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A hessian guide to the proper care and maintenance of your records and sound equipment, part III – sound equipment and storage

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

To finish this guide, we’ll review sound equipment and the proper manner of storaging your CDs, tapes and vinyl records.

Sound equipment

stereo

We won’t stop here to review all kind of sound reproduction systems available in the market, for that would take many lines of text. A general rule that can be said about sound equipment shall, instead, be mentioned: that is, when you buy a new piece of equipment, give it a try at the store. Bring one of your CDs and check for the following:

- Bass and mids response.
- Speaker response @ full volume, although many stores won’t be so enthusiast about that test.

The ideal would be for you to buy one of those multi-unit hi-fi equipments that can be mounted on top of each other. Those usually are the best, for the reason that you can buy each unit from different sources and assemble your own, personalized system.

Your system needs to be dusted periodically, optimally once a day, to prevent particles of dust to reach any delicate part of the equipment, such as the lens from the CD player or the tape head. I’ve found that keeping a disc inside the CD player and a tape inside the deck while not using the stereo prevents this, in part. Also, be sure to put a piece of cardbox on top of the ventilation holes of the equipment so that dust and others don’t penetrate through them. Just make sure that you take the cardbox out when you’re using the stereo! Those ventilation holes are there for a reason, and if you obstruct them, your system may malfunction out of the heating of the components.

Your CD unit should be cleaned periodically. Electronics stores sell a kind of special CDs with little brushes on them that are made specially for the task of cleaning the lens of the unit. Using those with a once-a-month frequency can greatly augment the lifespan of the CD player.

For the tape deck, regular cleansing of the head with isopropyl alcohol is recommended. Buy a box of cotton buds and use it to apply a small amount of alcohol on the playback and recording heads. If there’s oxide, apply the cotton tip until it is removed. Give it a few seconds to dry out. Also, in the same way clean the tape guides and capstan (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, refer to this diagram). The pinch roller should also be cleaned in the same manner, this time using a mixture of water with a pinch of washing-up liquid. Do not use alcohol for the pinch roller, as it is made of rubber.

Demagnetisation fo the tape decks is also recommendable. With use, the tape heads and guides tend to accumulate a magnetic charge that not only can interfere with the appropiate playback of the cassette, but an also destroy its high frequency content (remember what we learned about the sour relationship between tapes and magnets?). There are cassette-shaped, battery-powered demagnetisers available in commerce. Those should be applied to your decks once a month.

On vinyl record players, the following tips should be followed:

- The stylus should be cleaned with a special kind of brush. This should be applied along the cantilever, in the direction pointed by the stylus. See here
- As stylus wears out, it eventually needs to be replaced. Have yours checked once a year by a specialist – usually someone who sells record players and related equipment. He will tell you if your stylus needs to be changed.
- Place your record player on a stable, solid surface.
- Dust it every once in a while.

Storage

cds

This one is simple: keep your vinyl, CDs and tapes in their respective cases, and always store and stack them vertically, that way you avoid the deformation of the cases and the disc itself, in the case of vinyl. Obviously, the environment in which you store your records should have respectable temperature and humidity rates and be as clean as possible.

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A hessian guide to the proper care and maintenance of your records and sound equipment, part II – analog

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

In Part 1 of this guide we gave a brief list of tips for the care of the digital formats of audio reproduction, this being the prefered medium for hessians, but not by far, because members of the metal culture have a natural preference for analog formats, such as tape and vinyl. Other musical subcultures share this inclination with headbangers, whether out of audio resolution considerations (electronica fans seem to be of this camp) or simply out of an undescribable mystic feel that the listener captures out of enjoying or simply owning an album on analog format. I’ve seen that most hessians prefer this for the last consideration, that is, the special aura it invokes.

Not that there aren’t any practical considerations for prefering analog over digital formats. Tapes, for example, are sturdier than CDs, which give them an advantage on physical resistance. Besides, tapes permit multiple recordings as long as its sound quality lasts (which depends on the type of cassette…more about that later).

As you all most know, the main disadvantage of analog formats is their wearyness. Since sound reproduction in their case involves the use of either a head or needle which is mechanically attached to the source of the recording, the latter slowly experiences a wearing of the surface layer where the audio is recorded, resulting all of this in a progressive loss of sound quality.

Yet, as with CDs, there are certain tips that can help increase the lifespan of your tapes and CDs in order for them to provide the maximal amount of listening time and enjoyment.

Tapes.

all_tapes400

Tapes were (and still are, for some) tremendously practical for the active listener, in great part due to its portability and endurance. Besides, who didn’t start out on its metal journey without a Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden cassette on one’s walkman? Few, I guess.

- First of all, keep your tapes from extreme temperature and humidity conditions. The recommended range is within 59 and 77° F and 40% to 60% relative humidity (that is, not wet, but not too dry either).

- Keep your tapes away from any sort of magnetic field. Those include not only magnets, but also home appliances such as refrigerators, speakers and anything containing an electric motor.

- Keep your tapes evenly wound, otherwise they get easily stuck on their casing and it may bring problems to sound reproduction, screwing with the tape itself and your deck as well! If your tape has a see-through casing, you should easily see uneven woundings in the rolled tape. If not, then try to roll the tape by hand to check if it presents difficulties or if it gets stuck. Solve the problem by fully rewinding your tape several times until it gets looser. If the tape is stuck in the casing, it would be better to do the process by hand, carefully so that you don’t break it. Also, be sure to rewind tapes completely after each use to maintain high performance.

- Don’t leave your tapes in the car or other places where they may get direct sunlight or excessive heat. Remember the first tip.

- It’s recommendable that you make quality copies of an original so that the latter lasts as long as it possibly can.

Vinyl.

vinyl+006+(Custom)

The LP and EP formats are a favorite for hessians and the one that carries most “mystique”. A lot of it has to do, in great part, with nostalgy: after all, in the classic era of metal the LP was THE format for albums that got released at the time, and most cover art was done specifically to fir into the large sleeves of LPs: if you want examples, you should look into Iron Maiden’s, Morbid Angel, Carnage, Dio and many, many others…the list goes on and on.

However, this particular medium requieres a lot more care to it, as vinyl is a very delicate material and the discs have some significant weaknesses that, with the arrival of the compact disc, were no longer an issue for listeners.

- First things first: clean your records throughly. That is by far the most important detail you should think about. Not only the disc’s lifespan depends on it, but also its sound quality. Playing dirty records can eventually cause permanent damage to the disc, not to mention that the stylus on your record player wears more rapidly. Distilled water is recommended by many sources to be ideal for cleansing of the plastic in the record, it being a non-abrasive liquid, doesn’t leave any residues and the bottle is inexpensive. Besides, it disperses static charges and counteracts the increased conductivity from the pick-up of salt deposits form finger prints. Nonetheless, water isn’t enough. Surfactants are used as additives to enable water to be a grease solvent. Clean with a soft, anti-static cloth. Discs should be cleaned before and after each performance for the best results.

- Handle your vinyl records as follows: keep finger contact with the edge and the labeled surface of the disc, never with the grooved surface. Remove the record from the jacket with the inner dust sleeve by bowing the jacket open by holding it against the body and applying a slight pressure with a hand. Hold a corner of the inner dust sleeve and pull the record out. Avoid pressing down onto the disc with the fingers as any dust caught between the sleeve and the disc will be pressed into the grooves. Remove the disc from the inner sleeve by bowing the sleeve and letting it slip gradually into an open hand so that the edge falls on the inside of the thumb knuckle. The middle finger should reach for the center label. Never reach into the sleeve.

- Use inner sleeves made of polyethylene. Do not use record sleeves made of PVC. Paper made sleeves may scratch the surface of records.

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A hessian guide to the proper care and maintenance of your records and sound equipment, part I – digital

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Throughout the years, I have met many hessians that, despite the passion for metal music that is so common among them, haven’t yet learned how to take care of their records and sound equipment of which they depend so much.

Being part of a culture means, among many other things, maintaining the material manifestations of that culture. We get stronger, as individuals and as a culture, by learning good habits and applying our energies towards the preservation of the things that we care the most.

So it is imperative for us at the Hessian Studies Center, in our efforts to improve the well-being of metalheads worldwide, that we provide our readers with a comprehensive guide to the proper care of your music records and reproduction system.

CDs

Compact discs are by far the recording medium of preference for hessians of all ages and inclinations, and it is easy to see why: it is small, so it’s easily transportable and manageable, provides great, clean sound, and doesn’t degrade with use since the reproduction of sound doesn’t involve the constant friction of a needle or a cassette tape head. Of course, this medium has its detractors, and much more in the metal culture than other music-oriented human groups, for reasons we’ll explain later on.

Despite its advantages, CDs are very easy to damage if mistreated, so you must take the following cautions:

- Never touch the readable surface of the CD. Grab the discs by its edges, never by the middle. It could get fingerprints on it, resulting in bad playback.
- Always keep the CD in a protective jewelcase if you ain’t playing it. Other storing devices, such as wallets and cakeboxes, are not recommended since they could easily scratch the discs. Make sure that you have the inner tray of the CD case as clean as possible, removing all particles of dust, before storing the CD.
-If the CD gets some dirt or dust on it, clean with a dry cloth, gently so that you barely touch the surface of the CD.
- Keep your CDs away from humidity or high temperatures. If your CD gets splashed with water, gently dry it with a soft cloth, from center to edge, in a careful fashion so that you don’t scratch it.
- Never use solvents or liquids of the sort to clean the CD, save for those cleaning kits available in commerce. Better yet, Just try your best to keep your CDs from getting dirt on them and they’ll be fine.
- If your CD ever gets scratched, and those aren’t too deep into the surface, you can try one of those machines that refinish the readable surface, meaning they remove the scratches by polishing the acrylic plastic that is the transparent layer of the CD. If the scratch is too deep, or in the label side of the disc, it probably damaged the silver layer (where the audio is recorded). In that case you’re screwed. Repair kits aren’t too efective, so I wouldn’t mind with them if I’m you. DVD renting or used CD stores usually keep one of the aforementioned machines handy, and charge a small fee for the repair of a disc or several.

Also, keep in mind that straight scratches from the center to the edge of the CD are much less likely to cause your CD to malfunction when compared to scratches paralel to the circumference of the disc, for obvious reasons – a CD reproduction system can afford to lose one or a few bits without any problems, but not several of them, in which case the information (audio) might be impossible to read by the equipment.

CDRs

To record a sample from your recordings, compilations and rare albums you know you won’t easily get otherwise, CDRs are very practical. They are also cheaper than they were years ago, but the average in price have lowered in great part because of cheap quality CDRs flooding the market. In choosing your recording medium, pick a good brand of CDR: Sony, Zykon, Kodak, Mitsui. Buying the CDRs in packs of 20, 25 or 50 is cheaper in the long term as well (less value per unit).

Make sure you buy a good brand of CD burner. Favorites among the public are Asus, Sony, Samsung, LG and AOpen.

For recording, use a good software such as Nero Burning Room 9. Always record your CDRs at the lowest speed possible. Preferably, you should never burn the disc faster than 4x of speed.

The bad combination of low quality CDs, cheap CD burner equipment and excessive burning speed may cause your CDRs to fail to reproduce on the short or the long term, so be sure to spend a little more and be a bit more patient. That way your burned CDRs will last for a long time (+5 years, at least, if you pick a good brand).

For storing the CDRs, you can use either a jewelcase or a slim case, the latter tending to be more practical if you have way too many CDRs. In the last case, it is also a good idea to have an Excel sheet of all your recorded CDs so you can find them, since you can’t easily label the side of slim cases.

Care tips for CDs are equally appliable to the recorded sort. Another thing that should be considered, though, is the damage that heat can produce to the special chemical properties particular to a CDR. So, you should never place a CDR in direct sunlight. More info here.

To label your CDRs, use a water-based marker with a non-sharp tip.

Digital formats

Not much to say here. Prefered audio formats for PC playback are mp3 and FLAC. The latter allows one to keep a CD quality, lossless reproduction of the recording, with its downside being a lot heavier in individual file size than mp3. Other formats, such as .ogg, are also prefered by certain digital audio aficionados.

One thing that should be mentioned, though: if you keep a large collection of digitalized music, it is convenient to store them on a separate external hard drive in case your computer crashes or fails, like they do so often these days.

Some links on the subject you may find useful:

Foobar 2000 – best damn audio playback software for your computer with lots of different options for amateur and expert audio freaks.

FLAC codec home – to download the program/codec that allows your PC to reproduce and burn FLAC files. It includes a coding/decoding software that is light and easy to use.

Fraunhofer mp3 audio codec – One of the best mp3 encoders, allows to get a better quality or definition of sound.

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Metal painting of the month – Rembrandt’s “The Anatomy Lesson”

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Metal isn’t the only artform in history to portray sick imagery. Back in the “good old days” (18th century and below), when people were less afraid of seeing all sides of reality, even the most unconfortable, genius artists made artworks like our pick of today: Rembrandt van Rijn’s “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp”.


Hessian

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Fitting as the insert of an Autopsy or a Carcass album, this painting shows the artist’s preference for the contrast between dark and light, with the latter only to draw more attention to the former (like metal does). The image itself portrays the urge to study the morbid in order to bring more health (again, like metal does). Its exquisite aesthetic details are carefully crafted to further draw us onto the imagery, even if we could initially feel repeled by such, and when the contemplation ends we finally see the subject as a normal, natural thing (metal’s best albums tend to do that as well).

Besides, it looks fucking metal, what else could you possibly want from it?

More info.

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Black sheeps bred in turbulent times: metal, hardcore punk and industrial

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

At all times, the function of art is to bring its audience as close to reality as possible, whether that reality is circunscribed to a certain group, in which its particular culture connects the group to a larger living frame, or by looking at that frame directly, not as members of race, nation or even as humans, but as conscious beings wishing to be more aware of the structure of the universe.

In healthy times, art is seen as necessary for the purpose described above. In sick, decadent times, on the other hand, the situation is drastically different. In times that are ruled by delusion and deception, true art is seen as dangerous, albeit the craft that could potentially create true works of art still exist. Such craft, however, doesn’t reach such heights in most cases, and generally the result is as empty as the values of the time the works were created.

In other words: false art is universally prefered and recognized over true art.

Three genres of music were, at least on their origins and their respective better days, not only true to the strict definition of what art is, but were created as a reaction to the present situation. Those genres are hardcore punk, industrial and heavy metal. These initially were the vehicles in which discontented youngsters with artistic talent and a sharper consciousness which allowed them to view the world in a more realistic fashion could pour their ideas and frustration in sonic form. Hardcore punk took a public-friendly style crafted by marketing and deconstructed it, making it more violent, minimalistic and less rigidly enclosed into a singular form. In the same way, industrial took mainstream music, mixed it with electronically generated sounds and turn that combination into a harsh and cold environment which reminded the listener of the monotonous sound of the industrial machinery that defines our times.

Metal was born into the industrial settings of England by taking rock music and injecting a strong dose of fatalism into it, influenced no doubt by the bleak and dehumanizing surroundings that the first metal heroes experienced. With time, the genre made gigantic leaps, evolving into a nihilistic, naturalistic and romantic artform which splitted from the mainstream forms (the “craft”) from which it initially developed.

Consequentially, those three genres of music are the most hated and ridiculed by the majority of people in today’s society. The fight against these was not only limited to finger pointing, but as a process of assimilation in which the spineless crowd filling the pockets of the mainstream music industry attempted to streamline the genres to make them more tame and accessible.

So, as much as there is false and true art, there is also false metal, false punk, and false industrial, with the proportion of true and false having a certain ratio to it. The struggle for each hessian, then, is to know the true from the false, and how? Easy: recognize that only a modest percentage of metal is worthy of your time; skew the rest; don’t listen to hipsters and other social manipulators; listen and buy only the music you most closely connect to; stay away from scenes: most are dens of manipulation in which the social takes precedence over the artistic, and you will waste valuable time listening to the drivel those people will shove down your throat, so you can be either as “open minded” or “elite” as them.

Lastly, remember the golden rule: if something (music, ideas) is hated with an irrational passion, give it a chance. It may probably be worth something. Be brave, and go against the grain, and you will reach for the best.

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Book review – The Aeneid

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Among the superb examples of classic literature produced by the once rich and productive european culture; amidst the works of a fecund civilization that have left a permanent mark on the subsequent generations, proving their relevance in all eras of human history; touching topics that are so eternal and defining of our humanity, such as the neverending strife for life on all levels; among all those works, very few pieces of writing (and art) can reach the heights of Virgil’s masterwork, the culmination of a lifetime of work and self-improving in the field of the written word.

The intention with this review, less than providing a synthesis of the book’s argument, which can be found anywhere else on the Internet, is to give the reader what we believe is the central message of such a story in a short and concise manner so you can pick the book and explore the depths of its message for yourself.

The main subject of the story is the overcoming of difficulties and the strife for better conditions of living, or a better future. In the example of a group of survivors from the destruction of the legendary Troy, them lead by the fearless and noble warrior Aeneas, as they go through a series of awful calamities one after the other, with nothing but the promise of a bright future that the mentioned group of people won’t even see for themselves, but which will be enjoyed by their descendants, the future patricians that would build the greatest civilization known to man, Virgil gives us the best example of the glory and the rewards of reaching new heights by conquering difficulties.

It is this argument that best reflects that condition of human life that modern people try so hard to hide or run away from: the unescapable fact that, if we want the good things in life, we need to make some effort to get them. Not just some meager effort, but a serious one, since calamities, the only sure things in life, and the ones that come most easily, will get in the way of our dreams. Such calamities may come in many forms: the death of a close one, the sabotage made on us by envious people, the crash of the financial market, or a meteor falling through your roof and into your room – it doesn’t matter. They are as real as the air you breath (”only death is real”, indeed) and you will need to face and go through many of them if you want to get some of the sweet fruits that the tree of life offers.

Despite the universality of its message, I feel this book applies specially to hessians and the hard path in life they choose to take. As modern warriors, wandering as misunderstood entities in the maelstrom of modern life, the analogy with the wandering trojans is self-evident. So, even thought this story doesn’t depict long haired dudes with beer guts, it fits the metalhead persona like a glove.

Grab this and learn the joy of surviving the brutal game of life, the hessian way.

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Sturgeon’s Law

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

In 1958, science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon made a remark on the general state of the SF genre that would live on through the years as an axiom applicable to all human endeavours. The remark will be infamously known as “Sturgeon’s Revelation” or, more familiarly, “Sturgeon’s Law”:

The first reference I can find in his oeuve appears in the March 1958 issue of Venture Science Fiction, where he wrote:

“I repeat Sturgeon’s Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of sf is crud.

“The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud.

“Corallary 1: The existence of immense quantities of trash in science fiction is admitted and if is regrettable; but it is no more unnatural than the existence of trash anywhere.

“Corallary 2: The best science fiction is as good as the best fiction in any field.”

The Theodore Sturgeon FAQ

Sturgeon’s Law is applicable to all fields of human creation, including metal music and its different subgenres.

- NWOBHM: for every cool band arising from the genre such as Angelwitch, Diamond Head, Pagan Altar and the like, there were hundreds of bands mixing mostly early 60s rock with some half-assed, early-Judas Priest rip-off attempt. Mediocre acts such as Tygers of Pan Tang, Praying Mantis, Mythra, Def Leppard and the like were the norm back when the movement exploded in popularity.

- Speed Metal: there was only one Metallica, one Kreator, one Sodom, and many, many Kublai Khans, Evil Deads, Xentrixes, D.A.M.s and Atrophies pouring out uninspired, pussified drivel to bores us to death.

- Death Metal: story repeats itself here. For every masterpiece of the subgenre such as “Like an Ever Flowing Stream”, there was either a lot of wannabe brutal crap or randomly pasted bad speed metal riffs with death growls on top that drowned the genre into irrelevance.

- Black Metal: oh shit, where do we begin here? Let’s just say that the genre was at its most brilliant creative phase when only a handful of bands scattered on different parts of the world such as Norway, Greece, Switzerland, the US and certain south american localities made the most powerful and influential works of the genre. Now, it takes only a small game of “I know one who knows another” to easily link you to any of the thousand wannabe garage black metal bands expecting to be the next legend in the subgenre. And where are the exceptional works of our time? Eeehhh…

Most of the mediocre stuff that plagued each of the metal genres from speed metal downwards have thankfully dissapeared with the years, but some were revived by the shouts of the hipsters demanding 4 LP “die hard” collector versions of the reissues. We can thank them for that.

But don’t despair. As in Sci-Fi, the metal genre may have way too much fat on it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s dying. Rather, the current downfall of the genre is caused by our excessive tolerance of run-of-the-mill music with no intent, passion and spirit on it. That brings us to another point: the fact that metal needs to be fresh again in order to pursue new creative heights. A genre of art, whether it is science fiction or metal music, is defined by the quality of the few acts that can pull the task off, not by the total number of bands.

What should we support, then: the crud, or the good?

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Metal needs to be fresh again

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Those of you who regularly check the blog posts written here have surely noticed that we at the Hessian Studies Center care a lot about the future of underground metal music. And right now, that future is uncertain: the scene produces hundred of releases and most of them are considered decent enough for consideration or even to shell out some bucks, but none inspiring and essential like the undisputed classics of the genre. When confronted with that truth (and many in the scene would readily admit that), they will say that metal was crafted and totally perfected in the “classic era” (late 70s to early 90s). The limit was reached and it was up to us and all subsequent generations to “keep the flame going” by releasing more material following the blueprint given by the old bands to the note.

Such an excuse must have sounded good at first. After all, how far can metal get? It seemed like it stretched out and reached a creative breaking point at the end of the black metal movements forged in Scandinavia, Greece and the US, and it was up to the “hardcore dudes” from the scene to keep the tradition forged by our forefathers and to shy the center of attention away from the “false ones” trying to soften metal by adding progressive self-indulgence or soft vocals on top of a pseudo-symphonic incoherent mess.

The illusion couldn’t last enough though. The guys on the scene did have a point, though: we probably have reached the end of the aesthetical evolution of metal with the culmination of death and black metal technical development. The mistake was believing that technique and style are all the requirements needed for creating quality metal music.

If we choose not to become conformists so we can keep producing album after album of safe, gutless material, we will try to be as creative and demanding on ourselves and release music of the best quality possible, completely unconcerned whether if the scene will dig it or not. It will be honest music, because it will appeal to the standards of the songwriter, and it will be music reaching out to its potential listener since it will encompass an idea common to the whole of humanity and even beyond it and not merely cincunscribed to the ideals of a local scene or group of friends with the naive and limited vision of life of a teenager.

But to accomplish that we need to understand what made the composers of the classic-era of metal so determined to pour their creativity to the maximum on their music. Comparing both eras of metal (the “classic” one and our current times) we can reach, after some pondering, to the one requirement needed to burn the old flame back: the fact that metal needs to be fresh again.

When each of the metal subgenres first arose, it offered a wide spectrum of exploration in concept and development for the craft and gave the musicians involved big creative possibilities. And those horizons were initially given by small additions to a finished subgenre. That way, NWOBHM mixed with hardcore punk spawned speed metal, speed metal with an extra dose of Discharge and the inclusion of morbid concepts and elements created death metal, and so on. Those additions certainly didn’t made the subgenre on its entirety, but gave the initial push required for relentless creativity to finish the job: they gave a feeling of freshness to a genre that was stagnated.

Fast forward to our current time, and we see the same thing happening now: metal is stagnated, and what we need right now is to have the balls to think outside of the box and put our creativity first and social intentions second, while having respect for the history of the genre as determined by its classics. In the process, we would not deny the importance of all the previous eras in metal and we would not try to drastically reinvent the genre, keeping the growth in accordance with the natural evolution of the genre. Darkthrone is easily associable with Bathory, which in turn is easily associable with Motörhead, and the future acts will keep that lineage intact. We are stepping on firm ground. It is only a matter of either sitting there, get lazy, and accumulate fat, or use its firmness to impel ourselves and jump to newer creative heights.

We asserted early on this post that the innovation required would probably not come in the form of technical advancements, but who knows? In any case, the most plausible step towards the future is expanding the conceptual, and therefore, compositional scope of the genre, making longer and more complex songs dealing with universally human topics (the dychotomy between life and death being just one of those topics), in the vein of what composers of the Romantic era did. Black metal did had its influence from electronica. Maybe the future will come with a more newer, fresher creative infusion from classical music.

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The rise and (eventual, hopeful) fall of the retro-trend

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Once the initial downslope of metal, following the black explosion of the early 90s, spawned genericism by the ton in the form of symphonic pseudo-black metal, wimpy brutal death metal for high school jocks and related abominations, foreboding the birth of metalcore, the devoted bangers of the old guard, along with a new crop of underground warriors high on old acts from the 80s in the heavy, speed and thrash subgenres of metal reacted by attempting to bring the old school sound back. This new movement, brought with the best of intentions, would eventually become a trend of it own. You know what they say about Hell and good intentions leading to it. I can’t think of any better example on our favorite music genre than this one.

The new movement, sometimes pejoratively, sometimes appealingly and even at times flatteringly (for some bands) dubbed as “retro”, attempted to reverse the previous stage in the devolution of metal by trying to rescue the essence of what made the classic sound superior, mimicking the style, production values and imagery of the bands caught in the “classic era” (mid 80s initially, early 90s afterwards and 70s/early 80s following) to the absurd point of even recycling riffs of well-known acts in such an obvious manner that it was ridiculous even to point out the ripping off taking place (only it wasn’t that, it was a “tribute” to the band members’ musical preferences).

The retro trend, while making sense as a form of transition from a state of complete flop to something that sucked far less, failed in its attempt because it tried to catch a sound, not an essence or a state of mind. It knew the meal that tastes good, but not the proper way to obtain the materials and cook them. It’s the musical equivalent of a Tv dinner. It failed (and continues to do so) because of the lack of realization that spirit, motivation, mentality and drive make the sound, and you can’t obtain the former from the latter, no matter how much you try.

It would be tempting to say that this created the obsession with form over substance that currently curses metal, but it didn’t . It did contribute, though, to create the present fixation with style, “trueness” and the mix of the two that currently gives the underground scene the character of a carriage stuck in the mud, unable to keep going.

And we’re really stuck here, and the only choice for us is to find an alternative. But there are really many out there and what one needs is to think outside of the box. Photocopying the past to exhaustion didn’t really improve things, but adding random aesthetical novelty won’t give metal new life either, as it was proved many times already. What needs to be done is to go back to the drawing board and think more as songwriters and musicians rather than as fans. Because fanboy-ism, like the kind pervading retro bands, won’t give metal back its glory.

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Too much indiscriminate band support is negative and can eventually kill the underground

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

A metal scene can be defined as a network of people working to promote metal in a certain locality. If done properly, it can be extremely beneficial for the promotion of metal music, but it can also turn into something quite poisonous for the nurturing of great art in the genre.

I’ve seen it a thousand times,and probably you too: a new underground band comes out and if its mildly good it gets promoted to the four winds, sometimes even “deserving” cult or legendary status at only a few months of releasing the first demo. As having success with a band is easier than it has ever been, a local scene can fill itself with hordes upon hordes of new acts expecting its fifteen minutes under the sun, most of them crap because of their motivation.

Some see the amount of bands coming out nowadays as a good thing, but for the more observing, the current state of affairs is tragic: more bands don’t necessarily mean more bands of superior quality.

For those believing that metal is dead because there aren’t any good bands coming out in recent years, it must be said that is not entirely true – there are new bands releasing pretty good music considering their amateurishness, which means they are often far ahead from the herd. Not great nor classic stuff, but music with potential to become excellent, given some time, work and effort. Usually, you can catch them on MySpace and other music channels.

The problem with relentless promotion of the type already explained is that if mediocre stuff can be easily promoted nowadays, the music with potential can too, and that can be perjudicial in the long term for those bands, as an early bout of success in the scene can terminate its potential for further growth. I’ve also seen it. It’s like the scenesters, in non-violent way, clip a band’s wings before it learns to fly by giving the band what they want before they deserve it – recognition.

We at the Hessian Studies Center believe that great art can only come from struggle and difficulties. Don’t complain that there isn’t enough “support”, make it harder on the bands! Be more demanding! If something new doesn’t sound anywhere near like the best bands in the genre, then don’t bother. Many would cringe in horror at that approach, complaining that the number of bands would come crashing down dramatically if many took such a harsh view. Yes, it’s true…the amount of bands would be much less, yet the quality would also go up, as only the most determined warriors would make it to the top.

In such a struggling environment, it would take a lot more than meeting “the right people” or playing the “right style” of metal to get known in the scene, so there would be no more hipsters and poseurs…the key to win a place in the scene would (once again) be musical quality, feeling and expression.

If hessians took only those parameters and to the heart, the scene would once again breed music of quality like in its best days. Besides, such setting reminding one of “survival of the fittest” would adjust to the hessian spirit like a glove – after all, we are all obsessed with war, death and winning battles, why not translate that into our surroundings? And imagine, just imagine, having a new golden era of metal music with bands releasing music as good as the best from Burzum, At the Gates and Manilla Road. It can happen. And it’s up to us.

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