IN THIS MOMENT ANYONE?

[PurpleCrayonWriter]

I didn't realize that a photo spread in Stuff magazine and/or suggestively positioned legs constitutes DOWNPLAYING sexuality....

Yeah. Women in metal, as a general rule, do not play down their looks. If they got 'em, they flaunt 'em. Within Temptation, After Forever, Lacuna Coil, Lullacry, The Gathering, CiVet -- hell, even Joan Jett likes to prove she's a woman every now and then.

Part of what I like about In This Moment is precisely the fact that they write catchy, radio-friendly songs. That takes some doing. And I don't disparage them in the least for doing so.

The other thing I noted in my initial post was their attitudes. Maria is a genuinely nice person. I like nice people. I don't like a-holes who are so full of themselves (can you say Daniel Gildenlow?) that they feel it's their duty to use their celebrity as a soapbox -- or as a perch from which to look down on everyone.

I'm not so ga-ga over In This Moment that I don't see their faults. They're not the hottest band in the land (KISS is, remember?). But they seem to be decent people who are making a mark for themselves and having a ball doing it. I like it when that happens.

 

[BlackRoseMetalHeart]

Yeah. Women in metal, as a general rule, do not play down their looks. If they got 'em, they flaunt 'em. [...] likes to prove she's a woman every now and then.

And for this band ...
that is a major understatement.

 

[BlackRoseMetalHeart]

Part of what I like about In This Moment is precisely the fact that they write catchy, radio-friendly songs. That takes some doing. And I don't disparage them in the least for doing so.

The other thing I noted in my initial post was their attitudes. Maria is a genuinely nice person. I like nice people. I don't like a-holes who are so full of themselves (can you say Daniel Gildenlow?) that they feel it's their duty to use their celebrity as a soapbox -- or as a perch from which to look down on everyone.

I'm not so ga-ga over In This Moment that I don't see their faults. They're not the hottest band in the land (KISS is, remember?). But they seem to be decent people who are making a mark for themselves and having a ball doing it. I like it when that happens.

No doubt, In This Moment can write catchy songs and more power to them for doing well for themselves. I'll just be curious to see if there next album is more of a balance of the first two. There were things I liked about The Dream as an album, but for me it didn't have as many hooks as Beautiful Tragedy did.

I just wish I could say that I had as good of an experience meeting Maria as you seemed to. When I saw them on the Hottest Chick in Metal Tour with LC and WT, I was much more excited (at the time) about seeing In This Moment since Beautiful Tragedy had barely left my CD player for at least the first several months after it came out. I was incredibly excited to meet Maria and the rest of the band. She signed my CD, but at the same time seemed pretty uninterested in any praise I was giving her or the band. Maybe I caught her on a bad night.

 

[Heavenly Call]

I love both of the In This Moment CDs, but I MUCH prefer the second one. I find myself humming the awesome choruses quite frequently.

 

[Creeps]

I haven't seen them live and I haven't heard their disc. Based solely on the video on her MySpace page, they're not my thing. But to be fair, no many female fronted bands are. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a single one of which I'm a big fan of.

Zod

I'm gonna take a stab in the barrel here and go... Fear of God's 'Within the Veil' album? You seem like the kinda guy who would love it.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

man, fuck that band.

 

[ratanda]

Oh, I don't know. She's not exactly hideous looking.

I agree, looks good to me. But I still don't like her band.

 

[zedowns]

And for this band ... Rockbitch
that is a major understatement.

Wow, I literally broke down in tears at the slave.

 

[BlackRoseMetalHeart]

Wow, I literally broke down in tears at the slave.

That video is actually really tame. Nick and I managed to pick up a copy of a full live performance from Amsterdam in 1997 which also has interviews and footage of a tour of the bands communal house. This video get's a little more heavy on the band's "message." Call me a feminist, call me crazy, but I guess I'm just one of those people where if this ideology makes them happy more power to them. Their only trying to promote something positive, no matter how radical it might be. I can respect that.

 

[BlackRoseMetalHeart]

I'm gonna take a stab in the barrel here and go... Fear of God's 'Within the Veil' album? You seem like the kinda guy who would love it.

If you or Zod like Fear of God, I'd be curious to hear what either of you have to say about DÉTENTE, another band Dawn Crosby sang for.



(I'll apologize now for leading this thread on several little tangents.)

 

[General Zod]

I didn't realize that a photo spread in Stuff magazine and/or suggestively positioned legs constitutes DOWNPLAYING sexuality....

I was talking about within the context of the band. If she wants to run off and do Playboy, that's her right.

Despite what some might think, I understand where you are coming from on this. (Except for the part about Cristina Scabbia playing down her sexuality. I think she's great, but are we talking about the same woman?)

As I said to Rycher, when she does press on her own, it's one thing. However, if you look at how Cristina dresses in videos and at live performances, she's rarely made to look like a video vixen. By way of example, here is the press photo for each band on Century Media's web site:

Cristina could practically wear that shirt to an office job. However, the woman from Into This Moment is dressed like she should be swinging from a stripper pole. And my issue isn't with a female artist using her sexuality. My issue is when it becomes the focal point of the band.

Lacuna Coil was one of the first bands of this type to start marketing themselves through their singer's looks.

First? Definitely not. It's been happening since women entered the music business.

Zod

 

[BlackRoseMetalHeart]

First? Definitely not. It's been happening since women entered the music business.

Zod

Perhaps I should have been more specific. My actual statement was one of the first bands of this type, and by "this type" I mean this recent surge in the last decade or so of labels more actively seeking out, promoting and selling metal bands based on the fact that their will be a good looking woman to be at the center of the photo shoot, whether she is singing for the band, or playing keyboards or another instrument. (One can only assume most metal labels recognize that the majority of their fans are males and thus if they slap some boobs on the album cover or press photo it will sell better.)

I realize that women have been using sex to their advantage for longer than there has been metal and as long as women are an active part of the metal scene then there will be women who feel comfortable with using their sexuality to sell albums no matter how talented or untalented they may be.

It is true that Maria dresses consistently more scantly than Cristina. However, I recall that the first time Lacuna Coil came to the states (opening for Type-O Negative, I think it was their first time here) Cristina wore a very low-cut revealing dress to the show near Baltimore. All I heard the five guys who saw the show talk about afterward was how the view was mighty convenient while she was headbanging right in front of them.

 

[War Ensemble]

However, I recall that the first time Lacuna Coil came to the states (opening for Type-O Negative, I think it was their first time here) Cristina wore a very low-cut revealing dress to the show near Baltimore.

Lacuna Coil had toured the US at least twice before the Type O Negative tour in 2003. They opened for Moonspell in 2001 and Opeth earlier in 2003.

 

[General Zod]

Perhaps I should have been more specific. My actual statement was one of the first bands of this type, and by "this type" I mean this recent surge in the last decade or so of labels more actively seeking out, promoting and selling metal bands based on the fact that their will be a good looking woman to be at the center of the photo shoot...

Fair enough.

It is true that Maria dresses consistently more scantly than Cristina. However, I recall that the first time Lacuna Coil came to the states (opening for Type-O Negative, I think it was their first time here) Cristina wore a very low-cut revealing dress to the show near Baltimore. All I heard the five guys who saw the show talk about afterward was how the view was mighty convenient while she was headbanging right in front of them.

Well, perhaps it's my perception. I've always felt with LC, it's about the music, and oh by the way, Cristina is stunning.

Zod

 

[edgeofthorns]

As I said to Rycher, when she does press on her own, it's one thing. However, if you look at how Cristina dresses in videos and at live performances, she's rarely made to look like a video vixen. By way of example, here is the press photo for each band on Century Media's web site:

Zod

Eventhough, I don't consider myself a big Lacuna Coil fan, I think Christina is very attractive. I enjoyed their live performance on the tour with Within Temptation. If their male singer would shut his mouth and not sing, then I'd like the band better. The guy's voice just grates on my nerves.

~Brian~

 

[edgeofthorns]

and oh by the way, Cristina is stunning.

Zod

For once Zod, I 100% agree with you!

~Brian~

 

[General Zod]

For once Zod, I 100% agree with you!

Good to know we can find some common ground.

Zod

 

[4acidbath4]

You know, this thread kind of illustrates why I have a particular respect for women like Cristina Scabbia and Otep Shamaya. Both are beautiful women, who if anything, play down their looks. Perhaps it's an unfair double standard. However, when a band seems to be selling the front woman's sexuality, and not the music, I lose interest. And not because I find the idea reprehensible (trust me.. I'm not that evolved). I simply find it to be a quick indicator that they're unable to create anything musically that's worth my time.

Zod

Have you purchased any metal magazines lately?? I take it that you have not or you would have not made the statement of Cristina Scabbia playing down her looks. That had to be the most comical statement I have read all night.

 

[General Zod]

Have you purchased any metal magazines lately?

No. I never bother. The stories are three months old, the reviews are tied to advertising dollars, and the writers are clueless.

Zod

 

[edgeofthorns]

No. I never bother. The stories are three months old, the reviews are tied to advertising dollars, and the writers are clueless.

Zod

Don't forget that the publishers are cavemen.

~Brian~