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The fact that conversations with metal fans about metal are about as interesting as accounting night classes probably has more to do with this than some kind of

The fact that conversations with metal fans about metal are about as interesting as accounting night classes probably has more to do with this than some kind of visceral reaction to how "extreme" metal is or whatever. _Look What You Made Me Do_ is much more musically and artistically offensive than anything Metallica ever did, and I'm including _Reload_ in that.

cjslep 9y ago
Metal is whatever you want to get out of it. For example, I think Devin Townsend is one of the most gifted artists out there. It's great that people might want to listen to extreme grindcore or black metal or gore themed metal. They have Broken Hope lyrics to go read. Listening to folk metal is also a blast since it usually incorporates interesting musical instrument juxtapositions and/or incorporates mythologies told in a visceral manner. Or there's soul crushing depths incorporating brutal historical moments such as Ahab's depiction of the Raft of the Medusa. Pulling Metallica out of a hat as representative of any kind of metal, let alone "extreme metal", is a pretty big disservice to the genre's diversity and spectrum of appeal.
KozmoNau7 9y ago
You made the mistake of assuming every metal fan likes Metallica or particularly cares about them. There is a lot more artistically varied and interesting metal out there. A lot more.
- YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
  Also, of thinking that Metal fans are uniformly interested in how "extreme" their music is. Personally, I care that the songs I like are memorable. Not that they are extreme. As to how interesting they are to outsiders- so? Who cares? I listen to my stuff, you listen to yours. I won't even compare my music to others'. That's the kind of thing that gets you thinking about why you're not more fashionable and then you end up like modern-day Metallica.
  - thinkingslow 9y ago
    You could also add in here Gang music, which often includes real-life references to actual crimes that are happening right now or have happened, particularly with lower-level rappers. There's a group from the UK, "67" who constantly have group members in and out prison and still play big festival stages. That's more extreme IMHO
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    The "normies" have a very odd perception of metal and metalheads, as if we're some kind of satan-worshipping cult that sacrifices live animals at concerts. I blame media demonization and the inherent distrust of everything that seems "different". I just want to drink beer and listen to heavy music :-)
YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
>> _Look What You Made Me Do_ is much more musically and artistically offensive than anything Metallica ever did, and I'm including _Reload_ in that. This deserves a separate comment. I looked up Look What You Made Me Do on Wikipedia. It's a song by Taylor Swift. Its claim to offensiveness, as far as I can tell, is that there's a scene in the video of her in a bathtub with real diamonds. Presumably that's offensive in the sense that there are so many poor people in the world who can't afford a bathtub, let alone diamonds. In any case, the song was "offensive" enough to have a wikipedia page a mile long and to have topped the charts and reaped all sorts of awards. You compare that to "Reload", an album that I also had to look up on account of it being from the period of Metallica's history that I find bland and boring. I had a thing with Meallica right up until "...And justice for all". After that, they might as well have beeen Taylor Swift for all I cared. I know a lot of people in the US consider Metallica metal because they once were metal incarnate. However, these days they're just wet noodles. As to how "offensive" Taylor Swift or Metallica are- like I say in another comment, who cares? Maybe I enjoyed being offensive and doing offensive stuff when I was 14. I have grown up somewhat since then. I still listen to my Metal. There must be something else there, don't you think? Or I'm just a very boring person, of course. It must be all the computers.

cjslep 9y ago

Metal is whatever you want to get out of it. For example, I think Devin Townsend is one of the most gifted artists out there. It's great that people might want to listen to extreme grindcore or black metal or gore themed metal. They have Broken Hope lyrics to go read. Listening to folk metal is also a blast since it usually incorporates interesting musical instrument juxtapositions and/or incorporates mythologies told in a visceral manner. Or there's soul crushing depths incorporating brutal historical moments such as Ahab's depiction of the Raft of the Medusa. Pulling Metallica out of a hat as representative of any kind of metal, let alone "extreme metal", is a pretty big disservice to the genre's diversity and spectrum of appeal.

KozmoNau7 9y ago

You made the mistake of assuming every metal fan likes Metallica or particularly cares about them. There is a lot more artistically varied and interesting metal out there. A lot more.

YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
Also, of thinking that Metal fans are uniformly interested in how "extreme" their music is. Personally, I care that the songs I like are memorable. Not that they are extreme. As to how interesting they are to outsiders- so? Who cares? I listen to my stuff, you listen to yours. I won't even compare my music to others'. That's the kind of thing that gets you thinking about why you're not more fashionable and then you end up like modern-day Metallica.
- thinkingslow 9y ago
  You could also add in here Gang music, which often includes real-life references to actual crimes that are happening right now or have happened, particularly with lower-level rappers. There's a group from the UK, "67" who constantly have group members in and out prison and still play big festival stages. That's more extreme IMHO
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  The "normies" have a very odd perception of metal and metalheads, as if we're some kind of satan-worshipping cult that sacrifices live animals at concerts. I blame media demonization and the inherent distrust of everything that seems "different". I just want to drink beer and listen to heavy music :-)

YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago

>> _Look What You Made Me Do_ is much more musically and artistically offensive than anything Metallica ever did, and I'm including _Reload_ in that. This deserves a separate comment. I looked up Look What You Made Me Do on Wikipedia. It's a song by Taylor Swift. Its claim to offensiveness, as far as I can tell, is that there's a scene in the video of her in a bathtub with real diamonds. Presumably that's offensive in the sense that there are so many poor people in the world who can't afford a bathtub, let alone diamonds. In any case, the song was "offensive" enough to have a wikipedia page a mile long and to have topped the charts and reaped all sorts of awards. You compare that to "Reload", an album that I also had to look up on account of it being from the period of Metallica's history that I find bland and boring. I had a thing with Meallica right up until "...And justice for all". After that, they might as well have beeen Taylor Swift for all I cared. I know a lot of people in the US consider Metallica metal because they once were metal incarnate. However, these days they're just wet noodles. As to how "offensive" Taylor Swift or Metallica are- like I say in another comment, who cares? Maybe I enjoyed being offensive and doing offensive stuff when I was 14. I have grown up somewhat since then. I still listen to my Metal. There must be something else there, don't you think? Or I'm just a very boring person, of course. It must be all the computers.