I would like to know your opinion. In my country the metal is dead. Have no difussion at radio or tv. Since i was a teenager i am listening said that "metal must be underground cause if it goes to de great mass will make like pop. It will be a pile of shit", but when i was a child heavy and NWBH was the fashion and Screaming for vengeance, seventh son of a seventh son, Monkey bussines, The headless children and soo much good lp's were born. Actually, three or four guys formed a group six months ago without know play their instruments and have edited a long play today. I'm very tired of look for a good new group between all the clones of Maiden, Dismember, Exodus or Darkthrone. Today with a pc is easy make a record at home and saturated the scene with cd's without talent, copying a consagrated band. So, theres is a lot of shit in metal, being underground today. Do you think that if metal was sounding at tv and radio the horizont was better or worse than today? i´m an old metalhead, so i don't know if the younger follow our music or not, but at concerts and festivals here, the age is over twenty five.

well...... in my country (Italy) metal has never been alive or a mainstream phenomenon...... I mean, there is a huge army of metalheads here in Italy, but it's really difficult to see a metal band on TV or in the list of the best selling albums...... I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing if it remains underground or not...... metal (like punk or other "extreme" forms of musical expression) as one of its prime features has to be a form of rebellion and breaking of the rules and the order (do you remember "breaking the law"? ) and so...... I'm surely happy when I see a metal t-shirt or a metal band on some prime time TV show, and is funny to see (for example) some DISNEY CHANNEL band play with some Angus Young guitar or something like KISS make up, or to see some popular old-fashioned singer that makes horns-up \m/ during a show...... it's funny but strange at the same time...... in a some ideological way, I think that it's good if POISON, MOTLEY CRUE, BON JOVI, METALLICA or AEROSMITH are part of the mainstrem, because they were born with "the right metal spirit"...... and, for the same reason, I think that METAL loses some of its spirit if I see some bands or some singer to act in a "metal way of life" only to appear aggressive and nasty (like Lady GaGa or when Britney has made the cover of "I love rock and roll"), when they've never had nothing to do with metal before!! I think that it's something about to be honest and coherent with their musical roots...... I mean...... it would be absurd to see, for example, Frank Sinatra (R.I.P.) to wear dresses and make-up like King Diamond and to sing like Glenn Benton! everyone is free to do whatever he likes, ok, but it would be strange both for a METAL fan and for a Sinatra fan!!

Anyway...... on the other side, I think that the only thing that matters is the music...... good or bad...... "I like it" or "I don't like it"...... underground or mainstream, in the end, it's no so important

The spirit of metal is at it´s essence at war with todays society. I my self mostly listen to BM and the misanthropic values are fairly non-commercial even 20 years after the advent (30 if you count the first wave with Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and as some claim Venom, though I acknowledge the importance of all these bands I don't think BM came into being until the late 80ies, but that is not really relevant here). Although several bands are so called sell-outs such as Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth are questionably not in the mainstream of music, despite their commercial success. Depending on what bands you define as metal, Metallica has undeniably together with AC/DC and to some extent Iron Maiden reached the mainstream. Sure these bands are metal and many metalheads still enjoy those bands. I'm not a fan of AC/DC but enjoy the early recordings of Maiden and Metallica. But all those have lost the edge, they are not "dangerous", "degenerate" or "anti-social" anymore and perhaps that is because of the enormous commercial success they have enjoyed. The musicians themselves are no longer on the fringes of society. There is nothing rebellious about Metallica anymore. Unless you count Lulu as some sort of fecal slinging rebellion against the fans, which I do respect to some degree. They have the opportunity and freedom to do whatever they choose to.

This is the same freedom you have at the edge of society with nothing but lint in your pocket. You have nothing to lose therefor you are free to do as you choose. This is dangerous, this is rebellious and this is interesting. Not only because it projects the hate for modern society but also a hope for future through their music financially.

Mainstream music essence is commercial success and must there fit into its genre, much like metal must, or else it loses its legitimacy. In contradiction with this, metal sometimes finds it´s way into the mainstream and onto the charts. But generally that appends when bands are on the rise and have lost some of their edge, like Metallica or keep doing the same thing they always have until what they do is not considered extreme anymore like Maiden and AC/DC.

So does metal have to be underground? Apparently not, but once it goes mainstream it loses that which makes it metal, does it not? Or am i being elitist, a common accusation cast at blackmetalers. Often bm discussions goes: That is not trve, that is not cvlt et cetera. When I started out listening to BM, everything not out of Norway was not considered BM, it was simply not trve unless it was norwegian. I think that is simply not true, and my favourite black metal album is Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract. That is greek, full of grammatical errors and it sounds like it was recorded in the cellar washingroom it kicks ass and still today it sounds evil, dangerous and scary - its what I consider totally metal and it will always remain undergorund and that is what I connect with. That is what touches the most inner me.

I say fuck the mainstream, they can think metal is Maiden, AC/DC and Metallica, let them think that is what metal music is all about. They can live in their bubble and I mine. If you consider this elitist, that might be right, but then again everyone is welcome to start listening to none mainstream metal, every one is welcome here to expand their horizon of what metal is and there is nothing elitist about that, that is more humane than the narrows constructs of the modern mainstream socity.

I think there is no worse country for metal music than Serbia. I mean, we do have awesome metal scene and bands but people listening to Serbian folk music (which is basically nothing but bullshit) are overwhelming metalheads. We do have large amount of really awesome metal bands but metal music is really underground here. For example, in my town metal gigs were not happening in like 10 years. Only newer metal gig was Promo Metal Fest which I organized with my friends. Even CDs are hard to find. Take example of Deadly Mosh, they recorded United By Pain album for EBM records from Mexico in September and CDs are not yet available in Serbia. I was talking with singer of Deadly Mosh and he said they are also still waiting for CDs (as they are currently in Netherlands and waiting to be shipped to Serbia). And most painful thing is that people from most parts of the world can actually buy that CD and people of the band's homeland could only hear 2 songs. Metal should not be underground if you ask me but it is (well at least here in Serbia). Most important thing is that metal bands should all stick together and support each other, not hate. And audience should support bands by buying merchandise. That's probably the only way to save metal and to support bands in making more awesome music.

Do you know the book "Gulliver's travels"?

Well...... in this book Gulliver finds the people of Lilliput, which are in war with the people of Blefuscu...... the reason of this endless war is to decide from which part is better to breake an egg, from the head or from the bottom...... well...... I hope that no one would take offence...... but to me it seems the same of the question of this topic...... "metal must be underground, yes or not?"...... "the egg must be broken by a metal-head from underground or from the mainstream??"

Most metal i am listening to is underground and i think this is just where the good metal comes from. Underground

I think you find more real fans in the Underground, most of the "mainstream metalheads" tend to be into it then grow out of it shortly, once you explore the underground extensively you know you love the genre. I listen to more black metal than anything and I find it very hard to connect to metalheads from other genres, even the black metal fans who only listen to the big bands like: Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, (Though Dimmu Borgir and Immortal annoy me more than anything), while there's nothing wrong with liking that stuff, I don't feel like we will be able to connect over the music, and I find those who listen to the mainstream tend to be less passionate.

(04-20-2015, 12:28 PM)Sourcekv Писал(а): I think there is no worse country for metal music than Serbia. I mean, we do have awesome metal scene and bands but people listening to Serbian folk music (which is basically nothing but bullshit) are overwhelming metalheads. We do have large amount of really awesome metal bands but metal music is really underground here. For example, in my town metal gigs were not happening in like 10 years. Only newer metal gig was Promo Metal Fest which I organized with my friends. Even CDs are hard to find. Take example of Deadly Mosh, they recorded United By Pain album for EBM records from Mexico in September and CDs are not yet available in Serbia. I was talking with singer of Deadly Mosh and he said they are also still waiting for CDs (as they are currently in Netherlands and waiting to be shipped to Serbia). And most painful thing is that people from most parts of the world can actually buy that CD and people of the band's homeland could only hear 2 songs. Metal should not be underground if you ask me but it is (well at least here in Serbia). Most important thing is that metal bands should all stick together and support each other, not hate. And audience should support bands by buying merchandise. That's probably the only way to save metal and to support bands in making more awesome music.

I also am from Serbia, but i live in Belgrade, which is a fairly big capital, and there are all sorts of underground gigs here, i really love the scene, its very very alive and there are alot of us enthusiasts for the underground, but people you see on gigs are usually the same on almost every one. Big bands come here too, for instance i've seen Blind Guardian last week and i was absolutely amazed by the fact that there was really alot of people for Serbia there, even though it was a workday.

We have local underground festivals that never cease to amaze. Also we have some bands that have grown quite big like Infest and The Stone and are famous abroad.

Its really fine if you live in Belgrade, but rest of the Serbia is mostly dead when it comes to metal.