goregoat
Head Bangers and Lacerato
i wonder why about area 54 is a new wave heavy metal.....is it their have an influence from legendar heavy metal like manowar,iron maiden,judas priest,etc.?
What happened to metal in the UK?
- Thread starter maestro_al
- Start date
MattBlack
Mr. Nasty
I'd say yes.
Area 54 draw from Iron Maiden, Saxon, (early) Metallica, Megadeth, and lots of other "Power" Metal bands.
They like extensive Solos, harmony, complicated riffs, excellent bass lines, but also bring something new - somehow, they make the sound more contemporary.
These are no Megadeth clones - sure, you can hear Megadeth in there, but these have a style of their own.
Anyway - as I said, bands like Blaze, '54, and the like are going to be the new, nwobhm, IMHO.
It's a matter of publicity - get them noticed, and maybe a few more people will find out about quality music like these, and leave the American LimpWrizted clones in droves. I hope so - they contribute nothing to the scene, other than a lot of angry, baggy trousered children.
Area 54 draw from Iron Maiden, Saxon, (early) Metallica, Megadeth, and lots of other "Power" Metal bands.
They like extensive Solos, harmony, complicated riffs, excellent bass lines, but also bring something new - somehow, they make the sound more contemporary.
These are no Megadeth clones - sure, you can hear Megadeth in there, but these have a style of their own.
Anyway - as I said, bands like Blaze, '54, and the like are going to be the new, nwobhm, IMHO.
It's a matter of publicity - get them noticed, and maybe a few more people will find out about quality music like these, and leave the American LimpWrizted clones in droves. I hope so - they contribute nothing to the scene, other than a lot of angry, baggy trousered children.
madgirl
Real World's Mad Girl
once again matt has said as i would have done.
indeed
54 rock.
they have definate influence from megadeth gnr etc
but theyve taken the awesome solos and harmonies and done a whole new thing to it.... and claimed it as their own..
they also have awesome lyrics -and they are the kind of thing u can read and identify with but without the feeling that they are some sort of attention seeking idiots. oh and remembering tht they have talent means that u can like them for both the awesome music AND what they have to say.
indeed they need the publicity- and once the magazines decide ' they are cool enough' then area54 certainly have what it takes to be the next big thing.
KEEP ON ROCKING, and if u havent done so already, check them out!!!!!!!!!!
indeed
54 rock.
they have definate influence from megadeth gnr etc
but theyve taken the awesome solos and harmonies and done a whole new thing to it.... and claimed it as their own..
they also have awesome lyrics -and they are the kind of thing u can read and identify with but without the feeling that they are some sort of attention seeking idiots. oh and remembering tht they have talent means that u can like them for both the awesome music AND what they have to say.
indeed they need the publicity- and once the magazines decide ' they are cool enough' then area54 certainly have what it takes to be the next big thing.
KEEP ON ROCKING, and if u havent done so already, check them out!!!!!!!!!!
Black Lagoon
Member
Unfortunatley due to the UK press, or total lack of it, I fear many great UK bands just won't make it. Bands such as Blaze, '54, Orange Goblin, Anathema etc etc get great support from the peole who know and like them, but the problem is reaching out to all the young kids who only get into the bands they are force fed by Kerrang! etc.
One thing that would help would be if bands could play in more All Ages venues. I recently saw Orange Goblin play in one of these and all the little new metal kids loved it. There was a mosh pit and stage diving from start to finish, and it looked funny to see kids hero worshiping someone as old school and bearded as the mighty Ben Ward.
However these venues are few and far between and this combined with no press will unfortunatly mean many talented bands will never get the recognition they recieve.
One thing that would help would be if bands could play in more All Ages venues. I recently saw Orange Goblin play in one of these and all the little new metal kids loved it. There was a mosh pit and stage diving from start to finish, and it looked funny to see kids hero worshiping someone as old school and bearded as the mighty Ben Ward.
However these venues are few and far between and this combined with no press will unfortunatly mean many talented bands will never get the recognition they recieve.
madgirl
Real World's Mad Girl
Selphie
Rerouting to remain
Not all hope is lost though. This nu-"metal" (note the inverted commas) thing is nothing but a fad. It came and exploded seemingly over night and trends that blow up so quickly tend to disappear even faster.
It is very difficult to get into proper metal nowadays in the UK because nobody will play it. The radio stations seem to think that Slipknot and Linkin Park constitute metal and unless you have a HMV nearby you cannot buy most metal albums and even then they charge the earth for them.
The metal fans are still here in the UK as I think Iron Maiden have proved recently with their 'Run to the Hills' single it's just getting them to hear bands such as Blaze and Area 54. And face it, a lot of older metal fans couldn't care less about anything made after 1989.
It is very difficult to get into proper metal nowadays in the UK because nobody will play it. The radio stations seem to think that Slipknot and Linkin Park constitute metal and unless you have a HMV nearby you cannot buy most metal albums and even then they charge the earth for them.
The metal fans are still here in the UK as I think Iron Maiden have proved recently with their 'Run to the Hills' single it's just getting them to hear bands such as Blaze and Area 54. And face it, a lot of older metal fans couldn't care less about anything made after 1989.
I didn't find the scene very good at all when I was in the UK, except for the odd tour by a foreign band. Most people I met listened to complete shit. There are a few decent record shops around....but not as many as elsewhere. It's easier for me to find metal here in Indonesia!
There are a few decent record shops around....but not as many as elsewhere. It's easier for me to find metal here in Indonesia!
LucioArgento
Make Love, Not Peace
That's just the thing - if people want to listen to metal in their hordes (like they did in the early 80's), then the media will be more responsive. Unfortunatley, the people in the UK CHOOSE to prefer ravey dance music and that is why every weekend most people go to warehouses or new-age traveller type festivals in a field somewhere near Oxford. It's like the hippy thing all over again where the drug culture provides a cheap way for people to lose their inhibitions and go party.
Sorry to say this, but if bands like Blaze or Area 54 want to do something more with their careers, they may just have to move to the US, Germany, or Sweden. In other words, they need to leave the UK. They'll probably sell more albums that way too because of the better media responsiveness and radio airtime.
There was a reason why Britain nurtured bands like Sabbath, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Dio, Def Leppard etc. The timing was right - hippies were considered freaks, mods and rockers were the fad that ska built, punk lasted about 3 years and along comes someone like Steve Harris with songs like Phantom of the Opera and Transylvania. For a bass player to write music like that in 1978 is just extraordinary.
Alas, the real success came from overseas though, which in turn propelled the bands in their home country. Somethings never change.
Sorry to say this, but if bands like Blaze or Area 54 want to do something more with their careers, they may just have to move to the US, Germany, or Sweden. In other words, they need to leave the UK. They'll probably sell more albums that way too because of the better media responsiveness and radio airtime.
There was a reason why Britain nurtured bands like Sabbath, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Dio, Def Leppard etc. The timing was right - hippies were considered freaks, mods and rockers were the fad that ska built, punk lasted about 3 years and along comes someone like Steve Harris with songs like Phantom of the Opera and Transylvania. For a bass player to write music like that in 1978 is just extraordinary.
Alas, the real success came from overseas though, which in turn propelled the bands in their home country. Somethings never change.
Selphie
Rerouting to remain
It's a vicious circle. How are people supposed to like new metal bands if they haven't heard them? But the radio won't play them because no-one seemingly likes them!
I don't know if the moving abroad thing will help though. Constant touring may be the only way to get through to the people out there that good metal still exists and they can't do that from Germany. I wouldn't blame any UK band for going, they'd get a better reception and bigger crowds.
I don't know if the moving abroad thing will help though. Constant touring may be the only way to get through to the people out there that good metal still exists and they can't do that from Germany. I wouldn't blame any UK band for going, they'd get a better reception and bigger crowds.
goregoat
Head Bangers and Lacerato
THANKS for yourr info...may be i have to check out them......nu-heavy metal.....hehehehehehe.....funny.....
LucioArgento
Make Love, Not Peace
You're on it right now - the Internet! Fuck the radio - go to metal websites, internet radio shows, and see who's doing what. MP3.com even hosts unsigned bands and it has world wide attention.
Sometimes you - the fan - have to take a risk and buy a CD 'blind' based on reviews etc, but if you buy from someone with integrity, they should refund you of your money if you hate the CD. Even when magazines were reviewing real metal bands, you would still have to buy a CD based on the journalists review.
If there are unsigned metal bands in the UK, there is little excuse to get their music out on the web. MP3 technology has changed everything and there are enough fans worldwide willing to spend the time downloading music to find the next 'Maiden' or 'Sabbath'.
The argument, though, is that I don't think there are hundreds of metal bands looking to get signed in the UK. I don't think it is a conspiracy to stop people from liking metal in the UK. I think most people in the music scene want to be the next Blur, Stereophonics, or tecnho-house DJ playing in Ibiza every summer.
All the biggest metal bands from Britain made it big because of their foreign following. Remember that the UK is extremely closed off to the rest of the world - take Oasis for example. Huge in the UK right? In America, they are unknown. Same with Robbie Williams. OK OK, I know these guys all suck, but it's the same principle. Bush and Def Leppard made their careers huge by having second homes in the States.
I don't think this is chicken and egg - I just don't think metal is 'cool' enough for people in the UK to appreciate. Germany, Sweden, Greece, Italy etc all spawn some of the best metal because they're not so hung up about being cool. Historically, Metal has never been cool, but the UK pretty much sold out and jumped on the MTV bandwagon (at least more than other European countries anyway).
MattBlack
Mr. Nasty
Absolutely agree, but the "Cool" factor is largly dictated to us by MTV, Kerrapp magazine, and similar.
I have nothing against the drug culture, and I know lots of people who regularly go to clubs, taking pills - it's just this thing they do.
The problem is the attitude, and intelligence of the people who say "Yuck" to traditional heavy metal, IMHO. They are spoon fed what is "Cool" and what is not by the aforesaid publications. And they believe it. Every word.
Heavy Metal has never, ever, been big in the UK. It has always been the underground music, and trying to change that now will fail. All I want to see is that we re-take the underground, driving out the Nu-Metal userpers.
I have nothing against the drug culture, and I know lots of people who regularly go to clubs, taking pills - it's just this thing they do.
The problem is the attitude, and intelligence of the people who say "Yuck" to traditional heavy metal, IMHO. They are spoon fed what is "Cool" and what is not by the aforesaid publications. And they believe it. Every word.
Heavy Metal has never, ever, been big in the UK. It has always been the underground music, and trying to change that now will fail. All I want to see is that we re-take the underground, driving out the Nu-Metal userpers.
LucioArgento
Make Love, Not Peace
Traditionally, the underground moves in inner circles - you don't need Kerrapp etc dictating what gets played and who listens to what in the underground. In the old days, bands would create bootleg tapes and just hand them out (or sell them for a couple of quid) at their gigs. Nowdays, you can create your own home studio quite nicely with a PC, some software, and an 8-track.
Next thing you do is upload MP3s to all the sites: MP3.com etc, create your own homepage, get yourself listed in search engines. If you think about it, the "underground" never had it so easy to exchange info and it really doesn't cost the exhuberant amount of going into a studio and handing out flyers etc.
Nobody needs to re-take the underground because I refuse to believe (and sincerely hope) that the NuMetal mallcore crowd ever took it in the first place. The whole definition of NuMetal betrays everything the underground stands for.
P.S. I think the Metallica "No Life till Leather" bootleg cassette is a collectors item now right? As are many bootlegs no doubt.
Next thing you do is upload MP3s to all the sites: MP3.com etc, create your own homepage, get yourself listed in search engines. If you think about it, the "underground" never had it so easy to exchange info and it really doesn't cost the exhuberant amount of going into a studio and handing out flyers etc.
Nobody needs to re-take the underground because I refuse to believe (and sincerely hope) that the NuMetal mallcore crowd ever took it in the first place. The whole definition of NuMetal betrays everything the underground stands for.
P.S. I think the Metallica "No Life till Leather" bootleg cassette is a collectors item now right? As are many bootlegs no doubt.
MattBlack
Mr. Nasty
I say even Nu-Metal is the musical underground.
Most people in England listen to the bleepy car-alarm music. Nu-Metal is popular, yes, but nowhere near popular enough to be mainstream.
My own problem with both the these types of music, is that they are talentless, and (for the most part) music-less. What keeps them going is the Peer-pressure started up by the media. "It is cool to like beepy shite", so they say, so millions listen to it. "It is 'alternative' to like Nu-shite", they say, so millions listen to it.
I say what needs to happen is to swing the 'alternative' popular music form to real Metal. This would be achieved by getting the media to play ball.
Bands still hand out bootleg productions, they still tour the country. But until they are "cool" few will listen.
Most people in England listen to the bleepy car-alarm music. Nu-Metal is popular, yes, but nowhere near popular enough to be mainstream.
My own problem with both the these types of music, is that they are talentless, and (for the most part) music-less. What keeps them going is the Peer-pressure started up by the media. "It is cool to like beepy shite", so they say, so millions listen to it. "It is 'alternative' to like Nu-shite", they say, so millions listen to it.
I say what needs to happen is to swing the 'alternative' popular music form to real Metal. This would be achieved by getting the media to play ball.
Bands still hand out bootleg productions, they still tour the country. But until they are "cool" few will listen.
- Mar 26, 2002
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Interesting because most people in the techno/trance/gabba/acid scene would consider their music to be "underground". Why? Because it neither gets radio play as such, and you have to be in the scene to know about the raves going on in open fields or marquees etc. Most of them are illegal, and yet thousands upon thousands travel in their hordes to get there. It's not just the drugs that entice them, but the kinship with other ravers getting 'loved up'. That kinship amongst metallers isn't the same in the UK anymore. Remember when coach loads of people used to go to Castle Donnington? Perhaps 100,000 fans?
In the USA, dance music never caught on. The 90's was spent listening to grunge, and you have to admit, going from "Megadeth to Soundgarden and then back to Iced Earth" is an easier transition than going from metal to dance and vice versa.
The techno music in the UK initially revolved around vagabonds like new age travellers, the homeless, students(!), gypsies etc - it was a free for all. Now everyone has jumped on to the bandwagon just to get access to the drugs. For example, Essex wide-boys with shaved heads going to raves in their '89 Ford Cortinas? What a joke - even within the dance culture, there are people who are unwanted (just as we hate the NuMetallers).
Unfortunatley, as with any music, there is as much shit metal as there is good. It has evolved so much now as well that you have death/black/power/fantasy/grind etc. Bands like Hammerfall, Manowar, and Rhapsody perpetuate the stereotype that was laughed upon in Spinal Tap. People don't see beyond the skin tight jeans, spandex and lycra, long hair and bullet belts. Again, as you say, metal was never 'cool' to begin with. However, I wonder with this new found interest in fantasy (through films like LOTR), the general public are becoming a little more forgiving perhaps with that imagery which was once considered 'geeky'?
Or until they actually get their music wider distribution (whether they are signed or not), they will never be found. You have to take your hat off to people like Ozzy Osbourne who helps underground bands in America to get their feet off the ground. Now, I know that he assists the mallcore nuMetal crowd and that he makes $$$ out of it, but he has two stages. One stage is dedicated to 'unknown' bands. Other big personalities in metal could also do their bit to help - for example, did Iron Maiden really have to tour the USA with Queensryche? They would have still sold the same number of tickets I am sure had they taken Area 54 or BalSagoth on the road with them.
MattBlack
Mr. Nasty
An excellent point. We should petition the older, more established Metal acts to support the unknowns, and the unsigned.
Well, it might help a few...
Besides that, though, a general shift in the way our media report it, increased air-time Metal gets on radio, Television coverage of live events (such as Bloodstock 02), and more support from Labels will be needed to ever get Metal back to its former glory.
All this will only come if one, or more of the points above takes the lead. In a vicious circle, Labels will not advertise a Metal band, if the genre as a whole gets no exposure, and the genre will get no exposure, if the Labels do not push their Metal acts harder.
All it would take is, perhaps, a special section in Kerrapp dedicated to Metal (real Metal). Or perhaps an extra slot on a radio station, during a reasonably popular time. The more support the genre gets in this way, the more others will follow the lead, as more people become aware, and start buying.
I say it is all up to the media. Bands can give out free recordings and tour until they bankrupt themselves; it will do no good until the media casts Metal in a more favourable light.
Well, it might help a few...
Besides that, though, a general shift in the way our media report it, increased air-time Metal gets on radio, Television coverage of live events (such as Bloodstock 02), and more support from Labels will be needed to ever get Metal back to its former glory.
All this will only come if one, or more of the points above takes the lead. In a vicious circle, Labels will not advertise a Metal band, if the genre as a whole gets no exposure, and the genre will get no exposure, if the Labels do not push their Metal acts harder.
All it would take is, perhaps, a special section in Kerrapp dedicated to Metal (real Metal). Or perhaps an extra slot on a radio station, during a reasonably popular time. The more support the genre gets in this way, the more others will follow the lead, as more people become aware, and start buying.
I say it is all up to the media. Bands can give out free recordings and tour until they bankrupt themselves; it will do no good until the media casts Metal in a more favourable light.
Crown
Sanity Assasin
hello,
Pop bands are the problem for me and the way its all fixed and fed on a plate for the society to just take instead of looking at music as a hobby and going out and looking for the music themselves. Maybe that is the thing thats making alot of people miss out as said above that it isnt getting the recognition it deserves preventing the talent from being discovered.
Is it that music isnt taken as a hobby, just something to listen to and enjoy to pass the time before it goes out fo date for the next pop scheme.
Look at pop idol. What happened to Rock Idol, and look what they got out of that show, loads of cash and two winners, Great, and to think it was planned all from the start.
Id like to see it return to its full glory and i think there is hope and yes its just the media that arent backing it up.
Pop bands are the problem for me and the way its all fixed and fed on a plate for the society to just take instead of looking at music as a hobby and going out and looking for the music themselves. Maybe that is the thing thats making alot of people miss out as said above that it isnt getting the recognition it deserves preventing the talent from being discovered.
Is it that music isnt taken as a hobby, just something to listen to and enjoy to pass the time before it goes out fo date for the next pop scheme.
Look at pop idol. What happened to Rock Idol, and look what they got out of that show, loads of cash and two winners, Great, and to think it was planned all from the start.
Id like to see it return to its full glory and i think there is hope and yes its just the media that arent backing it up.
Short version England sucks.
Long version unfortuantely i haven't got time but most of the points above.
Try buying some Nightwish/Therion or even an a classic album by Megadeth or even metallica at any HMV i think you've got a 1/20 chance of finding it
Also any one live in London especially southeast, kent etc... email me
Long version unfortuantely i haven't got time but most of the points above.
Try buying some Nightwish/Therion or even an a classic album by Megadeth or even metallica at any HMV i think you've got a 1/20 chance of finding it
Also any one live in London especially southeast, kent etc... email me
Kerrang occasionally have some True Metal stuff... occasionally. some. Need I go on?
I guess the best thing we can do is spread it at the grass-roots... get our friends listening, and break down the barriers of ignorance...
I guess the best thing we can do is spread it at the grass-roots... get our friends listening, and break down the barriers of ignorance...
goregoat
Head Bangers and Lacerato
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