Been listening to a lot of NWoBHM recently - the old standbys of Saxon and Maiden and Priest, of course, but also some Legend and a couple of old gems which to yours truly are newly-unearthed: Loose ‘N Lethal by Savage, and Night Of The Demon and The Unexpected Guest by Demon. Both Savage and Demon have flirted with more mainstream rock sounds in their careers, but both bands have impeccable metal credentials: Savage with their speed-metal stylings was a primary influence on early Metallica, and Demon (much like their better-known contemporaries, Saxon), despite various flirtations with glam and college rock, managed to stick by their heavy metal guns and hold out until even now. Both bands also have proven themselves willing to tread topical ground: Savage’s newest album, Sons Of Malice, has a definite pro-Occupy bent to it, and (once they got over their original fascination with the occult) all of Demon’s albums since The Plague have been arguably political (unsurprising when one considers that they swapped members with the hardcore punk band Discharge on and off throughout the 1980’s).
Anyway, here’s ‘Let It Loose’:
And ‘Don’t Break The Circle’ and ‘Father Of Time’:
Enjoy!
EDIT: I happened to hear also, via SEK at Lawyers, Guns and Money, of the manufactured outrage in the right-wing blogosphere over a concert held eight years ago by PSY of ‘Gangnam Style’ fame wherein he covered a song with arguably anti-American lyrics by South Korean ‘progressive thrash / power / heavy metal / hard rock’ (according to their Metal Archives profile, anyway) band N.EX.T. And, guess which phrase in that popped out the most to me? Overrated K-Pop star? ... No. Eight-year-old concert? ... No. American right-wingers wetting their panties over said concert? ... No; that has become SOP for them. South Korean progressive thrash / power / heavy metal / hard rock with controversial lyrics? Quick, to the Taobaowang!
If I find they are any good, expect more pointless video posts from me in the future.
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Hi again, Matt.
ReplyDeleteNow here is a question that might come from an evangelical/fundamental Christian: how do you reconcile your devout Christianity with your likeness for the "devil's music," especially of the extreme variety?
Also, about your reply to my previous question. You think that a country having sources of national identity other than its "founding myth" is a bad thing?
Idrian
Hi Idrian!
ReplyDeleteHaha - a good friend of mine asked me that question once. I've posted a couple of articles on it, way back when. I think a large part of it is sheer contrariness in both directions, a sin which I have yet to overcome. Metalheads are (stereotypically speaking) supposed to be Satano-pagano-freethinkers, but I come from a very High Church place and actually find myself reinforced there by my choice in music. And, of course, I find metal helps to jar me out of any comfortable bourgeois illusions which mainstream Christianity does so much to cultivate.
That said, though, I was originally drawn to metal not necessarily for its transgressive character, but for its technical virtuosity and its openness to classical influences. I came to headbangerdom through Nightwish, Edenbridge, Pythia and the like. And as a rule, it isn't as anti-Christian as a lot of people suppose: Sabbath's Master of Reality, Maiden's A Matter of Life and Death, a few songs each on Saxon's The Inner Sanctum and Guardian's Battalions of Fear, pretty much any album by Grave Digger (but especially The Last Supper), Helloween's Better than Raw ('Lavdate Dominum')... all are actually pretty pro-Christian, actually, though usually in a subversive way.
As for a country having sources of national identity outside its 'founding myth' - that's very far from a bad thing! If China had no source of national identity outside the official CCP mythology, they'd be screwed, to be frank.
Likewise, I think the United States is going to have to run up hard against its founding creed if it is going to survive. As we have to grapple with scarcity and the need to deal head-on with questions of fairness in distribution, we are truly going to have to renegotiate our concepts of 'liberty'. Libertarianism - whether social or economic - will not be sustainable for long.
Matt:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply, y'all! Never thought metal rock can be interpreted that way. Your reply as to the question of sources of national identity, specifically the one about the US, was also good. So you mean that any "founding myth" should be struggled against if it only hurts the country than helps it?
One other question, what is your stance, in clear terms, on The Party That Mao Built? Do you have any blogposts concerning that issue?
Idrian