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Western Canadian Fuzz: A Primer on Everything Stoner from Vancouver
Beachside skateparks, laidback attitudes, astronomical rent prices, and year round red sun. If I asked you to name one city in the world where all of the aforementioned apply, I’d bet you a handful of nickels that California crawls its way into your head first. You normally wouldn’t be wrong, but in this specific case, we’re talking about our Sunshine State: Vancouver, British Columbia.
We’ve still got your crazed, dirty-faced street dwellers constantly spewing about how the end is nigh. We’ve also got good B.C. bud (which is legal up here in Canada, by the way). And we’ve got fresh fish tacos at Go Fish down near Granville Island. We’ve even got homeless people riding stolen shopping carts down hills just for the thrill of it.
Well, there’s something about the combination of sea, sky, and city that sustains a cultural hotbed - one known for film, art, and music. The first Rambo film, titled First Blood (1982), saw Sylvester Stallone hiking through the Canadian bush up in a little town called Hope, just an hour away from our seaside city. Vancouver’s nickname of “Hollywood North” couldn’t be more accurate, with more movies filmed here than you’d think - they’re just not set in Vancouver.
However, the musically-inclined lie at the forefront of this creative culture. From fuzz to sludgy riffs, Vanvouver is a city that is slowly becoming known for its stoner-tinged heavy music scene. While there are, of course, bands that don’t deal with anything stoner-related, but there seems to be a trend that leans this way. Here are seven Vancity stoner metal bands you should be listening to - in no particular order.
Bison:
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Bison emerged from Vancouver’s crossover/punk/thrash skate scene that produced a few decent bands out of the early 2000s. However, unlike their meals-on-four-wheels skatepark contemporaries who leaned more towards a punky crossover edge, Bison stands tall with a heavier, doomier, sludgier sound. While officially labeled as stoner/sludge metal, the group really appeals to most corners of the metal arena. Their debut 2008 LP, Quiet Earth, (which sports a bison riding a smoking canoe through space as an album cover) leans toward a thrashier, more fast-paced sound, but their newest output - 2017’s You Are Not the Ocean You Are the Patient - offers slower and more doomier sonics, coupled with lyrics that mostly focus on environmental issues.
Fun Fact: The documentary Carts of Darkness (2008), which depicts Vancouver’s shopping cart-riding homeless culture, features a Bison song.
Recommended record: You Are Not the Ocean You Are the Patient (2017)
Trial track: “Until the Earth is Empty”
S.T.R.E.E.T.S.:
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S.T.R.E.E.T.S. (a.k.a. Skateboarding Totally Rules Everything Else Totally Sucks) is a now-defunct skate thrash band that saw its hayday sometime between the turn of the century and 2005. The act most notably featured James Gnarwell, who also does lead vocals for the aforementioned band, Bison. While his vocal style more-or-less remains within the same sonic vein throughout the two projects, S.T.R.E.E.T.S. demonstrates a more lighthearted side to Gnarwell’s now-serious musicianship. Featuring album titles like Invaders From Gnars and BoBoGnarGnar, the band’s music is diversely fun — with catchy lead guitar work, gnarly basslines, and comical lyrics at the forefront of it all. It sounds exactly like what a bunch of skateboarding teens would put together after a jaunt at the skatepark, and sometimes that’s all you need from a record spin.
Fun fact: The band’s song “Georgia St.” was featured in the first edition of EA’s Skate video game series.
Recommended record: Invaders From Gnars (2005)
Trial track: “Beat Up In A Langley Washroom”
Black Wizard:
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Black Wizard move us along our Vancouvian showcase towards a more melodic region of the metal-verse. While Bison and S.T.R.E.E.T.S. featured a little more thrashy crossover action coupled with barking vocals, Black Wizard run closer to what their name suggests. Taking more influence from traditional stoner/doom bands like Monolord and Om, melodic clean singing is the name of the game here. On that note, blending melodic clean singing with precise instrumentation is what Black Wizard excels at. The band also manages to include a few faster, thrashier anthems to their releases, which gives them a bit more punch than other contemporaries.
Fun fact: On the band’s newest record, there is a song titled “James Wolfe”. Contrary to popular belief, this tune is not named after the British army general who helped beat the French on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec back in 1759. James Wolfe just happens to be a modern friend of the band who they decided to give a nod to. No politics here - whew!
Recommended record: Livin’ Oblivion (2018)
Trial track: “Two Of These Nights”
Seer:
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Following-up as number 4 on the list is Seer, another Vancouver-based stoner/doom band. With this group, one would be highly mistaken to misjudge them solely by their genre tag, as they offer a whole lot more than just bland stonerish doom metal. Injecting haunting soaring vocals, juicy breakdowns, and even occasional blast beats/growling into the stoner/doom sound is what Seer does better than any other band I have come across. You know that trope people say about albums that goes something like “wow, that didn’t feel like forty-five minutes”? Yeah, well, the first person to ever say that was listening to a Seer album. Furthermore, despite having an average song length of 7-8 minutes, none of their albums draw past the forty-five minute mark, making each a palatable listen. All killer, no filler, baby.
Fun fact: Don’t mistake the band name for some word you just don’t know. “Seer” literally just means someone who sees. I’m not ashamed, but it took me a few weeks to realize that.
Recommended record: Vol. 6 (2019)
Trial track: “As The Light Fades”
Hashteroid:
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Ah, yes. The weedian names are finally starting to emerge. Take that, Weedeater, I like Hashteroid’s band name better. Anyways, this list would not be complete without a silly band name centered around marijuana, so in comes Hashteroid. These Vancouvians play a little faster than the average bloke standing outside one of the city’s many cannabis cafés, with some serious High On Fire/Motörhead vibes going on throughout their debut self-titled album. If you like the aforementioned punky bands and enjoy a little more sativa than indica in your non-potable potents, Hashteroid might be your next big kick.
Fun fact: Sleep, one of the most influential and popular stoner/doom bands of all time, released a surprise album a few years back, of which the opening track includes the lyric “through the hashteroid fields, a transmission yields”. Whether it is a nod to our B.C. boys or not, the true Hashteroid were pretty stoked about that.
Recommended record: Hashteroid (2018)
Trial track: “...Return to Hash Planet”
Dead Quiet:
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Dead Quiet are probably the most standard-sounding band in this list, and that is by no means a bad thing. To describe their sound, they sound like a punkier, bluesier version of Kyuss, with maybe a cleaner production. They’ve got some faster hitters, some more instrumentation-oriented tracks, and some sing-songy slower numbers that stick in your head, inevitably asking you to crawl back for more. While Dead Quiet can certainly easily be compared to a few other similar bands out there, it cannot be denied that they know how to write catchy stoner rock songs. Borderlining on music that sounds like classic rock, Dead Quiet is the band you listen to when your ears can’t take any more of that progressive post-hardcore melodic grindcore you love oh so much.
Fun fact: When on the road, Dead Quiet always keep at least one jar of salt-brine pickles in the tour van, as lead singer Kevin Keegan says, “They keep our guts healthy… and the juice is great for chasing shots of whiskey” (quote credit to Vancity Rockers).
Recommended record: Dead Quiet (2015)
Trial track: “Remaining Remains”
Craters:
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Photo Credit: Chelsey Bigland Photography
Bringing up the rear is Craters, our western hometown heroes. Craters are arguably the least stoner-sounding band on this list; one could even argue that they are out of place here. While aforementioned bands like Bison and Black Wizard all hit some serious numbers on the fuzz-meter, Craters caters to a more post-oriented sound — tinged with doom and psychedelics. However, while I cannot ascertain that members of the band are stoners (but they definitely are), I can confirm that you absolutely need to be a stoner to listen to these guys. Craters released a full-length album back in 2016 and it contained a whopping two tracks. If you thought the twelve-minute opening song was long, then you won’t enjoy the twenty-six-minute banger that follows it. Still not as long as Dopesmoker, though.
Did I mention this band plays purely instrumental?
Fun fact: There is a girl in this band.
Recommended record: Laurentian Abyss EP (2018)
Trial track: “Batagaika”
Thanks for running through seven of our favourite Van-bands with us. Let us know what you liked, what you hated, and what you can’t stop spinning.
Hunter Walwaski co-hosts The Iron Club on Sundays from 10:00-11:00PM.
COVID-19 Quebec Updates, Canadian Military Steps In, COVID-19 Weekly International Updates
Sasha Teman
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COVID-19 Quebec Updates
-As of Monday, premier Francois Legault announced that all stores in the province, including grocery stores will be closed on Sundays throughout the month of April
-Montreal opened another covid-19 testing center in Cote Saint Luc over the weekend, with today being its first day of operations
-The Quebecois government will be aiding seniors and people with special needs by providing 133$ million dollars in funds, to maintain better resources for long-term care homes and residences, given that they are most susceptible to COVID-19
-On Sunday night, the SPVM demonstrated their solidarity to health-care workers in Montreal by using their sirens outside the CHUM hospital.
Canadian Military Steps In
The Canadian Military has been called to action to help people in various Canadian provinces and northern indigenous communities with pandemic measures.
Over 24,000 military members, who will be working both part-time and full-time, have been assembled to assist Canada’s most affected regions.
They will be around to help Canadians in delivering medical supplies and supporting communities that are more prone to the virus.
Each request for military aid will be assessed based on “need” versus location.
COVID-19 Weekly International Updates
-A sudden glimpse of hope for Italy as the number of COVID-19 cases saw a slight decrease as of March 26, as they continue to enforce strict social distancing measures
-The International Olympic Committee has announced a postponement date for the summer games, which will now be held on July 23rd, 2021 in Tokyo.
-In the Netherlands, thieves took advantage of the global lockdown to steal a Van Gogh painting at a Dutch museum that is closed because of the coronavirus.
-A U.S Navy Hospital ship has docked in New York City Monday afternoon, hoping to provide health care workers with additional medical assistance considering the rapid spread of the virus in the city. Given that hospitals in New York are over capacity, the ship will be used to relocate patients undergoing non-COVID-19 related treatments.
CJLO DJ SPOTLIGHT
I'm a second year journalism and poli sci student. I also happen to be the news editor at The Concordian and my friend Alex and I host the Concordian Radio Show on Fridays at 11 where we go over this week's issue and discuss topics with our writers!
Be sure to check out the latest from The Concordian!
Hey I’m Holden, the electronic music director at CJLO! My show Multiple Tabs is all about playing new and exciting club trax.
Get in touch with Holden at multipletabs@gmail.com.
Check out his show every Tuesday at 4, or tune in to old episodes on Soundcloud!
Album Review: How an Ex-Opeth Cover Band Made One of the Best Albums so Far of 2020
Ashbreather, a new and upcoming Montreal band, has the potential of making it big, simply due to the amount of originality they hold. The fuel behind this driving force: they are non-stop writers, creating new and fresh music, song after song. Let’s dig into their newest self-titled release, Ashbreather.
The album begins with a somber atmospheric feeling as if being pulled into a journey, like as if one is rising from the grave and coming back to Earth. Right off the bat, the opening track titled “Lonely Graves” gives the album a fittingly-good introduction.
Once the instrumentation hits, you really do feel the liveness of the record itself as it breathes heavily with a stonery/progressive metal vibe screaming all over. Furthermore, the opening portion of the record features a shift in change of tempo that successfully hooks the listener into what Ashbreather has to offer.
Surprised upon my first listen, I noticed that all the songs go into one another, which is a nice touch that most albums do not usually tend to have these days. Ultimately, I applaud Ashbreather for bringing that classic feeling back.
Very similar to Between the Buried and Me’s self-titled debut album, Ashbreather uses elements that bring that album format back, and put in a new spin on it. Throughout the record you realize you are locked into an engaging listening experience like none-other.
Additionally, there are a lot of energetic and hyped-up moments throughout the album. These hit you like a brick, making you just want to mosh in your room, even if you would look like a fool doing so. I know I’ve made a fool of myself while listening to this record!
A lot of the guitar work is done through Mackay Agellon's signature style with a lot of influence from bands like Mastodon, Gojira, and Opeth, which is very noticeable throughout Ashbreather's songwriting. Agellon’s ability to write crushing guitar riffs that blow your mind is unparalleled.
Furthermore, some of the tracks on this record showcase a lot of amazing vocal work done by lead singer Ben Lavoie. He has an amazing vocal range which is very similar to other singers like Dave Mustaine of Megadeth or Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth. Additionally, the backing vocals from bassist Charles Richards and Colin MacAndrew offer a nice touch. Fun fact: each of the four members perform some vocal duties on the record.
Noticeably, there are a lot of technical aspects on this record, but the band can still write catchy and simpler songs. The radio-friendly “Save Me the Sorrows” track is a great exercise of what this band is capable of when they want to write a single that gets them on the map.
The highlight of the whole entire album is “Shake Hands With a Knife”. I do not know how they created that song, but it's crazy and all over the walls. The track ultimately showcases what this band can do together, showing that they have the ability to create things that are complex and that can boggle the mind. This showcases the fact that they can write a very long progressive song that exceeds the regular listening time, but still holds itself together in a matter that pleases the listener.
Overall, this album will be a big hit for those who love progressive metal/sludge.
Everyone should be on the lookout for Ashbreather, because they will be taking the world by storm. Ultimately, the band demonstrated here that they are very efficient with their music, know how to craft great songs, that they can appeal to an audience, all while showing a lot of professionalism.
2020 will be the year of Ashbreather.
Final score: 10/10
Phil hosts Turn on the Darkness every Wednesday from 1:00-2:00PM. Tune in for the best of progressive metal and shreddy guitars, only on CJLO 1690 AM.
Detainees launch hunger strike, Kahnawake no longer selling tobacco, China closes boarders
Reporter: Shanellie Marie
Stories: Luca Caruso-Moro
Detainees launch hunger strike
Ten people detained in the Laval Immigration Detention Centre have launched a hunger strike.
They demand freedom. Strikers say they are not receiving adequate protection from COVID-19.
That tape was released from one of the strikers Thursday afternoon, on day three of the strike.
Earlier this week, the strikers sent a hand-written petition for freedom to the federal Ministers of Health, Public Safety, Immigration and the Prime Minister.
Detainees in the immigration centre are commonly held for lacking identification or on route to deportation.
Kahnawake no longer selling tobacco
Kahnawake has stopped selling tobacco products to outsiders amid fears of COVID-19.
The Mohawk community south of Montreal, and Kanesatake to the west of the city have halted tobacco sales and asked outsiders not to enter their lands to buy alcohol.
China closes borders
As of Saturday at 12 A.M. local time, China is no longer allowing foreigners into the country. China is beyond the curve of the COVID-19 outbreak.
With only a handful of new cases being spread among citizens each day, China is shutting out potential carriers from abroad.
Wuhan, the birthplace of the Corona outbreak is still under quarantine, which is expected to be lifted on April 8.
Metal My Movie - Gimme Shelter
Photo Credit: IMDb
What can be said about The Rolling Stones that can make this Rock and Roll band seem Metal, besides their longevity as a band that still tours or those Keith Richards memes. It could be the band’s persona as the “Bad Boys” of Rock and Roll or the infamous Altamont Free Concert, which would later become known as a disaster. The band’s persona and the concert are the focus of Albert and David Maysles documentary, Gimme Shelter (1970). From these two themes we can analyze this documentary from a Metal perspective.
Even though they are a Rock and Roll band, the persona of The Rolling Stones can be seen as the “Bad Boys” of Rock and Roll, with The Beatles on the polar opposite of the spectrum. The Rock and Roll lifestyle of alcohol and drugs are on display, both with the band and fans partaking in this lifestyle. The band has a Hard Rock aesthetic that is also associated with the genre of Metal. Their thematics have a darker tone than the regular light Rock and Roll fare with songs like “Paint It Black” and “Sympathy For The Devil”. They have their own onstage persona to go alongside their performances, just as a Metal band have their own onstage personas.
The Altamont Free Concert was a recipe for disaster when you factor in that it was a free concert that could not hold everyone that was coming. Add the lifestyle of some of the fans of the music, including alcohol and drugs use, and you have a concert that might get out of hand. As for security, they hired The Hells Angels, who were also participating in the drinking and the drugs. Even before the Stones took to the stage there were violent altercations happening, notably between one of The Hells Angels and the male lead singer of Jefferson Airplane, Marty Balin. Once the Stones took the stage, the concert had gotten way out of hand as one of the fans rushed the stage during “Under My Thumb” that led security to violently remove him, resulting in his death.
Not the normal scene you will see at a concert going experience, whether it being Rock and Roll or Metal. However, the Maysles capture the chaos of the event and playback the video footage to The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who seems distraught by the events of the Altamont Free Concert. Jagger is also seen pleading with the crowd for
peace and civility between song sets. But, based on the lifestyle that surrounded the band and their fans, the outcome of their Altamont Free Concert could have been predicted.
This is the last segment of Metal My Movie for Metal March. Got a movie suggestion for next seasons Metal My Movie then send them to atmovies@cjlo.com.
COVID-19 update, small business owners, homeless housed in hotels
Hadassah Alencar
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COVID-19 update
Ottawa has announced a 2000 dollar per month payment for Canadians who have been let go of their jobs due to the coronavirus.
Those who have suffered a drastic decrease in their salary but are still employed, can also apply.
Meanwhile, Montreal records its first COVID-19 death as cases in the city increase to 603 as of Thursday morning.
Small business owners
Quebec is making 2.5 billion dollars available for small business owners.
Most of that fund will be loans and loan guarantees through banks.
Mayor Valérie Plante has also introduced a 6 month pause on capital and interest payments for some municipal loan programs.
The average cost for businesses that have shut down during this outbreak is 136,000 dollars.
Homeless housed in hotels
Homeless montrealers who have symptoms of COVID-19 will be tested and housed in hotels while awaiting results.
The Royal Victoria Hospital isolation unit is being prepared for the homeless who have coronavirus.
It is expected to be ready this weekend.
Thousands screen for COVID-19, China lifts lockdown, Canadiens lay offs
Anchor: Luca Caruso-Moro
Writer: Hadassah Alencar
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Thousands screen for COVID-19
On its opening day, the first coronavirus screening center in Montreal tested over 2,000 people.
This was at the Place des Festivals clinic, where no appointment is needed to test.
Instead, people only need to show symptoms of COVID-19, like a fever, dry cough or trouble breathing.
Quebec cases of COVID-16 have hit 1339 as of Wednesday afternoon.
China lifts lockdown
After a two month quarantine in the province of Hubei in China, residents experiencing no cold symptoms are free to go outside.
The city of Wuhan, where the virus was first recorded, is the capital of the Hubei province and will remain quarantined until early April.
According to Chinese authorities, the rate of cases has drastically subsided with the Hubei province not recording any new infections for over a week.
The Canadien lay off
The company that owns the Canadiens hockey team has announced they will lay off 60 per cent of their staff.
Coaches and scouts will continue to receive their full salary. NHL players will also receive their full salary during the regular season.
All other employees will receive 80 per cent of their base salary for an eight week period.
COVID-19 Cases Spike in Quebec, Virus Layoffs Grow, Olympics Postponed
Sasha Teman
Maya Lach-Adelbaum
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COVID-19 Cases Spike in Quebec
Quebec has now reported a jump in its number of probable COVID-19 cases, now placing it at 628 cases.
Despite the rapid spread of the virus in the province, work continues to be a top priority for grocery store owners and employees. Our reporter Maya Lach-Aidelbaum has the story.
https://soundcloud.com/cjlo1690am/a-grocer-and-the-virus
Virus Layoffs Grow
Air Transat has had to lay off approximately 70% of its staff/workforce in Canada, amid COVID-19 related concerns.
These layoffs account for about 3,600 people which includes all of its flight crew personnel.
Air Transat had been operating in an effort to repatriate as many people back to their home countries, following many government officials' decisions to close their borders.
They were able to safely return more than 60% of their customers back to Canada as of March 22nd.
Olympics Postponed
The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics committee released a statement declaring that this year’s games will be postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
This announcement comes a day after Canada decided to withdraw its athletes from the summer games.
Canada’s Olympic Committee stated that a global health crisis is far more important than sports.
Another sporting nation which also refused to send its athletes to Japan amidst the pandemic was Australia.
Although a postponement of the summer games could cost the country billions of dollars, COVID-19 was making it difficult for athletes to train given that gyms, stadiums and swimming pools around the world had begun to close.
A Dive into Metalcore
Photo Credit: Chris Romano
As you may or may not know, I’m the Metalcore enthusiast at CJLO. Go ahead, call me a “poser” all you want. There is nothing better then a good Metalcore song during these quarantine times, where the only moshpit you might see is a hole in you wall with mushrooms growing out of it.
Since we are still in March and we enjoy our Metal music at the station, I decided to write this article explaining why Metal elitist fans don't like my favorite genre. Of course, this article is going to be biased. I’m listening to Parkway Drive, Norma Jean and August Burns Red while writing this but, I’ll try to be as objective as possible. Here are the four reasons why Metalcore is hated by Metal elitists.
1. A middle finger to two communities
The term Metalcore emerged in the 90s, when a few bands started mixing thrash and hardcore punk together. These artisits borrowed the screaming vocals and the breakdowns from Hardcore and the riffs from Metal.
We can compare Hardcore Punk, or just Punk, and Metal to the Capulets and the Montagues, making Metalcore Romeo and Juliet. Punk and Metal fans have been buttheads in the past, being very proud of their respective communities.
When some hardcore bands (which are punk bands that pushed the genre characteristics to the extreme) started using a more “metallic” sound was when the term metalcore first emerged.
To put it simply, both Punks and Metalheads are proud elitists of their genre. So, when metalcore came along, it was the bastard union of the two; making it the obvious scapegoat for the two communities. Since Metalcore takes a bit more of the Punk (with the screamed vocals and the breakdowns) compared to metal (the guitar riffs), it’s normal that the elitist Metalheads won’t welcome it into the community.
2. It’s too accessible
Let’s face it: metal elitists are hipsters. And what do hipsters do? They hate on anything that is too trendy or too accessible to the general public. As an example, you can take my girlfriend, who loves bands like I Prevail and Beartooth, but has some trouble getting into Mayhem, Asphyx or Darkthrone.
Death Metal, Black Metal and the such aren’t for everyone, either because it’s too heavy, too fast or too dark for the general public.
Metalcore is a mix of Heavy Metal and Hardcore Punk, using melodic riffs to mix it with some breakdowns and some hardcore screaming vocals. To the general youth, it’s kind of way to express some frustration, to rebel a little (not that you can’t do it while listening to some Darken Death Doom metal.)
Metalcore has gotten even more accessible with the Punk Goes Pop trend as few years back where a lot of Metalcore bands took songs like “Glad You Came”, “Bad Romance”, “I Kissed A Girl”, “Wrecking Ball”, and made a metalcore cover of it.
I remember back in 2014, the local news in Montreal (a.k.a CTV) talked about I Prevail’s cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space”. Of course, when something related to music gets on the news, it’s more accessible to everyone (with the exception of some people burning churches.)
3. The Influence of Emo and Pop on the genre
Some bands seem to be more hated than others. The first one that comes to mind is Bring Me the Horizon (BMtH). There hasn’t been a social media platform where I haven’t seen some people destroying Oliver Sykes and his band. Why? Two reasons mostly.
Reason number 1 - They have too many connections to the emo/scene movements
Reason number 2 - Their latest album(s) being too influenced by pop
One thing that I need to mention about BMtH is that they used to be a Deathcore band when they first started. As you go through their repertoire, you can see that it's pretty diverse from years to years. As they went through different phases, they went through different genres, but some themes remained through it all: the heartbreak, the hurting and all the edgy stuff usually associated with emo and scene.
They might have been the one that brought all the cringy emo fanbases into metalcore, or it might have been Falling in Reverse. Who really knows for sure? One thing is for sure. Most people went through some phases when they were younger and a lot of them are ashamed of themselves and cringing while looking at some old pictures. Elitist metalheads are kinda doing the same with the Metalcore cringy emo fanbase, some of its more emo bands like Bring Me the Horizons.
To add insult to injury, BMtH’s last album Amo (stylized as amo) mostly consisted of pop music, with a few Metal/Rock tints here and there. That kind of finished digging their grave for Metalheads, as pop is the most accessible and the most commercial genre that exist. The album wasn’t bad per say, it was better than most pop that airs on the radio these days in my opinion, but it wasn’t metal.
4. All the bands sounds the same
This last argument will also be a wrap up so bare with me. One of the most used argument against Metalcore is that all of its bands sound the same, which I would have to agree with to a certain degree.
To its defense, Metalcore became really popular around 2005 to 2010-ish. That was when all the social medias and streaming platforms started being popular too. Since a lot of bands became popular from Myspace (such as Black Veiled Brides, Bring Me the Horizon, Hollywood Undead, Job for a Cowboy and Suicide Silence to name a few). You would think that a lot of others would soon follow their tracks, hoping to become as successful. With the commercial success Metalcore had around 2010, it is understandable that a lot of bands would want the same as many other well established Metalcore bands on the market.
We also live in an era where the music industry is over saturated. Everyone can make decide to be a singer, make a band and start posting music on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music or other music streaming platforms. A lot of Pop or Rap artists sounds the same. Metalcore is the most commercially successful genre of Metal. Therefore, it only makes sense that bands try to copy others’ sound to become successful.
I have seen a lot of people on forums (jazz musicians, metal critics and others) say that Metalcore was simple, unstimulating and generic. Well, this is where we can praise Bring Me the Horizon. Even though their last album was heavily criticized by Metalheads for being more Pop than Rock or Metal, it seemed to start a wave in the world of Metalcore. More and more bands started tweaking their sound in different ways, seemingly searching for something more unique and more personal. While looking to be the gateway band to get people into Rock, this shook the world of metalcore and challenged some bands to modify their sometimes-well-established sound to find a new voice.
In the end, you can like whatever genre of metal you want. But, if you think Metalcore is more Punk than Metal and that makes it "not Metal enough" or "heavy enough", follow the advice that Lzzy Hale, the lead singer of the rock band Halestorm, gave me during an interview. Go see a live show before you judge or say anything about it. You always get a better idea of a genre after seeing it live a few times then listening to a few albums on Spotify.
Jean-Phillppe aka JP, is the co-host of The Iron Club check them out every Sunday at 10pm.
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