This week I’ve decided to educate you about something awesome that has come out of the metal community. It’s not the music, it’s not the clothes, and it’s not the hairstyles. It’s a television show actually. But now just any television show, this is Metalocalypse.
Metalocalypse follows the lives of part - American/part – Scandinavian band Dethklok, a band that has reached unimaginable levels of popularity and has become the 7th largest economy in the world and growing. Dethklok tend to cause violence and destruction wherever they go, and their concerts are so violent that attendants must sign “pain wavers”, releasing the band from any liability in the likely case that they are maimed or killed. The band themselves greatly enjoy this chaos that seems to follow them everywhere, and often choose to do something depending on how “metal” or “brutal” they think it is.
Metalocalypse is like The Simpsons of the metal world. You’re not famous until you’ve lent your voice to a character or had your band referenced in one of the episodes. To date members of bands such as Arch Enemy, Cannibal Corpse, Metallica and Dimmu Borgir have made vocal appearances and there have been references made to bands such as Burzum, Finntroll and Children of Bodom.
It has also become the source of some of the most memorable quotes you are ever likely to hear on a television programme, with the members often insulting each other and those around them in quite imaginable ways. It is not uncommon to hear someone referred to as a “Swedish dildo licker” and quotes such as “This is metal...for fish” or “Looks at this one, asleeps in some bloods.”
With two seasons completed and a third in production, Metalocalypse has gained a large fanbase and continues to grow in popularity and influence. You can find this great cartoon on YouTube, or pick up the DVDs at places like JB HiFi and The Warehouse. You won’t regret spending the money on it!
On a final note, I just want to say thanks for all the feedback I keep receiving. It’s really good to know people are reading and enjoying. Although I think I should mention a few things about myself. Basically I listen to alot of metal, mainly in the genres of Symphonic and Melodic Death. I’m also quite partial to a bit of Power metal and Black metal. As a general rule if it’s from Scandinavia, I’ll like it. I’m pretty familiar with most bands in the European metal scene, but if you have any suggestions or anything you would like to see in a future column, feel free to email me at kjf1352@aut.ac.nz.
5/25/2009
5/18/2009
Issue 10 2009
This week I take a break from trying to educate the masses about metal and talk about something that is happening right now, New Zealand music month. Now you may be thinking ‘oh great, she’s going to talk about some awesome NZ metal bands!’ But you would be wrong. Whilst there are some really good NZ metal bands out there, that is not the main point I’m going to address (but never fear I will talk about them in the future, along with shameless plugs for any bands willing to answer my questions).
Now if you’re looking for a happy little article about how much good NZ music month does for NZ music, then you should probably stop reading now, because it’s simply not true. In order to benefit from NZ music month one basically needs to be already signed to a record label, and be getting substantial airplay. To put it bluntly, it only helps the bands that don’t really need it, completely disregarding the unsigned, non-mainstream bands that have to work twice as hard just to get their music out there.
The NZ music commission boasts that during the month of May radio play of NZ artists increases by however many percent each year. What they don’t say is how many different NZ artists are played on NZ radio and whether or not that increases over May. Repeating the same Elemeno P or Smashproof song every hour, 24 hours a day for a whole month shouldn’t count as ‘giving artists more exposure’. It’s simple over exposure.
Talking to people who should actually benefit from NZ music month, you quickly find out that they don’t. Cameron from Invercargill band Osmium thought that “it [NZ music month] doesn’t really help the bands that need it the most” and that “a lot of the bands I know don’t really give a shit about it.” Similarly Damian from Dunedin band Soulseller suggested that “All the effort should be put into the actual promotion of the bands and music. Whenever May rolls around, all some people seem to desire is a new tshirt or hoodie with that logo on it.... I can't help but feel a lot of people are missing out. It feels like all the attention goes to those all ready well established acts, who let’s face it, don't need it. Everyone knows who they are. It’s a load of shit.”
So this New Zealand music month, instead of buying one of those overpriced tshirts go out and see a band or buy a CD and help support our local industry the right way.
On a similar note, Soulseller have just re-released their debut EP! Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/soulsellersouths. While you’re on Myspace check out Camerons’ band Osmium at http://www.myspace.com/osmiumband
Now if you’re looking for a happy little article about how much good NZ music month does for NZ music, then you should probably stop reading now, because it’s simply not true. In order to benefit from NZ music month one basically needs to be already signed to a record label, and be getting substantial airplay. To put it bluntly, it only helps the bands that don’t really need it, completely disregarding the unsigned, non-mainstream bands that have to work twice as hard just to get their music out there.
The NZ music commission boasts that during the month of May radio play of NZ artists increases by however many percent each year. What they don’t say is how many different NZ artists are played on NZ radio and whether or not that increases over May. Repeating the same Elemeno P or Smashproof song every hour, 24 hours a day for a whole month shouldn’t count as ‘giving artists more exposure’. It’s simple over exposure.
Talking to people who should actually benefit from NZ music month, you quickly find out that they don’t. Cameron from Invercargill band Osmium thought that “it [NZ music month] doesn’t really help the bands that need it the most” and that “a lot of the bands I know don’t really give a shit about it.” Similarly Damian from Dunedin band Soulseller suggested that “All the effort should be put into the actual promotion of the bands and music. Whenever May rolls around, all some people seem to desire is a new tshirt or hoodie with that logo on it.... I can't help but feel a lot of people are missing out. It feels like all the attention goes to those all ready well established acts, who let’s face it, don't need it. Everyone knows who they are. It’s a load of shit.”
So this New Zealand music month, instead of buying one of those overpriced tshirts go out and see a band or buy a CD and help support our local industry the right way.
On a similar note, Soulseller have just re-released their debut EP! Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/soulsellersouths. While you’re on Myspace check out Camerons’ band Osmium at http://www.myspace.com/osmiumband
5/11/2009
DragonForce Guitar hero
Some of you may or may not be aware, but a while back I won a competition held by Nightline to win a a Guitar hero III controller signed by DragonForce. All I had to do was write a story in the style of DragonForces lyrics explaining why I should get it.
Heres the video Sam and Frederic announcing my story as the winner.
And heres the story
Once there was a young maiden who was entrapped by an evil foe. It was a nasty foe which had wasted away the lives of many. This foes name was boredom.
In order to defeat boredom the young maiden enlisted the help of her friend the Ninja. The Ninja suggested that in order to defeat this foe, that young maiden should go on an epic quest and battle many in order to attain something known as “Guitar Hero III”. The Ninja agreed to accompany the young maiden on the quest and together on the back of a dragon they left on the epic journey to find the mythical unicorn, who was the guardian of “Guitar Hero III”.
Fuelled by a magical potion, they flew on their mighty dragon for 500 days until they came to the great gate. At the gate stood a man, his long hair flowing gloriously in the wind.
“You have come to see the unicorn, but before you do you must answer me this. Once long ago, there was a great ruler of this land, he too was entrapped by the evil foe boredom, but he defeated it. The “Guitar Hero III” you seek bares his mark. So tell me what the name of this great leader was?”
The young maiden immediately knew the answer
“It was not just one man” she replied, “but a group of six men who came to be known as DragonForce.”
“That is correct” replied the man with the glorious hair, “you may now pass to see the unicorn.”
Before the young maiden could blink (but not the ninja, ninjas don’t blink. Ever.) the man with the glorious hair had disappeared and a unicorn had replaced him.
“Many also seek what you want” said the mythical talking unicorn, “so why should you receive this mighty gift over others?”
“Oh great mythical talking unicorn” began the young maiden, “long have I fought the foe boredom, and battle after battle have I lost to him. Perhaps though, if I were to wield this mighty weapon, in which the spirit of the great group DragonForce resides, perhaps then I could defeat this evil foe.”
The mythical talking unicorn looked unimpressed, so the maiden continued.
“I am of but humble means, oh great mythical talking unicorn, to attain such a tool against the enemy is far out of my reach unless gifted to me by such a noble creature as yourself.”
Apparently the mythical talking unicorn was not above flattery, as his expression changed.
“Alright then young maiden. Your battles have been numerous and your quest here long and epic. I shall reward your efforts”
And with that, the magical “Guitar Hero III” in which the spirit of the great group DragonForce resided appeared infront of the young maiden.
Her quest complete, the young maiden returned home on the back of a dragon with her friend the Ninja to battle the foe of boredom with her new weapon.
Heres the video Sam and Frederic announcing my story as the winner.
And heres the story
Once there was a young maiden who was entrapped by an evil foe. It was a nasty foe which had wasted away the lives of many. This foes name was boredom.
In order to defeat boredom the young maiden enlisted the help of her friend the Ninja. The Ninja suggested that in order to defeat this foe, that young maiden should go on an epic quest and battle many in order to attain something known as “Guitar Hero III”. The Ninja agreed to accompany the young maiden on the quest and together on the back of a dragon they left on the epic journey to find the mythical unicorn, who was the guardian of “Guitar Hero III”.
Fuelled by a magical potion, they flew on their mighty dragon for 500 days until they came to the great gate. At the gate stood a man, his long hair flowing gloriously in the wind.
“You have come to see the unicorn, but before you do you must answer me this. Once long ago, there was a great ruler of this land, he too was entrapped by the evil foe boredom, but he defeated it. The “Guitar Hero III” you seek bares his mark. So tell me what the name of this great leader was?”
The young maiden immediately knew the answer
“It was not just one man” she replied, “but a group of six men who came to be known as DragonForce.”
“That is correct” replied the man with the glorious hair, “you may now pass to see the unicorn.”
Before the young maiden could blink (but not the ninja, ninjas don’t blink. Ever.) the man with the glorious hair had disappeared and a unicorn had replaced him.
“Many also seek what you want” said the mythical talking unicorn, “so why should you receive this mighty gift over others?”
“Oh great mythical talking unicorn” began the young maiden, “long have I fought the foe boredom, and battle after battle have I lost to him. Perhaps though, if I were to wield this mighty weapon, in which the spirit of the great group DragonForce resides, perhaps then I could defeat this evil foe.”
The mythical talking unicorn looked unimpressed, so the maiden continued.
“I am of but humble means, oh great mythical talking unicorn, to attain such a tool against the enemy is far out of my reach unless gifted to me by such a noble creature as yourself.”
Apparently the mythical talking unicorn was not above flattery, as his expression changed.
“Alright then young maiden. Your battles have been numerous and your quest here long and epic. I shall reward your efforts”
And with that, the magical “Guitar Hero III” in which the spirit of the great group DragonForce resided appeared infront of the young maiden.
Her quest complete, the young maiden returned home on the back of a dragon with her friend the Ninja to battle the foe of boredom with her new weapon.
Issue 9 2009
Last time I educated you about the history of females in metal, telling you about the few prominent females and how females had still struggled to find a foothold in such a male dominated society. This week I’ll attempt to educate you about the rise of female fronted metal.
In the early 1990’s two bands of significance, Theatre of Tragedy and The Gathering formed and released albums which would go on to be the foundations of Gothic metal and directly influence these later bands. The thing that made these two bands stand out from their peers is the fact they were fronted by females. In the early 90’s this was practically unheard of, but Theatre of Tragedy and The Gathering seemed to find an as yet untapped market by combining delicate female vocals with the heaviness of metal music. Another element that started to emerge with these two bands was the combination of metal music with classical elements. But despite the growing popularity of these two bands, females still lacked a solid foothold.
Then in 1996 Tuomas Holopainen was sitting around a campfire with some friends when he had the idea to start a little project. He enlisted the help of a friend of his, Tarja Turunen, to sing the lyrics expecting a voice similar to that of Anneke van Giersbergen, front woman of The Gathering. He instead found that Turunen had a powerful classical voice which was far too strong for his simple acoustic music. This prompted Holopainen to add more heavy metal elements to his project. Holopainen would later name this project Nightwish, and now after 13 years, 6 albums, the addition of a full orchestra and choir to their album recordings, changing their original bass player and the controversial public firing of Tarja Turunen, Nightwish have sold over four and a half million albums worldwide, created the sound of Symphonic metal and become one of the most prominent European metal bands. Nightwish have greatly helped the rise of female fronted metal bands to prominence, both in being a spearhead for their peers and providing inspiration for countless other bands. I don’t think it’s possible to put into words how massive these guys are in Europe. In their native Finland, you can actually get a Nightwish credit card.
Because of the early pioneers such as Doro Pesche and Girlschool, the latter influences of The Gathering and Theatre of tragedy, and finally the emergence of Nightwish as a metal heavyweight, females now seem to have found their active place in the metal world. It is now not an uncommon sight to see a band of long haired, unwashed, drunk men fronted by a long haired, washed, mostly sober female.
However despite this new found prominence, most female fronted metal bands are somewhat confined to the genres of gothic and symphonic metal. Females are also mostly confined to the role of front woman, with very few female musicians finding their way to prominence.
In the early 1990’s two bands of significance, Theatre of Tragedy and The Gathering formed and released albums which would go on to be the foundations of Gothic metal and directly influence these later bands. The thing that made these two bands stand out from their peers is the fact they were fronted by females. In the early 90’s this was practically unheard of, but Theatre of Tragedy and The Gathering seemed to find an as yet untapped market by combining delicate female vocals with the heaviness of metal music. Another element that started to emerge with these two bands was the combination of metal music with classical elements. But despite the growing popularity of these two bands, females still lacked a solid foothold.
Then in 1996 Tuomas Holopainen was sitting around a campfire with some friends when he had the idea to start a little project. He enlisted the help of a friend of his, Tarja Turunen, to sing the lyrics expecting a voice similar to that of Anneke van Giersbergen, front woman of The Gathering. He instead found that Turunen had a powerful classical voice which was far too strong for his simple acoustic music. This prompted Holopainen to add more heavy metal elements to his project. Holopainen would later name this project Nightwish, and now after 13 years, 6 albums, the addition of a full orchestra and choir to their album recordings, changing their original bass player and the controversial public firing of Tarja Turunen, Nightwish have sold over four and a half million albums worldwide, created the sound of Symphonic metal and become one of the most prominent European metal bands. Nightwish have greatly helped the rise of female fronted metal bands to prominence, both in being a spearhead for their peers and providing inspiration for countless other bands. I don’t think it’s possible to put into words how massive these guys are in Europe. In their native Finland, you can actually get a Nightwish credit card.
Because of the early pioneers such as Doro Pesche and Girlschool, the latter influences of The Gathering and Theatre of tragedy, and finally the emergence of Nightwish as a metal heavyweight, females now seem to have found their active place in the metal world. It is now not an uncommon sight to see a band of long haired, unwashed, drunk men fronted by a long haired, washed, mostly sober female.
However despite this new found prominence, most female fronted metal bands are somewhat confined to the genres of gothic and symphonic metal. Females are also mostly confined to the role of front woman, with very few female musicians finding their way to prominence.
Issue 8 2009
You may be a little confused as to why I, as a female, may be writing about metal music. But never fear, you’re not the first and you will not be the last. I have been asked many things such as if I was lost whilst standing in the metal section, or where my boyfriend was. As such I felt it was important to talk about the role and involvement of females in metal, because as it may come as a surprise to some, they do exist in such a male dominated society.
It’s a simple fact that there is no bigger boys club in the world than the metal culture. Most of the performers are men, most of the fans are men, most of the roadies are men, most of the producers are men, you get the idea. But there have always been females in this boys club.
There have been a number of prominent females floating around in the rock scene since the mid 70s, but for the point of this article I’m going to look solely at those you can find in the world of metal. The first females to make a real dent in the metal scene came out of London in 1977, a band called Girlschool. They went through a number of line-up changes but kept to their original idea of an all female metal band. Girlschool went on to support big name bands such as Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper and Deep Purple. Though Girlschool never really achieved a high amount of commercial success they continue to maintain a cult status worldwide.
But this cult status is nothing when compared to that of the undisputed Queen of Metal. In 1983 a blonde haired, leather clad Doro Pesch joined the band Warlock. In 1989 after surviving numerous line-up changes Pesch was the only original member of Warlock remaining and renamed the band Doro. Pesch lead the way for females in metal, refusing to conform to the typical image of a female and proving to her male peers and the male audience that females could rock as hard as the males. Helping Pesch lead the way was Sabina Classen of the band Holy Moses, who in 1981 was one of the first women to use death growls, and is still one of the few females who have managed to make a name for themselves in this way.
Despite these early pioneers, females still struggled to find a foothold in the scene. But in the mid 1990’s a series of bands formed fronted by females that would help to change this. Next time I’ll go into detail about this new wave of female prominence and their influence on this male dominated society.
It’s a simple fact that there is no bigger boys club in the world than the metal culture. Most of the performers are men, most of the fans are men, most of the roadies are men, most of the producers are men, you get the idea. But there have always been females in this boys club.
There have been a number of prominent females floating around in the rock scene since the mid 70s, but for the point of this article I’m going to look solely at those you can find in the world of metal. The first females to make a real dent in the metal scene came out of London in 1977, a band called Girlschool. They went through a number of line-up changes but kept to their original idea of an all female metal band. Girlschool went on to support big name bands such as Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper and Deep Purple. Though Girlschool never really achieved a high amount of commercial success they continue to maintain a cult status worldwide.
But this cult status is nothing when compared to that of the undisputed Queen of Metal. In 1983 a blonde haired, leather clad Doro Pesch joined the band Warlock. In 1989 after surviving numerous line-up changes Pesch was the only original member of Warlock remaining and renamed the band Doro. Pesch lead the way for females in metal, refusing to conform to the typical image of a female and proving to her male peers and the male audience that females could rock as hard as the males. Helping Pesch lead the way was Sabina Classen of the band Holy Moses, who in 1981 was one of the first women to use death growls, and is still one of the few females who have managed to make a name for themselves in this way.
Despite these early pioneers, females still struggled to find a foothold in the scene. But in the mid 1990’s a series of bands formed fronted by females that would help to change this. Next time I’ll go into detail about this new wave of female prominence and their influence on this male dominated society.
Issue 6 2009
First a little beginners course.
Whilst there were bands prior that could be considered the ‘true’ beginning of metal, 90% of people in the metal culture will consider Black Sabbath to be the very first metal band. Forming in 1968 in Birmingham England, many people now sadly associate this band with their first front man, reality TV Dad Ozzy Osborne who has become something of a poster boy for what happens when you take too many drugs. Fortunately the real soul of Black Sabbath was guitarist and song writer Tony Iommi who is responsible for a sound that launched a genre. Despite numerous line up changes, a grand total of twenty two former members, Black Sabbath is still going strong having sold over 100 million albums worldwide.
Despite many pre-conceived notions, metal is not just loud guitars and ‘screaming’ harsh vocals. In fact most of the well known names such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Motorhead have ‘normal’ clean vocals. It also has an extremely complicated culture of genres, sub genres, fused genres and god-knows-what genres. Even within the community not everyone agrees 100% on the ‘titles’ of certain genres, and there’s always going to be at least one argument about which genre someone’s favourite band fits into. There’s no way I could list all the genres and sub genres with my word limit, but to give you an idea there is death metal, melodic death metal, black metal, symphonic black metal, symphonic metal, gothic metal, goth metal, speed metal, power metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, Viking metal, folk metal, hair metal, classic metal...I think you get the idea...
The names aren’t the only things that are different, quite a few of the genres I listed could not sound more different if they tried. For example, on the lighter end of the scale there are the likes of power metal, symphonic metal and gothic metal. Floating around in the middle you could find classic metal and melodic death metal. Then down in the truly heavy end of the spectrum are the likes of death metal and black metal. A power metal group such as Stratovarious will sound nothing like a melodic death metal group such as In Flames, and the latter will only sound slightly similar to a black metal band such as Gorgoroth. And yet by some strange, complicated way, they all get grouped under the big umbrella that is metal. If you really want to get a feel for the diversity that can be found in metal I would suggest Youtube-ing my two favourite bands. The first links that come up with ‘Nightwish – Nemo’ and ‘Children of Bodom – Hate Me’ should give you a fair idea.
Well I hope that has given you a bit of an insight into the world of metal. Next week, or there abouts I’ll try to explain to you why females aren’t just at metal concerts to hold their boyfriends jacket.
PS. If you don’t like the bands I listen to don’t bother complaining. I’ll just roll my eyes and ignore you. ^^
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