21 Behrend Beacon 1 11 Ml I*o
April 1,2010 I 111 1 ill I \)
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
■
American
I’m beginning to lose faith in Amer
ican metal, specifically because other
countries are producing way better
bands. This is seen most prominently
with one of my all-time favorite
bands, Opeth.
Originating in Stockholm, Sweden,
the band creates a progressive metal
sound that has yet to be challenged by
any other band. Their rather exten
sive and lengthy tracks are intelli
gently composed and span the
influences of several genres including
folk and trance.
Another example, Amorphis, cre
ates a power/progressive sound that
stands rather legendary when com
pared to their “competitors” here on
American soil. The tracks by Amor
phis create a speed to power metal
while maintaining audible vocals, in
contrast to the scream-dominated
American metal.
My reasons behind abandoning
American metal are simple. For the
most part, our lyricists attach them
selves to two consistent classes of
metal: party metal or anti-religious
metal, both being strongly immature
in musical resonance.
A lot of bands are in the American
“metal” spotlight right now, such as
Motley Crue, Hinder, and Godsmack.
These three come to mind as the
names I’ve heard over and over in re
cent years.
All of them expose what the major
ity of Americans apparently want out
of their metal: something to get drunk
to. Godsmack released the recent
track, Whiskey Hangover, which
reached No. 1 status on the Billboard
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A$ anfaltemative toTistening to the
sam#bld music every single time you
use your iPod, I urge tou to try
downloading a podca
phe iTunes store (or fi
of directory websites
on HBO (which was originally a re
ally good podcast, I recommend in
vestigating it). Anywhere from a few
NATHAN CARTER
staff writer
rock charts last year. The whole song
is driven by taking shots and how the
credibility of the shot-taker shouldn’t
be questioned because of his continu
ous shot-taking.
It sounds brutally intelligent, doesn’t
it?
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Also, I don’t want to be accused of
denouncing a band for one song pro
duced, so I give you three more tracks
whose titles speak for themselves:
Love Hate Sex Pain, Bleeding Me, and
I Fucking Hate You.
The idiocy of popular “metal”
;n to Fresh Air but not fall
;n to Jordan, Jesse Go!
uimFUn.org (~9omin).
who don’t know where to
te recommend The Sound
lerica from Maxirm
/ing time). Host Jesi
lews numerous figui
from the West Coast conv
DiggNati.
doesn’t stop there, but heightens with
the addition of Lips of an Angel, a
song about a guy who has sex with his
ex while drunk who comments how
his drunken stupor makes her beauti
ful again.
Lastly, Motley Crue focuses and
tak e o
Digg.com always hatfOtnething in-*
teresting, though I catft say I watch it
too often because it’s a video pod
cast. I usually Ijsten to my iTouch
around campus or while going to
Jtaf
all-around podcast that’s
to almost any listener is
ican Life from _
’reducer Ira Gli
jrs (as well
tries from'
icans
markets this dwindling killer of the
genre with “Cruefest.” This is a
“music” festival that began in the sum
mer of 2008, repeated in 2009 and is
also in planning for this summer.
It consists of Motley Crue headlini
ing, known most for their controver
sial member Tommy Lee, with several
other bands of the party metal genre.
In all honesty, it’s a concert to cele
brate anti-sobriety and perpetuate
over-masculinity.
In near complete contrast, I return
to European metal. Countries all
across Europe, mainly Sweden and
Finland, are shelling out metal band
after metal band, and most that I’ve
heard have more intelligence and res
onance in their beginning forms than
bands that have been assaulting our
local airwaves.
Scar Symmetry (from Sweden)
began in 2004 and has already pro
duced four amazing albums (my fa
vorite being Pitch Black Progress ) and
an up-and-coming side project that
looks very promising called Solution
.45.
Dark Tranquility (also from Swe
den) released a great album in 2007
called Fiction, featuring Misery’s
Crown it. Their newest album, We Are
The Void, has this insane track called
The Fatalist, too.
I could go on, but my point is that
while Between the Buried and Me and
Lamb of God carry the dwindling
torch of American metal, the vast ma
jority is an exercise in stupidity.
If you’re into harder music, check
out some of the European metal I
mentioned. I’m positive that it won’t be
time wasted.
v e r
ongoinpferies in New York, bA a&jL,
their tour shows across the countfy.
le for free.)
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