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How Has Elitism Affected Your Metal Taste/Mentality?



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Original post

Posted by nasmith, 17.03.2013 - 07:51
We all (should) know about the traditional metal ideology dating to the early '80s or so which includes the view that bands that have too much melody in their music and/or go for the money are pose(u)rs. That includes glam, metalcore, nu metal, and alt metal (and in some people's views power metal, gothic, etc.). The only true metal is traditional metal, thrash metal, and underground bands.

I personally started listening to metal about two years ago, as a freshman in high school. I still remember hearing songs like "Your Betrayal" by BFMV, "Last Man Standing" by HammerFall, "Engel" by Rammstein, "Dragula" by Rob Zombie, "Monster" by Skillet, and "Enter Sandman" by (uh, who made that song again ) that got me interested in heavier music. I knew I liked what I was hearing (although I thought the video for "Engel" was kinda weird and gothic), but I couldn't tell the difference between metal and straight hard rock, so I put "heavy metal (music)" into Wikipedia and started looking into the difference. From there, I found bands like Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Iron Maiden (having already heard some songs by the former two before, without realizing it), and got into those bands. While on YouTube I found one of those retarded "true metal vs. false metal" videos that had classic, thrash, death, and black metal as the "real metal" and nu metal, metalcore, and alt rock as the "poser metal." This was reinforced by an entry for metal that I found on Urbandictionary that said at the bottom, "Nu-metal and metalcore ain't metal."

So basically I was left as a newborn metal fan (who didn't really identify myself as a metalhead until at least a year later, having gotten to know a ton of different styles and grown a liking for many of them in the process) who only knew that high screaming = metalcore/screamo = poser metal (at least before I learned how to identify "trve" black metal) and wankster/goth/emo look = poser fags. I later came to understand that mainstream bands were sellout fags (including my Metallica, whose old stuff I'd grown enough liking for not to give a fuck that they sold out in 1991) because they were in it for the money, and that a common method of selling out was to soften down your music to get a wider audience.

With this mentality, I got into actually listening to these new types of metal: black, thrash, death, metalcore, hard rock, etc. To be able to tell the difference between them. I got into the more underground and old-school stuff because those were the true styles of metal. And if a band suddenly released an album with a softer sound, then they must be sellout fags. Seriously, I remember a quote that I made several months ago on the YouTube video for one of the new Ahab songs from their album The Giant, which was a lot more melodic doom/post-doom than their funeral doom debut The Call of the Wretched Sea, saying that they had sold out. Looking back on it now, I realize that they still play a style that is far from ever being mainstream, and had changed because of the development of their own style, which is as "metal" as hell. So I listened to my true metal, over time adding deathcore to the list of styles to hate and power metal, doom metal, stoner metal, sludge metal, grind, and prog to the styles to appreciate.

To this day I prefer the older and more underground styles to mainstream metal as a rule of thumb, for the simple reason that I've grown accustomed to those styles and been trained as to what "poser shit" to look out for. However I've come to the realization that many of the more mainstream bands, if overrated, sound as much like "real metal" as a lot of the off-the-beaten-path stuff I listen to (like doom metal and the occasional experimental band) and consider metal which other metalheads might not think is real metal. (And likewise a lot of "true" old-school bands are probably overrated quality-wise, despite having been highly influential.) I make a point of sampling some songs by different "poser" bands to see if they sound like metal, having come to conclusions about which ones are "true." And I've decided that some bands from all those styles I brought up are metal, some are not. And most of the ones that aren't don't really give a fuck, and I respect that. They're not really poser metal if they don't claim to be metal, eh?

As for whether bands like Metallica have changed their style for the money, and therefore are sellouts, is not my place to judge, since I've never been in the situation of being pressured by a label to play a certain style, knowing that it'll put my band in the "big, big leagues," as their producer at the time of the Black Album put it. Our gods Judas Priest had a time when they played a more mainstream style that had somewhat of a glam sound to it. (That was just an alternative example, since bands in virtually every style have at some point played something that intentionally or unintentionally sounded like a more mainstream style, and either went back to their old style or ran with their take on the mainstream one.)

And to this day, I occasionally ponder on whether certain bands or songs I like are "real metal," because it's been so ingrained in my head that whether it's metal vs. hard rock determines its quality. But then I realize how juvenile that is, and how much that mentality resembles that of the metal elitists who had my view of metal fucked up for so long. And I just let the song blare.

TL;DR: Vote on the poll and post about how the elitist viewpoint of some metalheads has affected your opinions/tastes. I would vote on the first option.

Poll

How have metal elitist views affected your metal taste/mentality?

I was closed minded, but I've opened up.
35
I've always thought metal is metal. \m/
23
Mainstream & melodic = poser faggots
4
Lolwut? Metallica invented metal wtf!!!
0

Total votes: 62
08.05.2014 - 06:01
Schizoid6.6

Well, metal is not always 'metal.' The sub-genres are necessary to differentiate between the levels of heaviness and 'brutality.' Iron Maiden is not quite the same as Darkthrone, but there isn't a war between the two.

It's hard to say these days what exactly is 'metal' or isn't when metal has become so versatile since its debut. We should embrace its new possibilities. All metal should at least share some ground rules to establish a certain image and style. Disliking a certain band or genre isn't enough to fully dismiss it as 'not metal.' Just becuase it doesn't fit you're ideal image of metal. Anyway, I try to avoid elitism since there's too many different styles I enjoy, which leaves the door open for more interesting hybrids to discover.
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09.05.2014 - 08:21
toxx
Supreme being
I'll always prefer metal over any other genre, but over the last 3-4 years my taste in music has become much more diverse. I just let it flow and listen to what I like, regardless of genre. Never understood the elitist thing.

The stupidest thing I know, is when people are so fucking "true" that they restrain themselves in terms of musical exploration. "Only old school BM is real, and you're an idiot for listening to that shitty shoegaze stuff". There are actually a lot of these people. But, hey, it's their own loss I'll listen to whatever I like!
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09.05.2014 - 16:19
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
Written by toxx on 09.05.2014 at 08:21

The stupidest thing I know, is when people are so fucking "true" that they restrain themselves in terms of musical exploration. "Only old school BM is real, and you're an idiot for listening to that shitty shoegaze stuff".

This is kids' mind. Typical of someone who found bm two weeks ago and is currently listening to bands like Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone... Some of these bands spread that kind of thought, and then as fans they kind of take it for themselves.
When I was 14 I also thought like that. xD
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"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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09.05.2014 - 17:28
theFIST

Written by Schizoid6.6 on 08.05.2014 at 06:01

All metal should at least share some ground rules to establish a certain image and style

isn't enough to fully dismiss it as 'not metal.' Just becuase it doesn't fit you're ideal image of metal

it seems you are contradicting yourself
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http://metalstormmusicianscorner.bandcamp.com
Written by Warman on 07.11.2007 at 22:39
Haha, that's like saying "compose your own Metal album and upload it here, instead of writing a review of an album". :lol:
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09.05.2014 - 20:24
Xylem

When I was 14 - 15 and had just discovered music (not even just metal, I never really listened to music before then) my attitude consisted largely of: "THRASH METAL OR DIE! KILL THE POSERS!" and I expressed outright disdain towards anyone who had a different music taste to me. Six years later and I feel ashamed I was like that, but I guess it's a phase a lot of (especially young) metalheads seem to go through.
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10.05.2014 - 15:12
Fallen Ghost
Craft Beer Geek
I was really close minded, and rejected everything with growls in it without even giving it a chance. When I suddenly started to love extreme metal, several doors opened up
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11.05.2014 - 19:57
Schizoid6.6

Written by theFIST on 09.05.2014 at 17:28

Written by Schizoid6.6 on 08.05.2014 at 06:01

All metal should at least share some ground rules to establish a certain image and style

isn't enough to fully dismiss it as 'not metal.' Just becuase it doesn't fit you're ideal image of metal

it seems you are contradicting yourself


Contradiction? If you can't elaborate, please don't comment.

If there are ground rules to metal that every genre can share, then something can't be dismissed as 'not metal' just becuase you don't care for a certain band/genre. However, the categories are necessary to determine different styles. It isn't enough to just say 'metal is metal.'
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11.05.2014 - 20:13
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
I don't like certain genres of metal and I will never get on someone who does...and I expect the same courtesy.
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rekt
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11.05.2014 - 20:19
theFIST

Written by Schizoid6.6 on 11.05.2014 at 19:57

Contradiction? If you can't elaborate, please don't comment.

If there are ground rules to metal that every genre can share, then something can't be dismissed as 'not metal' just becuase you don't care for a certain band/genre. However, the categories are necessary to determine different styles. It isn't enough to just say 'metal is metal.'

you were saying that metal should establish a common image, but people can"t dismiss something as not metal because it doesn"t fit the image they consider metal, that is contradictory
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http://metalstormmusicianscorner.bandcamp.com
Written by Warman on 07.11.2007 at 22:39
Haha, that's like saying "compose your own Metal album and upload it here, instead of writing a review of an album". :lol:
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11.05.2014 - 20:25
Schizoid6.6

Written by theFIST on 11.05.2014 at 20:19

you were saying that metal should establish a common image, but people can"t dismiss something as not metal because it doesn"t fit the image they consider metal, that is contradictory

If there's a common imagery or ground rule, personal imagery doesn't matter if there's already a ground rule.
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11.05.2014 - 20:30
SuicidalCyco
Account deleted
Written by DyingWorld on 30.01.2014 at 03:35

I was incredibly elitist when I was younger. I used to listen to metal almost exclusively. I guess I got too caught up in the culture. I'm so ashamed of that particular phase in my life. It was so immature and so stupid beyond belief. However, I feel as though I've come a long way since I was 15. Since then, I've opened my mind to different types of music and such. I maybe a bit opinionated when it comes to music but I don't fucking care what anyone listens to. I respect other people's tastes, no matter how repugnant I find their favorite bands to be. I won't even give them shit for it.


Pretty much the same for me.
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