The UM Metal Awards for 2003 - cast your predictions

[JayKeeley]

So who will the masses go for? Predict the outcome for the following:

Album of the Year

Artist of the Year

Newcomer of the Year

I predict either Viva Emptiness or Death Cult Armageddon for 'album', Opeth for 'artist' just because you know they'll be voted for out of principle, and...no idea for 'newcomer'. What were the 'big' debuts this year?

Either way, I myself voted Puppet Master, Negura Bunget, and Elenium respectively.

 

[Black Winter Day]

mine were: with no human intervention, negura bunget and woods of ypres (even though they tehnically have been around)

i predict: anthems of rebellion, iron maiden, and passenger (fuck, it was the only 'big' debut i could think of. blow me.)

 

[NAD]

Either Dimmu Borgir, Opeth, or Arch Enemy will probably get album and / or artist of the year. Newcomer I have no idea.

I voted last night, and as best as I can remember, I went with Negura Bunget for album and artist, and then Goatsblood for best newcomer, even though Drull was their second album.

 

[J.]

Opeth will get artist, because we're on UM. Dimmu may pull an upset though.

Damnation or DCA will get album.

Newcomer? No idea. I put Rune, but they released an EP before The End of Nothing.

Best unsigned band is Scald, but no one knows about them.

 

[JayKeeley]

If 'newcomer' still allows for previous small releases, I think Ephel Duath might take that crown.

I wanted to put either Rudra or Mithras in for newcomer, but their latest aren't the debuts. Perhaps UM should have used 'best debut' instead of 'newcomer' as the category title.

 

[Demonspell]

Artist: Opeth or whoever launches a gratuitous spamming campaign

Album: One of the heavily hyped but disappointing melodic death releases

Newcomer: anyone's guess?

 

[Dead_Lioness]

Artist: Nevermore of course,
Album: yet again.... Enemies Of Reality by Nevermore

newcomer... hmmm.
interesting, let me think about it for a while.

 

[JayKeeley]

Artist: Nevermore of course,
Album: yet again.... Enemies Of Reality by Nevermore

newcomer... hmmm.
interesting, let me think about it for a while.

Are those your predictions or who you think most people on UM would vote for? I would be shocked if Enemies of Reality got picked for Album of the Year (by the masses) with all the slamming it got regarding its production etc.

 

[NAD]

I think everyone forgot about this crap, but I guess the results have been up for awihle now.

http://www.onlinemetalawards.com/

 

[Demonspell]

What a joke, especially the Maiden spamming and the best newcomer list. At least the unsigned bands got some show of recognition out of this...

 

[JayKeeley]

Why didn't they announce that the results were out I wonder? And these were voted for by UM readers? Who the fuck is "Twisted Method"?

On second thoughts, most of those bands are the usual suspects. I guess I just haven't been into the GMD for a while to remember what the folk are like in there...

 

[J.]

Why am not surpried by those results? Not a worthwhile band in the first four categories (IMO, of course).

Century Media, best label? So I guess we know what the majority of voters listen to then. And the fact that Hot Topic was voted on there only adds to my point. Fucking scenesters.

 

[NAD]

Hot Topic has cool irrerverereentnt stickers, they are teh funnay. Buncha Faggoths shop there though, haha.

 

[JayKeeley]

It teaches us three things:

1 - Iron Maiden fans spammed the results. They even made it to 'best website'?

1 - The majority of the UM crowd might as well be the 'general public'. As much as I love Iron Maiden or Opeth, I expect them to win in Kerrang type polls, not necessarily UM. Or am I kidding myself? I am surprised not to see mention of either Katatonia or Nevermore - sure, not exactly deep underground artists but certainly not as obvious as the winners.

3 - The next wave of popular metal music after nu-metal is going to consist of bands like:

Lamb of God
Black Dahlia Murder
Devil Driver
Evanescence
Twisted Method (who?)

and the usual hangabouts: Killswitch Engage, In Flames, and obligatory hardcore bands like Hatebreed, etc.

All popular artists amongst shoppers at HotTopic, both offline and on-line so it seems.

 

[J.]

I haven't been to the local mall in months, but I remember walking by Hot Topic and seeing all those teenies wearing all black with piercings and shit. Knowing these teens live in The Woodlands only adds to the hilarity. Upper middle class teens would rather look like shit than look decent and bag some hot slut. Go figure....

I guess I was never into the whole rebellious teen thang.

 

[JayKeeley]

I guess I was never into the whole rebellious teen thang.

Were you raised as a Christian church-going type, or is that of your own choosing?

 

[J.]

Were you raised as a Christian church-going type, or is that of your own choosing?

When I was a wee lad, yes. But by the time I was in high school, going to church was more of a chore than anything, and we'd only go if my mom woke us up in time. Nowadays, I only go to church on Easter Sunday.

But I don't think going to church has anything to do with being a rebellious teen. It has more to do with the way the parents raise the kid, and what kind of people the kid hangs out with.

Either way, there's no excuse for wanting to purposely look like shit. Those brats can twist it any way they want by saying "I'm expressing myself" or "I'm different", because by saying that crap, they are only showing how similar they actually are to everyone else.

 

[NAD]

You're assuming the teenage mind works in a logical fashion.

I grew my hair out and wore a Slayer hat (backwards even!) for a year or two in high school, that was about the extent of my rebellion. Well that and all the booze, drugs, and devil music I enjoyed too, but I still do that shit.

 

[JayKeeley]

But I don't think going to church has anything to do with being a rebellious teen. It has more to do with the way the parents raise the kid, and what kind of people the kid hangs out with.

I really don't know how these things pan out - I just constantly hear about kids who were raised in a religous environment to become *more* rebellious than the average agnostic.

Either way, there's no excuse for wanting to purposely look like shit. Those brats can twist it any way they want by saying "I'm expressing myself" or "I'm different", because by saying that crap, they are only showing how similar they actually are to everyone else.

Ah, but I think their intent is to not look like their parents.

 

[Demonspell]

I'm entirely sure that the majority of the voting came from outside UM. And I have little doubt that the bands mentioned earlier will continue to sell their prefabricated rebellious aura until the day they're no longer considered cool...