Love, Listen, Loathe 08.04.10: Godsmack, Seether & Staind

Posted by Chris Crowing on 08.04.2010

This week, we hit up the dubious genre of Post Grunge, along with the final week in the World Cup of Metal.



The Column Concept
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the column, here it is. Each week I'll pick three bands/artists with some sort of connection (however tenuous) either from suggestions in the comments or whichever idea occurs to me at the time of writing. I'll discuss my experiences with and opinions on the artists concerned and at the end decide which goes into each category, Love, Listen or Loathe.

The split is based on the old game of Snog, Marry or Avoid / Fuck, Marry or Kill (depending on your cultural heritage and level of decency) and the catch is this, each week has to have one act placed in each category. So even if it's three bands I LOVE, then one has to be Listened to and one HAS to be Loathed. Likewise even if it's three artists I have little time for, one has to be Loved etc. You get the idea, and quite often the choice comes down to emotional attachment rather than any concept of relative quality. Hence, the full list (at the bottom of the column) of acts which have been Loved, or Loathed is not necessarily a reflection of my whole musical taste, merely on the balance of emotional attachment or critical appeal I hold for the acts in any given week.

Sad News…

Before we begin, I need to make a somewhat unhappy announcement. Next week's column (which will be the third and final part of the Metallica Back Catalogue, covering Reload, St. Anger and Death Magnetic) will be the last 3Ls for the foreseeable future, because between a few things in my life (band getting serious, day job getting busy, moving flat in a month or two) I frankly don't have the time to keep up with the demands of the column - it takes longer than you might think to write and code a 3000 word column to 411's strenuous specifications and my own standards regarding quality content.

If you like my writing, I'll still be posting regular Facebook blogs as well as my fortnightly contributions to the Audio Tavern (which is considerably less shiny than 411, and much easier to write for) and I hope when everything settles down, I'll be able to come back and entertain / annoy you all again some day.

Anyways, let's get into it!

World Cup of Metal

Our semi finals produced two definitive victories…

Firewind 3 – 0 System of a Down
Iron Maiden 3 – 0 Sepultura

this gives us a Third Place Play Off of

System of a Down (Armenia) vs. Sepultura (Brazil)

And a Final of…

Firewind (Greece) vs. Iron Maiden (England)

You know the drill by now, so make your preferences known in the comments section.

Post Grunge?

This week, I'm hitting up a few bands from the much-maligned and in my eyes utterly nonsensical genre of ‘post-grunge.' I have heard some of these bands refereed to as nu-metal, or plain old hard rock, but the idolisation of these acts for the likes of Alice in Chains and Nirvana is pretty obvious and makes them distinct from the nu-metal crowd, as well as from the more ‘mainstream hard rock' posse.

The moniker ‘post grunge' amuses me, because the ‘post' prefix usually indicates a genre which is more progressive, more intense, more technical or generally more interesting than the parent genre, while ‘post grunge' is actually a less technically impressive, less emotive, less worthy and less interesting and ultimately 100% derivative version of the original 90s grunge wave. There is not one single band who have ‘earned' this label that are fit to lace the boots of any of the Grunge Big Four. Thus, I prefer the term, ‘latter day grunge.'

That slightly scathing assessment aside, I have to admit that I'm a relatively big fan of ‘latter day grunge' and such bands effectively form the semi-acceptable face of mainstream rock for me. There are riffs enough to make me nod my feet and some slightly touching or head nodding choruses, which still makes it more enjoyable enough for radio or background listening, even if it's not challenging enough to really engage me. It's also the kind of music I find it the easiest to play and to write (well, after pop punk, which takes no discernable effort at all.) Everybody has their pop kick…

I had a pretty broad selection of bands to choose this week (given the continuing popularity of a genre which is rugged enough to seem manly, yet defanged enough to not really threaten anyone or scare their parents/girlfriends) and I cut them down to these three on the basis that these are the ‘post grunge' acts I'm the most familiar with and have the most to say about. While quite a few acts were counted out as I don't think I could write a worthwhile piece about them, I would like to say that I discounted Nickleback, Shinedown and Theory of a Deadman because a thousand words of me extolling my despair at such formulaic acts getting so incredibly popular is only so entertaining.

Anyways, let's get into this…

Week Twenty Six: Godsmack, Seether and Staind

Godsmack

The first time I ever took notice of Godsmack was a rather scathing review of their self titled record in Kerrang! magazine, which would make it 1998 when I was 17 years old. I remember liking the album artwork, but being put off by the review which basically accused them of being a very obvious, uninspired and un-entertaining Alice in Chains rip off. The fact that their name is taken from the AiC song "God Smack" was provided as proof of this assertion. The review went on to lambast the ‘wave' of bands who were riding the coattails of the (by that time) largely inactive, yet groundbreaking and massively popular Big Four of Grunge, but also compared Godsmack's ‘obvious and plagiaristic' copycatting of Alice in Chains unfavourably to Creed's ‘broader scope of influences.'

At the time I soaked this review up as gospel and as I didn't want to waste my (at the time) precious music-buying money on a band that gets bad reviews from semi-mainstream press (wow, I really was inexperienced at the time) I didn't get into Godsmack for a few years, until songs like "I Stand Alone" started getting huge amounts of airplay and I took an interest in the band. Let's revisit that self titled debut album and see how my more experience ears compare with Kerrang!'s lazy journalism…

OK, there IS a clear AiC influence here (the name if nothing else gives that away) but it's not as if Godsmack are ‘just' an low rent AiC clone. For a start, they lack the folksy, ballady tinge and the progressive edge which characterises the best of Cantrell & Staley but that's not just because they are a lesser band to Alice in Chains, it's because they are mining in a slightly different musical direction.

For me, this record sounds like the first ‘real' record of a band who like AiC, and perhaps INTENDED to sound a lot like AiC, but who got sidetracked by more simplistic riffs, a clear love for Metallica (and groove metal in general) shown most clearly in the fact that Sully Erna's voice is the starkest example of ‘Hetfield – karaoke' you are ever likely to hear.

Like a mixture of the more straightforward parts of Alice in Chains' self titled record ("Grind", "God Am", "Again") mixed with a lot of 90s Metallica ("Ain't My Bitch", "Enter Sandman", "Wherever I May Roam") This album is effectively what happens when a limited group of musicians (not to say that the individuals are limited, but the group as a whole seems to have relatively low horizons) who have quite broad tastes in music come together and the mean of their influence is a somewhat commercial, simplistic amalgam of Grunge, groove metal and commercial hard rock.

The best songs on that first record are "Keep Away" and "Voodoo" but Godsmack would do better…



2000's Awake is a more confident, assured effort, with Godsmack's now characteristic ‘commercial groove grunge' style well to the fore. In fact, the end result is so polished that the band ended up being labelled by some as a ‘nu-metal' act, despite the lack of rapping, electronica or excessive detuning – you can't stop some journalists/marketing guys, can you? I'd say that "Awake" and "Vampires" are my favourites here.



2003 brought Faceless, which ended up being the album which finally solidified Godsmack as a commercial entity, thanks to the success of "I Stand Alone." I have to say, I tend to find this album a little dry and it seems to me that while there is an evolution between Godsmack and Awake there is less of an evolution and more of a consolidation on this record. Given that the Godsmack formula is a pretty simple one to start with, a lack of definite improvement actually feels like a step backwards…

Interestingly enough, their 2004 acoustic EP The Other Side in collaboration with Dropbox actually did seem like a step forward, and unlike most Godsmack albums which tend to become a bit ‘samey' this (admittedly brief) EP keeps my attention all the way through… The reworking of songs like "Running Blind", "Re-Align", "Keep Away" and "Voices" are excellent, but it's "Touche" which steals the show for me.

I suppose the notion of an ‘unplugged' EP, showing off their more folksy/acoustic side actually pulls Godsmack's simplified alt metal back into a closer alignment to that original AiC-clone assertion, and based on that comparison as much as I like the Other Side it doesn't really stand up to Sap or Jar of Flies.



Their next ‘proper' record was the imaginatively titled IV from 2006 – I've never understood why bands decide to number their albums, almost at random – especially when they've already gotten into a habit (as Godsmack had) or either self-titling an album or naming it after a song on the record. I mean, what kind of extra meaning or aesthetic appeal is conveyed by IV?

Sadly, the lack of extra meaning or creativity carries through into the record itself, and while IV could arguably be Godsmack's most solid, technically impressive and professionally put together record, it's pretty much grinding down the same track as the previous three, and also lacks an "Awake" or an "I Stand Alone" to really make it stick out.

Having outlived the nu-metal wave (but still somewhat identified with them) and seemingly unable to evolve into something more, what was there left for Godsmack's slightly rugged alt metal sound in the mid noughties, surrounded by a wave of eyelinered, neon coloured emo bands and derivative metal-core acts?

Well, they went into hiding for four years – which is understandable given what happened to the commercial edge of alternative music in the past five years or so.

However, with Grunge suddenly seeming to be riding the crest of a wave with the 2009 success of Pearl Jam's Backspacer and AiC's Black Gives Way to Blue, rumours of a Soundgarden reunion and even the likes of Stone Temple Pilots coming out of the woodwork, perhaps Godsmack thought it was a good idea to step back into the limelight.

Unfortunately, when the bands who influenced you are produced ‘album of the year' contenders, and you come out with something as derivative, childish and formulaic as the Oracle it's probably NOT the best idea. Observe…



The thing is, I ENJOY what Godsmack do, but they haven't evolved one bit since 2000 and suddenly when we can compare them directly with their supposed idols (Alice in Chains) on a new release to recent release basis, their shortcomings are cruelly shown. They have good riffs, are capable musicians and by all accounts put on a damn fine rock show. Simply put, they are a band I like, whose music I enjoy when I want some undemanding yet still relatively rocky background music, but they don't offer enough to inspire or educate me.

One commenter on rateyourmusic has my feelings down to a tee, credit to BlackmoreofBowling - "Alice In Chains are back, please retire. Or go transform into something truly kickass and depressing, like a band that plays Doom Metal."

That would be awesome…

Seether

I've included Shawn Morgan's act in this list because they manage to appeal and disgust me on a number of levels, managing to be a band who I quite like but a band I'm regular annoyed with at the same time. Let me explain…

I first paid attention to Seether when their single "Broken" featuring Amy Lee of Evanescence (who was Morgan's girlfriend at the time) got shedloads of airplay, and I'll admit I quite liked the song although I can never decide if I like the rawer Morgan-only version from Disclaimer or the Amy Lee assisted, better produced version from Disclaimer II is more appealing.



To explain – Seether were unhappy with the raw mix of their debut album Disclaimer and had it reproduced with the new, duet version of "Broken" replacing the original – a shrewd move which got them a lot of airplay, as Lee was very much the face of commercial alternative music at the time. You could argue that Shawn Morgan shagged his way to stardom. Nice work if you can get it…

Actually the fact that Seether clawed their way to stardom on the back of Evanescence, resulted in a rather entertaining and public bitch fest between the happy couple once they inevitably split up. Who got the better out of the spat which featured "Call Me When Your Sober" on Amy
Lee's side and "Fake It" on Morgan's?

Anyways, their debut album is a perfectly fine piece of derivative ‘post-grunge' and "Gasoline" is exactly the kind of fare which makes me like a band enough to steal their album and perhaps go and see them live if there is nothing more inspiring on at the time.



Their next record, Karma and Effect is just as entertaining, but much more polished than the first. A pattern is developing where a Seether record is mostly mildly acceptable filler, with one better ‘ballad' and one more impressive rockier song – in this case "the Gift" and "Remedy" respectively, although I'd say that "Burrito" is pretty good too. "Remedy" probably stands out as my favourite or at least most listened-to Seether song, because of the lurching riff, huge chorus and the fact that it was the theme to Summerslam one year, back when I still thought professional wrestling was acceptable entertainment…



Unlike Godsmack, Seether's unplugged record One Cold Night is uninspiring, as their acoustic renditions of usually heavier songs lack character and the acoustic songs just sound ‘same as.' I was VERY disappointed in this record, because I've been playing more interesting, acoustic versions of "Gasoline" and "Remedy" for years, and if I can do it, I'd usually expect the original artist who is also a full-time professional musician to do better.

Their most recent record is the awesomely titled Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces from way back in 2007, and while "Fake It" makes me laugh out loud every single time (although it's a tad hypocritical to write and sing a song about faking it when... I'll get to that in a minute) I simply can't love this record, because it lacks intensity and heaviness. For all that Seether were never especially dangerous or heavy (by my standards at least, I'm sure they are very scary indeed to deeply religious octogenarian republicans or the like) this is them ‘going pop' as best characterised by the uber-catchy, uplifting single "Rise Above This" which could just as well be by someone like Nickleback or Shinedown – except it's put together well enough to not cause me to turn green and go on a killing spree, like almost every those two bands have ever done.

Probably the best song on the album is the slightly obvious, but also a bit grittier "No Jesus Christ" which seems to have been put on the track listing after "Rise Above This" in order to restore some alternative credibility to the proceedings…



The thing with Seether is that they produce generic post grunge, peppered with a few more interesting (or at least catchily memorable) singles and not much more. That's enough for me to like them as a radio band, but it's also let down by some press I heard about Shawn Morgan being the ‘new Kurt Cobain' back around the time of Disclaimer II.

Now I'm used to this kind of witless hyperbole from music journalists who have been told to gush about this or that new band, to call them the ‘new' version of this or that icon. What annoyed me was Morgan's analogy about how before Seether got signed, he considered killing himself, and I'm quoting from memory but it went a bit like this…

"I was sitting with the shotgun in my mouth, then I put it down and picked up a guitar."

How convenient, how pat, how CONTRIVED that sounds to my jaded ears. Perhaps, if the same story had been conveyed with more passion and less eye for a sound byte, if it had come in an article which didn't seek to extol Morgan as the successor to the legacy of the famously suicidal Cobain, I could have let it slide, but it just STINKS of the kind of manipulative, fundamentally fake marketing which the industry and a certain kind of artist, always looking for the main chance seek to exploit.

"Fake It" indeed…

Staind

My drummer LOVES this band, goes to every Staind gig when they play in the UK, usually getting ‘meet & greet' passes and has the Chapter V logo tattooed on his left arm. I'm cautious of being mean to them…

Aaron Lewis & company always struck me as uneasy bedfellows with their supposed nu-metal contemporaries and collaborators, but as the years passed and I realised that much of what was called nu-metal was actually other stuff which had been thrown under the big marquee of the day for easy marketing, I also noticed that it wasn't as limited a genre as the likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit would indicate. As is the case with most modern genres it bleeds out at the edges and merges with other things. It seems to me that in the beginning, Staind stood foursquare between nu-metal aesthetics and a love for grunge.

Their first record, Tormented is a very raw release, clearly influenced by the nu-metal production mores and song-writing hooks which were so cutting edge in 1996. 1999's Dysfunction refines this a little – with the reworked "Mudshovel" remaining the best example of Staind's original ‘nu-grunge' incarnation.



Of course the average music consumer in the street will assume that their breakthrough album Break the Cycle was their first, thanks to the massive airplay that "It's Been Awhile" and "Outside" received. Sadly, I think the near ubiquity of those songs killed this record, as they are not really representative of the record, and the only other outright ballad – "Epiphany" is a MUCH better song. The rest of the album veers from decent ‘nu-grunge' like "Fade" and "Open your Eyes" to some awfully generic and sludgy messes like "Waste."

Coming at a time when I was rocking out to Toxicity and White Pony the fact that this album has Fred Durst guesting on an acoustic track almost completely killed it for me…



I almost completely dismissed 14 Shades of Gray when it came out. To my mind at the time, Staind were already one of the blandest bands of the nu-metal generation and a softer album which is self confessedly ‘gray' didn't exactly appeal, especially at a time when I'd gotten pretty much completely jaded with any band who held the nu-metal moniker (even if it's only partially accurate.)

However, going back to listen to this record a few years later, the restraint, layered melodies and honest emotion (as opposed to somewhat contrived nu-metal catharsis) of this record appeal to me a lot more. It's like Staind looked at themselves and asked who they wanted to be, and the answer was clearly something along the lines of ‘melodic post grunge' – I'm realty starting to reach with these labels, but it's kind of addictive… Anyways, I mean that if Godsmack aim to be a demi-Alice in Chains cover band, taking their influence from "Them Bones", "We Die Young" and "Grind", Staind would rather take their cue from "Would?" and "Nutshell". Just an idea…

Basically, looking back 14 Shades of Gray is a really good album – who woulda think it?

It was actually 2005s Chapter V which brought me back to Staind, and it's probably the starkest evolution in their sound since the excising of the genuine nu-metal influences between Dysfunction and Break the Cycle. Where 14 Shades of Gray turned Staind into a semi-acoustic, ballads first kind of band, Chapter V raises the heaviness, partially through some chunky chordage but mostly through some damned impressive guitar work by Mike Mushok. While "Right Here" remains the only song on this album I can sing along to, it's easily my favourite Staind record for listening to all the way through, and I'm always hearing little licks and fills which I've missed before. I LOVE that in a record.



Sadly, 2008's the Illusion of Progress doesn't cut the mustard. It's more of the same, but less passionate, less interesting (both lyrically and musically) and it's like the band produced the record KNOWING it wasn't as good as the previous two, but without any idea of where to go next.

I've seen Staind live once, and I have to say, they were fucking excellent, with the bite of "Mudshovel" mixing with a mass singalong of "Epiphany" characterising a great alternative rock set. I'd even say they are better live than on record, as the passion of the band lifts song which can sound a bit gray and depressing on record into genuine affecting works.

It seems to me that Staind wanted to be a grunge band, and fell backwards into being considered a nu-metal band, and now a (rightfully) considered a post grunge band, but have found that to be a poisoned label, as they share it with the likes of Nickleback, and are predictably outshone by their more commercial contemporaries.

Staind have shown, at points on their earlier albums and more on 14 Shades… and Chapter V that they have the ability and passion to craft something beautiful technically impressive and affecting. I'd like to think they can find the drive to push themselves on, perhaps becoming a bit more progressive (a listen to the likes of the Butterfly Effect or Secondskin would do them good) and challenging, rather than stagnating and genuinely becoming the emotionally draining, name act with feet of clay that their detractors have always claimed they were.

The Reckoning

I think it's perhaps a testament to the increasingly jaded nature of my critical outlook that I can have written three such negative reviews of bands I would usually say I liked. Equally, I've moved on from my alt rock heyday to listening to a lot heavier and/or more progressive stuff, so perhaps I've outgrown this genre – or I'd like to think I have.

The truth is, I still love the feel of this music, but I find it hard to be critically positive about such relatively bland, often generic, derivative stuff and for that reason, these bands are ranked thus…

So, I LOVE Staind because of these three bands, they have the greatest range, the most impressive technical ability and the most honest emotion. They are also the act out of these three who I can most realistically hope will produce something interesting in the future.

I LISTEN to Godsmack because I have a total soft spot for groove metal inspired riffs, big chorus, growled verses with the occasionally folksy/country interlude. Call it a guilty pleasure.

and I LOATHE Seether because they have fewer fun songs than the other bands, and strike me as a little bit forced and opportunistic. There are literally MILLIONS of bands who sound exactly like this, it's just that Morgan managed to get a break by nailing Amy Lee. Bastard.

Running Rankings

Please remember that each act finds it's berth on the week it competed in, and these designations are not all-encompassing. Basically, I do NOT necessarily prefer the band I loved in week three to the band I loathed in week five – it's the luck of the draw…

LOVE: Foo Fighters, Megadeth, Limp Bizkit, Muse, Alice in Chains, Pantera, Depeche Mode, Tool, Michael Jackson, Fear Factory, Blur, System of a Down, Faith No More, Coheed & Cambria, Iron Maiden, Green Day, Slipknot, Bullet for My Valentine, Machine Head, Trivium, 36 Crazyfists, In Flames
LISTEN: Nirvana, Slayer, Creed, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Down, the Cure, A Perfect Circle, the Beatles, Nine Inch Nails, Manic Street Preachers, Rage Against the Machine, White Zombie, Mastodon, Black Sabbath, Blink 182, Linkin Park, Funeral for a Friend, Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God
LOATHE: Them Crooked Vultures, Anthrax, Kid Rock, Coldplay, Soundgarden, Damageplan, the Smiths, Puscifer, Elvis Presley, Ministry, Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Opeth, Judas Priest, the Offspring, Papa Roach, Lostprophets Soulfly, Atreyu, Shadows Fall, Hatebreed



First up, BLACK had this to say.

LAMB OF GOD makes me fucking proud to be from Richmond VA!!!

That's nice, but if you need a band to make your proud of your hometown, then you are in trouble, Then again, I'm from Dundee, and our musical claim to fame is Danny Wilson and one quarter of Deacon Blue. For shame…

Next up, following a identity crisis, Cyber chimed in with this.

To AndrewCrow, I was actually asking him about the famous soccer teams from Glasgow i.e Rangers and Celtic or the Old Firm, and often called the most dangerous rivalry in the world. I've watched a lot of Real Madrid-Barcelona games and I know the former are more violent. I became a Real Madrid fan (again not a glory hunter as it was way before the Galacticos which was unfortunate) because of Raul and Morientes who were my favorite players, so it's sad that Raul's leaving. I've also been supporting Tottenham over the last cpl of years.

Ya, it would be great to have a competition with all the big bands. Maybe next week you can do an LLH with Slayer,Megadeth and Anthrax ??

You can't expect the average American to be familiar with Scottish football teams, even if the teams in question consider themselves to be the ‘best supported football clubs.' Let me reiterate I despise the Old Firm almost solely because of the no-neck religious bigotry and mindless glory hunting of their fans.

The thing about the ‘most dangerous' rivalry in the world, is that while Italian and Spanish derbies tend to play their fan violence out in the stands, due to the regulations imposed on British football clubs following various outbreaks of hooliganism (usually involving English clubs) our stadiums are among the most heavily policed in the world. The rivalry between Rangers & Celtic permeates the whole of West Central Scotland, and I try to not go out on Old Firm nights for fear of getting in the way of a drunk and belligerent ‘fan.' It's on the streets and in the bars of Glasgow EVERY SINGLE DAY that this vile hate campaign persists, and there are whole neighbourhoods of Glasgow and the surrounding towns that you just don't go into if you're a known fan of, or wearing the colours of the wrong team.

If I had my way, they'll all be hanged, because they are a disgrace to my nation.

I always favoured Barca because they had Stoichkov and Hagi, and also because I always dislike Raul. Morientes was a cracking striker though, and I really wished he'd done better at Liverpool. Nowadays Barcelona are simply the best football team on the planet – although susceptible to being shut down as Mourinho's Inter showed. Next season, with Mourinho as Madrid manager and Barca reinforced with David Villa and possibly Cesc Fabregas should be VERY interesting.

Tottenham have an exciting squad (Defoe, Crouch, Lennon, Modric) one of the savviest managers in English football in Harry Redknapp and it'll be interesting to see how they perform in the Champions League this year and if they hold their 09-10 form up in the league. I'm expecting the likes of Liverpool and Man City to edge them out for the fourth CL qualifying spot this year though…

Hey, isn't this a music column?

Actually I covered those three acts (Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer) in the second ever 3Ls (which you can check out HERE) with Megadeth getting loved, Slayer getting listened to and Anthrax getting Loathed.

Next up to the plate, Guest#0277 had this to contribute…

I found this article to be well written, mostly because I agree with most of it. I'm a big melodeath fan and agree with your thoughts on In Flames. If you want to get into Dark Tranquillity, just know that they're a bit different than In Flames and At the Gates so don't be expecting the same sound. Of the three Gothenburg bands, DT is my least favorite but they still have some good stuff. "Punish My Heaven" off their album The Gallery is still a favorite song of mine.

It's always nice to be told that my writing is well done. Dark Tranquillity are a band I need to give more time to (as are At the Gates and Carcass) but my taste for melodeath is an increasing one so I don't doubt these bands will be getting plenty play in the next few months.

Now, weighs in with his usual heavyweight offering…

My b, Cyber. I barely even follow the big US sports (all I know is I'll never miss a Sox/Yanks game, though that's more out of hometown pride than anything else), so knowing about soccer teams is too ridiculous a demand.

As to why the US plays sports nobody else plays? Because we're fiercely individualistic. It's our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. It's why the only big non-combat sport that's played in many other countries, hockey, is only slightly above soccer in terms of fanbase and popularity.

WORLD CUP:
Firewind
Iron Maiden
I love Sepultura from Schizophrenia through Chaos AD - ESPECIALLY Beneath The Remains, which I'd rank in the top 10 of both death and thrash metal albums of all-time - but c'mon...it's fucking MAIDEN. Find a truly bad album by them (disregard the Blaze-era, of course) and you get a cookie. Their work is either brilliant (Killers, Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Seventh Son..., Powerslave, Dance of Death) or very above-average (s/t, Somewhere in Time, Fear of the Dark, Brave New World, A Matter of Life and Death). Plus? Hands-down one of the greatest live bands in the history of rock n' roll. They're all in their late 40's and early 50's now and they're STILL pulling out all of the stops.

Re: my hatred for LoG and other bands of that ilk
I'll admit that my disliking and outright hatred of many of those bands comes from me becoming a metalhead long before they were popular and, thusly, going through the "uber-elitist" phase much earlier, apparently, than a lot of other metalheads my age. Chimaira, when they started, were a full-on nu-metal band, in the same sense of 12 Stones, Trust Company, et al (technically being hard rock, or even just alternative, but labelled "metal" because they had ink and would headbang). Few people remember that they didn't play "real" metal until their third album or so, all to jump on the bandwagon that was going at the time. I view LoG the same way: they played what could barely be called metal to start with and grew their fanbase by appealing to the early-teenage angst and anger rather than any sense of nihilism or musical interest of elder fans. LoG may be talented technically (going to Berklee says so), but their songwriting capabilities are sorely lacking.

Hatebreed fucking sucks. Period. Jasta may be a cool guy overall with some damn good taste in music, but his lyrics are pop drivel shouted so he sounds "tough" and "angry" while he rants about his blood, his honor, his destiny, and how he'll rise to his feet. The fact that the hardcore scene even still counts them among their own is indicative of the overall sentiment that's poisoned a once thriving scene.

In Flames...ugh. Such a once solid band reduced to generic nu-metal tendencies...

I figured that football (NOT soccer, damn you!) might be a bridge too far.

As for Americans playing sports that nobody else plays being because ‘we're fiercely individualistic'… I don't quite buy that, after all you're ultimately a nation of immigrants who stole their language from England (and then horridly debased it) and their name from an Italian sailor

The cynical part of me says that it's because America is arse-clenchingly self-centred and arrogant and loves to think that ‘their' teams win the World championship in their given sport EVERY SINGLE TIME. You don't like getting beaten, and as you are pretty second rate at football, third rate at rugby etc. your glory-hunting national psyche just can't get behind the sport.

Annoyingly, the inverse seems to be true of Scotland where we obsess about our repeatedly under-achieving football team, who struggle to qualify, let along shine at international tournaments, while as a nation we pay much less attention to our rugby union team, who are a solidly top 10 world power, always make the quarter finals of the world cup and generally punch above our weight on a regular basis. Perverse, ne?

The reasonable part of me says that it's probably due to the isolationist policies which kept America somewhat aside from the rest of the world between your Civil War and up until World War II, which also coincides with the period where modern sports like football and rugby were codified everywhere else, allowing you to create your own, statistic-obsessed, stop-start sports.

If I sound like I'm being mean and anti-American in balance I have to say that it's often been annoying to me that MMA has been so slow to grab a foothold in Britain (despite our considerable pedigree in traditional martial arts) and this is because any sport which isn't football needs to beg borrow or steal the funding to develop – and inevitably, motor racing gets investment from the big car companies, athletics has the platform of the Olympics, tennis has Wimbledon, rugby has the Six Nations and golf is a part of the national psyche, There is no room for new sports, and that saddens me…

Hey, isn't this a music column?

I have to agree about Iron Maiden – there is simply no band with their length of service who is still pumping out albums as good, as VITAL as Dance of Death, Brave New World and A Matter of Lifer & Death and I truly hope Final Frontier is another cracker. Even in their darkest, Blaze-era hour the albums weren't BAD, just uninspired and incongruous with the zeitgeist of the time – look at "the Clansman", "Virus", "Man on the Edge" or "Futureal" – that's good stuff. But don't look at "the Angel and the Gambler" it'll make you cry…

Here's some new Maiden to whet your whistle..



As for Sepultura, they WERE great but have become mediocre – the fire and drive in simply gone, while Maiden were pulling in the awesome before, during and after Sepultura's heyday and have STILL not succumbed to being a nostalgia act.

Re: Your hate for LoG etc.

I can see your point. We have slightly different definitions of metal, but there is a line between metal and alt rock which comes down to riffs and believable aggression – Chimaira qualify, while 12 Stones assuredly do not. I like your idea of appealing to "sense of nihilism or musical interest" because metal is about more than being loud and shouting ‘I'm really ANGRY' at the top of your voice. It's about being technically adventurous and writing songs which either have an interesting historical or fantastical bent (Maiden), comment on the human condition through horror or controversial imagery (Slayer, most black or death metal), satire (Megadeth) or all of the above (Metallica.)

It's a much held misconception that the message of metal is ‘fuck you', because that devalues the intellectual and emotional weight of the style/genre/movement. To my mind metal should have a twofold message. Firstly, the music should give you a response that veers from awe-inspired technical appreciation and a visceral need to MOVE, be it a sedate head-bang or a full on pit explosion. Secondly, the lyrics should have the capacity to make you think on a deeper level than ‘my parents don't get me' or ‘ain't life a bit shit.' Metal should be visceral and intellectual in equal measure – but this is NOT the same thing as catchy and/or pretentious…

Would you go along with that?

Lastly re: In Flames - as we've established, I've got no problem with ‘nu-metal' tendencies but I'd say that Reroute to Remain was their last classic album and after that it's all been decidedly uninspired and the difference between the Jester Race and A Sense of Purpose is almost unbelievable.

Roginbe chimes in with something that made me smile from ear to ear…

I agree with you on the "hardcore" dancing posers. To quote the Dead Kennedys, "You're not hardcore cus you spike your hair, if a jock still lives inside your head."

This. Just fucking THIS. I LOVE that. It's so true. It's symptomatic of the watering down/commercialisation of what metal/punk/alternative music is that shows are increasingly populated by idiots who don't really ‘get' the music or the culture which should be implicit in the scene, but go because everyone else is, and it's an excuse to beat people up – ‘'cause that's what you do at a metal show.'

My tolerance for folks who misuse the freedom of the pit in ways that amount to bullying is at an end. I think we should all agree to injure these pricks so badly that they can no longer raise their arms above their head and attempt a spin kick. Who's with me?

Almost as if to suggest himself for the imminent cull, some dude called tizzod also commented, but was such a relentless douche that I won't reprint his grammatically hilarious assertions about what constitutes metal and my apparent gayness. Actually I will, because I like an argument…I'd also like to invite AndrewCrow and Jcon to jump in here any time you feel like it…

you loathe Shadows Fall??? Dude your credibility just went out the window !!

Again,dude YOU KNOW NOTHING about Metal.ANYONE who likes limp bizkit or korn doesnt know metal.That stuff is HIP-HOP flavored hard rock.Lamb of God was NEVER hardcore.Try Modern Death Metal as a label for Lamb of God.Chimaira as well.Their first national tour was with SLAYER and I have interviewed Matt,Chris and Rob from Chimaira and those dudes are METAL.100%You like cheese rock.Your Nu-Metal references are Bogus as well.36 crazyfists ARE NOT Nu-metal.What qualifies you to make these BOGUS assertions about bands and their sub-genres?I sum it up this way,if you rate Limp Bizkit at all,YOU ARE NOT A METALHEAD...!Record Scratchers arent metal.That gayness went out in the late nineties.Also just because there is a breakdown in the track doesnt mean its hardcore.Black Sabbath invented the breakdown or tempo change in their music.Try listening to metal bands before rating them.....

You know what rocks? Punctuation.

Oh, and did you not read the (several) instructions on how the 3Ls works? I only loathe Shadows Fall when held up against 36CF and Killswitch Engage, who I like better. Trust, me they'd easily be loved in a week with a less competitive selection.

Aside from that, I can like one band, and also appreciate bands from a completely different field. The part of me who has a guilty pleasure in Limp Bizkit is a completely different section to the one which finds awe in Master of Puppets or Heartwork.

You would call Lamb of God Modern Death Metal and you criticise MY taste in music and credibility for genre labelling? They are a (relatively) poppy scene band with little to no technical improvement, hooky choruses (to snare in the kids) and a ‘more metal than you' posture which doubtless appeals to such lowbrow douche's as yourself. Go listen to some Colonel Blast or 90s Napalm Death for death metal (is it too passé or obvious to suggest Death or 80s Sepultura?) and see LoG for the fundamentally limited scenester band they really are.

What the fuck does someone being METAL 100% actually entail? Are they like the T-1000 or something?

True 36 Crazyfists aren't a nu-metal band – hence why they were included in a column focussing on bands who had the NWOAHM genre foisted on them – but they ARE influenced by nu-metal, and when I had less references about metalcore etc. I thought they were the next step in nu-metal's evolution. I don't think I was far off…

Nothing qualifies me to make these assertions, apart from my ability and willingness to type and submit column on time and in a properly formatted manner (oh, and 15 years as a fan of alternative music, longer as a music addict and musician.) Given that you seem unable to type coherently, I guess that makes me better qualified than you.

I guarantee I can find a half dozen ‘record scratchers' with better metal credentials than you my semi illiterate friend.

I find it interesting that you say that the ‘gayness' of nu-metal (oh, are you being a homophonic bigot there, or merely stating that nu-metal was a happy and carefree genre?) yet you keep using the word ‘bogus' in CAPS like you were a reject from a Bill & ted movie, which is SOOO early 90s…

I think you mean BEAT down, not BREAK down. A breakdown is more often a mechanism in electronic, primarily industrial music where the melody descends almost into static – i.e breaks down.

In any case, a beatdown does not equal hardcore, but hardcore almost always means beatdowns. I think you'll find that the song-writing tool of the beatdown, while popularised in modern times by the originators of metal, Black Sabbath – who I have paid due respect to on a regular basis in this column – and developed by the death metal pioneers like Venom, Slayer and Sepultura is actually pretty fucking ancient in origin, used in the folk music of several cultures from Scotland, to the Americas to Mongolia.

Oh, and a beatdown is not necessarily the same thing as a tempo change (for a start, the beat can get faster) and Sabbath didn't invent that either. To suggest that everyone plodded around at a stately 4/4 pace before Tony Iommi lopped the end of his finger off is fucking hilarious…

Your existence offends me tizzod, as you are the kind of idiotic, reactionary ass who needs to prove himself to be more metal than the next guy, has no breadth to his musical outlook and actually diminishes the worth of metal by choosing to shout his supposed METALNESS to the world.

Please, listen to a wider variety of bands, read some books, gain some perspective, gain some self-respect, get some counselling, because I sense some repression and anger in you that really needs a healthier outlet than abusing your keyboard trying to prove you metalness on a comments board.

Oh, and most of all – if you're going to comment and criticise someone's writing. Learn to fucking type.

Last up, Nastrodamus also made me smile…

all i can about Hatebreed is this:

Walk on home boys.

There is only one way to respond to this…



That's me done for this week, but please come back next week for the final result of the World Cup of Metal, along with the last 3Ls for the foreseeable future, finishing off my Metallica Back Catalogue Series, focussing on Reload, St. Anger and Death Magnetic.

Slainte,
Chris Crowing

Contact Chris Crowing on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter and check out his other music writing if you feel like it.

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