Rolling Metal Thread 2012

The song titles aren't as creative, either – there are a few good ones like "Intestinal Crank" and "Followed Home Then Killed," but nothing nearly as gut churning as the classic stuff.

I was listening to the Christian Mistress album this weekend and discussing it with my wife (who is not particularly into metal, though she'll put up with certain bands), and the more I listen to it the more it seems symptomatic of lowered standards on metal bloggers' part. The obvious hook with CM is their "classicism," i.e. they sound like a band from the late '70s or early '80s, but here's the thing: they don't sound like a good band from the late '70s or early '80s. They sound like a third-tier act of that era, destined to permanent opening-act status and wholly unlikely to get signed and get the polishing-up that Judas Priest or Iron Maiden underwent. And yet in 2012, they not only got signed, they're getting the big push...this also-ran band is what everyone's panting over at the moment. Shouldn't we demand better? Isn't it about more than having the right amps and pedals? Shouldn't we want bands to be able to write a decent song, or put across a vocal with real power? The CM singer just isn't that good - her voice is basically a flat bark with a tiny dash of bluesy grit. Fine, you don't like tech-death or deathcore or djent or whatever other ultra-cyborgy thing seems dominant at the moment. But overpraising every retro thing that comes along doesn't help. And yes, I admit I liked them for a little while. But their album was just one of dozens, across multiple genres (metal, jazz, electronic stuff) I checked out in the course of a given week, and diminishing returns set in hard after the third or fourth listen.

I respectfully disagree with your thesis. At least to my ears, I've discovered more pockets of awesomeness in the record the more I listened to it.

yet in 2012, they not only got signed, they're getting the big push

well they got signed to an indie metal label, one which afaic has about the same relationship with the mainstream as the labels which put out the quote-unquote third-tier acts 30 years ago

..some of which were more interesting (or at least seem more interesting, in retrospect) than first-tier acts of 30 years ago. Or maybe the idea that they were third-tier acts means they were dead ends that didn't have to be dead ends, and are worth exploring to see paths that weren't quite taken the first time around. I also can't think of many new metal singers lately I've liked more than Christine Davis. I wish she put more words over, to be honest, but I kind of love the grain of her voice. I didn't think the songs on the first album actually clicked as songs -- it seemed too much like a demo to me, way too underproduced -- but on the new one a few definitely do, more than on most metal albums I hear. (My favorite is the title track, probably, then maybe "There Is Nowhere," "Black To Gold," and "Pentagon And Crucifix.") Not a great record, probably, but a really good one.

i think it does matter whether something is happening now or whether it happened back when.

sometimes there does seem to be something off about christine davis' singing, and yet it's very compelling to listen to.

I love Christine's voice, it's unique. Plus the band really steps up with some very good songs on the new album. They're far from also-rans.

If you want power, Phil, just wait until you hear the new Accept. It blows the last album away, it's focused, it's aggressive, it's in keeping with the classic Accept aesthetic. At least I think so. You'll probably say, "meh."

to expand on what Kerr was asking.. I've noticed, at least here in the bay area, the younger kids, if they do not play in bands, or play instruments at all, usually don't know "whats up".. one of tghe kids I give drum lessons to has a great tech death metal band called Logestic Slaughter.. he's 19, and everytime I've mentioned an old band as a reference, he's either heard of em, digs em and has there stuff.. and a wide range of stuff too, its great! and he says him and his friends always check out old stuff to know thier roots!! so I have faith in the younger gen, if they get exposed to the goods..

so I have faith in the younger gen, if they get exposed to the goods..

ilm journos its up to you!

I think the kids are just into what their friends are into, and often don't venture out into other stuff.. I went saw Animals as Leaders awhiler back cuz Intronaut was playing.. but a shit ton of youngsters were there to see AAL, and they knew the songs and were going pretty ape shit.. But I was like, had they never heard of Yngwie? Od Vai, or any other super shredder that makes that guy look silly.. lol

well, we need to make sure kids are playing, and not just their playstations..

Anyway irl do you guys come across kids into just the same stuff as i mentioned or do any listen to black/death/doom/grind/thrash? or even what you term as hipster metal?

my contact w/IRL ppl is extremely limited & pretty much all the metal enthusiasts I know work for Decibel or post here

^^^^

I wish I knew more irl people into metal.

hello

i had a student who liked lamb of god (and another one this semester listed it as her (!) favorite i think). he thought most of the things i liked were waaaaay too slow.

haha thats why I said "more" , not like I don't know any

Right now I just wish I had more time to go see shows.

i know ;)

metal kid in my class was into lots of different genres of metal, but i think he was kind of an anomaly. he did seem to be amused by my agalloch tshirt when i pooched it above my sweater. (i can only wear it under sweaters because like most tshirts it's TOO BIG)

I'm kind of astonished how little a lot of the people at my job know about the larger metal scene. There's one dude who's really into grind, but a lot of my fellow metal record label employees spend their days listening to old Hellcat punk, or 90s hip-hop, or jazz, or ultra-mainstream rock and pop. (I have heard the current Jason Mraz single roaring at arena volume from one particular guy's office something like 5-6 times a day for a couple of weeks now.)

people been saying that about ro@drunner for years!

To be fair, Mraz guy isn't actually an RR employee - he works for Atlantic and just shares our office space. But seriously, the only people who are deep into metal, I think, are the A&R staff.

I would have thought it would be a prerequisite

hey, there are hospital employees who don't give a rat's ass about health.

And teachers that don't give a shit about educating students.

(Obviously not anyone around these parts, just sayin'.)

and the question is why?

Well, the argument could be made that RR hasn't been a purely metal label since the 1990s - that the roster's been diverse pretty much all along, and maybe now it's more diverse than it's ever been, and some of the non-metal acts are doing the biggest business (like Nickelback, obviously, but also Young the Giant). So, you know, you can work here - as one of the two primary publicists does - and never have anything to do with the metal side of things.

yeah that's true.

you just do the metal side then?

No, I run the website for the entire label. I interview and write about all our bands.

Hard to say as it still has the advantage of being new and exciting to me, but after six listens to the Christian Mistress, I'd take it over Judas Priest's British Steel, and any Saxon or Accept albums.

I see that Christian Mistress isn't even listed in Metacritic's Upcoming Release Calendar. None of the major metal releases are.

I posted this on my FB to sort of rally metalheads to give 'em a poke:

Of releases by Orange Goblin, Goatwhore, Pilgrim, Pallbearer, Drudkh, Christian Mistress, Corrosion Of Conformity, Napalm Death, Sigh, Black Breath and Ancestors, guess how many are covered by Metacritic or at least included in the upcoming releases list? None. They really need a better representation of metal reviews other than Revolver and Kerrang! Write 'em and encourage them to step up their abysmal metal coverage by including major magazines Decibel, Terrorizer and Rock-A-Rolla. Even if you don't care about using Metacritic, it would give the bands better exposure.
http://metacritic.custhelp.com/app/ask/session/L2F2LzIvdGltZS8xMzI5ODYwNjE1L3NpZC9ZUjYxaGhSaw==/sno/0

I'd love to think it's better than Wheels of Steel, Strong Arm of the Law or Demin and Leather but excuse me if I don't believe you.

Depends on what your preferences are, but I think it's safe to say Christine Davis at least has better range than Biff Byford.

hey, there are hospital employees who don't give a rat's ass about health.

I literally laughed out loud..

must be republicans

For me, Christian Mistress's power is on stage. I like both records, but don't think they've really hit their stride in the studio yet. Live, they are a force to be reckoned with.

I wasn't impressed by Christian Mistress before, but I liked the new album pretty well on first listen.

I know very few other metal fans IRL. But at my new job one of the interns complimented me on my Agalloch hoody, so that's something. And while I'm the only person who ever puts non-classic metal on the communal Sonos system, nobody makes me turn it off, either.

I'm on a pretty serious gothic-metal kick at the moment: Nightwish, Xandria, Lunar Path, Liv Moon, Ideas, Amaranthe. And, um, 80s Franco Battiato records.

hahaha a 15 year old boy in just now. Says bullet for my valentine are proper metal because "by definition metal is a change in the rythm in the 8th 16th or 32th notes and bullet does that!" and can at least scream better than the tracks playing (deicide/emperor/burzum/death)

sean is trying to get him to introduce him to other stuff

sean is the teacher of metal. Dr Hellbeard.

by definition

btw he came in and added 40 odd bfmv songs hence the reaction he got.

but yeah hes a kid. but sean is trying. no point in putting mercyful fate or judas priest on, he hates high pitched screams. He prefers five finger death punch and avenged sevenfold.

if anyones around, what recent stuff would you guys recommend to him? Obv doom and BM type stuff are out.

he seems to like this Coalesce track. Maybe recommend DEP?

of course, Converge!

he says hes heard some DEP and hes heard of Slayer. Anything else kinda popular and importantly recent?

oh he's heard of Leviathan and likes a few songs. wasn't expecting that. Phil/Smithy/Adrien you guys around?

I am so fucking confused by what just happened.

oh nevermind.

http://open.soundrop.fm/s/VjWCayQ8GaB04GHI if you really want to know. its the metal room on spotify. come add some stuff

Oh I thought you were like liveblogging some kid irl coming into a record store.

we were talking about it upthread and about how the metal we listen to here is very different to kids in the real world.