Rolling 2020 Metal Thread

I heard that a fairly recognizable metal blog has decided that they would not cover Imperial Triumphant because Zachary Ezrin said he liked Hate Forest in a piece that was posted to Revolver Magazine's website. The piece was removed fairly quickly and Ezrin posted the following apology:

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EaPI1QnWsAgZxf4?format=jpg&name=medium

But that is all it took for the band to be cancelled by this one website that will remain nameless (I heard this from a friend who contributes to the website so I am fairly confident it is accurate).

I am all for cancelling people who deserve it and truth be told, my personal criteria has gotten more discerning with current events being what they are inside and outside of extreme music. But I thought it was bullshit when the adamantly antifascist Woe was thrown off festivals because they merely played shows with Inquisition and this kind of cancel-by-association seems similarly weak sauce to me.

I don't know how pervasive the attitude will be beyond the specific website, however, but this collateral damage really stinks.

also it's a low bar to clear, I know, but that's an above average apology for a metal musician

At least unperson is consistent in his refusal to listen to black metal. If merely liking a problematic band is enough to get you canceled, even if you’re firmly on the other side of the political aisle, then what the fuck are we still doing here? Anyway, I’ve already said my piece – repeatedly – so just assume that I’ll be rolling my eyes at the sheer hypocrisy of it all for the foreseeable future.

At least unperson is consistent in his refusal to listen to black metal.

TBF the fact that I hate the actual sound of black metal (the guitars, the vocals, the drumming, the production) makes it easier.

I wonder if those are related facts

🤔

Were they really ‘cancelled’? How does one define ‘cancelled’, anyway? This is the first I’ve heard of it but it seems to me, going from the screenshot as posted above, that the band (or this member specifically) was held to account for expressing approval for a known NSBM project, and he’s apologised for it. It looks like an actual apology, too, not one of those ‘sorry if you were offended’ bullshit statements, though it doesn’t specifically mention what he’s been held to account for, so understandable if people take it with a grain of salt.

Do the same people who hate BM for being 'nazi' listen to Pantera and Down plus other anselmo projects?

iirc he was one of the 1st high profile metal musicians to embrace black metal? Look how he ended up.

Were they really ‘cancelled’? How does one define ‘cancelled’, anyway? This is the first I’ve heard of it but it seems to me, going from the screenshot as posted above, that the band (or this member specifically) was held to account for expressing approval for a known NSBM project, and he’s apologised for it. It looks like an actual apology, too, not one of those ‘sorry if you were offended’ bullshit statements, though it doesn’t specifically mention what he’s been held to account for, so understandable if people take it with a grain of salt.

why even bring that up? it was over a month ago, he was pilloried for recommending some dodgy music, he apologised, line surely drawn. absolutely no need to relitigate it now when we could instead be focusing on the amazing music

Imago you're cancelled for voting for Nokturnal Mortem in the eoy poll :D

imagine what all the cool kids will say when they find out his nom de plume used to be 'ilya goddessraper' (an unfortunate edgy-young-man choice he's obviously gotten beyond and presumably also apologised for)

nowadays he seems cool and makes good music, sure he shouldn't use his 'platform' to promote 'hateful' music ideally but so what, people can make informed decisions about art. i'm guessing he just said it was music he liked amongst a few other things. i mean i like a few songs by dodgy, nsbm-adjacent nokturnal mortum. granted, i wouldn't recommend them in an interview - i think the issue is that young ilya probably didn't know the extent of hate forest's hatefulness? the main thing is that it isn't his own hatefulness. he probably just digs the sound. people shouldn't be cancelled for hatefulness that isn't their own

anyway listen to the nice song

<i>Did you read my post? I specifically said that a relatively prominent metal blog is refusing to cover them over this.</i>

That’s not cancelling. That’s just one outlet refusing to cover an artist. Coverage they are no way entitled to.

I mentioned this in another thread but it's also worth pointing out here: having since checked the lyrics, that Caverne album I recommended earlier features a song written from the point of view of a noble 'Aryan' who bemoans the 'Berber scum' about to overwhelm Europe, perfectly in line with the so-called 'great replacement' theory peddled by the French far-right. Aka fuck that shit.

Then again, Caverne is Nécropole minus one member so this is hardly surprising.

http://imgflip.com/i/49q5rt

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EeDOja5WAAI3Gq9?format=png&name=small

Oops. Wrong thread.

That’s not cancelling. That’s just one outlet refusing to cover an artist. Coverage they are no way entitled to.

Nobody said that they were entitled to coverage, but the website in question isn't passing on the band because they don't think their audience is interested, or they don't have a writer who wants to cover it, or the publicist won't work with them. If an outlet refuses to cover an artist because they disagree with their "objectionable behavior or opinions," that outlet has indeed cancelled that artist.

That outlet might very well be alone, picking this as a hill to die on, I have no idea. I hope so. It would make them look dumb and while I like the people who work for this website, I disagree with this decision. But make no mistake - the band is not being denied coverage by this somewhat well-known metal website because that somewhat well-known metal website cancelled the band.

Hell, the writer who was unhappy with the decision said to me "There’s a lot more canceling but association going on" when we discussed it.

That should read, "the band is being denied coverage by this somewhat well-known metal website because that somewhat well-known metal website cancelled the band."

The new Valkyrie is really good.

No frills death/doom power trio from Montreal, on the swifter end of tempo. It just rips:

https://shezmu.bandcamp.com

this will surprise no one but i am feeling the Mystras record

ohhh that's the spectral lore thing about medieval insurrections, cool, will listen tomorrow

It's quite good and notably features a bangin' cover of 'Ai vist lo lop'.

this will surprise no one but i am feeling the Mystras record

― here 1st (roxymuzak), Wednesday, July 29, 2020 3:39 PM bookmarkflaglink

one track in and OOOOOOOOOMFG

anti-fascist, anti-nationalist medieval Greek black metal, with semi-necro production, epic scope, killer musicianship, great synths, pained vocals, fantastic atmosphere......

good quality black metal about rising up with your fellow serfs to murder your overlords

nice to hear truly chaotic bm paired with genuine ars nova repertory shit

yeah it only got better from there. this could be a top 10 contender, need a few more listens.

I haven't listened yet (got a long to-listen list rn), but it's also very nice to hear of a Greek metal band where I don't immediately have to check to see if they've got ties to the Golden Dawn party.

good lord this has quite the sound

sort of a metal equivalent of The Cure's Pornography title-track

I had pre-ordered that Imperial Triumphant on CD from Amazon a few weeks ago, but got an email late last night that essentially said, "yeah, this isn't getting delivered this weekend and we have no idea when it might get shipped". I don't know if Century Media is getting hit with production delays too now or what...

New Mastodon single out tomorrow.

my kingdom for a decent mastering job

though tbh I've always liked but rarely loved Mastodon, outside of, and this may count as a challops, Crack the Skye.

nah i can buy that as their only good album

Relapse signed Wolves in the Throne Room, which is a pretty good "get" for the label, I think.

xp nah Leviathan's a classic, in fact their first four are great on the whole. I pretty much lost interest when they started phoning it in after CtS, though.

I really don't like the vox on those earlier records, is my main problem. a lot of the songwriting/riffs is/are clearly great.

Lol their vocals sounded even worse live!

Re Mastodon: I love Leviathan and Crack the Skye, and like the three after it just fine — The Hunter's not great, but Once More 'Round the Sun and Emperor of Sand are both really good even if they're often more "heavy rock" than metal. I've always disliked Remission and was disappointed by Blood Mountain.

The new Imperial Triumphant is amazing. I really like the trombone-piano ballad section on "Transmission to Mercury," but then, I would.

I like them all but Remission is easily my fave.

xp

The Zealots Of Thessaloniki off the Mystras album is one of the greatest interpolations of traditional Greek music in a modern context that I've ever heard, and what a rousing tale it tells! Beating my chest and cheering tbqfh

it's a great song

also i rep Imperial Triumphant as folks + a band and the new record is magnificent

v excited for when that comes out in...just under 90 minutes!

to qualify my particular excitement for the Zealots song above, I'm half-Greek Cypriot and rarely hear anything from those quarters that really inspires any sort of long-lost Hellenic pride, not many Greeks have gone for the avant-metal-leftism angle tbf

I say avant-metal but it also helpfully sounds ancient as fuck, like much of the best BM