December
2001
Does metal need to have local
scene in every city to be a viable genre?
This is an editorial column written by the
Metal-Rules.com team. Each month we pick a metal-related topic and
share our thoughts, feelings and ideas on it.
Does metal need to have local scene in every city
to be a viable genre?
By Rick
With the local metal scene here in my city getting bigger every day
this is something that I have thought about over the last little while.
Does metal need a local scene in every city or town to be considered a
viable music genre? I think the answer to that question is a bit more
complicated than just a straight forward yes or no. A metal scene is an
important building block for the metal genre. It is here that many of
the metal musicians are spawned for the bands of the future. Even Judas
priest, Sabbath and Helloween started out playing in someone’s garage
or basement, then moving on to small club shows before they became
popular. In today’s metal world where our beloved music is shunned by
the ignorant masses a local scene firstly lets everyone know there are
others that are interested in similar music to them and that with a
little work they too could be in a band. Musicians get to know each
other, exchange ideas, start and dissolve bands and often have their
first small taste of recording and releasing CDs. Along with that comes
the thrill of playing live in front of people who are true fans of the
genre and who often act as if they are seeing Death or Judas Priest
instead of a struggling local band.
While local scenes are important to the genre does every city need to
have one to make metal a viable genre? I think that the answer is no. It
would be great to have scene in every city for the reasons I listed
above but metal has proven that even without a local scene it has still
become form of music that is widespread with support, albeit small, from
many areas. There is no denying that local scenes spawn great bands. The
Bay Area in California was, and still is, known for its great thrash
bands. Metallica , Testament and now Imagika all have come from that
scene. Gothenburg in Sweden has also given us some of the best metal
bands in the last few years and surprisingly they have all come from a
small local scene. But for every Gothenburg there is a town or city
where there might be a couple of bands that slog away in obscurity with
no one to come see them. There might be metal fans. There might be some
musicians but it seems that things never come together, for whatever
reason,. to develop a scene.
The point is , local metal scenes are great for metal but every city
does not necessarily need a local scene for metal to thrive. A local
scene in every city would be nice as it would indicate that there is a
growing fan base for our beloved music. But metal right now has lots of
bands and fans and even though most bands don't sell millions of copies
of their CDs there is enough interest to support a hundred labels and
thousands of bands.
Does metal need to have local scene in
every city to be a viable genre?
By EvilG
Having a local metal scene in every city is in all probability not
going to happen any time soon. To be honest, EVERY single city out there
doesn't need to have a scene for the heavy metal genre to exist. I do
think that having a local scene is very important. My perspective on
this is probably going to be different from others considering my
geographic location (an island). The size of the local metal scene here
is never going to mean that we end up on the tour path for the larger
"global" metal scene. Therefore, the local metal scene is all
we have thus making is pretty important. Of course I can and do enjoy
metal via the albums, interviews, videos, the Internet, traveling to see
the bands, etc…but what of the local scene?
Being able to experience metal with a group of people at a club or a
gig is a lot different then sitting in your room playing air guitar and
saying "this is the shit!!" At a good gig there is the feeling
of comradery, to be around people who like the same music or who live
the metal lifestyle as you do. That might not mean a lot to some people,
but it is a part of what metal is about…being able to see shows, see
bands, hear good music, etc.
In the early to mid 90's there was a decent heavy metal scene here
with a few very good bands. There was a following and there were albums
from local bands to buy. Beginning in the mid 90's the scene began to
fall apart and the few shows I went to I was not at all happy with as
most of it consisted of kids playing noisy crap and not heavy metal.
Trends come and go for many I guess. So wearing huge baggy pants,
dressing like a whigger and all that that entails became the in thing.
Recently things have been picking up. There is a local heavy metal scene
beginning again that is not about mallcore / hardcore / punk /
alternashit music…some heavy metal bands seem to be developing a scene
again. That's why the topic of this month's editorial meant something to
me personally. Since I feel that having a local metal scene means
something, I have begun to involve myself within the scene to some
degree. The beginnings of that was the development of a knowledge base
of information on metal bands from my local scene (visit listen.to/NFMetalLegion
if you're at all interested). Myself and Rick also have talked about
putting off some club shows here for real metal bands and to play REAL
heavy metal all night between the bands. I was at a local gig in late
October and I was surprised at the number of people that turned out. It
was a pleasant surprise to find out that there is an audience here who
were there to see some metal. I took care of the music between the bands
and made sure that what was played between bands was real metal. From
Lost Horizon to Death…a nice change for a local gig as usually the
club will spin non-metal, rock and even dance shit between bands!
Hopefully this is the beginning of better things to come!
Does metal need to have local scene in every city
to be a viable genre?
By JP
Interesting question! Technically…No. Every single metal band could
"in theory" be a non-touring, recording artist based in
Antarctica and metal would still prevail. What I mean to say is that
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley put it best…"Until they think of a
way to put flash-pots in our records, people will still buy our records
for the music. " This is true. If you strip away the entire image,
the tours, the videos, the festivals, the hype, and the gimmicks…the
music would remain. So hypothetically, no you don't need a scene.
However, one cannot discard the essential elements of what makes
metal the monster it is today and therefore I must argue YES! A local
scene in each city is necessary for the viability of metal. Here are my
main reasons.
-Lack of Mainstream support. Large corporations rarely send in scouts
or A&R people to small towns to offer recording contracts to new
untested bands. The bands have to work
to develop a reputation to have the chance at getting paid to be a
professional musician and create music. The underground network is
essential to building reputation until someone with money, (who is
usually a few steps removed from the local scene) learns about it.
-Cultural diversity. Each area has unique cultural and social
elements that bring diversity into the music. People who observe the
various geographical "scenes" can recognize elements of the
"Italian power metal scene" or the "Florida Death metal
scene" or the "Gothenburg sound" or whatever. These
unique elements add flavour and style to various bands. The band doesn't
even have to live in that area. Take Nile for example. I'm fairly
confident none of them lived in ancient Egypt, but diverse influences
from overseas made a North Carolina death metal band a well-regarded
innovator.
-As much as we hate to admit it, metal is observed as a cultural
phenomenon by outsiders. By having a hundreds of diverse local scenes in
countries all over the world, the credibility of the genre is increased
because it is not just a few people in one isolated area, aka a musical
anomaly.
-Having a local scene creates pride and a sense of belonging in the
metal community. Bands can travel and tour and be welcomed by
like-minded fans regardless of location on the planet. Metal bands often
tragically will not make a lot of money touring but will pile into a van
and tour because they get to see the world, meet people and do something
and having a local scene makes that sense of community stronger.
Ultimately being part of a local scene is a special snapshot in time
of you and your friends and colleagues sharing a common enjoyment of
metal music, shared through local venues and shows, through local
specialty metal radio shows, local fanzines parties, rivalries, clubs,
promoters…all of it combine to make a scene.
A scene is way more fun than if all the metal bands were from
Antarctica and everyone just stayed at home listening to CD's in the
their room by themselves.
Remember support your local metal band, club, fanzine and promoter.
It takes 10 seconds to pick up the phone and thank the leaders in your
metal community. It takes 10 seconds to invite a friend to a show and
you have probably made another metal friend who can join in the war
against crappy not-metal music!!
Does metal need to have local scene in every city
to be a viable genre?
By Michael De Los Muertos
I think local scenes are a backbone, and a building block, of the
international metal scene. Do I think every city needs to have one? No,
because sometimes that's just not possible. You must support the local
scene - but if it's any good, the local scene will support itself.
In Portland, Oregon, we've generally been blessed by a healthy local
metal scene. In recent months we haven't gotten very many good shows,
and that's sad. However, two or three years ago, there were metal bands
coming to town nearly every other week - I recall going to metal shows
three nights in a row one month (October 1999). From what I hear from
friends, and reading on the message board, it's pretty extraordinary to
have a metal scene that active, especially in a city like Portland that
doesn't have a population base like New York or Chicago. So, while it
sucks that the few promoters who bring shows to Portland and who have a
stranglehold on show booking don't seem to like heavy metal, I'm
hesitant to complain too loudly about our scene.
We have dedicated people in our metal scene, and that's the most
important thing. When there is a metal show, the same people turn out
time and time again. Many of them play in their own bands, or would like
to. The metal people here know each other and keep each other informed.
That's the key to a healthy scene. So, while I believe that it's vital
to the survival of metal as a genre that metalheads keep in touch with
each other, share their opinions and support shows and bands when they
can, the fact that there aren't metal shows in a given city every
weekend does NOT mean that that city is hurting for metal. Sometimes all
it takes is a few good people to get on the phone or e-mail with each
other and recognize they have a common interest. How many local bands
there are or how many times Dimmu Borgir has played their city isn't all
that important.
Metal is about individuals and individualism, and it's also about
banding together and supporting each other. Wherever there is more than
one metalhead in a given town, there's at least something of a metal
scene. We have an innate need to share our music with others and we tend
to gravitate toward people who have the same interests we do. I'd like
to think that this fact of human nature will insure the survival of the
international metal scene, which starts in your own living room.
Does metal need to have local scene in every city
to be a viable genre?
By Mosquito
I live in the middle of nowhere. Columbia, South Carolina to be
exact. Most of the people here are either rednecks with their country
music, or wiggers with their rap music. To each his own I suppose. There
really isn't much of a metal scene here except for the poser bands
trying to be the next Limp Riffshit or any other band like them. So the
local scene doesn't mean much of anything around here.
However, I think that 4 years ago, the local metal scenes in cities
were very important because it was the only way to get your music out
there. It still holds true for the most part in big cities. Look at
Gothenburg and San Francisco if you need proof of that. These days we
have these wonderful machines that people are finally making use of. You
can get your music out there without too much hassle and webzines like
metal-rules can listen to your stuff and help you get it out there to
the masses.
The local scene should not die because of it. I just don't believe
its needed as much anymore because the purpose of a local scene is
basically put your music out there and make friends. All of that can be
done on the Internet now. The internet shouldn't be viewed as something
out there to destroy music, it should be viewed as something to keep it
growing and alive.