The softness of metal
psyche.co32 points by NaOH a day ago
32 points by NaOH a day ago
Almost every big-name band now, metal or not, will have an 'R U OK' moment somewhere in the set. Metal has (for me) been the only gigs where it actually feels authentic.
Tall fat & autistic, I've spent my whole life trying to make myself small and not "in the way". A concert is the only place where I stand up straight, naturally, without even thinking about it. I can't stand the idea of sweat (mine or other peoples) yet I'm perfectly happy drowning in it in the middle of moshpit, grinning ear to ear with the person next to me, knowing we're experiencing the same thing. You help each other up when you fall, and you embrace each other when it's all too much.
Anyone that's been to a Devin Townsend concert will be familiar with the sight of a hundred big burly bearded blokes bawling their eyes out and hugging each other.
Therapy WISHES it had the effectiveness of metal.
Lemmy. The man, the myth, the legend. Like with Ozzy, there was no stage persona. I’ve met him on a street the day after the gig looking exactly as he did on stage the day before. If you listen to stories about him, you’ll find the obligatory drinking and excess. Sure. But immediately after you’ll find a lonely man who deeply cared about his team, who was probably too smart for the business and who added warmth to even simple human interaction. Ozzy was the same and it’s no coincidence his most vulnerable songs were written by Lemmy. Having met both, I miss them in this world.
I go to a lot of small power/symphonic metal concerts in Berlin, usually 100-200 people, small venue, 3 bands, 30-50 Euro entry, 5 Euro beer. Everything is so direct. The band is right in front of you - and quite often the earlier bands stand with you in the audience for the later ones. Very few people hold up their phones. It's one of the most retro experiences of people being present and in the moment.
If I compare that with the hoops my wife had to jump through to go to Taylor Swifts Eras tour - the fanclub joining, the late night ticket queues, the hefty price tag - all to sit in the back of a massive stadium with poor sound, observing a tiny dot in the distance that might or might not be Taylor swift I couldn't be more happy with my choice of genre.
Metal would have the same problems if it drew Taylor Swift size crowds. You find it fun because its small and shows manage easy at this scale. Not the fault of taylor or pop music.
The parent seems very aware that he's lucky he happens to be into a kind of music that isn't very popular.
Anecdotally my friend who works at the bar at a music venue said the rock and metal fans are always the chill-est and easiest going.
Could argue it's because it's kind of a dead genre now. I know there are thousands of new bands esch year snd huge shows, but whens th last time you felt like the pace.of development in the 80s or 90s? Both the fact that new forms of metal were being developed every day and that people tended to be passionate enough anout it to end in physical fights.
I imagine it's the same with eg hiphop, with the various infamous shady and criminal acts associated with Deathrow in its heydey. Can anyone say if similar things haopen today or that element has died down?
New york hardcore for instance used to be involved in some gangs and criminal enterprises. Things were definitely quite vital at one point in time.
Well, feeling rather bamboozled after clicking the link to discover that the article has fuckall to do with Rockwell, Vickers, Brinell, or materials science in general.
Same, I thought it's about how surprisingly easy steels are to cut, and also how some softer metals are harder to cut and so on.
Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas!