Are You A Metal Elitist?

[TheTunefreak]

So many people dismiss others because of the bands they like, or the genres- which I think is bullshit. What do you think?

[Leo]

I think that elitist attitude is for people who will never quite grasp what music is truly capable of. The idea of wearing your musical taste as a badge is as much a curse as it brings people together. The fact is that a certain percentage of people are always going to want to find a way to isolate themselves and prove they are different, or better than others. If they can only do that through justifying that one thrash band is more "metal" than another... I feel for them... their on their own journey...

That said, anyone who doesn't like Randy Rhoads can go to hell. \m/

[TheTunefreak]

Nicely stated Leo \m/ \m/!

[Chris the Mad Scientist @ WSOU]

Elitism in metal is about as bad as it gets. However, I don't think that trend is going to end anytime soon. People are always going to be proclaiming that the music they like is better than the music someone else likes, because it's not tr00 enough or brutal enough or core enough or whatever enough. Why? I don't know. But I know it irritates the hell out of me, and I'm sure it irritates others just as much.

[Cannibal]

Yeah, I'll chime in on this...

As fans, we can be the best thing in the world for the bands that we love, and we can also be a complete nightmare for them. I try REALLY hard to keep that "Harder Core Than Thou" attitude in check, but it can slip out at times - Just ask people what they consider to be Metal, and you'll start to see it. Do they list ONLY Death / Grind bands - I remember when the San Francisco Thrash Scene was blowing up and if you wanted to be "Metal" you had to be into bands like Forbidden, Exodus, and Blind Illusion (well, maybe not Blind Illusion - but I liked them...).

So... Am I an elitest? I try not to be... Sometimes it slips out, and then I have to backtrack a bit.

[Kyle Rader]

metal elitist aka ASSHOLE in a forum who doesn't like ANYTHING

[bram]

Metal is like beer. There's super mass appeal stuff that's like Bud or Miller Lite. Lots of people drink Bud and Miller Lite. If you're going to a barbecue and want to grab a case of something that will offend the least amount of people, that's what you go with. Then you've got your imports, like your Heinekens and Molsons (Swedish metalcore, power metal) and your microbrews, like Sam Adams Boston Lager (KsE, Shads, Unearth). Those appeal to a more select group of beer drinkers, but your typical Bud drinker would throw back a few. At the opposite end of the spectrum is your Belgian beer like a Chimay, which only would appeal to a relatively small fraction of beer drinkers, and you wouldn't waste it on a lame barbecue with Bud drinkers. I would throw bands like Jesu, Converge, Neurosis and the Ocean in that category. Wait, what was the question again?

At the end of the day, I love Chimay, and there's bands that I feel really strongly about that i know a lot of people wouldn't like. But especially because I work in radio, I understand that a lot of people like Bud, and it's their decision. I came to metal from listening to rock radio. It was a gradual opening of my mind that got me to where I am now, and there's some music that I loved back then that I wouldn't care about if I heard for the first time now. There's a lot of metal that I'm neutral towards, but there's no way I would judge someone for having a strong connection with any band, unless maybe if they wear makeup and throw Faygo into the crowd.

Time to grab a beer - my analogy made me thirsty...

[Cannibal]

Well said, and now I'm thirsty too!

I learned a long time ago that you can turn people on to a band by being cool about them rather than trying to point out that other people AREN'T cool because they don't know. Be passionate - be vocal - be the person that people say "I got into this band because of..."

I can not tell you how many people I have introduced to Acid Bath over the years - and every one of them has thanked me for it - but if I came at it as them having done something wrong because they didn't already know... Different conclusion.

[Natalie]

WELL SAID!

only people like us could make an analogy comparing the type of music we like to alcohol.

[Jesse Krueger]

That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.

What would American Barleywine be???

Triple-Hopped IPA???

[MIKE]

I got ridiculed off 'The Goat' so I ended up here. haha

I think everyone just needs to keep an open mind and let the metal genre, or any other genre for that matter, go as far as it can. Elitists only impede this process and its not good for anybody; especially the fans.

[Mephisto]

I never thought it would happen to me, but I am guilty of having a real shitty elitist attitude when it comes to anything new, especially metal. I guess it stands to reason that the thing I love the most I am also the most critical of.

I have a real attitude problem when it comes to all the splattercore brutal-dude new-era-hat bands that seem to be all the rage right now. I don't like skinny-jean Hot-Topic bad-haircut screamo bands. The thing that sucks is that a lot of times when I actually meet the guys in these bands, they're decent enough people. Mostly. There are always going to be asshole band dudes out there.

I like raspy black metal vocals (At The Gates, Gorgoroth, Enslaved, Dark Tranquillity), but sometimes I want to hear a lyric and have it sung to me in a melody (Iron Maiden, Dio, Ozzy).

I try to be open minded, I do the best I can. If your band has rap vocals or multiple back-to-back breakdowns, I'm probably going to say I don't like it before I've even given it much of a chance. I'm not saying I'm right for doing it, it's just what happens. I don't expect everyone to like the bands I'm into either (but I dare you to talk shit about Judas Priest. Come on, I fucking dare you...).

Musicality impresses me if it's well applied. Catchy riffs and vocals make it hard to ignore a song. Tough guy attitudes and muddy drop tuned guitars don't do it for me.

Does that make me an elitist, or does it just mean I'm an opinionated asshole? I don't know. I'm ok with it.

[James]

An elitist attitude is something I feel anyone can aquire, its simply a bitter and defensive attitude that instantly clicks when someone enters your realm, like a territorial instinct. Being a fan of metal for years and really loving/appreciating it makes you sometimes feel like you dont want "posers" or fakes invading your world only to look cool or, like Leo said, "wear it as a badge."
Metal is becoming very accessible, and people that feel the way Ive been describing will almost always fall into the shadows when it begins to gain popularity.