So, the other day, Rob Liz and I were talking about music and Metal, as we do; deep in conversation, he mentions two bands that I should stay away from because they're retarded (my version of what he said, not what he ACTUALLY said). These two bands are Vampires Everywhere! and Attack! Attack! Basically he recommended that I stay away from all bands that have exclamation points in their name.
This particular blog is about the band I liked the most:
Vampires Everywhere!
I've been putting off this for a few days now, having reminded myself on occasion that I need to check these bands out for myself. Rob and I have quite a bit in common musically; he introduced me to MANY awesome bands (Epica, Kamelot, Dimmu Borgir) and for that I will be eternally grateful but sometimes I find my musical tastes drifting off into those forbidden areas where in Rob's world you would see a multitude of "Keep Away", "Danger!" and "Ear Protection Required Beyond This Point" signs posted all over, warning travelers to stay away from such bands in his own version of Heavy Metal Land.
iwrestledabearonce, the band that I'm pretty sure instigated the warnings of the 'Exclamation Point' bands, is one of those bands that he is sure to keep a distance from. I, for whatever reasons that are my own, enjoy the band. He thinks they're shit. Vampires Everwhere! is another one of those bands. Rob is a metal purist. There are certain formulations that need to be adhered to specifically or else it's crap. I don't agree at all. He has said recently, that he likes Auto Tune, he just doesn't believe it belongs in Metal. I wholeheartedly disagree.
Heavy Metal has grown by leaps and bounds since it started in the Eighties with long haired monsters, scaring the crap out of our parents. As it evolved into all the sub-genres we have today there are many that involve aspects from other types of music like orchestrations, operatic vocals, traditional celtic musical instruments as well as the many, many different languages that metal is now sung in thanks to its popularity growing all over the world. Auto Tune may be stereotypically used in Rap and R&B, but they don't have sole possession of it. I'm really excited to hear that someone has taken something, associated with RAP and utilized it in Metal. That's just awesomeness.
If you want to complain about the use of Auto Tune, why can't you complain that rappers use it because they can't sing, and would otherwise sound like shit. Why not complain that most of their music sounds the same and that unless you were a fan, you wouldn't know T-Pain from T.I. I enjoy that Vampires Everywhere! have a unique sound that other bands were either too afraid to experiment with or not inventive enough to think to try it.
But go ahead and see for yourself, enjoy it or hate it. Like it for what it is; different, or hate it for appealing to young people with no taste in music. They're either going to have a decent career or be a flash in the pan, flavour of the moment group who's nothing but a cash cow. Who knows. Either way, I like it and that's all that matters.
Vampires Everywhere! "Immortal Love"
VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE! (thepublicrecord.com) | MySpace Music Videos
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17 comments:
This would be neat if I were a 13 year old girl.
Thank God I'm not.
Vampires Everywhere and Attack Attack are fucking terrible.
To each his own and everything, but there is absolutely nothing unique or inventive about this band
I agree. To each his own. I am of the opinion that it's unique enough. They may look the same as all the other bands, they may have the same hair styles and wear all black and live in a state or perpetual depression, but for me, the use of the autotune in their music makes them interesting and unique. In hearing this, I'm also reminded of another band that used it in one of their songs (Avenged Sevenfold's "Lost") and I thought that was one of the better tracks on that cd.
Thanks for reading!
Your friendly neighbourhood whipping boy.
SMH... Seriously dude? It's not new or different, in fact you might say they are just the worst of pop metal and twilight blended together.
And people do complain about autotune in rap and pop all the time, at least on our site anyway.
Your right though that thousands of tweenage girls that are on team edward will buy their album.
This burns my retinas even reading this.
Let's start with some clarifications. First of all I'm not a purist, if I was it would be exclusively black or death metal and everything else is untr00.
Also metal did not start in the 80's. It's origins start in the late 60's to early 70's depending on who you talk to.
I'm all for other forms of music being integrated to make metal a more diverse genre.And it is probably the most diverse genre out there. With that being said....there are still limits. Not every genre or trend needs to poke it's head in.Like Van Canto is a good example. You love them and I think they're absofuckinglutely ridiculous. Metal has never been considered a legitimate form of music and this doesn't help. Acapella metal...bitch please.
Which brings me to iwrestledabearonce. The name alone is a fucking joke and screams don't take me seriously. Yes I get the attempt at humor but the frenetic all over the place music and banshee screeching from the lead singer is horrible.How am I supposed to get the humor when I can't stand to listen to the music?
And then this sonic abortion called Vampires Everywhere! This mallcore bullshit is a blatant grab at the Twilight set in the guise of pop fused with metal. There is no soul to this form of metal. They took something popularized recently by T Pain and others knowing full well that some douchey tweens were going to gravitate to this. There is nothing unique or inventive about any of this. It's taking the most popular genres and mixing it together in a blender as a cash grab. Reading their bio on myspace screams look at us...we're a trendcore band! How can you honestly sit there and say this is good music? Dude is screaming half the time because in these bands eyes that's what makes a song metal is by screaming much like deathcore bands like Whitechapel or Suicide Silence. And then adding autotune on top of that?!!? Why? Have an identity or get the fuck out.
It's not all about power chords, and br00tal vocals but it does have to have some redeeming elements. Like a love of music.
If you want original or inventive...listen to Devin Townsend or Opeth or something like that. But don't be sucked into fake, horrible, and vapid music like a 15 year old would be.
Oh and one other thing. There is absolutely no comparison to the oldest and most pure forms of music being integrated into metal to the synthesized and machine created sounds associated with Rap and R&B.
Symphonies and classical music in general was created hundreds of years ago for the love of the music. Celtic and folk music has been around even longer for the same reasons and more.
Autotune and vocoders are an effect added to music by computers in an effort to make it hip. That's it. And it is used in arenas of music that care nothing for the art of the instrument.
If you can't sing clean without it then you shouldn't be singing at all.
As a supposed lover of music I'd think you'd understand that.
Ok. I get it. I have shitty taste in music. I hate shitty taste in movies. I have shitty taste in books. I don't have the musical knowledge that you, or any of the other metal bloggers out there have. I may like the wrong bands regardless of the opinions of the masses that I'm not supposed to like them because of who their target audience is, or whatever reason.
What I do have is an appreciation for the little things. I DO enjoy V.E.! because *I* think that those little nuances they have are different and enjoyable to my ears, regardless of the screeching in the rest of the music. I enjoy iwrestledabearonce because they take all these things that don't belong together and mix and match it and to me, it's crazy enough that it works. I enjoy Van Canto because the things they do with their voices amazes and at times the harmonies are just beautiful. I appreciate that they are different and do the best that they can do even though there are nay-sayers like you who say they shouldn't make music because they're shitty.
You rip on me about just about everything I find pleasure in and are passionate about and I'm not sure if it's just some sort of passive aggressive bullshit because of something I did to you or if ripping on people is just what you think we're supposed to do. Either way, you're kind of making me question why you even asked me to be a contributor. If you wanted a whipping boy, you should have just said so.
As for me, I'm gonna go put on some guyliner and masturbate to Adam Lambert and use my Team Edward shirt to clean up afterward.
Ok...no need to get all emo about this. I asked you to be a contributor because I wanted other perspectives on the genre on here and you're my friend and I figured it'd be something cool to do.I warned you though that some things posted on here would invite potentially negative feedback and you'd need a thick skin.
If you don't want to debate things on here that's fine. But I'm not the only one attacking your viewpoint in this particular article. I figured we could get some lively discussion or debating on here to liven things up on occasion but you don't seem to be up to that so we'll drop it.
Kudos to you for sticking to your guns on what you like or don't like but I'm struggling to understand why you gravitate all the time to things that are not created for your demographic.Maybe that's why it comes across as ripping on you all the time.
Sorry if you're getting upset by this as it wasn't my intent.I just don't understand.
Hey Dude
We spoke on Facebook about Iwrestledabearonce.
I really like them, as you know.
Vampires Everywhere! are fucking awful.
On TNOTB I write articles about these bands called 'crabcore' bands. They all follow this pattern:
Chug chug chug chug.
Drums are all cymbals with the occasional snare, triggered to sound like poppy clicks.
"Vocalist" barely manages to scream for the verse, and then when the chorus comes in it's all synthy and they auto tune it up to the point where the whole thing sounds Completely computerized.
Of course you can't forget the synchronised dance moves.
So many bands follow this forumula:
Attack Attack!
Confide
Vampires Everywhere!
Next Stop Mars
A Skylit Drive
etc...
I have been writing posts on these type of bands for ages.
The crabcore apocalypse is coming.
Vampires Everywhere! are not unique, or original, they are cashing in on people like Attack Attack! whilst giving it a Twilight theme to pull in the little tweens.
I heard that you also like Twilight, for shame. Seriously, it is one of the most poorly written novels I have ever had the misfortune of attempting to read.
It is just awful, awful fan fiction and ripped off of Charlaine Harris' novels. Which by the way are actually written well.
I'd hate to hear your taste in films... no offence, but I'm sure Rob will tell you I am a film Nazi.
Don't get upset man, opinions are arseholes.
Rob. I'm fine with the debates, I'm fine with the banter, the problem is when I have a shitload of people here trying to coordinate an intervention. So you all think this band sucks. So you think that they're appealing to Twilight crazed tweens and have no talent. The thing is, regardless of it all, I do like the music. If you have a problem with that (and this is to all of you) then shake your head, feel sorry for me, pray for my soul - but you don't have to make me feel like shit for liking whatever it is I like. Just facepalm or whatever the fuck nerdspeak thing you do and let me live in my ignorance.
Quigs, you seem like an alright bloke. Thanks for the kind words, though sadly I do have to disagree.. Charlaine Harris (which I have sadly read) is crap. Pure, unadulterated crap. Meyer's stuff is so much better.. But for whatever reason, like with the music and movies and other media I like, I find some sort of enjoyment out of it. I don't know why, I just do.
I gotta go wash my Team Edward shirt now... it's almost as sparkly as he is.. :)
I like to think I am an alright bloke too :P
Honestly dude, in terms of the music whatever I hear, clearly ain't the same as what you hear...
As for the Twilight thing. The books are desperately sad bastardised fan fiction of Charlaine Harris' novels.
The difference between the two is one of them creates a dynamic universe, with a gripping story full of interesting characters.
The other is about the moodiest and dullest, supposedly teenage girl (she doesn't describe things like one) masturbating over the hot vampire and the hot werewolf.
Twilight manages to strip away the expansive universe, strip away the compelling storyline and just becomes something that a pre pubescent girl can rub her clit to.
Plus, we could get into all the reasons why Twilight teaches young girls the wrong message and the negative societal influence it has had. But I don't really care about that. I think people who like it are pretty stupid in all honesty.
I just don't understand how something so vapid can be considered so great by a lot of people. Then again see any number of Hollywood films.
Even Robert Pattinson thinks Twilight is a literary abomination and hates it with every fibre of his being.
Plus Charlaine Harris' novels went on to spawn True Blood, which is easily one of the best things to come out of this recent vampire craze.
True Blood is fantastically written and constructed television. Good Ol' HBO.
Hmm, if you hadn't noticed screen media is far more my forte than music, that's a given, so I apologise if I have gone a little off topic here.
Vampires Everywhere are exceptionally untalented and bland...
Maybe you haven't heard all the other bands they are copying?
Honestly if you grouped them all together you wouldn't be able to pick out who is in what band and which fringe belongs to which waste of space cunt.
Excuse my French.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful. A debate is a debate right? But I am pretty sure you made the post too elicit some sort of response. Otherwise you would have kept it to yourself.
Don't get upset if people turn around and rip chunks out of you. I get it all the time I like IWABO and SlipKnot.
Just roll with the punches.
Also, have you checked out Vampire Weekend? :P
And, Oh yeah, Twilight Sucks :P
Oh for fucks sake!
Everytime I clicked Publish comment it said there was an error.
Now it's posted it four fucking times!!!
Oh well, now Rob, at least you have your most commented post :P
Ok...I deleted the multiples. and yes...this has been the most activity on an article ever. I sincerely hope that all parties come out of this intact or insane...one of the two. Thanks for reading and writing:)
Quigs. It's cool. I replied to what is mostly off topic on your FB page.. shall we continue this conversation elsewhere?
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