The Tim Lambesis murder for hire case has been the biggest bit of metal news all year. We’re all aware of it and the developments that happened over the last month. When you cut through all the disappointments and gossip, at the core of all the fan outrage and worry was whether or not the Austrian Death Machine IndieGoGo campaign was intended to help pay for the murder of his ex-wife and if backers were ever going to see a return on their donation as promised. Fans can now put those worries at rest, because the new Austrian Death Machine album Triple Brutal is still happening.
Following an instrumental set from metal giants Meshuggah, Soul Cycle guitarist Chris Catharsis opines on instrumental music and the options (or lack thereof) that we’re afforded as listeners. Read his thoughts on the subject below.
Suddenly there I was, living the dream in Mexicotown, USA. Put down those trumpets, stereotypical mariachi band in my head. I didn’t exactly ride into Santo Poco like Steve Martin on the hunt for El Guapo. Let’s just say that if everyone there had to take a foreign language class in high school, it was probably English. The Quality Inn I would call home for the evening was strategically placed between two separate restaurants featuring “Pollo” in their name, followed by either an incredibly obvious or an equally obscure identifier. The garbage I ate at McDonald’s earlier in the day would have to last, because I sure as shit wasn’t taking any chances with my bowels at Pollo Caliente or Pollo Mario.
None of it really mattered, because I was in Orlando to see Meshuggah for the first time ever. It would cost me $80 in gas, $40 in hotel accommodations, $30 in cab fares, $30 in PBR tallboys, and two paid vacation days, but the experience was sure to be priceless. Viva la vida, as those self-righteous gringos in Coldplay would say. After a few hours of waiting around, tapping kick pedal and snare patterns on the dresser, I took a terrible cab ride into downtown Orlando with a geographically oblivious Jamaican driver. We were forced to rely on my phone GPS to find The Beachem because he did most of his driving around the Disney resorts. How very nouveaux riche of him. Were those resort tips not enough to finance his weed habit AND a Garmin? A plebe like me could only wonder.
I love buying music. It’s probably my favorite things to do. Whether it is limited edition vinyls or cassettes or the obvious old CD, I love it. It’s the reason why my bank account is looking so slim right now, and is the result of constant explorations, discoveries, and the need to collect everything possibly by my favorite artists. But with things like Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, and Last.FM, many see the act of buying physical music as impractical and unnecessary. I, along with many other writers on this blog, am one to completely disagree and argue that buying music in physical form is an experience, similar to seeing a band live. Robb Flynn of Machine Head recently said in an interview it just didn’t make sense and that he would ever buy another physical CD again. Sorry, Robb, but you’re sorely mistaken.
UPDATE: Following the original posting of this editorial piece, the band has updated their perks packages to include more incentive to donate, including a lower price to get the album early, an exclusive t-shirt bundle, a discography bundle, among others. Also of note as a correction: the $15,000 isn’t the budget to record their new album, but the majority of their budget for the full year of 2013, which includes a music video, traveling costs, and more. I’ve since donated and I urge you to do the same, and I would like to reiterate that the original post was not intended to discourage the band, but was an offer of constructive criticism. If you’re unfamiliar with Aegaeon, you can hear their single ‘Demise‘ below:
The original and no longer applicable post can be read below after the cut.
Nobody has really bothered to scribble about this topic, even though it is a pretty well known and widely acknowledged phenomenon, so Happy Metal Guy takes it upon himself to re-inform the masses why we all know worshiping Satan is for losers! Please bear in mind though, that Satan itself is not to be blamed for the huge levels of loserdom that will be made fun of in a while. Instead, the honor goes to the everyday “Satanic” black metal nerd who thinks he or she is too tr00, kvlt, and kool for Nintendo. Social stigma and limited appeal aside, Satanism is a religion much like any other mainstream religions, such as Christianity; and like any other religion, Satanism could do with followers with actual faith in its philosophy rather than dyslexic geeks whom simply scroll all the way to the bottom of the software license agreement and click ‘Agree’.
Ever since its humble beginnings, metal has demonstrated a blatant line between music and religion. Whether a band was singing about the devil, using an inverted cross of bones as a microphone stand, “sacrificing” women on stage, or even burning down the faithful’s houses of worship in the forests of Norway, there’s fair reason metal is looked down upon. At least that’s how it used to be. Fast-forward to present day and you’ll see the view on metal has gone from being the Devil’s spawn to viewed simply as noise. Why? Because bands have become popular that share religious values. From the old school Extol to upcoming crop of Betraying the Martyrs, 7 Horns 7 Eyes, and Impending Doom, the list is filled with many bands that make metal for a living but sing about their religion and that openly identify with their beliefs. More and more pop up every day, and you’ll even see entire tours filled with religious-affiliated bands; even Christian music festivals like Icthus and Cornerstone dedicate much of their lineup to heavier groups with a positive spiritual message. More often than not though, these bands will sometimes share stages with ones that are either openly non-religious or that don’t think religion is positive in any way. So why do we like bands such as these that have values that metal was really designed to go against?
For one, religious metal music is really for a specific, automatic, built-in audience. For someone raised in a conservative, religious household, metal music may not be what the parents find the “ideal” music for their child to listen to. However, if you say “Oh, they’re singing about God and Jesus, and here are their lyrics to prove it”, parents would let their children listen to it and the kids could still feel they get to experience metal like we do because it is religious. Ever read the lyrics to a 7 Horns 7 Eyes song? They go something along the lines of this: “To what end will our foolish ways lead? Shall we be consumed by your Holy wrath and reap our deserved fate? O my God, come down in power engulf this man in cleansing winds of Your unceasing mercy. Let adoration rise within me; liberate Your creation.” Those lyrics were taken from their song ‘Divine Amnesty’ from their debut album Throes Of Absolution, and it’s pretty black and white that these lyrics are about God. It doesn’t sound like on the surface, though, which is why kids love it; their parents let them listen, but it’s still heavy metal.
There are only 12 notes in contemporary music. Unless you’re into Middle Eastern, Asian or some other niche cultural music, almost the entirety of music you’ve heard was made with 12 notes (there are small exceptions when you bend notes, but bent notes are rarely used for the entirety of a song, so it doesn’t count). For non-musicians, this is pretty mind-blowing, because that seems like such a small number for all the songs we listen to. This is because all western music is based on classical musical theory that was established around the 18th century. Even metal abides by this, because most instruments are constructed in a way that only allows for the notes defined by this theory. But the truly dedicated avant-garde artists have obtained or even self-constructed specialized instruments that allow them to play music outside of these boundaries. View Full Article »
Avant-Garde is definitely an acquired taste. If someone had shown me Gorguts four or five years ago I wouldn’t have dug it; I was still scratching my head at Tool’s change from 7/8 to 13/6. However, when I discovered iwrestledabearonce’s debut LP It’s All Happening, my ears were confused. I had never heard anything of the sort. They mixed bluegrass with metalcore, interspersed with symphonic black metal moments, and even some technical guitar work. It was truly mind-boggling, but it worked. And not only did it work, but people my age enjoyed it. I knew people who went to their shows not because they were on the same bill as Asking Alexandria, but because they wanted to see something different. So, with metal purists fuming at this point in the story, how does IWABO fit in with the “avant-garde” genre?
We’ve been covering avant-garde metal this week, but there’s one important question that we haven’t answered so far. Why would anyone want to listen to this stuff? Avant-garde metal is, by definition, supposed to be hard to appreciate. What’s the merit in that? Well, there are a few easy answers, and one more complicated answer. Let me try to explain, at least from my perspective, why you should listen to this stuff.
I can’t not plug Sigh, as they are my favorite avant-garde metal band.
Well, the first answer is fairly obvious. Most of the time, we are bombarded with the same kind of music over and over. Even ignoring pop music that plays everywhere, most metalheads are exposed to similar types of metal a majority of the time. Yes, different bands have different sounds and many of them bring a different thing to the table, but in the end, every genre is defined by some limitations. Metalcore? Breakdowns, catchy songs, traditional structure. Death metal? Growling, blast beats, fast playing. Progressive metal is a broader label, but there are still many conventions obeyed by most bands. Avant-garde music, being outside the box by definition, isn’t bound by this. You want random ethnic instruments? Sure, there are bands that do that. Complete disregard for melodic and temporal structure? Sign your name here. Distancing oneself from conventions of genres? Check. The simple answer is boredom. We constantly seek stimulation and new things to alleviate our boredom, and avant-garde metal provides an endless source for this. Every band is unique. And the genre even breaks its own convention. Do you want a song that is mostly inside the box? Sure, there are avant-garde metal bands that do that too. The sky is the limit, and thus the potential for standardization and thus tedium is eliminated.
Genghis Tron are without a doubt a band ahead of their time. While the aesthetic choice of drum machines and grindcore influence were around before they rose to the good graces of critics and fans alike, they took the “cybergrind” sound and made it their own. This wholly unique three-piece group — which only contains two synth players and a guitarist — may be ambiguous on the spectrum of avant-garde music, but they’re trailblazers in the realm of experimental metal.
The earlier work of Genghis Tron is almost tongue-in-cheek. They threw together grindcore, trip-hop, and various electronica genres which alienated many people — something any avant-garde band worth their salt should be doing. They forged a new spastic sound since aped by the likes of iwrestledabearonce and Arsonists Get All The Girls with a debut EP titled Cloak of Love in 2005. Rough around the edges as it was, its wild experimentation turned many heads, and it isn’t hard to figure out why:
