of bands that seemed to play hard rock type music, often with growly lyrics but really only had a teenage to young adult audience. They sung about shit like how much school sucked, how they wanted to be left alone, and how adults don't understand them. They might even be the forerunners of what people today call metalcore, I don't really know.

Maybe they are just today's version of the Chicks With Dicks (hair metal) of the 80's, I didn't really like they that much then so things haven't changed now.

 

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16 hours ago, KillaKukumba said:

Yeah I agree, both the fans the and bands are very diverse these days.

Some bands are good at it others I'm not so sure. When my kids were growing up and being pushed by their friends towards bands like Black Veil Brides and those sort of bands there was a lot of negativity in what they wrote about. Kids, teenagers, young adults, seemed to like the "woe is me, my life sucks" lyrics those bands seemed to write about. As an old man that yells at the clouds I don't think those sort of bands did particularly well with many of their topics, and dare I say it really only did it to cash in, but that is opinion only based on my dislike of most of those bands. However the important thing is that if someone else gets something out of the music, no matter what the topic or the band, then it's not an entirely bad thing.

Not familiar with Black Veil Brides, so can't really comment on that.

Where I live, the trend seems to be that kids are encouraged to listen to pop and hip hop music, while rock and metal music is viewed as sinful and dangerous by the parents.

Not to generalize, but my impression is that there is more focus on nudity/sex appeal, partying, money chasing and bling in pop and hip hop music (the videos particularly), and that the lyrics often seem more shallow and poor in grammar.
Yet parents are perfectly fine with that music, while metal is regarded sinful and dangerous. I dont' really get it.

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7 hours ago, Stormblaast said:

Not familiar with Black Veil Brides, so can't really comment on that.

Where I live, the trend seems to be that kids are encouraged to listen to pop and hip hop music, while rock and metal music is viewed as sinful and dangerous by the parents.

Not to generalize, but my impression is that there is more focus on nudity/sex appeal, partying, money chasing and bling in pop and hip hop music (the videos particularly), and that the lyrics often seem more shallow and poor in grammar.
Yet parents are perfectly fine with that music, while metal is regarded sinful and dangerous. I dont' really get it.

I don't know that kids here are encouraged to listen to anything. Pop and top 40 is everywhere but I don't know any parent that my kids grew up with (call it the last 20 years) that encouraged their kids to listen to anything. I used to put my eldest daughter to sleep with Slayer when she was 6 months old, but I never encouraged either of them to listen to any particular music. They may well have been influenced by what I played, but they were equally influenced by what their mother played which wasn't metal.

Neither of my kids cared about hip hop, or rap, but while the lyrics of much of the shit that is played on commercial radio these days are very questionable they really aren't that much different to metal bands, pretend metal bands, shitty metalcore bands and the rest who want to sing about killing yourself, fucking whores, being megastars and in many case are just as shallow as hip hop songs.

I also don't know anyone who considered metal sinful or dangerous so I can't comment on that.

 

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