Am I getting OLD? I'm starting to think Metal Gimmicks are Stupid!

[Death Metal Moe]

I'm a little scared now.

I used to be all for Extreme Music's gimmicks.

Cannibal Corpse has mutilated corpses and decaying victims all over thier albums.
Deicide is all about Satanism and the destruction of Christ and his followers. The lead singer was so into this he branded an inverted cross in his forehead. We thought that was SO COOL at 17.
Even a lot of close friends in our Death Metal scene always use mutilated people as covers. I won't meniton too many names.

But lately I've just started to think that a lot of these bands are all just puting on an act and are more this act than music. Is this me getting OLD already? It honestly worries me.

It REALLY clicked while talking to my buddy about his band shirts on the phone. He was telling me how they're trying to get a burning witch on the front, and their lyrics on the back on a tombstone, and it occurd to me that it might look a little cheesy.

I was SHOCKED at myself for even suggesting that to......well myself. But it's true. They're actually a pretty good band, but what is happening to me?

Or maybe it's just a natural progression of things? I mean Unhallowed has always been dark and does have the song "In God I Disgust" in it's set list, but we never went for the gore, Satanism or mutilation of Women that a lot of bands go in for. Maybe I'm just used to OUR music and not theirs anymore?

I'm honestly confused now. I still LOVE the music. Even the bands that HAVE gore on thier covers and sing about this weird shit. Mortician comes to mind right away. They're GREAT! Skinless, Lividity, Disinter, Anoxia, Brodequin. All good bands that do this to an extent.

Any help to try to identify what's happeneing to me would be appreciated. All tooling responses will be met with scorn and hatred.


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[TheMojoPin]

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[Dirtybird11]

the closest thing to metal i dig now is GWAR cause they are SHOCKING. seeing them live is a lot of fun still.
I grew up seeing bands like venom and slayer in clubs before they got big and my first punk band from 1984-1987 CREEPING CORPSE use to tour with DECEASED (anyone know that band? just currious)
so i kinda grew out of that whole scene because it was like almost 20 years ago.
so its hard for me to be shocked when i see newer bands try to be shocking..in fact its hard to take any of it serrious..
long live king diamond har har har.

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This message was edited by PERRYNOID on 2-27-03 @ 4:49 PM

[fluffernutter]

I too have gotten the same way with it Moe. I mean the gimmick was cool in the beginning or "back in the day" if you will but with bands like MushroomHead and then Slipknot ripping off MH (no offense intended towards Slipknot) and Mudvayne and so on and so forth. The shock thing I think has become oversaturated and the market is thinner now.

Like for instance, I remember there only being Mayhem and a few FEW other Black Metal bands. Now I am not into this AT ALL but 5 years ago I would pick up Metal maniacs and see Mayhem and maybe one or two other BM bands. Now, they are on every page. Remember when gene Simmons sued King Diamond for copyright infringement on the make up? Gene would be ROLLING in the dough now if he were to sure every BM band.

After interviewing Deicide (actually my friend did) back in 91 for my public access show, Glen benton just SCARED the shit out of me. Telling the sotry of the cross branding was creepy.

Anthony: What is the story with the branding of the upside down cross in your forehead?
Glen: I took the cross..............heated it up over some ceremonial candles...........said a prayer to my lord...........and burnt it into my head. (this statement was followed by a really creepy childlike grin)

But anyway, after all of my rambling, I don't think it is a matter of getting old, it is getting mature. One looks under all the make up and gore and shit and if the music is good, thats what counts. Eaten Back To Life remains one of my favorite records but i do look back on it as a bit cheesy:

<IMG SRC="http://truemetal.org/metalwallpaper/images/eatenbacktolife.jpg"width=200>

from Shredded Humans:

Early hours, open road, family of five-on their way home
Having enjoyed a day in the sun, their encounter with gore has just begun
A homicidal fool not knowing left from right, now has the family in his sight
Trying to perceive if he's blind or insane, he steers his car into the other lane

Both of them collide, expressions horrified
Head on at full speed, the vultures will soon feed

The father of three was impaled on the wheel, as his skull became part of the dash
His eyeballs ejected his sight uneffected, he saw his own organs collapse
His seatbelt was useless for holding him back, it simply cut him in two
Legs were crushed, out leaked puss as his spinal cord took off and flew
The mother took a flight through the glass, and ended up impaled on a sign
Her intestines stretched from the car down the road for a quarter of mile

Fourth child on the way, won't live another day
Fetus on the road, with mangled little bones
Little children fly, not a chance to wonder why
Smashed against the ceiling, all their skin burning and peeling
Schards of glass explode, chest and skull now implode
Corpses they've become, and graves will have to be dug

I mean how BRUTAL is that! I look back on it, yes cheesy but it was cool at the time and went right along with the late night viewings of Faces Of Death and Evil Dead 2. It just fit

Then on the other hand there was Carcass who had the SICKEST covers I have ever seen but the lyrics were gross and intelligent. Disgustingly Smart if you will.

<IMG SRC="http://www.majesticdarkness.com/carcasslp1.jpg"width=250>

from Psychopathologist:

Effervescing entrails corroding after years
The stench of the canker brings me no tears
Festering tumours of cancerous decay
Gnawed and chewed by maggots with malicious hate

I like to slide my hand inside your stomach
And rip out the putrid remains,
Drink the pus and munch on the internal organs
Until all the casket is drained.
It's fun being a pathologist - slicing up corpses
Especially when they have just been exhumed,
I like doing autopsies on festering carcasses -
I get high sniffing on all the fumes

[Solo: Inquisitive Brutality]

The sound of rancid juices sloshing around your coffin
The mould and the gore remind me of that you're rotting
Congealed blood clotted around both sets of veins
The beautiful colour of your decomposing brain[/i]

I mean

[Death Metal Moe]

I'm glad you responded Fluff because it is obvious you are Metal too.

I HATE to think I'm getting more MATURE. When you say that it just makes you sound Stuck Up. There was this asshole Bob S. I used to hang with and he would tell us how MATURE he was. That word now makes my fucking SKIN CRAWL.

But Corpse and Carcass are GREAT MUSIC. Much more than their gimmick.

I don't know. It all started out a long time ago with these lyrics about mutilating Women. I just never understood them. I know that most of the lyrics were from angry young men not getting enough, but it still never jived with me. So that whole "Fuck her with a knife" thing bands did always gave me the douche chills. And it went from there to gore, Satanism and about 99% of Black Metal.

These people MAY feel sincere when they do it, but it's all bullshit and I just don't want to deal with too much of it anymore. I will if the band is good like many Underground bands we're met and played with, but the rest are an act that bores me.

And don't get me started on Mainstream shit...

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[Cannon]

Bon Jovi Fan since day one!

This message was edited by Cannon on 2-27-03 @ 10:07 PM

[DarkHippie]

I look at the bands i used to like when I was younger who used "gimmicks": Gwar, Iron Maiden, Kiss, the Misfits, Alice Cooper, etc, and the thing that sticks in my mind is that they didn't take themselves seriously. maybe that's the difference.

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[fluffernutter]

I have a hard time taking this seriously:
http://www.galleryofsound.com/dbimages/editorial/0302/immortal_0302a.jpg
...but in the early 80's this was totally ok.
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Have the times and fads changed and we have not or is it we who have done the changing. Regardless, Venom and Celtic Frost are to blame. Just kidding! They are the forefathers! Listen to Black Metal and To Mega Therion. NOW!

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This message was edited by fluffernutter on 2-27-03 @ 11:54 PM

[Dirtybird11]

ok fluff, thats the funniest fucking post i may have ever seen.
christ that is priceless ty.

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[ChickenHawk]

It's all just a big act to make money. I think that's quite apparent. But you can't criticize a band for trying to make money, have fun, and still make good music. Think back to how femenine those 80's hair bands used to dress, but in reality they'd take 20 girls home every night and fuck every one of them. They're just fucking with us and working the system. Very VERY rarely is a band actually serious about their gimmick. Ozzy is a devout Catholic for God sake.

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FUCK VIACOM*FUCK INFINITY*FUCK BAD MUSIC

[Rev]

Moe,
I would imagine it also has to do with you being a performer.
It's never as shocking when your the one throwing it out there.

I used to burn bibles on stage, among other things. It got boring, so i stopped, and just continued to abuse myself on stage.

Granted, Into Darkness (my old band) was nowhere near the roots you come from. But we were metal. And a performer is a performer.

xoxoxo,
Rev

ps- cracking your own head open never gets boring. but it does get painful.

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This message was edited by Rev on 2-28-03 @ 12:27 PM

[Death Metal Moe]

There's a difference between the 2 things we're talking about here I think: Gimmick and just on stage showmanship.

If you're brutal onstage and put on a great show, that's OK with me. I want a good stage show. Not too many props though.

I was thinking more of their overall message, album covers and lyrics I think. At least that's what it looks like as I re-read my posts and your responses. And of course, shitty bands are just shitty bands. The music is key.

And Perrynoid, of course I know Deceased. They fucking RULE! They still release albums as far as I know.

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[cherrynoid]

<img
src=http://www.galleryofsound.com/dbimages/editoria
l/0302/immortal_0302a.jpg>

I didn't realize ICP had a third member. You learn
something new here everyday!

Dammit, why can't I post links to pics?
< img src = blah >
without the spaces, (except for between img and src)
right? What the hell am I doing wrong? Is it because
I'm on a Mac?

Anyway, that was supposed to be referring to
fluffernutter's first pic inhis post. :(

~cherrynoid







This message was edited by cherrynoid on 2-28-03 @ 12:44 PM

[jratt]

I have never liked gimmicks except gwar
but i think it is the music that shows who the band is and i think we are in a age of music that is a gimick i mean theres gangsta rap,rap rock,mall punk,reality show pop there all gimicks of music there are some realy good bands out there that put there heart and soul into what they do and they live the life, here is a good example badluck13 this band is f-ing insane very hard punkhardcoremetal they come out on stage with bats that have barbwire around them beat the shit out of each other and put on a hell of a show that is brutal but its not a gimick this is how they live
and you can always tell if its real or a gimick just by listening to the music and lyrics,......if you want a real rap
ockhardcore band check out E-town concrete there the real deal i know them since they started there no limp biscit bull shit there from the streets......

jratt AKA johnbravo
Don't talk about unity ever again...
my ears are closed talk to the fist!!
NJBLOOBLINE
FBP 4 LIFE

[HordeKing1]

Relax Moe, you're not getting old. (

Your tastes have just changed a little.

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[PanterA]

Am I getting OLD? I'm starting to think Metal Gimmicks are Stupid!No, not old....just gay.

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[fluffernutter]

No, not old....just gay.

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[Death Metal Moe]

OH NO!

Pantera! The 1st SHOCK ADMINISTRATOR!!!

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[Se7en]

I've always thought the gimmicks were cheesy.

I mean, the music may or may not be good, that's one thing.

But to me it's always seemed like some sort of bizarre contest to validate how "extreme" one is, how dark your band is.

"Look at us! We've got decaying corpses on our album covers! We paint our faces crazy colors! Our song titles spew satanic verses! WE'RE FUCKING HARDCORE!!!!!"

It's all notice us, notice me, love me, love me daddy - oh wait, that' someone else's schtick.

Bottom line: I think the music should be what it's all about. You want to show how extreme you are, how dark you are, put it in there. That's your real artform. I could care less if a band has a burning witch on its t-shirt or not.

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I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know.

"I was here before the oceans turned black with life, and when the deserts are white with death I will remain."
---Saint Iago

[The Chairman]

fluffernutter, you ruled this post.

G.G. Allin was legit. A psychotic sociopath. No bullshit about him. He's dead.

My favorite album cover of all time:

Pungent Stench's "Been Caught Buttering."

CK2%

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2%


slanted and enchanted...
adf sig pics rawk!

[fluffernutter]

I do rule!

I am metal, hear me roar!

http://www.unmatchedbrutality.com/images/pungentstench.jpg

So it is the remaster, SHOOT ME!

As far as Pungent Stench goes, I really enjoyed Been Caught Buttering. The only thing that complimented that album well was the Video La Muerte that came out soon after the record. That video was so screwed up and reminded me of a snuff film. I remember Pungent Stench being one of the first bands to really put the trebly grinding bass in the forefront of the songs. Good stuff. Personally though, I thought everything after that first record kind of went downhill.

Another band that I had really gototen into around the same time as Pungent Stench was Anal Cunt. I was always drawn to the CD's that I could see under the glass case at the Q Mart's Record Revival record shop. One day I saw this:

http://www.fye.com/catalog/images/amg/large/drd800/d874/d87484wp2h6.jpg

Ok, Morbid Florist (funny), little upside down cross on head of gay little guy in funeral parlor (laughter ensues), $2.98 and song titles like Some Songs, Some More Songs, and Even More Songs, I couldn't resist. To be honest, I hated it, alot!
It was cheap so no big deal. There was then this twit who I worked at KFC with and was giving rides home and just figured, I'll "shock" him. I did and I fell back in love with the CD. The EMF cover, Unbelievable was INSANE and I just loved it. My re-obsession with noisecore.

Anal Cunt went on to release such classics as:
- Breastfeeding Jm J Bullocks Toe Nail Collection
- Living Colour Is My Favorite Black Metal Band
- You Went to See Dishwalla and Everclear (You're Gay)
...and many others. They even got sentimental and did a retarded record of Love Songs!

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