Postponed heshing
If you've been reading the last couple issues of GR as well as the blog, you've probably noticed that I've been writing a lot about underground metal. But honestly, my brother Greg and I skipped right past the genre when we were in junior high school. There was this kid Kevin McCurdy (who we will always be indebted and grateful to) wore thrift shop clothes and Specials buttons and smoked clove cigarettes. He was friendly when the white metalheads shunned us geeky Asian kids, and was a big influence on my brother and me.
So when our parents offered to buy us $100 worth of records upon promotion into high school, we went straight to The Jam, The Clash, and David Bowie. PiL, Black Flag, and the Butthole Surfers. So for me, metal isn't a prolonged adolescent thing; it's more like catching up for the embarrassing childhood I never had.
Greg and I flirted with metal when The Cult went from Native American icons of Love to the skulls and beercans on the Electric album, Guns 'n' Roses opened for Cheap Trick, and Danzig went solo. But really, the entire Scream scene was more classic rock than metal. I saw Metallica on the And Justice For All tour and Megadeth on the Peace Sells But Who's Buying tour, too, but I was more of a head-scratcher than a headbanger.
The turning point came when The Melvins opened for Nirvana. Whoa. Godheadsilo became Enemymine. Holy crap! And then there was the Fucking Champs. Brujeria? Si. Somehow, this all lead to Motorhead, Venom, High on Fire, Disfear, Vital Remains, and Slayer shows in the last couple years. Eric and I happen to be seeing Mastodon tonight.
Metal shows are awesome. They remind me of how punk shows used to be--when fans were actually scary and no one bought their gear at the mall. Metallers are actually kind of smart these days, too. Much more DIY spirit than major label suckage, and you're never going to hear a metal jingle for deodorant like you will a punk riff or hip hop beat. (Or will you?)
Metal maniacs aren't known for having an agenda, getting people to be politically active, being the voice of the streets, or starting movements. But they might be the purest form of protest and release. There are underground metal bands from South America to Southeast Asia. As Ali Azhari from the Persian death metal band Arthimoth says in the new issue of GR, "Metal seeks for and finds broken hearts."
So when our parents offered to buy us $100 worth of records upon promotion into high school, we went straight to The Jam, The Clash, and David Bowie. PiL, Black Flag, and the Butthole Surfers. So for me, metal isn't a prolonged adolescent thing; it's more like catching up for the embarrassing childhood I never had.
Greg and I flirted with metal when The Cult went from Native American icons of Love to the skulls and beercans on the Electric album, Guns 'n' Roses opened for Cheap Trick, and Danzig went solo. But really, the entire Scream scene was more classic rock than metal. I saw Metallica on the And Justice For All tour and Megadeth on the Peace Sells But Who's Buying tour, too, but I was more of a head-scratcher than a headbanger.
The turning point came when The Melvins opened for Nirvana. Whoa. Godheadsilo became Enemymine. Holy crap! And then there was the Fucking Champs. Brujeria? Si. Somehow, this all lead to Motorhead, Venom, High on Fire, Disfear, Vital Remains, and Slayer shows in the last couple years. Eric and I happen to be seeing Mastodon tonight.
Metal shows are awesome. They remind me of how punk shows used to be--when fans were actually scary and no one bought their gear at the mall. Metallers are actually kind of smart these days, too. Much more DIY spirit than major label suckage, and you're never going to hear a metal jingle for deodorant like you will a punk riff or hip hop beat. (Or will you?)
Metal maniacs aren't known for having an agenda, getting people to be politically active, being the voice of the streets, or starting movements. But they might be the purest form of protest and release. There are underground metal bands from South America to Southeast Asia. As Ali Azhari from the Persian death metal band Arthimoth says in the new issue of GR, "Metal seeks for and finds broken hearts."
posted by gr at
5:52 PM
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