Off-Topic Questions Thread - closed. Open new threads for specific questions please.

[PowerButchi]

Bowie was (in part) embracing his campness with Ziggy Stardust. There doesn't seem to be any hint of irony with these po-faced death metal bands and their mad names. Most of them, at least.

 

Exactly. There's no tongue in cheek, and a lack of self awareness with the cringeworthy ones. That's why it's cringeworthy. Like Coconut said, it's like a real life Spinal Tap.

[martyngnr]

(Passing by) an Old and Raped Village,Marshland, Parasite God and Smell the Witch

 

So, so so so so so so so cringeworthy. How can people listen to stuff with names like that without pissing themselves laughing? At Hammerfest last weekend I set people a challenge. Come up with a metal band who's name isn't cringeworthy. Couldn't be done.

Even though it lacks any originality whatsoever Parasite God is a decent track.

[Richie Freebird]

Exactly. There's no tongue in cheek, and a lack of self awareness with the cringeworthy ones.

You might not class these as the cringeworthy ones, but bands like Lordi, GWAR and dare I say even Immortal seem quite aware that it

[Bellenda Carlisle]

Who cares if some Metal band names sound silly totally out of context to non fans, it's hardly the point is it?

If I called myself Ravishing Rick Rude at work everyone would think I was a cunt but to wrestling fans in context it's totally ok. It's a shit tired old debate that's as boring as the "you know wrestling's fake right?" One that non fans say constantly.

[PowerButchi]

Nope, we'll agree that they're all cringeworthy unless they're openly taking the piss like GWAR.

[Devon Malcolm]

Metal fans smell as well. Stink, in fact.

[Richie Freebird]

Nope, we'll agree that they're all cringeworthy unless they're openly taking the piss like GWAR.

Out of interest, would you also class horror and fantasy films / novels that deal with similar subject matter as automatically cringeworthy unless openly taking the piss? Would Dracula be more cringeworthy than Toxic Avenger, say?

 

To me, music can be just as legitimate a platform for this kind of art as any other medium for presenting themes, concepts, stories and all round escapist entertainment. For my money, musicians and artists can use whatever themes and imagery that they like, whether they are truly sincere in their vision, or applying a more cheese ridden, fun loving approach.

[PowerButchi]

Why do you ask so many questions? You are like a child. But yeah. Fuck the Toxic Avenger, fuck Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, fuck Dracula, fuck Discworld, fuck Dr Who, fuck anything like that which isn't campy and stupid and makes someone ask loads and loads of questions of me when I can't be arsed answering in anything more than a two sentence burst.

[Richie Freebird]

I thought we actually had a pretty interesting and sensible debate going there. Curtains to it then, you moody cunt.

[WildSybianRider]

Mortiis isn’t death metal though, and never has been. Mortiis, and the dark synth / dark ambient styles and concepts were the original topic here. Still, I’d disagree with your sentiment on the death metal scene, too. If you a look at Cannibal Corpse, who use some of the most horrifically brutal imagery, lyrics and song titles in the history of death metal music, and then read interviews with band members, they talk about it all completely conceptually. Bands like this treat their output as creative fiction, which they can then stand back and admire from afar as being completely detached from reality.

 

Yeah, I'm using death metal indiscriminately there.

 

Art can examine all types of weird and mystical phenomena. A lot of the gothic literature is fantastic. Parts of Dracula are in fact very campy but that's of-its-time stuff and because the gothic movement was so tied up with romanticism. The point is that a subculture has sprung up around this where every band is in a perpetual state of oneupmanship, being as brutal as possible has its own inherent worth and validates all output. Of course they know they're not actually a monster but they don't appear to realise how preposterous and camp they are. All sorts of acts use out there imagery and explore weird shit. But people will always laugh at blissfully self-unaware cosplayers who think their big mask and absurd lyrics make them dark and interesting.

 

 

If it is simply a load of cheesy, self-deprecating fun then fair play. I'm a total outsider to this. But my old housemate seemed to take it seriously enough, and his t-shirts alone made me want to strangle him.

[Tommy!]

Nope, we'll agree that they're all cringeworthy unless they're openly taking the piss like GWAR.

Out of interest, would you also class horror and fantasy films / novels that deal with similar subject matter as automatically cringeworthy unless openly taking the piss? Would Dracula be more cringeworthy than Toxic Avenger, say?

 

This misses part of the point for me.

 

Part of what I dislike about, for example, some group at one download who's name I forget because it was so shite who were all "rahh, this is real metal" and it was all so contrived and stupid.

Dropping the word fuck in all the time, all standing about whirling long hair about and shouting with their shit name in big letters, it looked wank because there seemed no point to it. "The popular bands do this, so we'll do it" without any look at the context was the impression I got.

 

Now the difference, from my point of view, is that a name like Black Sabbath sounds dark and heavy and a bit satanic, and I'm sure most would agree. Their music, for the time, was similar. Devils scrotum could have the same effect to some but they would be in the minority to the masses. There are more devils scrotum's than Black Sabbaths it seems to me, It ticks the boxes but it doesn't work does it. And then some people walk around with a Devils scrotum shirt to the masses they look like a twat.

 

Slipping some kind of "fuck yeah" or "Rahhh" type thing in when it fits is great, doing it all the time like this bunch of tossers who's name I forget made them seem to be trying super hard to be anti norm and stand out and in doing so they ticked every mental stereotype box and then, with a straight face, they were real music.

 

For your parable it would be, to me any way, like "Dracula" which is good, and a book called "Blood Suck Man" in which the prose is more about how much blood was dribbling down his chin than any real development of the story.

 

That's my load of worthless shite on the topic any way.

[Chest Rockwell]

"blood suck man". brilliant.

[martyngnr]

Part of what I dislike about, for example, some group at one download who's name I forget because it was so shite who were all "rahh, this is real metal" and it was all so contrived and stupid.

Dropping the word fuck in all the time, all standing about whirling long hair about and shouting with their shit name in big letters, it looked wank because there seemed no point to it. "The popular bands do this, so we'll do it" without any look at the context was the impression I got.

Sounds suspiciously like Hatebreed.

[PowerButchi]

Despite their terrible name, I thought they were good live!

[Bettencourt]

Part of what I dislike about, for example, some group at one download who's name I forget because it was so shite who were all "rahh, this is real metal" and it was all so contrived and stupid.

Dropping the word fuck in all the time, all standing about whirling long hair about and shouting with their shit name in big letters, it looked wank because there seemed no point to it. "The popular bands do this, so we'll do it" without any look at the context was the impression I got.

Sounds suspiciously like Hatebreed.

 

Could be Rolo Tomassi? God, they were awful!!!