Reason Magazine
- reason.com
- reason.tv
- reason.org
- Donate
- Site Search:
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSSGet Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsadvertisements
Fezzes and Leather
Middle Eastern metal has received a sudden wave of Western coverage this year. The latest example is an article in Coilhouse that covers the music itself, the subcultures surrounding it, and the crackdowns -- some successful, some not -- from above:
Iran's regime is among the most repressive, forcibly cutting metal fan's hair and crushing concerts outright....
It's easy to see what they're afraid of. If Egyptian metal musicians rave about Israeli band Orphaned Land, and Israelis about Lebanese metal, then the terminal dividing lines that benefit generals and dictators begin to blur. The fates of Eastern Europe's tyrants are not that far away in history: often change is only an anthem away.
The dividing lines between styles have also blurred. Middle eastern metal overlaps considerably with the hip-hop and punk scenes, especially in Palestine and Israel, encompassing everything from Massive Scar Era's symphonic rallying cries to Arthimoth's primal growls. It was, after all, late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti who coined the "music is the weapon of the future" slogan that's become popular among [Lebanese musician Moe] Hamzeh and his friends.
The essay includes several samples of the metal itself, which among other things will be useful for anyone who has wondered what Cookie Monster vocals sound like in Arabic.
Elsewhere in Reason: Charles Paul Freund on Arab music videos and the liberating effects of vulgarity.
Joel|11.13.08 @ 8:21AM|#
...which among other things will be useful for anyone who
has wondered what Cookie Monster vocals sound like in
Arabic.
And who doesn't do that, from time to time?
Kaiser|11.13.08 @ 8:29AM|#
...which among other things will be useful for anyone who has wondered what Cookie Monster vocals sound like in Arabic.
I quit caring about the Cookie Monster when he stopped eating
cookies. I guess all that cookie eating was too much negative
influence on children.
BakedPenguin|11.13.08 @ 8:38AM|#
Persepolis, the animated movie about a young girl growing up in Revolutionary Iran, has a scene where she walks down a street with a bunch of guys in trench coats selling western rock. She buys an Iron Maiden cassette.
|11.13.08 @ 8:47AM|#
"Iran Loves Iron Maiden"
Who doesn't? Well, up until No Prayer For the Dying.
Also, Paul Di'Anno > Bruce Dickinson.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 8:51AM|#
Fear of the Dark has some good tunes on it with the title track
being my favorite. And their new stuff is still pretty good. Better
than Priest's new shit.
And I like Bruce Dickinson but Killers is my favorite Iron Maiden
album. Fuck, Killers is one of my favorite albums of all time.
BakedPenguin|11.13.08 @ 8:55AM|#
Also, Paul Di'Anno > Bruce Dickinson.
Killers is my favorite Iron Maiden album. Fuck, Killers is one of
my favorite albums of all time.
QFT.
|11.13.08 @ 8:59AM|#
And their new stuff is still pretty good...Killers is my
favorite Iron Maiden album
I
saw them in Hartford for the A Matter of Life and
Death tour, which was OK, and I agree with you that
Killers is probably their best. Maiden Japan was
pretty great for a live album, too.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 9:13AM|#
Cool. I saw them on the Brave New World tour and the show ripped pretty good. I like the fact that instead of Janick Gers leaving when Adrian Smith came back, they just went with three guitarists.
jtuf|11.13.08 @ 9:21AM|#
I heard traditional Iranian music recently. It reminded me of Israeli music. I think music does have the potential to bridge cultural gaps.
gorgonzola\'s foil|11.13.08 @ 9:27AM|#
System of a Down, or is that Caucasian-American metal? Or nu-metal unworthy of consideration?
|11.13.08 @ 9:36AM|#
Oh Epi, you jokester.
Don't make me come up there, Warty.
(I'm not saying Bruce isn't good. I'm just saying Di'Anno was
better. Just like Bon Scott is/was better than Brian Johnson, but
Johnson is still great.)
Untermensch|11.13.08 @ 9:36AM|#
Interesting stuff. In Easter Europe, where I am more familiar
with things, metal tends to be more of a right-wing, nationalist
phenomenon among anti-EU crowds and those who distrust foreigners
(at least ones they share a border with). There are a lot of
strange things, like folk music (the province of die-hard lefties
here in the U.S. and Western Europe) is also a hard-right
phenomenon in Hungary. So metal in the Middle East can be
liberating, but it's not clear that it is generalizable.
What may be generalizable is that certain genres of music tend to
be oppositional to whatever the dominant regime. Folk music in the
U.S. was used to oppose capitalism, but in Eastern Europe was used
to oppose state socialism. If the same sort of oppositional dynamic
holds true for metal (I have no idea of its uses here in the
States), it's not surprising that it would serve the roles
described above.
|11.13.08 @ 9:41AM|#
I saw Iron Maiden on the Number Of The Beast tour, and
also Powerslave.
Killers is too poorly engineered to be a great album.
Piece Of Mind tops my list, though Live After
Death is also a must have.
Warty|11.13.08 @ 9:44AM|#
Paul Di'Anno could not wail. Iron Maiden without wailing is not
Iron Maiden. Q.E.D.
WTF item on his Wikipedia page:
Their first audition with Rod Smallwood reputedly failed when Paul was arrested for showing off his pocket-knife in public.
WTF?
Warty|11.13.08 @ 9:51AM|#
Untermensch, as far as this metalhead can tell, US metal is
something nerdy social outcasts use to convince themselves that
they're cooler than the other kids. I don't think there's any
political significance to it.
For what it's worth, American metal mostly sucks these days.
Also, this thread is lacking in German metal
babes.
|11.13.08 @ 9:52AM|#
Aw, nah! Epi got QEDed! You gonna stand for that, sucka? Y'alls need to take this to the streets!
|11.13.08 @ 9:56AM|#
Paul Di'Anno could not wail. Iron Maiden without wailing is
not Iron Maiden. Q.E.D.
WTF are you talking about, dude? Di'Anno could wail. But he also
had that creepy fucking voice that worked so well for their style
at the time.
Their first audition with Rod Smallwood reputedly failed when
Paul was arrested for showing off his pocket-knife in
public.
Uh, it's the UK, dude. You're not allowed to carry knives, or
anything that can be construed as a weapon.
|11.13.08 @ 9:58AM|#
Paul Di'Anno could not wail. Iron Maiden without wailing is not Iron Maiden.
QFT
|11.13.08 @ 10:01AM|#
Okay, I hate to pull rank here, but the fact is that I saw both the original Maiden and the V.2 with Bruce Dickinson and Dickinson wins hands down.
dhex|11.13.08 @ 10:02AM|#
Or nu-metal unworthy of consideration?
that's a question that answers itself.
now that math majors and star trek fans have taken over metal, what
do the burnouts do for musical identity? what is the slaytanic
wermacht shirt of 2008?
the best metal album i heard this year was "two hunters" by wolves
in the throne room, though it was released in 2007. today is the
day's "axis of eden" is great, but i still hate the way it was
recorded.
Elemenope|11.13.08 @ 10:02AM|#
System of a Down, or is that Caucasian-American metal? Or
nu-metal unworthy of consideration?
No, that's good stuff. Not crazy about the "nu-metal" label...if
it's metal, it's really gotta bring the umlauts. When bands as
diverse as Tool, Korn, and SOAD arrive in the same category, it's
time to rethink your categories.
|11.13.08 @ 10:04AM|#
I thought you dug the latest Ghengis Tron CD Dhex?
I like bits of it, like "Greek Beds".
|11.13.08 @ 10:04AM|#
Personally, I dont think the Bush Regime is that far
behind.
jess
http://web-anonymity.vze.com
|11.13.08 @ 10:06AM|#
now that math majors and star trek fans have taken over
metal, what do the burnouts do for musical identity?
Lemmy's still alive, dude. He'll bring the pain.
|11.13.08 @ 10:07AM|#
Episiarch,
I agree with your Brian-Johnson-is-awesome-but-Bon Scott-was-better
opinion. A while back, I posted a
video of Bon Scott playing the bagpipes (for "It's a Long Way
to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"), along with a video of
the bagpipe guy from So I Married and Axe Murderer. He's
awesome, too, but he's not quite as good as Brian Johnson.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 10:10AM|#
Di'Anno couldn't wail!? Who the fuck...
YouTube some of the old Maiden vid with him. And I'm in full
agreement with Epi here. Di'Anno's voice had that
creepy/mean/unpolished quality that Bruce's lacks. Iron Maiden and
Killers have an almost punk vibe to them. Very street and, for lack
of a better term, dangerous.
|11.13.08 @ 10:13AM|#
Ah, yes... System of a Down... or what they should have named
the band:
Vitaly Chernobyl and The Meltdowns.
dhex|11.13.08 @ 10:15AM|#
I thought you dug the latest Ghengis Tron CD
Dhex?
i do, but the wolves in the throne room album is really excellent,
and i generally fucking hate everything to do with black metal.
it's the professional wrestling of metal, which is saying a lot
with the perpetual touring of every band from the 70s and
80s.
UNDEAD UNDEAD UNDEAD
but yeah if you like digi-grind that reaches for musicality and
even touches it sometimes, genghis tron is totally worth your time.
dream lineup: them and agoraphobic nosebleed. that would be a great
concert.
|11.13.08 @ 10:16AM|#
Dance off!
Ice ice baby...
Iron Maiden and Killers have an almost punk vibe to them. Very
street and, for lack of a better term, dangerous.
Exactly. I await your apology, Warty and Warren.
Warty|11.13.08 @ 10:19AM|#
WTF are you talking about, dude? Di'Anno could wail. But he
also had that creepy fucking voice that worked so well for their
style at the time.
If that's what you call wailing, then OK, dude. I'm not one to
judge.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 10:22AM|#
Since the Metalheads seems to be out in force here, anyone else play?
|11.13.08 @ 10:29AM|#
I've always felt Seventh Son was the best Maiden album. I know
it's probably a minority opinion but there is something really
fascinating about it. I think it just holds together as a whole
album better than any of the other stuff (Which is also
good).
And at the risk of sounding like an old man, I agree with Warty,
today's metal does suck. Everything just seems so derivative or
overly technical.
Citizen Nothing|11.13.08 @ 10:31AM|#
Hell, I'll just start my own.
I once saw a really good Czech bluegrass band in Bristol, Tenn.
(The "Birthplace of Country Music.")
|11.13.08 @ 10:38AM|#
CN,
Woodsongs, local bluegrass
enthusiasts. And you can download podcasts of shows. We only hold
the masters of shows on deposit, and consequentially I am not to
blame for their terrible website design.
Citizen Nothing|11.13.08 @ 10:39AM|#
I must confess I don't know much of Fahey's music, although I
considered him more of a roots, than bluegrass, guy.
(Gotta love the name of his book, "How Bluegrass Destroyed My
Life", though, which, no, I've never got around to reading.)
Mad Max|11.13.08 @ 10:39AM|#
I think Iranian metalheads would be able to win hands down in a
rebelling-against-a-repressive-society competition.
AMERICAN METALHEAD: My parents don't understand me, and the kids at
school don't like me. That's why I listen to these really
meaningful songs y artists who understand my pain. But, oh, the
repression! Dad yells at me and Mom cries.
IRANIAN METALHEAD: That sucks. It's like the other day, when I was
at this concert, and the cops arrested me and my friends, forcibly
shaved us, and threw us in a fetid prison. Want to see my
police-brutality scars?
AMERICAN METALHEAD: I fold.
Kaiser|11.13.08 @ 10:41AM|#
Motorhead > Iron Maiden
Motorhead > Existence.
QFMFT
I was wondering when we would get to Motorhead. IMHO the best there
is. Lemmy does the theme song and music for Down + Dirty the HBO
comedy special that comes on friday nights.
BakedPenguin|11.13.08 @ 10:42AM|#
Motorhead was good up until 1987 or so. It was all downhill
after Orgasmatron.
Also, DiAnno could have had Dickinson's range, if you only removed
his testicles.
Kyle - bass & guitar.
|11.13.08 @ 10:43AM|#
Somebody wake me when we get a bluegrass thread,
mkay?
Hey we can combine the two.
Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000CC866/reasonmagazineA/
I actually found it kind of interesting. Sounds kind of creepy.
Citizen Nothing|11.13.08 @ 10:43AM|#
Hey, SF. I'm gonna be on assignment in Louisville sometime next month. Would it be worth my while to hop over to Lexington for a show/taping?
Citizen Nothing|11.13.08 @ 10:45AM|#
The best mashup ever is The Gourds bluegrass version of Snoop Dogg's Gin & Juice. CN says, "Check it out."
Travis|11.13.08 @ 10:46AM|#
"I heard traditional Iranian music recently. It reminded me of
Israeli music. I think music does have the potential to bridge
cultural gaps."
I love classical Persian music.
Travis|11.13.08 @ 10:48AM|#
"The best mashup ever is The Gourds bluegrass version of Snoop
Dogg's Gin & Juice. CN says, "Check it out."
That is a great cover of that song.
|11.13.08 @ 10:54AM|#
CN,
If someone is there you want to see that's worth a 45-60 minutes
drive, sure. It's taped in a restored movie theater from 1922 and
downtown Lexington is easy to navigate and there's plenty of
restaurants and bars for before or after.
Sadly, for living here, I do not care for bluegrass at all.
Therefore, I can't offer any testimonials to actually going to a
show.
I, Kahn O\'Clast|11.13.08 @ 11:01AM|#
When I read Bruce Dickenson all I could think of was "More
Cowbell"
I was a metal fan in High School.... That's like a quarter of a
century ago. I still enjoy dragging out the old Black Sabbath from
time to time (Ozzy era mostly) but I've long since ditched all my
Iron Maiden, Judas Priest etc. And listening to what's being put
our today does nothing for me.... It's all about nostalgia, not
about enjoyment.
What's Evanescence to you people? Them I like, especially that
delightful Amy Lee.
Trivial Pursuit |11.13.08 @ 11:03AM|#
Dune inspired the Iron Maiden song "To Tame A Land." However, when songwriter Steve Harris requested permission from the author to name the song "Dune," his request was met with a stern refusal - backed up with a legal threat - which noted that "Herbert doesn't like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands, and especially rock bands like Iron Maiden."
dhex|11.13.08 @ 11:19AM|#
What's Evanescence to you people?
i remember when they were being pushed as a goth metal act.
|11.13.08 @ 11:22AM|#
Dune inspired the Iron Maiden song "To Tame A Land."
However, when songwriter Steve Harris requested permission from the
author to name the song "Dune," his request was met with a stern
refusal - backed up with a legal threat - which noted that "Herbert
doesn't like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands, and
especially rock bands like Iron Maiden."
Wow. What a dick.
As if it wasn't completely obvious what he song was about
anyway.
What's Evanescence to you people? Them I like, especially that
delightful Amy Lee.
I like the concept of a strong female vocalist with heavy guitar. I
find the contrast interesting. But Evanescence just sounds kind of
canned to me. Remove her and they sound completely generic.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 11:24AM|#
I'd classify Evanescene as Metal. I don't do subgenres. (Except
Thrash. Thrash is the pinnacle of Man's time on the planet and in
the Universe now and forevermore Motherfuckers!)
BakedPenguin,
Cool. Same here but only enough bass to put my song ideas
together.
And Bluegrass? I can't name many artists but my lord, can those
guys play!
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 11:26AM|#
Pain,
Check out the album "Once" by Nightwish. Female vocals over some
good metal. It may be a bit cheesy though to some. Not Dio level or
anything though.
|11.13.08 @ 11:29AM|#
Kyle Jordon,
Don't you call Dio cheesy. Who even tries to make
album covers as good as this anymore?
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 11:31AM|#
Calm down! Holy Diver was one of the first albums I ever got as a kid and I loves me some Dio.
|11.13.08 @ 11:34AM|#
Check out the album "Once" by Nightwish. Female vocals over
some good metal. It may be a bit cheesy though to some. Not Dio
level or anything though.
I'll check it out. Actually Holy Diver along with Last in Line are
probably two of my biggest gulity pleasures. Although the video for
Holy Diver is probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever
seen.
As long as they aren't Dragonforce cheesy I can generally go along
with it.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 11:34AM|#
Rainbow Rising. Such a great album. Don't leave out his Sabbath stuff either. Hell, I think his three Sabbath studio albums are the best Sabbath stuff after Paranoid and Master of Reality.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 11:36AM|#
They're not Dragonforce levels. I like DF but only in bursts.
Haven't heard their newer one yet. So far this year, I have to say
"Holographic Universe" by Scar Symmetry has been the best
album.
What say y'all?
Just Plain Brian|11.13.08 @ 11:38AM|#
The best mashup ever is The Gourds bluegrass version of Snoop Dogg's Gin & Juice.
Agreed. In the same vein, there's Rodeohead, a
Bluegrass medley of Radiohead songs
Naga Sadow|11.13.08 @ 11:41AM|#
Epi,
You're a metal fan? For some reason I picture you as that Duncan
Hills Coffee guy from Metalocalypse.
BakedPenguin|11.13.08 @ 11:42AM|#
If you want cheesy, check out this recent cover of Dio by Killswitch Engage. I was cracking up halfway through it.
|11.13.08 @ 11:43AM|#
Female vocals over some good metal.
You should try Hanzel Und
Gretyl then, especially the earlier albums where Vas Kallas
exerted greater control.
Handsome Dan|11.13.08 @ 11:46AM|#
There's dozens of other groups out there that do the
gothy-with-female-vocals thing better than Evanescence. The
Gathering is probably the originator of that sound, and probably my
favorite example of that subgenre altogether. They had some swell
albums on Century Media in the late 1990s.
That Orphaned Land clip was not bad. Anyone out there heard any of
their other stuff? I suspect that the novelty value ("Whoah!
Not-half-bad metal from Israel!") might outweigh the musical
value.
Glad to see that there's another ORGASMATRON fan out there; I
always thought it was criminally underrated. Motorhead's actually
held up pretty well through the years; their newer stuff doesn't
quite reach the heights of "Ace of Spades", but then what does?
Here's a
song from their 2006 LP. Gotta love those lyrics: "I might be a
dog, but, honey, you're a bitch!"
Fun fact: although I have been listening to and buying metal
records for 20 years, I HAVE NEVER EVEN HEARD Iron
Maiden.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 11:46AM|#
KSE's cover of Holy Diver grew on me but man, they "Killswitched" it up a little too much.
|11.13.08 @ 11:46AM|#
You're a metal fan? For some reason I picture you as that
Duncan Hills Coffee guy from Metalocalypse
Not really. I go through phases in music and there was a metal
phase in high school, so I know the stuff. I am well past the metal
phase now.
Handsome Dan|11.13.08 @ 11:52AM|#
KJ--
A hearty second to RAINBOW RISING. I blew my wife's mind when I put
this on a couple years ago while we were sitting around reading;
she couldn't believe that it was released in 1978. "I didn't think
you were allowed to sound this metal back then!"
Dio's Sabbath stuff is good too, but the Ozzy-years catalog is some
of my favorite music ever, so the HEAVEN AND HELL years suffer more
than they probably should by comparison (BORN AGAIN is the best
non-Oz BS record, IMO). Dio (the group) I always thought was a
little overrated.
robc|11.13.08 @ 12:08PM|#
CN, SF,
Do we need like a h&r meetup in Louisville next month?
I recommend the red room at Rich O's for maximizing irony. After
the 12th of Dec, the Saturnalia Fest will be going on.
Saturnalia Festival
I cant find a real good picture of the red room, but it contains
too much soviet shit.
|11.13.08 @ 12:10PM|#
Powerslave is still one of my top albums. I still listen to it to warm up for my hockey games.
|11.13.08 @ 12:11PM|#
Handsome Dan -
"Fun fact: although I have been listening to and buying metal
records for 20 years, I HAVE NEVER EVEN HEARD Iron Maiden."
*blink* What?? I can't fathom how that's even possible.... Go. Go
now. Buy one. Seriously.
For the love...|11.13.08 @ 12:13PM|#
Few things, imho, are more obnoxious than any sort of discussion about music in these comments. A lot of you seem to regard music as an intellectual pursuit of some sort. Just because only five people in the world have heard of your favorite band doesn't make them good, okay?
Handsome Dan|11.13.08 @ 12:15PM|#
For the curious, since I've got nothing better to do at the
moment, here's some example of gothy metal with female vocals that
smoke Evanescence.
The Gathering - "Rescue
Me" Like I said, this seems to be where this sound came from,
or at least this is where I first heard it back in the
mid-1990s.
Lacuna Coil - "Stately Lover"
Not my favorite group, but these guys are (I think) the most
popular exemplar of this kind of thing. I believe they have the
best selling album in the history of Century Media records.
Apologies for the goofy AMV.
Madder Mortem - "My Name Is
Silence" A little more chaotic and a little less twinkle-toed;
this is more my speed.
squarooticus|11.13.08 @ 12:34PM|#
Saw Orphaned Land at ProgPower VI and VII in Atlanta. Definitely not a flash-in-the-pan, as long as they decide to finish their next album: they had, hands-down, the best performance of PPVI and made a huge fan of me as a result of their live set.
BakedPenguin|11.13.08 @ 12:43PM|#
Few things, imho, are more obnoxious than any sort of
discussion about music in these comments.
When you read the initial post, you did realize it was about music,
didn't you? Did you expect the comments to be about Sarah
Palin?
Citizen Nothing|11.13.08 @ 12:51PM|#
"Did you expect the comments to be about Sarah Palin?"
So, what's on Palin's iPod?
|11.13.08 @ 12:59PM|#
If the article title was a play on Saxon's Denim and Leather tip
of the hat to you.
If not I guess I'm using up too much ram on worthless metal
trivia.
Another Phil|11.13.08 @ 1:22PM|#
Just like Bon Scott is/was better than Brian Johnson, but
Johnson is still great.
I agree. One of the things that made Bon Scott so great was the
combination of wise ass, playfulness and dirtbag-ness. Whereas
Brian Johnson doesn't have any of the goofiness.
And most metal plain sucks.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 1:48PM|#
StupendousMan,
I thought the same thing in regards to Denim and Leather so you're
not alone on that one.
Just Plain Brian|11.13.08 @ 1:53PM|#
And most metal plain sucks.
That's just Sturgeon's Law at work: "Ninety percent of everything
is crap"
dhex|11.13.08 @ 2:07PM|#
if you miss 80s thrash, municipal waste does a drunken, sleazy
version that's not to be missed. (dave witte played drums with them
for a long time, iirc)
Just because only five people in the world have heard of your
favorite band doesn't make them good, okay?
conversely, it wouldn't make them bad, either.
not everyone is into stuff because they want to lord it over other
people - not that i understand how this lording would work if party
A (being lordered) didn't know what party B (lording party) was
banging on about in the first place.
i realize some folks are actually like this, but they're
douchebags.
confession: i get judas priest and iron maiden confused sometimes.
i know i shouldn't but i do.
ChanceH|11.13.08 @ 2:42PM|#
"The Sword".
Kinda cheesy. Kinda derivative. But still frikkin awesome.
Its like they have come to save us from the shame of "Spinal Tap",
just as foretold by the prophecy.
|11.13.08 @ 2:57PM|#
"The Sword".
Kinda cheesy. Kinda derivative. But still frikkin awesome.
Its like they have come to save us from the shame of "Spinal Tap",
just as foretold by the prophecy.
When a band has a song called:
"Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians"
Is it possible to be bad? (Well probably, but they still
rock).
They have an interesting sound for those who like pounding epic
metal. I imagine it's what viking warchants would sound like if
they had electric guitars.
|11.13.08 @ 3:21PM|#
I own Holographic Universe. I don't know how the fuck
Christian manages to growl and sing like that, but it's damn good.
Although, since the band was stupid enough to let go of such an
amazing vocalist, I don't know how good they're going to continue
to be. Maybe they can get Peter Tagtgren.
I own an album by Rotting Christ called Theogonia. It
features some of the most amazing guitar work I have ever heard.
Check it out.
I don't now if Porcupine Tree is metal, but Fear of a Blank
Planet blew my head off.
Thanks to Weigel, I now own Udu Wudu and Mekanik Destructiw
Kommandoh. Thanks, Dave.
Art and music (and artful music) cross borders. I am grateful for
that.
Kyle Jordan|11.13.08 @ 4:01PM|#
Jim Bob,
They replaced him with two guys. One to growl, and one to sing.
There's a couple of vids up on YouTube showing the two guys
auditioning and singing. Seems like it may work out.
Handsome Dan|11.13.08 @ 4:06PM|#
Oh man the Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh record is
awesome!!
(The one with the "Red Wedge" cover art, right? I assume they only
had one record...)
Warty|11.13.08 @ 4:28PM|#
I imagine it's what viking warchants would sound like if
they had electric guitars.
Look up Amon
Amarth. They ARE Vikings.
|11.13.08 @ 6:37PM|#
HD,
Fortunately, they had lots of records. :) Weigel linked a vid of a
song called "De Futura" from album called Udu Wudu, and I was
hooked. I've since become quite a fan of Christian Vander.
|11.14.08 @ 10:50AM|#
"What may be generalizable is that certain genres of music tend
to be oppositional to whatever the dominant regime."
Heavy metal, death metal, and black metal certainly fall into that
category. In Norway, these types of music tend to be heavily
Satanic or Astatruar, the better to oppose the Christian
mainstream. In the US there's some of that, but I find that death
metal bands in the US are more about opposing the cultural
mainstream, rather than the dominant religious or political
paradigms - i.e., you go see Slayer because you despise American
pop music, and not necessarily for any additional reason. Sure,
there are upside-down crosses and political statements at some
shows, but not as many as you might expect. It's more a rebellion
against the crowd who wear sweatpants and sneakers everywhere and
watch American Idol.
I got into the American death metal scene a few years back through
my husband, and I enjoy it. The folks in the scene do tend to
libertarian with a rightish-twist, and it's interesting to see the
scene becoming more diverse, as people from places like India,
Eastern Europe, and Russia move here to get involved with this type
of music. The strong libertarian streak that I see in the American
scene would be nice to see in other countries as well.
Site comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245