"It is my estimation that a great many metal fans today are spoiled brats."

[David Gold]

The True Fortress
Metal Guru
Joined: 10 Oct 2004, 15:01
Posts: 4214
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Re: Your most disappointing 2007 release?

It is my estimation that a great many metal fans today are spoiled brats.

Too much easy access to too much. Too easy to find. Too cheap (re: free) to acquire. Too hard to please. Too quick to complain. Too lazy. Too quick to judge. Only too happy to attack and ridicule.

In short: Too little appreciation.

_________________
Hails to the true brothers of steel

Thoughts about this?

 

[zekeyou]

On some levels I agree, regarding accessibility, etc., but I don't know about the other elements of his post.

Sure, having too much access can 'spoil' someone-- I don't download, purchase 99% of the music I have, and I'm inundated by the new releases from this year alone, not to mention the 'other' purchases from the year.

On that level, back when I was 11 and getting into metal in 1983, finances for me were tight-- I had a paper route that netted about $50 a month, half of which my parents made me save, so I had $25 for cassettes, vinyl, and whatever else. Therefore I probably got about 1 new cassette per month, and had lots of time to really digest each release.

Nowadays, if something doesn't hit me within 1-2 listens it's usually put on the backburner, usually for months.

The plus side of heavy access, for me anyways, is the internet in the form of message boards. I'd say 50% of my purchases of the last 5 years have been from various threads on the Braveboard. My interest is always getting piqued about new bands or bands I'd written off. Hell, I wasn't going to pick up the new Between the Buried and Me, as "Alaska" never got sustained listens from me. But sure enough, an interesting thread on it got me thinking and I checked out 2 songs on their website and ordered it immediately. It's been my heaviest played and favorite album of the year for a couple months now...

Do I miss the days of scouring through record bins, looking for something that "looks" heavy? Sure. Do I miss looking through paper catalogs and ordering based on name alone? Sure. Do I miss the days of waiting 6-8 weeks for distribution orders arriving? Absolutely not.

Do people seem quick to ridicule? Yes. Is this wrong? Dunno, if something is terrible to my ears, I'll post that in a thread about it. When I have conversations face-to-face with people, it's not all positives. Could people be a bit more mature in their critiques of albums? Yes, but given the ages, educational backgrounds, and social diversity of metal, there are going to be all types...

 

[Miltbrand]

What he said...

 

[MentallyAbstract]

Yes they're spoiled, but some bands would never have the success they have now without downloading.

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Oh yeah If you download then the music is not valued. What gets me is that the whole album is probably not being listened to in sequence or at all.

Self esteem also plays a big part. Feeling that you belong to something by posting "me too" bashing posts (speaks the truth, quoted for truth etc) is just pathetic. and exemplifies a distinct lack of sincerity.

In the 80's I had to wait until I had the cash saved up for a Priest, Maiden or Sabbath record. But when it came time to purchase, the excitement and pay off could not be matched. Cracking open Live After Death, removing the vinyl, staring at the glorious amount of pictures and reading the booklet which was only interrupted by flipping the record. Then discussing the record with your friends in person with eye to eye contact the next day. That joy does not exist anymore.

 

[zekeyou]

Self esteem also plays a big part. Feeling that you belong to something by posting "me too" bashing posts (speaks the truth, quoted for truth etc) is just pathetic. and exemplifies a distinct lack of sincerity.

+1

 

[Dauden]

I'd agree we have too much access to music and other crap, compared to people in the 80s for example, but I don't necessarily think we're that spoiled in terms of appreciation. Sure there's the people who have nothing better to do with their time than have flame wars on blabbermouth, but are those real metalheads? My friends, as well as people I know from a smaller forum I go to (in my sig) truly appreciate metal and all that it does, really. I mean we're not gonna love every band and every album ever, thats kind of obvious, but we definitely appreciate it.

 

[sdmf2]

Basically, I agree with the people here that everyone's situation is different and people act differently from each other...so to say all Metal fans are spoiled and don't appreciate the music would be ridiculous.
I think the biggest problem (or difference, lets say) between Metal fans today and Metal fans 10 or 20 years ago is that back then everything was new. Thrash was the big thing that influenced all the death and black metal bands so everyone built on that. Slayer, Destruction, Metallica, Bathory, Celtic Frost were the big influences. But now, a lot of the new fans are bypassing those classic bands and skipping straight to Enslaved, Necrophagist, Leviathan, and others like that. So these new fans are missing out on the basic foundations for Metal that all the older fans and bands grew up with and used to evolve in the music. That being said, for some new Metal heads, if a band doesnt have 6 members, a symphony, and all kinds of epic proportions, they are less interesting than the eclectic range of new bands who are readily available now.

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Yes. I knew I forgot that "1" too

+1

 

[CaGeD iN]

I can see that being said about a lot of the slipknot/ metalcore fans, who just seem to like to listen to something because it sounds "brutal" while the song is horribly put together. As for downloading, if i didnt download randomly, i wouldnt have found nearly half of the music i know and wouldnt be nearly the metalhead i am today, BUT if an artist is good enough that makes me end up downloading most of the tracks on the album, i believe the artist deserves every penny and every bit of support. By downloading, i think more people have heard of bands they normally wouldnt have heard of which would maybe lead to more sales in the long run. If i get a reccomendation and download 1-3 tracks and dont like it and delete it i believe that it would be a waste of money to go and buy an album im never going to listen to. Too quick to judge? In most cases yes, sometimes the metalcore people hear my stuff thay say omg that sux... i dont know why... If someone else tells me to check something out, i will listen to the whole song or at least most of it if it is so bad i nearly kill myself. I know many people will disagree on this, but it is my point of view on the issue.

 

[TheCrab]

I think the quickness and eagerness to criticize is being artificially exaggerated. If I had to guess I would say that we (the younger/newer generation of metalheads) are more quick to bash not because of higher standards but because there is so much available. The "bad" bands are able to gain much more exposure, as are the "good" ones. So, I think the increase is probably proportional. We still hate the same relative number of bands, but because pre-internet we may have followed, for example, 400 bands, while today we can keep track of thousands, with minimal effort. That, and the fact that the internet brings with it a forum for people to make their opinions heard by many more people, so it seems like the number of people bashing a band is much higher.

Also, when you see some people discussing a band you like on the internet, versus one you dislike? If you like the band, you'll chime in on the conversation, if you're indifferent you will ignore it, and if you dont like the band, you will try and fuck up the conversation. Its the Internet-Tough-Guy principle: If the internet removes the chance of retaliation, you will be much more likely to espouse a more extreme viewpoint.


None of that probably made sense.

 

[Dauden]

I think the downloading thing works two ways. Its hurt the music industry, might as well accept that, the numbers show. However, it most definitely has helped grow underground metal bands. To be honest, with real metalheads today, I think it would be fair to compare the online metalhead system very much to the tape trading that went on during the 80s, its just worldwide. That means a band out of Sudbury of all places (Wolven Ancestry) can be heard in Japan, or Texas, or wherever. This isn't downloading, no, but that person can then download the album, and to be honest its just better exposure for small bands. If you hear something cool on Myspace, you might go download the album, otherwise you might just go "thats ok" and not bother. Whether or not it helps the profit of metal bands, I have no idea, probably in some cases it does, in others not. But its just my opinion. Its very interesting to see newspapers talk about the harm of downloading, compared to how it can effect bands like WoY and Wolven (its definitely helped WoY get rather popular quick, for sure)

 

[CaGeD iN]

It generally imho strikes down the "popular" bands while helping the unpopular bands