Alambama Shooting Spree would be a great name for a shitty band that's "from" Brooklyn.
I listened to Korn last night. It's something that I've grown comfortable with sharing only through years of embarrassing myself on stage, binge drinking, and awkward sexual encounters.
In small doses, very small doses, "parts-per-million" type doses, actually, bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit are tolerable to my ears. I grew up listening to heavy music, still listen to heavy music, and will selectively listen to heavy music in the future.
I don't know how many of you folks are as prone to casually "throwing the goat" as I am, but I must say it is a rare occurance for me today, given the current musical climate. According to music "journalists" aka: fanboys with degrees, metal is supposedly experiencing a resurgence not seen since the glory days of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I do not believe this. Metal never dies. Metal never gets weak, or goes underground. Metal always just stands on it's own, die hard fans dedicated to one or more various sub-genres of the genre. Occasionally, people looking for a quick buck invest in metal, bring it into the public forum more conspicuously, and hope for the best.
"Popular" metal today... hmm... I hate most of it. I don't want to pay good money to see a bunch of burly, filthy Scandanavian dudes play three chords and scream all night long. I don't want to pay good money to see a bunch of kids from the suburbs wear tight pants and eyeliner, play three chords, and scream all night long. I don't want to pay good money to see a bunch of forty-five year-old men squeeze into their pants, play three chords, and scream all night long.
I usually do in the latter case though. Because I have a soft spot for the Crue.
Just like rap, I like the genre, but I'm not foolish enough to issue a blanket "like" decree about every artist currently playing metal.
Here are some of my favorites:
None of these bands are underground. Their music, for metal at least, is relatively easy to listen to and follow.
Mastodon - I've written about these guys before, and for good reason. They are the shining hope, the bearers of the Satanic flame, so to speak, of modern American heavy metal. They don't feel the need to scream all the time, play as fast as possible, or write about cliche things. This band wrote a concept album about Whaling, with particular attention paid to Moby Dick.
Slayer - Slayer does not ever change how they sound. Slayer are not "artistes." Slayer simply drop albums that punch you in the face when you hear them, and then they kick you in the balls and throw you off the balcony when you see them play. Possibly the only metal band with a 25 year history that's still entirely relevant.
Killswitch Engage - Two things: The singer and the guitarplaying. The singer, Howard Jones, is black, and has... uh... a.. "black" voice that just sounds really good in front of a metal band. The band has to play over him, not the other way around, which is rare. The guitar just soars miles above any other band's guitar playing. Incredibly melodic, yet shred-filled.
Mudvayne - They write songs that are radio hits but still pack impressive punches. Their debut single, "Dig" is one of the top five metal songs ever written.
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I've been slowly going insane with house stuff. I want it to be over with!
We should swap it.-BK
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