Bands selling out/Mainstream bands

[Dän]

Some pretty good points made here. I personally think that bands going mainsteam is, to some extent, out of their own control, if you wright music that people like then your going to become popular. Of course there are ways to manufacture popularity and that is evindent in bands like metallica, Ill use them as an example because most ppl know their story. Theres no doubt the the black album is their sell out album if you will; but i still like it, i also the 4 preceeding albums to that. In short, when a band goes mainsteam that you have always liked from day 1, it sucks, bu that desont always mean that they are gonna suck. I quite liked Dimmu Borgir's 8th album, deathcult armegeddon because i thought it was different from most metal out there, but then again, i didnt really dig their earlier releases.

How bout Carcass, does anyone here rekon that they sold out???

 

[MasterOLightning]

Carcass, with Heartwork, no. I imagine at the time that was a rather innovative album, and it obviously influenced many bands afterwards. I don't recall any bands pre-Heartwork that sounded like that. Most say that Swansong was garbage, but I haven't heard that one. Heartwork doesn't strike me as a commerical album for 93-94 anway.

 

[Pull The Plug]

Lamb of God has cheap plastic production jobs that might turn people off. The thing is why listen to a unoriginal newer band like LoG with lousy weak solos here & there when you can listen to a real metal band that goes all out

I disagree with the production, its just that most bands you listen to dont have the money to get such well produced material. I also wouldnt agree with unoriginal, if you heard a LoG song and you werent told of it i'm sure it would be very easy to identify from other bands. Meaning they have a prominent and original sound.

Oh and who the fuck listens to music mainly for solos?

 

[MasterOLightning]

Seriously, if you're listening to metal just for solos, go listen to jazz instead, because solos are not an important part to much of the relevant metal music.

 

[Death Animal]

Yes i like Iron Maiden but I hate Dimmu cos theyr so mainstreem.

Very very Troo-underground-garbageBläckmetal rock

 

[Zivilyn]

Aw hell, I knew this thread would end up sucking. Everyone keeps talking about the same thing over and over.

My point in this thread is that a band reaches a certain point of popularity, and it loses fans that just want to look cool and say they liked them before they were big. Like Opeth, who I believe scratched and clawed their way into success, and haven't changed their sound beyond how they wanted it changed, and still get ragged on for it. Typical stubborn, boorish, dumbass metalhead attitude. What a fucking joke to the genre that is. A good representative of metal makes it to the pinnacle of underground success and there are still people in the scene trying to cut them down just for making it.

Some people just bring up clear arguments that have all been heard 1000 times. Of course you need a certain sound to be mainstream. I think the threadstarter would know that. Underground and mainstream are two different things, different from popular and unpopular.

This whole thread is like "good job stating the obvious, you're a fucking brilliant human." This whole thing has been heard before. I get annoyed whenever this thread is made because it could be taken a certain direction and it's not.

 

[CF87]

I disagree with the production, its just that most bands you listen to dont have the money to get such well produced material. I also wouldnt agree with unoriginal, if you heard a LoG song and you werent told of it i'm sure it would be very easy to identify from other bands. Meaning they have a prominent and original sound.

Oh and who the fuck listens to music mainly for solos?

I don't care about whether or not you have solos. It really depends on what style in metal you're playing. When a band like lamb of god name drops Testament,etc.. and how the band is influenced by oldschool metal but their own guitarists can't do one decent lead on an album then it matters.

LoG is saying they're/being promoted as a regular metal. Regular metal bands have great solos. People are making Log out to be a great newer 'metal' band.

Since they're on Sony they get compared to tons of older great succesful metal bands as like those bands in the now when they are not a big deal. They're not on the same level. You wonder why people in metal want nothing to do with them.

Log go from nothing to Sony in a short period of time & are now somehow the new messiah in metal music or something. fuck them

 

[Zivilyn]

Regular metal bands have great solos.

They don't have to.

 

[Pull The Plug]

I don't care about whether or not you have solos. It really depends on what style in metal you're playing. When a band like lamb of god name drops Testament,etc.. and how the band is influenced by oldschool metal but their own guitarists can't do one decent lead on an album then it matters.

...They are influenced by old school metal, it does not mean they have to play like it. They play it how the hell they want and if its rhythm they focus on, then so be it. Namedropping bands and having to be able to do what they do is absurd.

LoG is saying they're/being promoted as a regular metal. Regular metal bands have great solos. People are making Log out to be a great newer 'metal' band.

Most modern regular metal bands dont use solos, they pretty much had their primetime in the 80's/early 90's. You should accept musical progression.

Since they're on Sony they get compared to tons of older great succesful metal bands as like those bands in the now when they are not a big deal. They're not on the same level. You wonder why people in metal want nothing to do with them.

You have generalised here, this is an assumption. I've never heard any statements along the lines of "better than maiden" or "faster than slayer!". I know heaps of people in metal who respect and enjoy their music

Log go from nothing to Sony in a short period of time & are now somehow the new messiah in metal music or something. fuck them

This claim was never made. Also WTF is wrong with jumping on a big label anyway. They arent forced to play anything they dont want to.

.

 

[Jreg]

People start bands to make music and get famous, to put their music out and touch as many people as possible. That's what music is about, making a buck or two is a bonus and merely a result of our culture.

That's a pretty ambiguous statement. Of course any serious-minded band who writes their own music, plays gigs and/or records albums wants to be heard by "as many people as possible", but that phrase will mean different things to different people. To the average American Idol auditioner hoping to be the next Britney Spears, that probably means tens of millions of people. But to, say, the average goregrind band, that will probably mean
considerably less.

I'm sure most bands would still be just as happy if instead of getting money for their music they simply got everyone in the world who digged it to come up to them and say 'you rock, your music stirrs something inside of me, that makes me disconnect from the normal world' (that's how music makes me feel anyway), or words to that effect.

That often is the case, particularly for groups just getting started, but you'd be surprised how many unknown, unsigned bands act like greedy rock stars. Even when they don't, it's often hard to say money is completely meaningless when your unknown band decides to do a self-financed tour for a couple of months and can barely make enough gas money to get to the next show.

Lamb Of God are pretty mainstream compaired to say Urban Nightmare or someone (who? you say, exactly.) but they are by no means as mainstream and popular as say Slayer, but I don't hear people bitching about Slayer 'selling out'.

People have been bitching about Slayer selling out for years, probably since the 80s to a degree. But that's a bad comparison; Slayer are much older and recorded what most people consider one of the most influential landmark records in extreme metal, and they will still be remembered fondly for that no matter how crappy or washed up they become. It has yet to be seen whether a newer band like LoG will be looked back upon in the same way.

Simply, if a band is a good band and people dig them they will become mainstream, so I don't wanna hear anyone saying a band is shit because they have lots of fans that buy their records. You people that say that are narrow minded fools.

People have already touched on this. There is no inherent relationship between "good" and "popular," especially since what's good is subjective.

If say Opeth did it, top of the billboard charts, I wouldn't be like "Opeth are shit now theyre mainstream", I'd simply say "I don't REALLY care, but good for them".

I hear almost as many complaints about Opeth now as I hear about Opeth fans.

 

[Idunnonuten]

There's no use arguing in favor of new Dimmu Borgir because I simply find your opinion that they are relatively the same band they've always been, incorrect. Stormblast is an album I really like, while not so much as some other bands, I like the mellow feeling of it, the piano work, the riffs, etc. I listened to Deathcult Armegeddon once and never listened to it again, they have COMPLETELY changed direction with their music and that is why many people who don't even listen to Metal can like them but not like any other Black Metal.

Yeah, I've argued this time and time again, and let me say that Death Cult is my least favorite, but I just don't think they have changed. They aren't the most techincal riffing wise as... somenone said, and the reason that people whoi listen to them can't listen to other black metal is because they aren't that grim (i also listen to some pretty grim stuff Xasthur, Dark Throne, Horna). I don't try and argue that, i gon't think the guys in Dimmu do either. They are symphonic, always have been, always will be. yes they have some subtle changes (as does every band, look at Emperor who recieves a shit load of consistent praise), but nothing enough for them to be considered sell-outs in my eyes.

 

[myra]

If Opeth become popular or mainstream, then good for them.

They are amazing musicians and an amazing band who deserve success.

 

[blakscorpion21]

good music will get you in the mainstream. it may not be good to some but the more people that like it the more mainstream it gets. no one likes death metal except a handful of people, does that mean it sucks? no. most of you dont like banmds like lamb of god, does that mean they suck? no. neither i nor anyone on this board likes rap, does that mean it sucks? no. really music cant suck as long as there is one person who likes it. music is art and art is in the eyes of the beholder.

 

[VampyrRose]

good music will get you in the mainstream. it may not be good to some but the more people that like it the more mainstream it gets. no one likes death metal except a handful of people, does that mean it sucks? no. most of you dont like banmds like lamb of god, does that mean they suck? no. neither i nor anyone on this board likes rap, does that mean it sucks? no. really music cant suck as long as there is one person who likes it. music is art and art is in the eyes of the beholder.

I think commercial music will get into the mainstream whether it is good or not. There are a lot of bands out there that are good and get no recognition for it.

But I agree, bands don't "suck" for the reason that some people dislike them. It really is down to opinion and criticizing others' taste in music is just stupid.

 

[ProjectedBlack]

good music will get you in the mainstream. it may not be good to some but the more people that like it the more mainstream it gets. no one likes death metal except a handful of people, does that mean it sucks? no. most of you dont like banmds like lamb of god, does that mean they suck? no. neither i nor anyone on this board likes rap, does that mean it sucks? no. really music cant suck as long as there is one person who likes it. music is art and art is in the eyes of the beholder.

You cannot present a reasonable argument that a band like Linkin Park does not suck, sorry. "Sucking" in my mind is a combination of poor musicianship, trendy sound, uninspired lyrics and riding on huge studio budgets so that you don't sound like shit.

The reason that a band like Lamb of God is more popular then a band like Agalloch is because Lamb of God has a lot more money invested into it for promotion, studio budget, touring, etc. This is the same reason why somebody like Jay-Z sells even far more records then Lamb of God.

The general public is brainless, with enough money invested they would think a band that just plays the same guitar string over and over again for every song is "the best band ever".

 

[blakscorpion21]

true, the public has no taste for good music, but as far as musicianship any body with enough practice could play any death metal song out there. u call thaem unskilled but really they could be just playing how they want to. they dont feel the need to have overly technical music so they dont. you really wouldnt know how skilled they were. i would say that log is as skilled as any band but they choose a more simplistic sound. they have been at it for a while, relativley speaking, and could prolly play most anything they wanted.

 

[Bryn]

Metal bands dont try and be mainstream.
Though i feel its weong that some bands make alot more than others yet they aren't as talented or as good musically.
I dont really know who's mainstream these days as I dont have figures or anything and I know like 1 person in RL who has similar musical tastes to me.
In other genre's I can hate mainstream as It's definate that they are just liking a certain band because of their looks or their fans ( emo for instance ).
Can someone just explain
how Dimmu and COB etc... became mainstream without just playing music as they always have.

 

[Alongside Death]

So why CoF became mainstream? They play less agressive then in older albums and they have changed a record label to "Roadrunner Records". Deicide are also in RR but they play good death metal.

 

[dEaThToFaLsEmEtAl34]

Seriously, if you're listening to metal just for solos, go listen to jazz instead, because solos are not an important part to much of the relevant metal music.

I don't listen to metal just for solos either but I think that it's an essential and metal isn't metal without them.

 

[Idunnonuten]

true, the public has no taste for good music, but as far as musicianship any body with enough practice could play any death metal song out there. u call thaem unskilled but really they could be just playing how they want to. they dont feel the need to have overly technical music so they dont. you really wouldnt know how skilled they were. i would say that log is as skilled as any band but they choose a more simplistic sound. they have been at it for a while, relativley speaking, and could prolly play most anything they wanted.

I don't think so. Guys that can play, will play, it's very common.

itThe reason that a band like Lamb of God is more popular then a band like Agalloch is because Lamb of God has a lot more money invested into it for promotion, studio budget, touring, etc. This is the same reason why somebody like Jay-Z sells even far more records then Lamb of God.
is seen evrywhere.