As I’ve been sitting here pouring through the many legal documents made available to the public today regarding the Geoff Tate vs Queensryche legal battle extravaganza in preparation for a future article coming soon here on the blog, I was sent a link to a pretty fantastic article by Metal Hammer’s Tom Dare regarding the importance of mainstream metal. Its an extremely well written, straight to the point piece that in my opinion, seems to be targeted directly at the hordes of internet crybabies who expend an inordinate amount of energy decrying metal or hard rock bands who are either in the mainstream or on the cusp of breaking through into it. Its a must read, for anyone who loves rock or metal, as a reminder that nearly all of us started off with your Green Day, Metallica, Guns N Roses, (insert name of point of entry band here), and that sometimes we should keep our arrogant sneering in check. Its also a shot of knowledge to that certain type of rock/metal fan who stubbornly clings to the known and comfortable, the mainstream favorites, without daring to adventure further into more underground metal subgenres in search of inspiring artists and new sounds (I’m looking at you Eddie Trunk!).
July 11, 2012
You had me at “I’m looking at you, Eddie Trunk”. This is actually something I’ve been giving an awful lot of thought to ever since the whole “Year End List” debate, taking into account the hipster snobbery currently associated with certain types of extreme metal, vs. the completely stagnant asshattery of Mr. Trunk’s fare. Looking forward to reading the article!
July 13, 2012
Yeah Tom Dare nails it right on the head. And for Eddie Trunk, I find it saddening that a guy who relishes old school metal and rock is content to live in the past, when a guy like Bill Peters of WJCU Metal on Metal who’s been at this as long or longer than Trunk realizes that to keep metal and rock alive you’ve got to support, listen to, and play good NEW music from up and coming bands while still celebrating classic old school metal. I think of Bill Peters as more of an elder statesman for metal than Trunk, its just too bad that Peters show isn’t on national airwaves (Cleveland airwaves/internet radio).
Oh and I can’t even watch That Metal Show – Andrew Dice Clay?! Are they serious?!