RANT ALERT!!!!! (Lamb of God is a good band, though I am no longer and a listener. It just triggered a rant.)
LOG lost me at Ashes of the Wake... They (in my opinion) are an example of what is wrong with metal today. I don't mean they haven't put out some good fucking tunes... but I remember when this music wasn't so god damned over produced and boring.
(Again, this topic only triggered a sentiment I have carried for some time now, and this isn't an attack on previous posters in this thread)
Though they have reunited 4 years too late, At the Gates is back for the cash grab. In Flames (after effectively replacing ATG back when this music was RELEVANT) almost single-handedly re-ignited the metal scene before gayin' up. (Like LOG still a good band, but no longer within my musical palette.)
Quick note: I afford In Flames the same opinion as I do Metallica, as they have either created or revived a scene through dedication and great musicianship, so if they wanna gay it up they can go right ahead, I'll still be here if they ever come back.
Metal has become a mindless fuckfest of cash grabbing 'independent' labels and no talent fucks. And why is there a 'producer' in every fucking band these days. FUCK. Darkest Hour (The Sadist Nation) Shredding faces, until Kris Norris... now terrible. Unearth went from being THE go to band for a quick awesome fix, to being the worst trend following bunch of crap out of New Jersey. I never understood why Shadow's Fall was even allowed to record. It's been like 7000 years since the last Necrophagist album. Montreal showed some promise a few years back... but apparently the breakdowns and gravity blasts are still big business there.... Psyopus, fueled by sheer musical prowess and natural talent (referring to their guitarist, bassist and drummer) have all of a sudden (after two mind blowing albums) decided to smear shit on a CD and sell it. Arsis released probably one of the best metal album written in this decade in 2004... 'Celebration of Guilt' rekindled my love of thrash-inspired epic metal, but then they followed up that masterpiece by pulling a Hatebreed and repeating the same formula with weaker material three more times.
I understand the musical direction changes constantly as new forms of music emerge and there is a never-ending need to stay relevant in a rapidly developing scene; being a metal musician today is HARD, but I think more bands need to know when to just hang it up. Most of these bands are simply transients that should take their past success as a blessing and move on. Learn to quit while yer ahead... Take a page from Glenn Ljungstrom. I very highly doubt that LOG, Darkest Hour or any other band honestly feels the need in the 'cockles' of their soul two grace our ears with another 60 minutes of the same dry mundane shit. Here are some other trends that are pissing me off: The crossing over of these bands into the territory of better bands, effectively killing the new scene even faster.
If you were a metal core band a few years ago: become 'metal as fuck' and bring back those tried and true bullshit 80's thrash metal riffs. We haven't heard that before. Fucking assholes.
If you were a techincal or "grindcore" band two years ago: Try and sound like ever other wannabe death metal band out there today. Forget originality, just follow the curve and piss away your career.
However, much to my delight amidst all this tomfuckery Metallica pulls their collective heads out of their asses and starts putting real music on to a disc. Death Magnetic is awesome simply because it's honest. It sounds honest, and I wish I could hug those sexy mofos.
My love for metal hangs on a very select few bands, and if BTBAM hadn't released Colors or BTA released SkullGrid I might this very moment be a John Mayer fan. (Although that guy can write a fuckin' song.)
I apologize for the rant, but stress from these back to back exams are ravaging my browneye and I needed a release.
*hugz* TD
kerpees. Up in your mouth like jam n' jelly. booyah grandma.
