Amon Amarth outsells Whitesnake, Pearl Jam, Cavalera Conspiracy, Within Temptation

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

What?
Are you implying that black metal and / or swedish death metal is better than most of what came out of the 80s?

If so, then I have one question for you???

It's like thinking Taco Bell is as good as a five star restaurant.

 

[Jasonic]

It's like thinking Taco Bell is as good as a five star restaurant.

Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are!

 

[AngraRULES]

Jason, dude... Come on, why is it so unacceptable that I like the music from the 90s better? Dude, I was born in 84. When your favorite albums were coming out, I wasn't into metal yet (though I did get into music at a very early age...). If you were born in the 80s, chances are you'd prefer the music from the 90s and the 00s, just as if you were born in say, 1960, you'd be saying the music from the 70s is the best there is.

And I will repeat myself... There's a LOT of good music from the 80s. I like a lot of it, truly do. But I still have more favorite albums and artists in my list being from the 90s and 00s. It's just taste, man.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

That's for sure some cool stuff for the band. I have a little cynicism with fans though. If AA merely had clean vocals rather than growls, they would be at the bottom of the list with CC or lower. Aside from gimmickry (the rise of DragonForce or kids thinking Maiden is a novelty since they are, indeed, utterly classic), American kids for the most part will not help metal sell unless it has a kind of darker or angrier appearance. Female vox bands are OK, because half of them purchase to oogle the singer, and it's OK to be 'softer' or 'emotional' because there is a woman in the band. Does anybody have stats on what the last Rhapsody (the full length, not the EP) or Blind Guardian has done here? I really want to see if any genuine prog or power is on it's way up any in the States. I just want people in one of the most blessed countries in the world to be slightly more optimistic. Flame on guys..

 

[AeonicSlumber]

That's for sure some cool stuff for the band. I have a little cynicism with fans though. If AA merely had clean vocals rather than growls, they would be at the bottom of the list with CC or lower. Aside from gimmickry (the rise of DragonForce or kids thinking Maiden is a novelty since they are, indeed, utterly classic), American kids for the most part will not help metal sell unless it has a kind of darker or angrier appearance. Female vox bands are OK, because half of them purchase to oogle the singer, and it's OK to be 'softer' or 'emotional' because there is a woman in the band. Does anybody have stats on what the last Rhapsody (the full length, not the EP) or Blind Guardian has done here? I really want to see if any genuine prog or power is on it's way up any in the States. I just want people in one of the most blessed countries in the world to be slightly more optimistic. Flame on guys..

I think Rhapsody did 1,000 and BG did 4,000. There are reasons for this though that go beyond "the music" of course, such as mismanagement (on the part of Rhapsody), not great label support for the US, not as much touring, etc.

But why do you care if people like their metal angry? Metal is supposed to be angry.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

But why do you care if people like their metal angry? Metal is supposed to be angry.

Here fucking here. I wish more bands "got" this. I don't mean angry where it's nothing but Neanderthals singing guttural sounds and Lars hitting trash cans, but angry in the sense of writing. Angry in the sense of performance. Angry FEELING, not necessarily angry sounding. I don't really like punk, but it's sort of like punk that is "poppy and happy", it goes against why it was started in the first place.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

But why do you care if people like their metal angry? Metal is supposed to be angry.

I would counter and ask why it would bother you if I was curious/cynical on the particular topic. I don't care whether anything sounds any which way, I own hundreds of albums (ON CD, for..those reading). I cannot be a thinking person and not observe.

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Here fucking here. I wish more bands "got" this. I don't mean angry where it's nothing but Neanderthals singing guttural sounds and Lars hitting trash cans, but angry in the sense of writing. Angry in the sense of performance. Angry FEELING, not necessarily angry sounding. I don't really like punk, but it's sort of like punk that is "poppy and happy", it goes against why it was started in the first place.

Don't you mean Hear Hear?

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

Don't you mean Hear Hear?

It's 6:08pm and I'm drinking my morning coffee. Fuck off

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

*raises hand* here? Teacher, whatever it was, I didn't do it, you gotta believe me, - you have no evidence.

 

[BenMech]

Dads bought Whitesnake, and a copy of the Amon Amarth album for the kids

corrected. Kids don't buy music, dumbass.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I would counter and ask why it would bother you if I was curious/cynical on the particular topic. I don't care whether anything sounds any which way, I own hundreds of albums (ON CD, for..those reading). I cannot be a thinking person and not observe.

I didn't realize that if you reply to a post, it means that I'm bothered by it. Thanks for letting me know for future reference.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

No. Obviously not what was said (emphasis on obviously). I was just wondering why it would raise an eyebrow. Some ideas do, some don't, there are reasons. Simple stuff.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I get that this is a progpower board, and that there are people here who -- if they're going to listen to metal, are going to listen to the lighter stuff. Fine and cool. I just don't get why it's a mystery that KIDS with issues, angst, energy, etc like aggressive music. Do you think Shakespeare or Lord Byron wrote dramas because they are rich and intellectual or because they sold tickets/books? Let's be reality brah. There's a reason why nobody knows who Percy Bysshe Shelley is but we all know about his wife's "Frankenstein."

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

Well, that in itself isn't a mystery, it's just odd how it's the dominant thing in THIS country (USA) by a long way, and always has been (thrash, death) as opposed to how it is in many other countries where there is definitely more of a balance. There's kids there too. Also, I'm not only about 'lighter stuff', I offered up some posts in Apollo's death/black recs thread for example. I love it all, but that's because I don't have just one emotion I'm running on all of the time, unless hyperactivity counts as an emotion. Literally all I'm doing is pointing out that the demographic, even though it's different bands, is still about the same as it's always been. Nothing wrong with that. Right? Maybe not..

 

[dcowboys311]

Well, that in itself isn't a mystery, it's just odd how it's the dominant thing in THIS country (USA) by a long way, and always has been (thrash, death) as opposed to how it is in many other countries where there is definitely more of a balance. There's kids there too. Also, I'm not only about 'lighter stuff', I offered up some posts in Apollo's death/black recs thread for example. I love it all, but that's because I don't have just one emotion I'm running on all of the time, unless hyperactivity counts as an emotion. Literally all I'm doing is pointing out that the demographic, even though it's different bands, is still about the same as it's always been. Nothing wrong with that. Right? Maybe not..

I don't think it's THAT odd....a lot of the big 'melodic' bands originated over in Europe while death and thrash metal are, for the most part, US grown. Scenes develop over time and grow where they started.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Well, that in itself isn't a mystery, it's just odd how it's the dominant thing in THIS country (USA) by a long way, and always has been (thrash, death) as opposed to how it is in many other countries where there is definitely more of a balance.

I mean, alot of it has to do with different cultures, but I'd say the majority has to do with the fact that those bands are FROM Europe so obviously they'd do bigger in Europe. Amon Amarth was pretty huge in Europe for a long time, probably since Versus the World. But they put alot of work and energy into trying to break into the US market and it paid off in spades. Rhapsody and Blind Guardian, while fairly large acts in Europe, do not tour the States 4-5 times a year.

To them it makes no sense to get paid 100 bucks a night opening for Disturbed or whatever when they could gross 2-5 k on a headlining tour, make a small profit after net expenses, and fly home. Thus, they're stuck with a label that isn't very concerned in the US with developing them because they know the band won't do any big tours and will sell 2,000 copies first week at most.

And even if they landed a big agency like TKO, Pantheon, ICM, Kenmore or The Agency Group, if they and the management don't want to invest into sacrificing profit for long term developmental benefits and just stick to headlining for some quick bucks, they will never do super well. Amon Amarth did so many support tours, opening for Bodom like 3 times, Sounds Of The Underground,, etc etc that they wound up exposing themselves to tons of kids who got into the music and bought the band, not unlike In Flames, Lacuna Coil, Dragonforce, Opeth, Children Of Bodom, and soon to be Gojira and Behemoth. A select batch of these European bands were simply willing to haul ass and it paid off.

There's kids there too.

Right, but it's different when they're local to those kids and that sort of music becomes the norm to them. That being said, they arguably eat the aggressive stuff up more than the US. If you knew how much Avocado makes JUST from booking fees from that Never Say Die tour you'd shit a brick.

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

corrected. Kids don't buy music, dumbass.

Aren't you just precious?

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

All very valid points. What I'm really trying to chip away at is how this chicken/egg scenario can really work with bands outside the norm. For example, if prog or power band A or B toured the way Behemoth does in the US circuit, how much of that work do you think would realistically translate into album sales and then into more tickets sold and so on? And for a band like Behemoth, how much of it is the touring itself, and how much is it that they simply fit easier into an already established criteria/range of popularity that can be banked on by promoters/record companies? Basically: How does the traditional/power/progressive metal band build up that following - if it's possible - in the USA?

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Jason, dude... Come on, why is it so unacceptable that I like the music from the 90s better? Dude, I was born in 84. When your favorite albums were coming out, I wasn't into metal yet (though I did get into music at a very early age...). If you were born in the 80s, chances are you'd prefer the music from the 90s and the 00s, just as if you were born in say, 1960, you'd be saying the music from the 70s is the best there is.

And I will repeat myself... There's a LOT of good music from the 80s. I like a lot of it, truly do. But I still have more favorite albums and artists in my list being from the 90s and 00s. It's just taste, man.

So, when

came out, you were listening to