Metal Reviews

Good editorial Ben, but i kinda disagree, ive met a lot of kids of the "next generation of metalheads", and while some are exactly how you described, there are some that are actually very commited to the scene, because like Rad said they actually like what they hear and they support it, i mean lets face it, the downloaders will eventually get tired of listening metal, i dont think we should count them as the next generation of metalfans.

That is quite a bold statement boy..


Athough I listen to a relatively wide variety of genres, I'll have to say Radagast has a point. Listening to what makes sense to you is what is important and that includes staying within one genre. After all, it is possible to be an open-minded, non-judgmental individual and still happen to like metal better than other kinds of music.

I would like to point out that one can have a very limited taste in music while still bridging a lot of genres. It's one flaw in reasoning I've seen many times, some people believe that they have a considerably broad and open minded taste in music because they listen to all sorts of genres, while in reality they have only skimmed the surface of what those genres have to offer, and the surface often being the most accessible, their taste in music remains suprisingly narrow.

I'm not familiar with Ben's situation as a "kid" just beginning to appreciate music, but as for myself I would have to be very hypocritical to accuse 'kids today' of piracy as pretty much my entire music collection existed thanks to my ability to copy my brothers' and my friends' cassettes and LPs.

Absoforkinlutely.

There is a truth! I think it's perfectly ok to listen to one genre, but it's not really wise to say that this specific genre is better or hetrophilic than all others.

Thats actually true, but if a person likes only one genre, that would be "THE BEST" genre for him, we cant help that, and none should be offended or cry closeminded at such things.

I don't get the whole ego thing with people posing using the music they listen to. It seems like a strange notion that the music you listen to will boost people's appreciation of you. Peeps know what I listen to, they take the piss out of my music , I might take the piss out of their music, (and yes even I join in the piss take of my music sometimes as well ) it doesn't bother me really.

"Only sick music makes money today. " Friedrich Nietzsche

Thanks for the comments, I appreciate them. I kinda went off on the second part of the editorial but that was because it felt like everywhere I looked there was nothing but negativity concerning 99% of all bands releasing metal cds. And these werent even close to constructive critiques more like "I downloaded this cd its a faggy pile of shit." then replies would be " A faggy piece of shit? More like two guys fucking each other while listening to Are You Dead Yet? but you wouldnt be able to tell the difference because they sound the same" Every forum that I went to were all dominated by threads very similar. I started thinking, Shit, is this what the average metal fan is now? Someone who just downloads away for the sole purpose of calling something "gay"? That's why the tone is the way it is.

that just about sums up the modern music market.

But you are spoiled. That's a fact. Some fans may appreciate the music more, but in general the LOVE of music is minimal compared to even just 10 years ago, let alone 15 or 20. Like I've mentioned, my CD collection contains over 5,000 CDs, I began this collection with Def Leppard's Hysteria album in 1987, 19 years ago, but any one of you could download more than that in just a few days! I spend 19 years and probably about $100,000, if not more, of my own money and you can just download more than what I own for free!! And many do just that. It's not the same. Times change, that's true, and generally there is nothing wrong with things changing, but when it comes to music it has made the whole music world far worse than it's ever been.

But it's justified because regardless of whether some disagree with it, that part of your editorial is accurate. It's not biased, it's factual.

You guys won't like my editorial.

Yeah, but you are not the only one who buys and appreciate music (i know that wasnt what you were implying), look download is not necessarily a bad thing 10 years ago it was really hard to get to know bands especially if you lived in a country like mine, i was very lucky to have many friends older than me that introduce me to bands that otherwise i will never get to know to, one of my best friends right now owns a metal shop, and a lot of our custumers get to know the bands by downloading, like this 14 year old kid who came desperatly seeking for a Possessed CD, or a 15 year old girl who came asking if we had a Viking album, Viking!!! a lot of you doesnt even know that band and this girl was looking for it because she download it and she liked it.
I do agree that the average modern music listener is spoiled, but 10 years ago the bands were also spoiled, right now no matter how many press support your band may have, pepole will listen to your album before buying it, and with the ammount of copycat effortless bands of these days that is a very good thing.

Yeah, I wouldn't know about most of the bands if it weren't for downloading. I download but I also buy quite a bit. I'm only 19 and don't have gobs of money to spend on music but I own about 250 CDs and I've only been really into metal for about 2.5 years.

Very well-written article, but I'm also with Radagast. Liking one particular genre doesn't necessarily make one close-minded, or somehow less of a music lover than someone who listens to a little bit of everything under the sun. If you've heard what other genres have to offer and find it not to your taste, there's nothing wrong with that. It's only if you refuse to give anything else a chance that you're closeminded.

As for being spoiled, no offense, but making any statement about "kids today" is a little silly. No group is completely homogenous; I'm still young enough to count, and I've provided my friends with no few hours of entertainment watching me flip out over some album or other that I've just found, because OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS, LOOK, IT'S WINTERSUN IN THE USED BIN, WHO WAS CRAZY ENOUGH TO SELL IT??? MINE!!! The negative jerks are the most visible and memorable, but that's generally true in any situation, as anyone who lives in a college town can attest (stupid drunken frat boys). I don't think the next generation is in any great peril; there are still enough people who are as crazy as I am to clutch brand new albums to their bosoms in joy.

Ken is just very comfortable in his little notion of being a superior music fan because stuff was harder to hear 10 years ago. Look, I download a helluva lot (not as much as I used to, admittedly), more than 50% of what I own is downloaded. I also have over 300 real CDs that I have been collecting since around 2002, at no small cost to myself. Since the rate I buy has been growing exponentially since the beginning, I shudder to think how many I will own in another 15 years.

A friend of mine owns something ridiculous like 5,000 cds. The majority are metal, and every time I see it, I want to fall to my knees.

How old is this friend?

36. I feel his collection is a fairly good predictor of what mine will look like in 14 years.

Hellz fucken yeah!