The Metal Thread 4.0

[jyoung]

"Mike Farrell of Ziggy's put the decision to bring in the bands in business terms but emphasized that no one has to attend a show at the club."

"They're just a band" he said of CANNIBAL CORPSE. "If people don't want to come they don't have to."

The fact that they are even thinking about cancelling the Cannibal Corpse show is just beyond stupidity..........

[CynicalSphere]

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea why people are suprised that the occasional show gets cancelled due to uptight politicians and beareaucrats that try to suck up to the soccer moms and right-wing Christians. It's been happening since before I can remember and it's going to happen for as long as we all shall live. Yet when people heard this particular news, you'd think Jesus came back to Earth on an Easter Basket piloted by chocolate bunnies and Peeps.

It's not like there isn't conflict over booking metal shows, and the more high-profile it is, the more conflict it runs into. The Texas Metalfest in 1999 San Antonio was almost cancelled and people at the show were almost arrested (including bands) for just doing what they do. I was patted down before entering -- not for drugs or weapons, but to make sure I wasn't trying to sneak in SPIKES. I couldn't go anywhere without a goddamn security guard staring at me. There were ambulances and police cars outside. So much for giving us metalheads the benefit of the doubt, especially since nothing major happened at the entire fest (unless it happened after I left the second night, which I doubt).

[station82o]

Being a fellow resident of this cursed state of Texas, I can vouch for being aware of the right-wing Christian presence in this area. I was not suprised at the reacion that people such as the mayor of that specific North Carolina city had - its well understood and business as usual that those types of people would find something such as Cannibal Corpse show offensive and unwelcome in their community (how I hate that word).

I was just suprised at what they said and the demeanor in which they handled themselves... as if they're just now finding out that music such as Cannible Corpse and the like exists, and that *GASP!* there are kids who are listening to it. I mean, (and I know that I'm preaching to the choir here) but its 2002 - music like this has been around for years and years now - hell, its nothing new and the fact that they act like it is just shows how ignorant they are. I'd like to hear their reaction to say some gangsta rap guy playing near their town - it'd be nearly the same thing... pathetic.

What kinda irked me about the article was when the mayor said (regarding their request to the club owner to cancel the GWAR show earlier in the year):

"Last time, we asked them not to do GWAR and they (Ziggy's) pulled them out immediately," Mayor Stroud said.

"But I really don't think there's anything we can do to control this type of thing. We probably trampled on their First Amendment rights last time, in fact.

"The saddest thing, to me, about this is that there is an audience at all for these types of bands," the mayor added. "In our (generation's) day, parents were all up in arms about THE BEATLES and the ROLLING STONES.

"We probably trampled on their first amendment rights..."...?! "Probably"? Do people like this really get elected?

He mentions the Stones, and says that their generations parents were up in arms over them too (hey I recall that the Stones had an album called 'Their Satanic Majesty's Request') - so shouldn't this make him a bit of a hypocrite - or a dolt? Some other council man later says something to the effect of 'If we allow this to happen, what will be next?' *insert masturabtory gesture here*

And of all the bands to make a fuss over... they pick two the border on being camp - or very much are in camp territory, they're halfway taking the piss. *sighs and falls over*

[FirstBlood]

YOU UNLEASHED THE FUCKING FURY!!!!!!!!!!

... that's priceless

[CynicalSphere]

The funny thing is, even without the soundsample I wouldn't have doubted that story for a second. Yngwie has always had a problem keeping his mouth shut, in more ways than one (he has problems biting back stupid comments and resisting cramming cheeseburgers into that fat face of his).

I still remember Malmsteen being taken to court on death-threat charges back in 93 or 94. He wasn't convicted but he has the kind of mouth that would land him into that shit.

Doesn't help that Malmsteen has an ego the size of Texas to compliment that mouth of his. He probably thought he could have beaten up everyone on that plane at once. Would have been funny if that lady had a black belt and broke his precious fingers if he had tried to fight her.

With stuff like this as an indication of his behavior, no wonder Mr. Guitar God can't keep a stable band lineup... :PPPP

[Rick]

Oddly enough, I'm going to go see Gwar this weekend. Here's hoping they don't get cancelled, but I somehow doubt anyone is going to go to 9:30 Club in the middle of urban DC just ot hang outside and protest.

[CynicalSphere]

Originally posted by station82o
I was just suprised at what they said and the demeanor in which they handled themselves... as if they're just now finding out that music such as Cannible Corpse and the like exists, and that *GASP!* there are kids who are listening to it. I mean, (and I know that I'm preaching to the choir here) but its 2002 - music like this has been around for years and years now - hell, its nothing new and the fact that they act like it is just shows how ignorant they are. I'd like to hear their reaction to say some gangsta rap guy playing near their town - it'd be nearly the same thing... pathetic.

And of all the bands to make a fuss over... they pick two the border on being camp - or very much are in camp territory, they're halfway taking the piss. *sighs and falls over*

Well, you know what they say: if you keep your head stuck in the sand you'll never see the sun shine. It's not all that hard for me to believe that people are just now finding out about death metal even though the artform has been around since 1983 (with Possessed, Onslaught and Mantas), but it is kinda suprising that they hadn't heard about it back in 1990 when br00tal DM/grindgore was in the prime of its popularity. I thought everyone with a working knowledge of rock/metal at least knew who Cannibal Corpse or Obituary were...

I don't think that the gangsta rapper would get too much flak. Apparently "yo yo yo gotta pimp this ho sell this grass and bust a cap in dis cop's ass" is more acceptable than whatever Cannibal Corpse sings about now. Unless you're talking about Florida, heheheh...

Of course, the really camp bands are the ones that people go after first. People go after Marilyn Manson for being faux-Satanic, but no one goes after bands like Desaster who really ARE Satanic. The camp always floats to the top as far as the public eye is concerned. It's an odd phenomenon, but it's nearly always what really happens. Hell, TWISTED SISTER and MOTLEY CRUE's first albums had more parents praying for their children's souls than Crudle or Doodoo ever will...

[station82o]

Yeah I hear you about the camp thing, as well as the subjcet of gangsta rap. Something I find amusing about Norway is that black metal really makes the literal front pages of their newspapers - Satyricon's recent trip to England had the paper's headlines reading something to the effect of "Satanic metal heads to England" - that was their front page news... fucking amazing to see that the events of a couple years back still have an influence on that country.

[Tracer]

I think they don't have enough to report on... of course they are so dominantly Chistian that Satan or things Satanic are rountinely news-worthy and heavily scrutinized. Like American's with arrested Celebrities :/

ºTracer

[CynicalSphere]

Gah.

Ya know what I'm fucking SICK of? People trying to pass off all these "visual" bands from Japan as metal. These bands (ex. Malice Mizer, Dir En Grey) dress in costumes that are more frilly and foo-foo than a pile of poodle shit, and their music is about as brutal as a glass of baby formula. It's not metal at all. If it was food, it would be a Twinkie: carefully formulated to taste good and go down easily, but there's nothing nutritional or even natural about it. THey claim to be original, but they borrow so much from Glam Rock and bands like Sisters of Mercy that it's borderline embarassing. It's also got that sickeningly sterile and clean production that makes the album sound like a toothless Chihuahua...

When I listen to a metal CD, want to hear METAL. I don't want to hear glam rock with an edge. When I go to a metal concert, I want to see people serious about the METAL on stage. I don't want to see a bunch of pretentious (MALE) fucks dressed in makeup and French Maid costumes.

But they're from Japan and people masturbate to their pictures, so hey, that makes them okay? ARRRRGH. Don't even get me started on J-Pop. While I can tolerate some J-Pop and even like a handful of songs, I hate the whole idol mentality of it all...

That's not to say that Japan is completely devoid of great metal acts. Bands like SIGH, FATIMA HILL, NARCOTIC GREED, INTESTINE BAALISM, TERRORSQUAD 2000, KING'S EVIL, and hell, even X-JAPAN had some good speed metal material. and many more are flying the banner of real Metal in the Land of the Rising Sun. Of course, no one pays attention to them because they're dreaming of sucking the dick of some pretty-boy with a major sexual identity crisis.

In case you're wondering what I'm on a tear about, I'm just tired of some of the posts on metal boards asking about these foo-foo French Maid bands (how the fuck does one play an instrument in a such a frilly uniform anyway...?). I also got pissed at someone on this board (though this is by no means a unique case) who, after I said I thought FATIMA HILL was a great Japanese band, said "Oh, I'll try them out. If they're a visual band I'm sure I'll love them." Whatever happened to actually JUDGING THE MUSIC ON ITS OWN MERITS? I think goth bands dress like a bunch of fags, but that doesn't stop me from trying the music out. It just makes me sick that people are willing to judge music based on how much makeup the members wear. Sickening.

This isn't just about metal. It's about MUSIC. I don't care if it's metal, pop, R&B, techno, country, rock, homo, whatever. Music is more important than image. Period. The bands that really care about what they're doing are going to be the ones that are remembered 50 years from now. Bands that rely on image to sell albums to little girls and queers will be forgotten eventually.