As I'm sitting here surfing around the 'net, reading different news sites and metal forums, I am still surprised at people's thoughts and how they perceive things. It's funny to me to see the way people perceive certain things regarding bands, music, etc. About this band in particular even, I found a few things I've noted that people seem to have a huge problem with....
- Paul's lyrical content, especially on the last couple of albums.
- The fact that we've gone "totally death metal"
- that we're "very overrated" and can't understand why we get so much attention
- that everything we do is very same-y
I find all of this very funny because all of that is so incorrect, or at the very least, subjective.
People seem to have issues with Paul's lyrics because they think they're too contrived and trying to be dramatic. Funny because that perhaps could've been said about the lyrics he wrote early on, before he started writing about factual real-life feelings and dramas he's dealing with. I think it's also ironic because the music that alot of these people listen to is filled with your typical run-of-the-mill doom and gloom poetic crap that's been done to death for years.
The "death metal" thing.....well as we discussed recently on this forum, to put us in any one category, whether doom or death or whatever, is just fucking stupid, to put it bluntly. Some people's need to always have things so neatly defined and categorized, keeping it all black or white, just confounds me. Obviously death metal has become far more substantial in our current music, without a doubt. But anyone who says our new cds are just "totally death metal" are either a.) not really paying close attention to the cd as a whole, or b.) are just fucking stupid, period.
As for being "overrated"......that whole term is ridiculous to debate anyhow because again, it's a matter of personal opinion. But I think it's funny given that we're a band who are, for all practical purposes, pretty low-key overall. We've gotten some good breaks in recent years, and we've gotten a nice share of praising reviews (as well as some bad ones to balance it out). But it sure isn't like you suddenly see people left and right singing our praises all over the place, in the way that a band, say like Municipal Waste, have gone from relative obscurity to suddenly being critical darlings and receiving a ton of press, accolades, and notoriety all over the place. I can think of a shitload of bands who I personally feel don't deserve the attention and high rating that they get, but I don't really see the point in ranting about it or holding it against the other people who enjoy them. I always think of the scene in the movie High Fidelity when a co-worker says the band he is listening to is great, and Jack Black tells him it's "bullshit", and John Cusack shouts incredulously at him, "How can it be bullshit to state a personal preference?!?!"
As for the "same-y" thing......that one confuses me the most. On most of our albums you can find many different styles of songs on there....up tempo, slow tempo, crushingly heavy, soft and lilting, etc.....And alot of the people who complain about the "Same-y ness" are the ones who are upset that we're not more strictly doom. I'm not exactly sure what the fuck it is that they're looking for??
I saw one doomster complaining that the 1st album was all a bit too samey for them....which surprises me because to put it bluntly, I think that can be said for ALMOST EVERY FUCKING SLOW DOOM METAL ALBUM IN EXISTENCE!!! hahaha Barring a few notable, praise-worthy exceptions. I guess the point is that, with some people out there, there's just no right answer or a no-win situation.
Anyhow I know this thread is kinda pointless but I just felt like ranting and to see what you guys think on this. I'm not looking for sympathy or asskissing, I'm just really curious about what brings some people to the conclusions that they draw. Maybe I expect too much from people? Then again I once saw a guy shittalking us all over the 'net about how we were such awful MDB clones, and then once confronted, he admitted that he had only heard ONE song by us in his lifetime! So I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at some of the behavior and opinions of people out there.
Man, can you imagine in today's day and age, trying to pigeonhole every band you've heard by judging them on only one song? I can think of dozens of examples off the top of my head where I would've been completely off the mark had I judged a band's entire repertoire based solely on the first song I heard by them.
Anyhow, discuss amongst yerselves hehe...
- Paul's lyrical content, especially on the last couple of albums.
- The fact that we've gone "totally death metal"
- that we're "very overrated" and can't understand why we get so much attention
- that everything we do is very same-y
I find all of this very funny because all of that is so incorrect, or at the very least, subjective.
People seem to have issues with Paul's lyrics because they think they're too contrived and trying to be dramatic. Funny because that perhaps could've been said about the lyrics he wrote early on, before he started writing about factual real-life feelings and dramas he's dealing with. I think it's also ironic because the music that alot of these people listen to is filled with your typical run-of-the-mill doom and gloom poetic crap that's been done to death for years.
The "death metal" thing.....well as we discussed recently on this forum, to put us in any one category, whether doom or death or whatever, is just fucking stupid, to put it bluntly. Some people's need to always have things so neatly defined and categorized, keeping it all black or white, just confounds me. Obviously death metal has become far more substantial in our current music, without a doubt. But anyone who says our new cds are just "totally death metal" are either a.) not really paying close attention to the cd as a whole, or b.) are just fucking stupid, period.
As for being "overrated"......that whole term is ridiculous to debate anyhow because again, it's a matter of personal opinion. But I think it's funny given that we're a band who are, for all practical purposes, pretty low-key overall. We've gotten some good breaks in recent years, and we've gotten a nice share of praising reviews (as well as some bad ones to balance it out). But it sure isn't like you suddenly see people left and right singing our praises all over the place, in the way that a band, say like Municipal Waste, have gone from relative obscurity to suddenly being critical darlings and receiving a ton of press, accolades, and notoriety all over the place. I can think of a shitload of bands who I personally feel don't deserve the attention and high rating that they get, but I don't really see the point in ranting about it or holding it against the other people who enjoy them. I always think of the scene in the movie High Fidelity when a co-worker says the band he is listening to is great, and Jack Black tells him it's "bullshit", and John Cusack shouts incredulously at him, "How can it be bullshit to state a personal preference?!?!"
As for the "same-y" thing......that one confuses me the most. On most of our albums you can find many different styles of songs on there....up tempo, slow tempo, crushingly heavy, soft and lilting, etc.....And alot of the people who complain about the "Same-y ness" are the ones who are upset that we're not more strictly doom. I'm not exactly sure what the fuck it is that they're looking for??
I saw one doomster complaining that the 1st album was all a bit too samey for them....which surprises me because to put it bluntly, I think that can be said for ALMOST EVERY FUCKING SLOW DOOM METAL ALBUM IN EXISTENCE!!! hahaha Barring a few notable, praise-worthy exceptions. I guess the point is that, with some people out there, there's just no right answer or a no-win situation.Anyhow I know this thread is kinda pointless but I just felt like ranting and to see what you guys think on this. I'm not looking for sympathy or asskissing, I'm just really curious about what brings some people to the conclusions that they draw. Maybe I expect too much from people? Then again I once saw a guy shittalking us all over the 'net about how we were such awful MDB clones, and then once confronted, he admitted that he had only heard ONE song by us in his lifetime! So I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at some of the behavior and opinions of people out there.
Man, can you imagine in today's day and age, trying to pigeonhole every band you've heard by judging them on only one song? I can think of dozens of examples off the top of my head where I would've been completely off the mark had I judged a band's entire repertoire based solely on the first song I heard by them.
Anyhow, discuss amongst yerselves hehe...
