David McNamee of UK newspaper The Guardian wrote a recent article entitled, "Why is metal still ignored by the mainstream?" Seemingly a tautological question, but McNamee is merely wondering why, if metal is getting more mainstream press coverage now, it isn't making it into year-end lists. Perhaps a valid inquiry, but my opinion is that lists are bollocks, and so are those who rely on them.
However, if you have several minutes to spare, wade through the article's comments. They illuminate still-benighted popular attitudes about metal (shades of Deena Weinstein's sociology book Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture). I've excerpted some of the comments and arranged them below by theme. I will let them speak for themselves, with only these rejoinders: (1) the equation of artistic aggression with emotional angst is a specious argument; (2) so is the stereotyping of metal as masculine.
I would argue that black metal is metal's feminine side (more so than goth metal, which is often just another venue for female objectification), and that it was a subconscious response to the hypermasculinity of the previous dominant paradigm, death metal. The first time I heard black metal, I thought I was hearing witches. Perhaps there's some gender play at work, too, what with all the makeup and anorexic physiques (e.g., corn-fed Texas death metallers vs. malnourished black metal misanthropes).
GENERALMetal is unique among musical genres in having no redeeming features whatsoever. Taken from a strictly musicological point of view, it exhibits a total lack of creativity, inspiration and intelligence. There's no such thing as a good Metal album. - richardrj
I am no snob, just not impressed by angry men in massive jeans. - JEFFWISDOM
POPULARITYWhat charts is the poppy end of the scale, tunes with melodies, easily recognisable and simplistic, repetitive melodies, lyrics and concepts which your average, not particularly fussed, music fan can understand. The last time metal had these features was in the 80s with Cock Rock, and I personally thought Cinderella, Warrant, Poison and the like were awful. - MetalMalcolm
[I]t's perverse to expect mainstream popularity for a genre which prides itself on not moving even an inch in the direction of mainstream popularity. I am a big fan of Steve Reich and Gyorgy Ligeti, but I don't whinge when they fail to make the Classic FM Top Fifty *again*. - DanielDavies
EXCLUSIONEver talked to your average metal fan, ie, generally a male between the ages of 14-24? He doesn't WANT you to like metal. He doesn't want YOU to be part of his exclusive club. If you did recognise metal and embrace it, he would move onto something else, like Finnish Choir singers or something. - Pumpkinsboy
You do realise that you can replace the word metal with indie, with punk, with dance - and there'd be a lot of people that'd recognise this type of person. - TerminalDecline, responding to Pumpkinsboy
I've always found, the more extreme the music, the more blinkered the fan. - Owlyross
INCLUSIONSome of Alice Cooper's early songs were great but I heard a recent live album of his and it was ruined by metal treatment with endless 'shredding' metal guitar wankery by guest guitarists. I was puzzled by Peel playing death metal too. Can anyone's church be that broad? - sooterkin
I think that the problem metal has is that most of its critics focus on a rather cartoony version of it, or at the least a somewhat outdated idea of what constitutes metal. As others have pointed out, metal is rather a broad church and encompasses many different variants - someone who likes, say, Jesu may utterly despise Poison but critics seem to lump them all together. - pizzadeliveryninja
CRITICSThe fact is this: amongst certain music journalists (I'm thinking a lot of the broadsheet/mainstream writers) the visceral power of metal doesn't appeal. Not to be ageist, but a lot of middle aged people just don't like that sort of aural punishment, and prefer something lighter. - cowpat
I'm not particularly bemoaning the absence of metal in these lists, [like] some have commented, I'm just curious firstly as to why mainstream media interest in metal really flared up this year, and secondly why this supernova interest was not made 'official' in the end of year reviews. - davidmcnamee
Could it just be that people who get jobs as music critics just don't like metal? - jforbes
LYRICSEvery review I read in mainstream music press focuses at some point on the lyrics. It's one of the key reasons everyone like the Arctic Monkeys for example. Metal often isn't about lyrics as such. I don't know the words to many of my favourite metal songs and I don't much care as it's not what I like about them. The focus for me is on the music itself. You'll find that a lot of metal fans are musicians themselves and hence have more of an ear for what's going on underneath the lyrics. - liquidcow
liquidcow...Your point about lyrics is well made. When I was listening to metal earlier this year, the lyrics were a real stumbling block. I made the mistake of looking at the lyric book to Blood Mountain. And, oh dear. - MHann
Who would look to the Guardian to discover new music? Or the NME? The "*insert genre here* has no musical merit" comments are the usual refrain of bigots. Also, too much emphasis is placed on the lyrics; music should move you at a subconcious level. - RevAl
There are SSSOOOOOO many examples of brilliant songs across ALL genres with completely nonsensical/irrelevant/childishly-simple lyrics, that I can't believe this was even dragged in again. - DarceysDad
AGE, GENDERBecause it's a load of old macho, cock waving, meaningless sub teenage pathetic cobblers, by any chance? I grew out of 'metal' in my 20's. It was nice as a teenager to have an outlet for all my anger and angst. Frankly it could have been The Smiths and now I wish it was. At least that had some wit instead of sheer stupid, directionless male anger. In fact I know what got me out of it, the rave scene. Thank god. 'Metal' is the beast that refuses to die, mainly because some middle American male cock wavers can't accept a female side to their psyche. - mancmike
Aaah, mancmike, you pretty much nail it. I never understood how any one over 16 would bother with the lyrical drivel, "music" that can best be be described as athletic, wrapped up in a "look-ma-how-ugly-I-can-be" pseudo-rebel stance. It's no wonder the whole scene, musicians and sudience, is so male-centric; it all becomes a larf when one discovers...er, gurls. - crawk
@ mancmike - Oh dear. Telling people to "grow up" out of metal, like you did . . . into rave?!?!?!?! - DarceysDad
Metal is listened to by teenagers and the early 20s. You tend to grow out of it by 25. - leftboy
Another reason why it rarely attracts acclaim is the fact that the vast majority of its proponents are people you'd struggle to take seriously on any matter. Few women seem to like metal. Indeed, few women appear to like men who like metal. All the metalheadz I've known, apart from being able to master the three chords necessary to produce any metal "tune", were identifiable by: i) being a physics or chemistry student, ii) never having a girlfriend, ever. And iii) Self medicating with alcohol to mitigate poor social skills. - succulenttruculence
as a man into metal who's neither a teenager, a chemistry student, without a girlfriend, long-haired, tattooed, pierced or unwashed, i find a lot of comments about what metal is and who should like it to be a bit childish to be honest, and clearly opinion rather than fact. get yourself to any metal club and not only are they safe but also full of women who can't get enough of the stuff. - cannibaldave
I am a 26-year old female in a full-time, 'serious' job, and I am currently listening to a German funeral doom concept album (The Call of the Wretched Sea by Ahab). I am not wearing a single item of black clothing apart from my work shoes. Metal gets me through the day and I only wish I'd found it earlier. Still, better late than never. - jonana
Labels: clee, features
