You Know What Really Grinds my Gears? part 1

You know what really grinds my gears? There hasn't been a completely Earth Shattering cd release all year. I'm only talking about loud rock at this point, because i'm not as failiar with the other genres. The closest thing we got was Mastadon, which was praised by critics like it was written by god, recorded by jesus, and produced by Billy Mays. It's a good album, i'll give it it's due... but it's no Number of the Beast. It's no Painkiller. It's no Vulgar Display of Power. What it is, in everything good it shows off, is the best looking turd in a never-ending line of stalls. That's how i view the metal scene today.

I can't say i would do any better if put on the spot. I have the musical talent of a tone-deaf monkey with bad motor skills (like Vin Diesel). But there are people who have spent their entire life creating amazing music, who seem to be taking a back seat this year. Shadows Fall's newest release was great, but no matter how you look at it, it won't stand out amongst their other releases. A lot of people like the new Bury Your Dead, but if you put it side by side with Cover your Tracks, it doesn't match up at all. From an outsider's perspective... and ONLY an outsider's perspective, it seems that the bands who have the opportunity to branch out and overcome in the industry don't wish to do so. If you need any further reference, on the heels of one of the most acclaimed metal albums of all time, Mastadon is now touring across the country with an imaginary band.

To me personally, the greatest album of the past year was The Agonist's "Lullabyes for the Dormant Mind". I thought this was an incredible show of talent, that broadcast to a large spectrum of Metal fans a new type of heavy metal, that took the operatic approach of early Nightwish, and turned up the heaviness tenfold. The songs are heavy, destructive, and incredibly melodic, and i would highly recommend this album to anyone who is interested in either metal or opera (though i have VERY few friends interested in the latter). But the issue is not whether or not MY friends will care about this band. The question is about whether or not this band, in all their glory, will ever branch out to the mainstream. This is a band with crossover appeal, clean songs, and even at most points a clean vocalist. The problem is that if the state of the music scene stays the way it is today, it will never break any records. It will never crack the top 40 of anything. And there is no chance in hell that the Agonist will walk away with a Grammy (not that the Grammy means much more than a pat on the back, it's just a better way to get noticed). We live in a society where the Kings of Leon put together four chords, end up on top 40 stations, and are filthy rich. Meanwhile, the boys in Nile live in a van 300 days out of the year. This is not fair. This is not right.

It's time for metal to make a stand. Remember when metal used to mean something? I don't. I was born in 1988, where Jethro Tull won for best metal performance. I was born in the time when Guns and Roses released their only good album. I was born in a time when Kurt Cobain was getting ready to come in and fuck it all up for everyone, just in time for Jerry Cantrell and the boys in Alice in Chains to take it back... kinda. The most popular metal band of my life has always been Metallica, when everyone in the know is aware that they haven't put out a truly metal record since And Justice for All. I was born in the era of Nu Metal, where cheap knockoffs of true metal were passed onto generations of stupid kids who thought turntables were essential to the metal experience. That was then. This is now. Metal is not gone, but it needs to fight for itself. This is not a message to the bands that are struggling to make ends meet. You keep doing what you're doing. This is a message, if any of them read this, to the metal bands that "made it". Keep writing music, and make sure your next release is better than your last. The future of the industry is depending on it. The only time you should be experimenting on an album is right after you go platinum. Until then, help get metal back into the mainstream, create a masterpiece, and when you're done with that, WRITE ANOTHER ONE.

Again... all from an outsider's perspective.

... and That is what's grinding my gears this week.