Ray Miller from Metal Curse has pulled off a massive video interview with underground longtimers Cianide, who specialize in primitive but brainy doom-death with strong Motorhead/Hellhammer undertones. In it, they discuss metal, the truth of the old school, the cluelessness of the nu-skule, and the complete inability of modern society to conceive of anything so packed with potential as death metal:
No CommentsTags: cianide
Sam Dunn gets browbeaten by his producers, who want more money through more accessibility:
Dunn: One that really stands out to me was nu-metal, which emerged in the ’90s and was this subgenre that explored hip-hop and included turntables. Guys in bands like KORN and LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK didn’t look metal. And I honestly despised these bands at the time. But in doing the episode, I learned there was some value in what those bands brought to the genre because it tested the boundaries of heavy metal. Part of the charm of metal is the musicians’ and fans’ commitment to the music and the sense of community. But the downside is that can become pretty exclusive and even elitist at times. The nu- metal episode made me realize adding a seven-string guitar and bringing metal back to some sense of groove — which it really hadn’t had since LED ZEPPELIN in the ’70s — maybe wasn’t such a bad thing. Just because I’m a crusty, thrash-loving metalhead from the ’80s doesn’t mean I can tell LINKIN PARK fans their music isn’t important. – Blabbermouth
There’s a good reason metal left those things behind: they belong to rock.
Rock is a broad, accepting, really indistinct thing. It’s an amalgam of folk, country and other popular musics derived from them. It distills them to the absolute basics and removes all meaningful musicality through use of the key-neutral pentatonic scale.
Rock assimilates things. It makes them into an average, a mundane norm. For all of its bluster about accepting those who are different, it doesn’t like different — if it deviates from the lowest common denominator, crowd-pandering, simplistic music.
Metal was a breath of fresh air.
Dunn’s purpose seems to be (and this is quite intelligent of him) to group all of the newer music into nu-metal, which is accurate. Nu-metal is metal with swing, basically inherited from angry hip-hop. His point is that even if it’s underground, if it’s metalcore or indie-metal, it’s numu.
And that’s a lesson we can all use.
52 CommentsNews of the actually interesting:
They are regarded as the pioneers of Vedic metal. And their fans across south east Asia and the Indian subcontinent are of the opinion that there is no better way to learn about the Mahabharata than by listening to this trio’s death metal-influenced renditions of shlokas. Singapore-based band Rudra is now all set to round off the year by playing on the final day of the Times of India Strawberry Fields 2011 on November 27 at the National Law School of India University.
…
Kathir says that the responses to their music, especially the Sanskrit lyrics, have always “been positive”. “In fact, we found that people love the exotic sounds of Vedic metal and the vibes of Sanskrit chants. It is, of course, a weird combination, given the fact that Sanskrit is a liturgical language. However, such a fusion can create an aesthetic experience if one were to suspend judgment and listen without prejudice. And that is exactly what has happened in all our shows,” he says. But how relevant is Vedic literature today? “Very relevant to me, especially the philosophical aspects of it. I’ve been a student of Vedic literature for about 18 years. And over the years, I’ve discovered so much that has helped me deal with life’s challenges. Of all the Vedic texts, I love the non-sectarian perennial teachings of the Upanishads,” he reveals. It’s been 10 years since the band released their landmark album, The Aryan Crusade. Since then, there have been several lineup changes – Rudra started out as a quartet, but is now a three-member outfit – but that doesn’t seem to have affected the band’s evolution. “We have released albums since then. More importantly, we have pushed the boundaries of being a metal band by fusing Indian dance with our performances,” says Kathir. – Times of India
This is epic pagan metal!
24 CommentsTags: rudra
Meet the podcast: Oldschool metal and dark ambient, with acerbic yet cosmic commentary.
Click below to download the 158mb mp3 capture from this week’s show.
28 CommentsTags: radio
Not by us, but informative:
No CommentsH.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, J.R.R. Tolkien, R.E. Howard are my favorite writers. Their writings had a huge influence on my imagination when I read their books as a child. They fueled my desire for truth and for discovering ancient beliefs. They inspired me with ancient pagan myths and beliefs. They inspired me with desire of knowing the past forgotten and of searching mysticism and spirit of ancient civilizations. Inspired by such spirit you discover that studying the past is the same rich and satisfying as work for the future.
Death metal band Thevetat seeks the following musicians, vocalist, drummer, bassist. Songs are written and material is ready to go. Influences include Obituary, Autopsy, Immolation, Crematory, Demigod, Celtic Frost, Possessed, Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel, etc…Samples will be provided upon request. Looking for serious minded people with drive. Write for more details. – Thomas Pioli
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This band is the origin of all emo music. Starting in the mid-1980s, post-Minor Threat musicians tried to re-invent music and ended up with sensitive guy indie rock/post-hardcore hybrid. All post-2000 “metal” originates in what Fugazi did, except Fugazi was musically better. However, its attitude was totally corrupt and self-pitying. As a result, it attracted the type of person who now becomes a hipster: the self-pitying, defensive, self-obsessed, reality-denying narcissistic life dropout.
Fugazi’s label, Dischord Records, launched a digital archive of the band’s live …shows this fall. Twenty-five new shows are being added each month, including over 800 songs that have never been released.
5 CommentsDARK DESCENT RECORDS / THE CRYPT PRESENT TIMEGHOUL (USA) CD/LP
For the first time ever on CD and Vinyl, Dark Descent Records and The Crypt have joined forces once again to proudly present the complete discography from the legendary Science Fiction / Fantasy Death Metal legends TIMEGHOUL (USA).
Born in the Midwest United States in 1987, Doom’s Lyre remained relatively quiet, recording no material before changing their name. In 1991, Doom’s Lyre, now renamed Timeghoul, set out by releasing two demos; 1992’s Tumultuous Travelings and 1994’s Panaramic Twilight.
Largely ignored and mostly forgotten, these recordings did not receive the recognition they deserved until years later. Timeghoul’s eclectic and complex style of US death metal started to gain momentum within the underground as overlooked and classic material.
Prepare for one of the most unique and complex death metal offerings the early 90’s had to offer.
CD version by Dark Descent Records and Vinyl version by The Crypt.
More news to come…
http://www.darkdescentrecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/timeghoul
Tags: timeghoul
Meet the podcast: Oldschool metal and dark ambient, with acerbic yet cosmic commentary.
Click below to download the 163mb mp3 capture from this week’s show.
14 CommentsTags: radio
Mailbag:
In the ’80s and ’90s it was not uncommon to see photos of metal legends such as Slayer, Alice in Chains and Megadeth clothed in the half-skull logo that has become a venerated symbol for Utah metalheads.
While stores like Hot Topic have become a haven for mall rats, Kevin refused a distribution offer years ago that would have put HMS T-shirts in malls because it would’ve cheapened HMS’ authentic metalhead image. Today, sales from clothing eclipse music sales and HMS-branded clothing is sold to customers worldwide.
Although the location of the HMS has changed over the years, the authentic vibe that permeates the store and impeccable customer service has remained consistent. – USA Today
One way to avoid the hype: treat metal like any other specialty, whether gardening or hair-weaving, and ignore the teeny-bopper market entirely.
It seems that sell-outs occur, and consequently failures of quality occur, when some novice sees a successful pop-ish metal band, and counsels a heavier metal band to emulate them.
This then poisons the good name of that metal band, and fails to attract the pop listeners, who want something that is 100% pop, not a metal-pop hybrid.
Morbid Angel just found this out the hard way. Slayer did back in 1998 as well. It’s an eternal cycle.
25 CommentsTags: letter
