![]() ![]() On that note, one more programming update before we get to the good stuff: Stereogum Managing Editor Michael Nelson will no longer be contributing to the Black Market, something he discussed in the essay at the top of our last installment. But if you’re still reading at this point, chances are good that these songs will help to light a fire in your belly, as they have for us. If you wanna see something else in it, then that’s your prerogative, and by the same token, you can go screw if you don’t like my version. I want metal to be a pulse of gut-level hostility towards bastards in power. I don’t mean that in a “post-factual” way - it’s a genuine feature of complex cultural spaces. And maybe this notion - that this music, which has so enriched my life over the years and has given me resolve during many difficult personal moments, might do the same for others during the unique trials the world now faces - is one such fiction.īut that’s the nice thing about Rorschach blots they can be whatever you want them to be, even as they’re other things to other people. We all rely on useful fictions to stay sane sometimes. It has certainly served that function for me, so perhaps I’m projecting right now. It is my hope that the fiery spirit of dissent and individualism enshrined in the best metal will serve to lift people’s hearts as they grapple with the calamities ahead. Enduring them will require a great deal of resilience, energy, and perseverance. We won’t do things the way you do them.” In the absence of other clear-cut universal features, this gut-level disdain for the way things are ranks among metal’s defining traits. Whatever their pace, there’s a common feature to all its rhythms: a voice chanting, “No. You could plausibly argue that metal wouldn’t exist if there were no status quo to push back against. Even when metal celebrates the good times, it’s usually pissing someone off in the process, as Tipper Gore can attest. (First and foremost among these demographics: teenagers.) From the most id-trawling sex’n’violence riff sleaze to the most aspirational and highfalutin avant-garde fare, metal constantly defines itself by rejection, opposition, and antagonistic up-yours-ing. There’s a reason that metal has been a premiere genre among society’s most recalcitrant demographics for so long, alongside punk rock and hip-hop. Virtually any assertion about this aspect of metal culture can be supported with a rich array of examples, because it’s just gone in virtually every possible direction on the sociopolitical map over the past 45 years.īut in my experience, there is a unifying emotional drive that undergirds virtually all metal. It is exactly as partisan, exactly as socially engaged, exactly as interested in the real world as you want it to be. There’s also Slayer frontman and noted Catholic advocate for Satanism Tom Araya, gleefully telling the internet how funny he thinks the prospect of Mike Pence “turning fruits into vegetables” is.) Debates about the specific sociopolitical valence of metal writ large are basically irresolvable, because the genre’s breadth and depth make it a Rorschach blot. (There is a metal subgenre that consists of literal Nazis. On one hand, it has a long history as explicitly antiestablishment protest music, but on the other, it is frequently apolitical, and sometimes outright reactionary. The answer to this question is unclear, in large part because metal is so deeply heterodox. Given the circumstances, I’ll keep it brief. Before we get to this month’s crop - which is extra stacked, since we considered music released in December as well as in January - it’s worth taking a second to consider what role, if any, heavy metal will play in the coming imbroglio. We gotta keep the lights on here, so riffs are indeed the order of business for us right now. This state of affairs is rightly taking up all of our attention - we all have higher matters than riffs to attend to, regardless of where we live.īut for the time being, everyday life goes on, even as the stormclouds gather overhead. History may come to view January of 2017 as a major turning point in history, a crucial period in a vast geopolitical rupture even if not, the global community is essentially holding its breath and hitting “refresh” on its newsfeed as it awaits new rounds of disruptions to a world order that most regarded as historically inevitable at this time last year. That said, writing about blastbeats and growling frankly feels like a misuse of energy at this particular moment. It has been a privilege to work on this column for these past years, and we’re very excited to cover an outstanding year for underground and extreme metal of all sorts. Welcome to the first installment of the Black Market’s fifth year in operation. ![]()
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