by ShoreSlayer » Fri Apr 09, 2010 11:19 am
The whole poser thing raised about Machine Head in the Headliner thread got me thinking.
When it's well intentioned and wisely directed, I value loyalty and integrity as much as the next person. And I think I cringe as much as the next when I hear of someone selling out their fans and their musical history to pursue a creative path that seems more motivated by profit than true inspiration and musical quality (ie: Metallica when they met and embraced the true Satan himself, Bob Rock or when Vivian Campbell left Dio to hook up with the ever-increasing saccharine flavoured version of Def Leppard).
I'm not here to defend Machine Head because I'm not a huge fan of theirs and it's not really the point of my post. I enjoyed their set opening for Megadeth and Slayer last year and have a couple of their albums but I'm the last person who should be weighing in on whether or not their music deserves the respect of others. I really do believe I'm more open-minded than the average metal fan when it comes to the music I choose to listen to vs. what I'll discard as shit. Not sure if it comes from being a musician myself or just not being very picky or what, but I just like a LOT of different stuff. As I've said in other threads, as well as hundreds, maybe thousands of metal bands in various sub-genres, I'm also a fan of numerous artists outside of metal . For me, music has a lot to do with moods and I just don't spend all my waking hours in search of headbanging adrenaline and mind-bending, speed-of-light solos. If that disqualifies me as a true metal fan in the eyes of some, fair enough.
But what constitutes a sell-out or a poser? I mean, Dimebag and Co. did okay for themselves despite Pantera's questionable musical past before Anselmo signed up. Alex Skolnick has ripped it up with Testament and Savatage for decades now but his work with TSO is quite a leap, backwards most would suggest, from what he created with those bands. Judas Priest's Turbo is an album that comes to mind as one that had fans shrugging and rolling their eyes. Even the mighty Sabbath, held by many to be the grand-daddies of all metal, released a fair bit of material that was a far cry from the content of their classic debut. Sure, some of it expanded on what they'd begun and took metal in new directions, but some was pretty experimental or unusual (Planet Caravan from Paranoid) and, at times, influenced by commercial trends (It's Alright from Technical Ecstasy). The list goes on.
Lots of the times the responsibility rests with record company execs or bad management decisions but, often it also has to do with the musicians themselves looking to branch out and expand their personal horizons and grow as musicians. Some just tire of playing the same kind of stuff night in, night out. Is it the stance of the metal purist that any artist, once they've established themselves as a member of the metal family tree, who goes on to record or perform something that is less metal or even non-metal, whether it be to earn a bigger pay cheque or to explore different aspects of their musical talent, is automatically a sell-out? Hypothetically, some kid grows up surrounded by family and friends who are into country or rap. He or she learns to sing or play and starts to build a career and a following in one of those genres and then discovers metal and finds it to be the most satisfying and exciting form of music they've ever heard or played. They go on to form a metal band but their past is discovered soon afterward by their fans. Are they a poser or a convert? You learn that one of your favourite guitarists listens to Avril Lavigne when he's relaxing on the tour bus... Do you lose respect for them?
Don't get me wrong, I do have an idea or two of my own about some of this but I always enjoy hearing what others think about stuff like this.
Cheers
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