Controversial opinions on metal

[CiG]

I say crush the types of bands he's talking about and spit on their remains.

Fuck civility.

 

[Krow]

I think I can safely say that I haven't come across a single band that expertly meshes egyptian soundscapes with metal. Individual songs sometimes, but it's apparently not a very popular mythology or ambient addition. Shame.

Because they're two things that really don't go together. It just doesn't blend like folk or ambient pieces do with black metal.

I like Nile, granted their albums start to blend together on me a bit but for my money Necros Christos has been my go to egypty death metal band.

 

[Omni]

Nile is bland. Necros Christos rules.

 

[no country for old wainds]

they're both bland mostly

 

[Dak]

Nile is another one of those bands that you really only need their "best album" by and you have everything they could possibly do.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

his final sentence clarifies he's not outright rejecting feelings at all, so i think you're probably selling him short (though he should've used a better word than 'emotional' in the sentence you quote, like sentimental or maudlin or something.) in fact, i think he's saying the opposite; that modern bands don't express authentic feeling, they're more detached and calculated and less in tune with the spirit that made metal so magical in the first place. i agree this applies to plenty of mainstream/critically acclaimed metal these days; i find a lot of the genre-bending quite pseudo-intellectual and empty of feeling or reason, and i definitely get that sense of a lot of modern metal trying really hard to sound mature, intelligent, experimental, different etc rather than actually being those things. it's not exclusive to modern metal of course, it's just become a lot more trendy as the genre's moved more and more into the public sphere.

i just think that those bands shouldn't put others off from making something different if they actually have the artistic chops to do so, nor should metalheads automatically reject such bands by association. i mean, my favourite metal album of the decade is by harvey milk, it's an incredibly unique, passionate doom record in its own way but has been completely ignored by old school doomheads, and i do wonder if that's not just because it's quite different and often grouped in with some of the shittier stuff that gets good reviews in mainstream metal/hipster mags. that's not to say it would be to all of their tastes or that you can't legitimately think they suck or w/e, but i know quite a few people in old school circles who wouldn't even give a band like that a chance due to their being of the wrong pedigree or whatever, and that's lame.

I know he wasn't rejecting feelings categorically, just "wimpy" emotions like sadness, as opposed to "badass" emotions like anger and hatred. It logically follows that Warning should be considered untrue, even if they do fall into the traditional doom metal mold.

Just because you find certain bands to be unappealing does not suggest inauthenticity on their part. It's not something you can just chalk up to opinion. You would have to dig up interviews of band members saying, for instance, that they never really listened to metal until just last year. I mean, do you think Sigh are disconnected from the roots of metal? Maybe you could say that about KoRn, since Jonathan Davis listened mostly to new wave such as Duran Duran in the 80's, but clearly you're not talking just about nu metal and the like.

 

[CiG]

I know he wasn't rejecting feelings categorically, just "wimpy" emotions like sadness, as opposed to "badass" emotions like anger and hatred. It logically follows that Warning should be considered untrue, even if they do fall into the traditional doom metal mold.

What the fuck are you rambling about? He didn't say one word about "wimpy" emotions like sadness.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

I'll check out NC, but I disagree that they don't go together. If anything I'd say they go together better than other folksy stuff, it's just not done as often or well. Egyptian music is tribal. Ritual drums, demonic chants, and those obviously 'Egyptian' tidbits (you know what I mean ) are perfect for following with a guitar.

Although I would say thrash is probably the weaker of the sub-genres for meshing with that style.

I imagine my frustration is a similar feel to why some folks are just like fuck it, I'm starting a band. I'm sick of nobody doing this.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

What the fuck are you rambling about? He didn't say one word about "wimpy" emotions like sadness.

You gotta read between the lines. He was railing against new variants of doom that emerged in the nineties, while saying that metal shouldn't be "overly emotional," so it's clear that the main target of his ire is stuff like My Dying Bride, on account of being too weepy or maudlin or whatever. So it makes no sense that Warning's Watching from a Distance is perfectly okay, yet MDB's The Angel and the Dark River tramples all over doom metal's venerated observances and rituals.

 

[no country for old wainds]

You gotta read between the lines. He was railing against new variants of doom that emerged in the nineties, while saying that metal shouldn't be "overly emotional," so it's clear that the main target of his ire is stuff like My Dying Bride, on account of being too weepy or maudlin or whatever. So it makes no sense that Warning's Watching from a Distance is perfectly okay, yet MDB's The Angel and the Dark River tramples all over doom metal's venerated observances and rituals.

yeah i don't necessarily disagree with that, when i dislike those types of bands it's not usually because they're 'emotional' so much as just clichéd and bland, or in some cases because the emotion sounds put on. i have nothing against TAatDR for the record.

 

[The Ozzman]

Geoff Tate is one of the most underrated vocalists in metal history.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

I thought people loved him?

 

[no country for old wainds]

so did i. maybe not around here idk

 

[JontRevolting]

Yes that's definitely more of an obvious statement than a controversial one. I don't like him tbh.

 

[CiG]

You gotta read between the lines. He was railing against new variants of doom that emerged in the nineties, while saying that metal shouldn't be "overly emotional," so it's clear that the main target of his ire is stuff like My Dying Bride, on account of being too weepy or maudlin or whatever. So it makes no sense that Warning's Watching from a Distance is perfectly okay, yet MDB's The Angel and the Dark River tramples all over doom metal's venerated observances and rituals.

You're just making shit up, I'm quite familiar with Sami's views as I've been an obsessed Reverend Bizarre fan for years, I've read every single interview with Sami available online.
I can basically guarantee that the bollocks you're inserting "between the lines" is false.

 

[alex76]

Geoff Tate is one of the most underrated vocalists in metal history.

Lol, lol, I take it you got around to checking out that EP!

Tate is underrated. I think he has had formal training, if I recall correctly. However, I think DeGamo/Wilton are far more underrated.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

You're just making shit up, I'm quite familiar with Sami's views as I've been an obsessed Reverend Bizarre fan for years, I've read every single interview with Sami available online.
I can basically guarantee that the bollocks you're inserting "between the lines" is false.

If you're such an expert, what sort of "false doom" bands from the 90's is he talking about, pray tell? If he's talking about the types of bands I think he is, I don't see how I'm off base purely from reading this one interview excerpt. I'm certainly not "making shit up." I might be mistaken about Sami's particular views, but all you're doing is telling me I'm full of shit while refusing to elucidate any further.

 

[CiG]

That's because I don't like making assumptions and conjuring interpretations like you are doing.
I'm saying your interpretations are bullshit, but I in no way am obliged to replace your interpretation with one of my own.

Why don't you message the man on facebook?

Anyway, if I were to risk a guess at his meaning, it would be the Stoner Doom style which was growing in the 90's as well as many Stoner Rock bands which were weirdly lumped into the Doom label.
This guess is based on the many anti-Stoner messages I read in Reverend Bizarre CD booklets, interviews etc.

 

[EspaDa]

Geoff Tate is one of the most underrated vocalists in metal history.

I hate his new look. He looks so pretentiously. Used to be a decent vocalist though.

 

[JontRevolting]

He looks suspiciously like Freddie Mercury.