Proud NOT to be a True Metalhead

Hipsters, stereotypes and wannabe elitism:
In the music industry, there are a few caring only for appearances - the hipster – a fan of the music because they want to represent the image the music portrays. They then have to make a show of themselves, so they make their own shallow music – a gimmick – making it cool basing it purely on looks. The same applies to metal, and common forms are pseudo-intellectual “progressive metal” three-chord bands with gory lyrics and artwork, or politics - anarchists or Nazis “NSBM.”

This group is for those who don't care about paying homage to the traditional metal image and avoid the satanic ideology and violent shows, keep straight edge - avoiding hard drugs and alcohol which is associated. The group supports simply listening to metal through CDs / Internet / shows and not conforming with the stereotypes of True Metal (horn signs, mosh-pits, headbanging, denim jackets with 50 patches on.)

Wannabe elitism in Metal is applicable to last.fm – the music ‘fans’ who any care about how cool and underground their charts are. I’ve seen the black metal & j-pop fan who doesn’t want to ruin his ‘kvlt’ charts. Image above music is being even more of a hipster, and a poser, than the hard rocking Nu-Metal fan who claims he is a metalhead.

Hypocrites:
Your typical Black Metal fan-boy who listens to 10 albums a day would brand anyone who enjoys catchy western pop music as an incredibly shallow plastic sheep: 'Pop musicians can't sing without pro-tools and vocal pitching and have no talent because they don't write their own songs (yet there is more stealing of song-writing in Metal than any other style of music).'

However, after listening to Illud Divinum Insanus by Morbid Angel, it's fickle and studio engineered at it's utmost value. There are growls magnified and timbered by computers and auto- tuned "clean" choruses, in an attempt to be death metal but failing miserably. Morbid Angel would say pop music is soulless, but they do not have the soul to bring it to life.

Retro bands:
There have been few new Metal genres since Black Metal took of in the early 90s, and low and behold all these have been False Metal genres - Nu-Metal, Metalcore & Deathcore. On top of this, a lot of remastering of albums (Dimmu Borgir, Megadeth, Judas Priest), revamping of styles (The Sword, Baroness, 80s thrash revival) and generally not moving Metal forward without selling out - Morbid Angel with techno and Cryptopsy with Deathcore. Slowly but surely, Metal is fading away.

Metalheads realize that the only new styles that have come out are Strid & Forgotten Woods with 'depressive black metal' (even though those have releases in the early 90s), and extremely raw black metal. The reality has sunk in that it can't get much more extreme. Sunn 0))), suggested that metal's appeal results from the "broader palettes of the musicians forging this music." However I disagree, these bands and fans are the new Mallcore kids on the block, trying to expand Metal by genre merging, I admit perhaps with some neoclassical / jazz technicality, although it mainly just allows even the Indie kids to dip their ears into the abrasive, jagged and angular guitar riffs of Metal.

Metal fans don't realize this, and are still stuck in the past, bashing Nu-Metal and Metalcore, instead of moving forward to bashing the new frontier to quality Metal.

False Metal bands musicianship before image:
Join if you support "False Metal" in which it is referred to by the "elitist." False Metal generally doesn't have a flow of riffs and instead a simple drop d tuning riff - despite Black Sabbath using low E power-chords. However, because False Metal has fewer licks and solos with simple rhythms it's unfairly bashed. It's less hate-filled, more relaxed, the musicians dress casually or light-heartedly in masks and it doesn't conform to the standards of a Tr00 Metalhead.

Instead, the actual musicianship - the seven string guitars and complex & slap bass playing become a key element of False Metal. Despite Munky and Fieldy being told that the seven string guitar was a technical instrument, there's a stigma that it's primarily for heavy riffing in Nu-Metal, quite ironic. Also, notice the artwork of Korn's Take A Look in the mirror - the Goat of Mendes at the bottom of the cryptic mirror. Unlike Black Metal, they don't go overboard with Satanism, where only 50% of is about the music.

Just take a look at Iwrestledabearonce's recent photoshoot posing in Darkthrone and Isengard T-shirts, even they realize clownish corpse-paint and weaponry has long lost it's effect of death and decay. First class mockery.

Technicality vs.Emotion

When a Metalhead listens to non-metal he already has a preposition that it won't be good, they don't want to feel the emotion of the music because it's not what they are used to. If you were born in the Western world and had a complete culture change by moving to India, then you would immediately think the music is awful. Why? Indian music is tuned differently (intonation) and has entirely different notes and scales. If you grew up listening to your parent's music constantly, then that is also conditioning. Therefore, music can be seen music as an emotional formula, for example centre to the notes C and D there are infinitely many pitches that describe the musical sound. The quality of the pitch is conditioned to the listener's taste.

A song that is more technical than another is not better. For starters, the structure of the song is important, Suffocation aren't quite as technical as Brain Drill, but their structure is expertly layered out. However, this doesn't mean Suffocation is better than power chord ridden Manowar or pinch harmonic ridden Killswitch Engage. It simply means, that the listener appreciates the ascetically pleasing intervals, and the Metalcore / Nu-Metal listeners may prefer simpler music that has an emotional attachment to it.

I'll use Jazz to relate to Metal, seeing as both are fairly complex. Miles Davis was a modal composer because there are more possibilities with the chords, even though there are less chords. Technically, Coltrane did it much better because he expanded the pitch, and used more irregular time signatures, obscuring the 4th and 8th measure subdivisions. That's not important as music is all about emotions, and as a quality Shakespeare play does, it should move you in many different ways. If you strip music down to bare technicality (as some Metal bands mentioned below do) then the music becomes more fun to play than to listen to. Jazz musicians are skilled enough to still have some flare and feeling in their technicality.

As for Metal, some know the scales (Morbid Saint once came on MA and stated he learnt scales), some add notes to scales (I won't name and shame) and some have a caveman approach to playing. Each is equally valid as long as the music encapsulates you or moves you emotionally or physically, and the structure is abstract, detailed and layered as most Metal should be.

So I conclude it's the emotional development off the music that is dependent on: The listener's mood, his own personal standards / conditioning and most importantly the song structure, and this should dictate musical quality.

True Metal bands who put image and money above music:

1. Pseudo-technical with little emphasis on structure

Spawn of Possession: The Boris of Death Metal, stripping down music to rhythm, melody and harmony. So it loses all it's meaning and leaving nothing but sweep arpeggios and a new sport - aerial finger fretboard aerobics - they probably just air guitar to the recording when playing live. That's all right though, the sweeps and neoclassical shredding are so fast, even the most seasoned fan wouldn't notice the live mistakes.

Necrophagist: Nothing but short blasts of melody repeatedly and abruptly before jumping to jumps to something unrelated. Riffs disguised as advancing guitar exercises and rhythm starring a jazz drummer covering NIN.

Opeth: Taking simple songs, spicing them up with watered down Rush riffs, and varying acoustic to distorted on the chorus has attracted many pseudo-intellectual fanboys. What is it progessing towards? No real musical development - only pentatonic noodling, no song structures building upon themes or any face-melting chops.

Enslaved: A band who changed their style, but the only aspect progressive about their later Opeth influenced music is the augmented chords. The riffs use more than power chords, but are usually with one string (e.g. “Clouds”) and hooks and repeated them with a few breaks for interlude ambience. There are some jam parts, but with simple chord progressions, and straight forward song structures.

Cynic: Got rid of their jazz fushion, added harmonized vocals, and quit being death metal. Then Cynic revamped their reputation by mashing together jazz and metal cliches because their fans know nothing about music. Listening to genres like jazz – in essence degraded classical music – inspired them to disguise the complexity of their music. Look at the tabs - random pieces stuck together with excessive guitar licks.

Meshuggah: 8 strings on a guitar, the 2 additional strings are tuned below the traditional low E string. A good idea right? No, if you play power chords on these strings they are indistinguishable. So instead, they play groovy, one note "progressions" with a jazz percussion approach to metal rhythm guitar: Off-beats inside off-beats, with no melody and linear song structures following the sub-division of beats to a riff, and simply expanding in a circular fashion. For Metal fans who want technicality in an artless band.

2. Indie bands who incorporate Non-Metal genres into Metal asides from Hardcore Punk.

Ulver: A career out of being different - conformity disguised as non-conformity - electronic, neofolk, is there any genre they can’t play? Ulver imitate black metal bands by playing indie rock with their sugary melodies, poppy song structures and harmonies stolen from Iron Maiden (Nattens Madrigal.) Ulver play electronica that sounds more rebellious than the other electronica and concept albums with strong leanings towards dual indie rock bands with substituted lyrics. Belong in the indie section of your local store. They know their theory, but it's image above music.

Nightwish: Oceanborn = Excellent Flower Metal and Opera with enough groove, dynamic rhythms and distinguishable lead guitar to be deemed Metal. Once = mallcore + an orchestra to achieve promotional effect. Compositions are flat, simple rhythms and solos with plenty of staccato to break down the riffs. Techno beats (e.g I wish I had An Angel), juvenile lyrics and the trendy use an orchestra when one is not required.

Wolves in the Throne Room: Tree-huggers with moral opinions that church goers and Democratic fund raiser would agree with. Just like Ulver it’s Indie disguised as Black Metal and wailing / droning in the background.

Katatonia: Made some of the best Doom Metal, decided to cash in with Agolloch and Amorpis by mellowing out their sound and then decided subsisting Cs for Ks was pretty Nu-Metal. The chugging downtuned riffs with Jonas' clean vocal patterns and the effects makes The Great Cold Distance sound like an Untouchables rip off without the eerie atmosphere and superior song structures. Playing False Metal is fine, just don't rip off great Korn albums.

Sunn o))): Overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed concept art.” (i.e. thinking up an unusual idea, and making it in musical form.) So when O'Malley plays A or C sharp chords at glacial pace for ten minutes, never developing into a song, then the fans pretend to enjoy it. Throw in an orchestra show up and make a 2 note riff and call it concept art.

Boris: Only the true understand the music we play (indie rock as if it were black metal.) The hipster fans can't tell the difference because they don’t realize music is beyond guitar playing and theory, it’s soul.

3. Gimmicks & image above music:

Cannibal Corpse: Lyrics of misogyny – “entrails ripped from a virgin’s...” and childish & offensive gore (no examples needed). Their studying of metal and classical training, taking the style of Suffocation and composition of Malevolent Creation, resulted in mindless songs with their ever trusted philosophy of "only death is real." Over 1 million records sold, purely a money-making gimmick.

Baroness: Distortion and sluggish tempo , melodic accents with blatant stoner themes as a gimmick. 1970s music revived thanks to the record company’s marketing.

Cradle of Filth: For rebels who want to be extreme, when really it’s just Iron Maiden with fast melodic death metal riffs using the pentatonic scale & Banshee vocals.

In Flames: Their old style is watered-down Dissection laced with Iron Maiden harmonies, getting away with it by being being fresh, to portray the image of flavour of the decade.

Pantera: Latter albums in their discography are a tough-guy version of Metallica, before dipping into death metal and blues rock, resulting in a mishmash of completely random influences. Despite Dimebag ‘guitar genius’ Darrell, Pantera are an introduction to basic rock guitar.

4.Fun above music.

Most bands know they will never be as true as Drowning the Light and Gorogoroth in their stage antics. (Drowning the Light:) ."...To show this pathetic "scene" down here that Black Metal is not just music and not something to listen to for "fun". We used dead rats, dead ravens, sheeps hearts, pigs heads and pigs blood to get this point across. One of the shows people had to leave because the stench of the rotting raven was so intoxicating." (Gorgoroth:) "On February 1, 2004, during a concert being recorded for a DVD in Kraków, Poland, the band displayed sheep heads on stakes, a bloodbath of 80 litres of sheep's blood. . So instead, they place fun above music, to attract attention, to make Metal fun in order to appeal to the masses & ultimately to sell more records. For example:

Power Metal: Nerdy band imagery, artwork and lyrics as a form of escapism for MMORPG fans. For example, Alestorm dubbing themselves "True Scottish Pirate Metal" and use of fun by opening gigs with "Kenan and Kel" theme tunes

Dethklok: A cartoon that makes fun of metal's weaknesses, hilarious. This coupled with recycled riffs, dumbed down song structures and commercial, jingling melodies makes it the ultimate marketing ploy - especially since they’ve sold even more than Cannibal Corpse. Some have pointed out that the cartoon was before the records, but technically they were still getting money from the amount of views, sponsors and advertising.


Conclusion:
True metal sells fifty thousand records. Marilyn Manson, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Tool, Primus, Faith No More, Rage Against the Machine and Sonic Youth sell millions of records worldwide. Metal fans cry a river, and blame it all on Korn.

Many death metal bands realized about the time that Korn covered Morbid Angel, that they were fraternal twins of the Grunge and Alt Metal scene and wanted to cash in as well. So Metal bands, with some badgering from the record label, change their style instead of making their music more technical.

They make a fatal blunder and as a result their fans don't listen to them to feel rebellious as they're not grunge / alt metal / nu metal. Trying to be something you're not means you become an inferior replica.

Main points and outcomes:
1. My seed of hate from Mallcore kids to real Metalheads (mostly just posers who started of with Slipknot) & flying the flag for Mallcore long after the 90s.

2. Against metal attitude and demeanour - close-minded, obsessive, angry, anti-social, and self-destructive with drugs and violence.

3. Finally, the most important message is to stay true to YOURSELF, not to conform to the standards of classic & underground Extreme Metal for the sake of gaining some 'kvlt' points.

Other good groups:
Hipster Black Metal
I hate Metalheads
Metalheads don't smile in pics