The Scourge of Modern Metal/Hardcore By Mark Jenkins.
A rant you may disagree with, but I know that I am correct. I find it hilarious that all this current championing of particularly hardcore and, to a degree, some metal bands is considered the new golden age. I have some breaking news for you: this is actually some of the most insipid low-level counterculture audio I have heard in a long time. Now before you get the nails out to crucify me and shout boomer, boomer or who the fuck are you, you don't get the culture blah blah blah...
Take a deep breath and understand that, indeed:
-I am well aware that Hardcore is mainly a youth culture, or the main audience is pretty much 20-30 year olds
-I will never slag off any interest in underground culture( Underground is the keyword here)this is the culture that motivates even as a whingey, mouthpiece
-I grew up in the age of word of mouth, zines, tape trading and radio stations spreading the gospel of punk, hardcore and metal. I am far from anti-internet, in fact the opposite; however, the culture was more genuine.
-I also get there are some fucking sick bands out there doing all sorts of alternative greatness; be it powerviolence, noise, post-punk or goregrind. And most definitely, we have community focused benefit gigs,brilliant zines, punk collectives, fundraisers and folk dedicated to keeping things real and what punk and extreme music should be IMHO.
Even fucking Wikipedia has it spot on:
The punk ethos is primarily made up of beliefs such as non-conformity, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, a do-it-yourself ethic, anti-consumerist, anti-corporate greed, direct action, and not "selling out".
So what is my actual point, you may ask?.
My point is, as a pseudo music journalist/band person and gig attendee, there is a constant hailing of a new dawn of bands and gigs that absolutely fails the litmus test.
-the music is often a weak version of the greats, and there is more posturing/posing than actual quality content.
-social media content is key over both engaging with the audience and other bands.
Most hardcore bands have a checklist of:
-lad clothes
-prison posturing
-newly healed tattoos
and more importantly:
-dogshit lyrics(probably inspired by their tough/middle class comfort) balanced out by garbage artwork/logos. No depth, no depth at all.
The apple doesn't fall too far from the metal band tree also:
-socially retarded band members who still act like it's the late 80's
-bands that are about as socially aware as Rose Tattoo(that's right I hate them same as KISS)
-no I don't give a fuck about your technically guitar wankery, solid riffs and song structure beats the war and peace of Metal fake wizardry.
Genre-wise:
-doom and stoner bands- newsflash: songs or even sets should be more than three Black Sabbath riffs
-black metal and war metal bands: you do realise that not just politically, but musically bands like Burzum and Destroyer 666 are complete fucking garbage
-thrash bands; I get it nostalgia is excellent, but really why do we need another band rehashing Slayer/Exodus/Anthrax etc etc...the answer is no.
-death metal, with the depth of styles and techniques why does every second band sound the fucking same...in polar opposites you have bands like Bludger and Gutless ripping you a new one, everytime.
-the death metal/hardcore crossover; please go and fuck off-this is a failure on every level.
-Dbeat bands: kind of the same thing I expressed with doom/stoner bands-please expand your playing and musical knowledge beyond the typical, overcopied bands.
(that said Melbourne and Perth have some of the most quirky and brilliant hardcore and crust bands)
Expanding on my last point, I think we have some brilliant venues/promoters and actually interesting bands particularly in the noise/dark ambient/proper post-punk (as opposed to all this trendy version of it)
genres. And as always we have the true believers in brutal death metal, goregrind and actual punk genres to counteract the corporate cool of certain bands and dull gigs.
Phew, I feel better.
Thank fuck for the underground and the actual culture of what extreme music should be.
My solution is to do better and lean into what community is actually about; so much more than a manufactured image and fake social status.
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