There is nothing as worthless within heavy metal as a whole as the 'demo.' I don't mean any sort of pre-production demos or any such 'working concept' items musicians use in the process of creating a final product. I'm talking about the "here are three songs we're sending to a million record companies, send us $3 for a copy of it yourself." They are worthless.
I am not saying that self-released material is bad. Quite the opposite. But there is a major difference between "self released material" and "a demo."
Self released material represents heavy metal musicians sacrificing their own resources and making their own financial arrangements to present music to be judged fully on its merit, held to the same standards that music financed by a multi-million dollar record company would be held to.
That is heavy metal to the core.
A demo is a little piece of shit meekly asking to be liked. It declares that the creators can't do any better for themselves, that they require help to accomplish their true vision. "Sign us, labels! Please!" They are made with sound recordings and packaging designed to be cheap and easy. Not meant to be a "product," but an advertisement for a product that won't exist without further backing. They are the opposite of self reliance and initiative, and therefore they are against what heavy metal is supposed to be about.
I was going to add a caveat explaining that I know that "things were different" "back in the day." It's just not so! Notable 80s heavy metal bands (claim to have) sold truckloads of their demo tapes! More than most signed heavy metal bands do today of their commercial releases! But it wasn't enough for them. They did not want to cultivate followings allowing them to play in front of hundreds of hometown fans and professionally produce a couple of thousand tapes. No, they wanted the big record deal that could mean gold records and arena gigs, so they hedged their bets and made 'demos' instead of recordings that were meant for long-term listening. No sympathy for them.
I am not saying that self-released material is bad. Quite the opposite. But there is a major difference between "self released material" and "a demo."
Self released material represents heavy metal musicians sacrificing their own resources and making their own financial arrangements to present music to be judged fully on its merit, held to the same standards that music financed by a multi-million dollar record company would be held to.
That is heavy metal to the core.
A demo is a little piece of shit meekly asking to be liked. It declares that the creators can't do any better for themselves, that they require help to accomplish their true vision. "Sign us, labels! Please!" They are made with sound recordings and packaging designed to be cheap and easy. Not meant to be a "product," but an advertisement for a product that won't exist without further backing. They are the opposite of self reliance and initiative, and therefore they are against what heavy metal is supposed to be about.
I was going to add a caveat explaining that I know that "things were different" "back in the day." It's just not so! Notable 80s heavy metal bands (claim to have) sold truckloads of their demo tapes! More than most signed heavy metal bands do today of their commercial releases! But it wasn't enough for them. They did not want to cultivate followings allowing them to play in front of hundreds of hometown fans and professionally produce a couple of thousand tapes. No, they wanted the big record deal that could mean gold records and arena gigs, so they hedged their bets and made 'demos' instead of recordings that were meant for long-term listening. No sympathy for them.
