Peter_Puget Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Heavy metal maven Dave Mustaine is so angry with the United Nations that he is naming his group Megadeth's next album "United Abominations." "I was watching TV and saw the trucks that said 'UN' on them and said, 'Man, you are so uncool, ineffective, anything," the singer/guitarist said in a recent Billboard interview. "I thought, 'Wow, I've got to run with this. I got it — United Abominations, 'cause it's an abomination what they're doing!"... Ok So they're not Slayer..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Is that the soundtrack for the Conservativism wake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) Metal gets a makeover Bands focus on politics instead of parties Monday, August 14, 2006; Posted: 1:21 p.m. EDT (17:21 GMT) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Heavy metal singer Chris Barnes didn't know what people would think of "Amerika the Brutal," an anti-war song he wrote after his cousin deployed to Iraq in 2003. He heard a number of complaints -- but also received supportive e-mails from American troops in the war zone. "It kind of sent a shiver up my spine because those are the guys I didn't want to offend by sounding anti-war," said Barnes, vocalist for the death metal band Six Feet Under. Other metal bands are finding similar inspiration. Lamb of God's albums criticize American foreign policy. Cattle Decapitation are ardent vegetarians who use explicit album covers and songs like "Veal and the Cult of Torture" to condemn the meat industry. Serj Tankian of System of a Down is co-founder of a nonprofit organization that works on social issues. More than three decades after Black Sabbath conjured images of the dark arts, heavy metal is growing up. The genre is increasingly incorporating social and political messages into its dense power chords. Cattle Decapitation vocalist Travis Ryan said his San Diego band's mix of charging guitars and an animal rights message is drawing a diverse crowd that includes activists as well as traditional metal fans. "We've always had a lot of crazy crossover going on," he said before a recent show. "It's a pretty diverse crowd we have. I've never known what to make of it." Twenty artists recently displayed art inspired by the band's last album "Humanure," in an online exhibit. Proceeds from sales of the art will be donated to animal rights causes. Metal bands are also branching out into literature and mythology. Mastodon, which is headlining a summer tour with metal stalwart Slayer, patterned the concept album "Leviathan" around the story of Moby Dick. Death metal band Nile bases its songs and image around Egyptian mythology and iconography. "Metal is expanding and evolving and becoming more diverse," said Canadian anthropologist and filmmaker Sam Dunn, who directed "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey," released on DVD this summer. "It's at a much more vibrant state than it was even five or 10 years ago." Dunn is working on a sequel to the film with the working title "Global Metal" which will trace the popularity of metal overseas, especially in developing countries like Brazil, Columbia and Indonesia. "It's becoming global and it's becoming a tool for social and political commentary," Dunn said. "It takes on a greater meaning in countries where people have had to struggle to survive. It takes on a much stronger political tone." Metal artists "have responded to the culture and politics of the day," said Donna Gaines, a sociologist and author of "Teenage Wasteland," a study of working class New Jersey metalheads. Metal music in the 1980s was often homophobic and "very white," she said, but current bands tend to be socially conscious and suspicious of political power. There's also more women in the audience -- and fronting the bands. "This is another generation rising," Gaines said. Heavy metal has always touched on social and political issues. Metal grandfathers Black Sabbath criticized the Vietnam War in songs like "War Pigs" and "Children of the Grave." Iron Maiden's "Run to the Hills" was an angry denunciation of the displacement of Native Americans. But much of the criticism was blunted by dark imagery that panicked parents and led to the now ubiquitous "Parental Advisory" labels. Metal's punk brethren were seen as having a more learned world view. That began to change when hardcore punk and metal fused in the late 1980s with bands like Dirty Rotten Imbeciles and Nuclear Assault. But metal was still primarily known for the excessive lifestyles and racy videos of glam bands. The popular view of metalheads as mentally deficient goons was memorialized with the MTV cartoon "Beavis and Butthead," about two teen metalheads who terrorize their pudgy neighbor Stewart, who wears a T-shirt of the glam rock band "Winger." More meaningful music was coming from the underground as popular culture embraced grunge and metal lost favor. Napalm Death was a product of Britain's "Crass" movement, which fused anarchism and punk in the late 1980s. Vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, a vegetarian and peace advocate, is often pulled aside by fans who want to know more about his progressive views. One recent song, "The Code is Red, Long Live the Code," takes aim at the spate of terror alerts in America with lyrics like: "Switched on to subdue when the masses switch off." "It's really, really difficult sometimes to break through the cloud of apathy, so it's great when someone comes and asks why you are coming from your perspective," Greenway said during a recent tour stop in California. "When you come into a country like America, when you challenge thinking, it's a great affront to some people," he said. The lyrics on Lamb of God's two most recent albums have been expressly political, and the politics lean heavily to the left. Napalm Death's Greenway is considering work as a political activist when his metal days are over, but he doesn't think metal will ever completely stray from hedonistic and supernatural themes. "I appreciate that not everything has to be awareness raising or political," he said. "Music is also a form of entertainment and it should remain that way. Variety is the spice of life. Escapism is a good thing if it doesn't cloud your vision." Edited August 24, 2006 by archenemy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Dave Mustaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I'm not into red heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerJ Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I'm not into red heads. Woo Hoo I am still in the running! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Only blonde/blue need apply. A girl's gotta have her standards. And those are the only ones I have so I treat them seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerJ Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Well at least this chap has the blue part down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Big hands are a plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tivoli_mike Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Dave Mustaine hasn't rocked since "Peace Sells..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Puget Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 OK I'll admit that I believe that I have never heard "Megadeth" but lately I have been getting into live recordings of the Byrds. (1968-70 period) Great band! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Dave Mustaine hasn't rocked since "Peace Sells..." yeah right. they've been a hell of a lot more consistent (and good) than Metallica. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off_White Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Not to change the topic, but ya'll oughta check out The Weakerthans Video for "Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call" "Plea from a Cat Named Virtue" mp3 file Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderfour Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 The article acts like Metal has only recently beenwriting about mythological happenings. Dude needs to go back and listen to some older stuff. Metallica tackled the four horseman in their first album. Ironically enough, the same song was recorder by Megadeth. Dave changed the lyrics to be about mechanics. More Metallica stuff - The killing of first born sons, H.P. Lovecraft, etc. Other groups have been socially aware for years. Sepultura has been staunchly opposed to the Brazilian government for more than a decade. Machinehead has been critical of the US government and speaking out on social issues since their first record. In short, what a douchebag. I'm glad people are taking notice of metal as something more than what Beavis and Butthead brought them, but the whole "Mature metal" thing is much older than this guy is letting on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingpig Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 i know this is going to so sound weird, but i agree with fender. keep music evil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whidbey Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 If'n it has no edge and it says nothing.... it is nothing. I'm not about to like something without. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaee Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Still relevant, whether it's Jr. or Sr. Nice and crunchy. Check it out. Read my lips.... Symphony of Destruction Dave Mustaine You take a mortal man, And put him in control Watch him become a god, Watch peoples heads a'roll A'roll... Chorus Just like the Pied Piper Led rats through the streets We dance like marionettes, Swaying to the Symphony... Of Destruction Acting like a robot, Its metal brain corrodes You try to take its pulse, Before the head explodes Explodes... Chorus Solo - Marty The earth starts to rumble World powers fall A'warring for the heavens, A peaceful man stands tall Tall... Chorus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 So last month I almost peed my pants b/c Dissection (one of the greatest fucking bands EVER) was getting back together and going to tour again. YEAH! Then, the lead singer shoots himself in the head. I am displeased to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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