Just ranting about "Fast Food" style bands (the kind im in)

Liaztraht

Silver Member
Honestly whats so great about them? They crank out ok songs just to make a quick buck. What ever happened to hard work and practice?


My current band is this way.
We play blackened death metal, with some rock and post hardcore thrown in once in a while, and i don't want to sound like every band out there. Some guy that a couple of my band mates know, did some generic lame ass deathcore on drums (i hate deathcore) and suddenly they want me to learn bass and recruit him so they can teach me what they want on bass, and crank out music as fast as possible.

Its just like all the fast food style bands... Generic and blends in with the mediocre everyday deathcore bands.

It makes me miss my last band, we practiced every day just to write one song, before working on another. At least until we separated because of different interests.

Honestly im thinking of just cutting my losses to look for a band that cares about quality, not quantity. I don't care what i play as long as its good music. the only reason i am playing blackened death metal is because we all liked and agreed on it, i would much rather prefer hard rock or post hardcore (kinda like the newer Poison the Well) even some industrial is nice lol.

Anyone else think caring about quality is better? instead of "Fast Food" or "Made In China" kind of music?

Join the rant if you want, i would like to hear others opinions on this matter :D
 
All I can say is it seems like every day I read these words somewhere in this forum and I don't understand a damn thing. It seems like there's about 150 different ways of playing metal nowadays..

I kinda knew the difference between hard rock, metal and death metal.. but now with all these "blackened death metal", grindcore, deathcore, gorecore, f**kcore and s***... oh, man, c'mon isn't it a bit too much already??

What's up with all the death, gore, blood, torture and suffering worshipping? For Christ's sake, there were always angry teens, but this way of expressing it is getting way outta hand.

Anyway, to answer to your question, I really doubt that as long as you keep playing any genre with the word "death" in it, you'll be making true quality music, so don't even bother ranting.

Cheers.
 
Metal is basically an entire separate culture, so the subgenres almost function more like genres do in music as a whole. Pretend there was nothing but metal, and suddenly you need a whole load of names for things otherwise it'd be like making no distinction between Beethoven and the Beatles.

Bottom line with the OP is...you have to have good material, otherwise there's no reason to play anything. So I guess I agree! It's difficult to argue with that idea, it's the most fundamental thing about any band. Obviously there's other factors like image, but no need to churn things out as if you're making up for a trade deficit.
 
well deathcore is just alot of blast beats and breakdowns while the guitars just go *chug chug* and blackened death metal is death metal with black metal infused.


long story short i threw in the towel anyways

songs that are cranked out as fast as possible will be just like eating at mcdonalds... quick and convenient, but the quality will be missing.

and good explanation PQleyR
 
Uhhg I hate deathcore and metalcore. I think it's funny thats what most people (who claim to like metal) want to play because they think they will get huge. They don't realize most towns have a dozen bad local deathcore/metalcore bands that will remain that...a bad local band.

I'm in a 2 man doom metal/heavy rocking band and it makes me mad that if I post on CL looking for a 3rd member people are like "hey I am interested, but lets change the sound to something good thats popular" lol no thanks, you can keep your generic breakdowns bro!
 
Yea, i personally am getting sick of deathcore myself. metal core is beginning to get just as bad. post hardcore still has the good ole punk roots though :D
 
Uhhg I hate deathcore and metalcore. I think it's funny thats what most people (who claim to like metal) want to play because they think they will get huge. They don't realize most towns have a dozen bad local deathcore/metalcore bands that will remain that...a bad local band.

I'm in a 2 man doom metal/heavy rocking band and it makes me mad that if I post on CL looking for a 3rd member people are like "hey I am interested, but lets change the sound to something good thats popular" lol no thanks, you can keep your generic breakdowns bro!

Also i hate most break downs. And metal wise i prefer regular death metal and tech death. I don't see whats so brutal about *chug chug chug squeal* and *crash.............crash...............crash............*
 
All I can say is it seems like every day I read these words somewhere in this forum and I don't understand a damn thing. It seems like there's about 150 different ways of playing metal nowadays..

I kinda knew the difference between hard rock, metal and death metal.. but now with all these "blackened death metal", grindcore, deathcore, gorecore, f**kcore and s***... oh, man, c'mon isn't it a bit too much already??

What's up with all the death, gore, blood, torture and suffering worshipping? For Christ's sake, there were always angry teens, but this way of expressing it is getting way outta hand.

Anyway, to answer to your question, I really doubt that as long as you keep playing any genre with the word "death" in it, you'll be making true quality music, so don't even bother ranting.

Cheers.
What I read here was:

"I don't like it or understand it so I'm going to stereotype it though I know absolutely nothing about it."

Might want to edit your post down to something like that, because anyone could go on about ANY genre of music their don't like or understand and it would be the exact same thing. Actual metal is not just a bunch of angsty teenagers worshipping Satan, the sad truth is that black metal is just generally linked with anti-religious/Satanic roots, and that what most people think "metal" is ARE those angsty teenagers playing one-note breakdowns with their godawful excuse for music now termed metalcore and deathcore.

I won't go deep into any of that anymore, but it seems there's a few people in here who do know what I'm talking about. Drummerworld generally isn't the place for metal, guys... but yeah, I live in Niagara Falls, NY just outside of Buffalo where everyone talks about the "Buffalo hardcore scene" and everyone who listens to the stuff suddenly picks up an instrument and after a week with it start a band with all their other newbie friends thinking they can play this type of music too... it's even worse than the crap they worship, and none of them know how to play an instrument. The popular ones around here are as you described, these fast food bands looking for a quick rise to popularity and a quick buck, which really isn't any money at all because no one gets paid worth a damn playing venues that aren't actually venues anyways.

Quality will always outdo quantity, no matter the context... but especially in music.
 
Just to get it out of the way let me just say that I don't like metal (or any of it's bazillion sub-genres), I've never liked metal, and the whole idea of metal has always kind of bugged me for whatever reason. Okay, there are a few that I've secretly admired, but for the purpose of this discussion, let's pretend I hate the whole lot. None of that matters anyway because that's not really what this is about.

What I'm hearing from the OP is that it sucks to have some vision for what constitutes rewarding artistically-motivated music only to have that vision undermined by people who are more entrepreneurial being primarily motivated by monetary success than they are concerned about creating something meaningful enough for them to want to be buried with it. I get that, and it does suck.

I've turned down lots of bands because they just wanted to do Ramones-meets-Guns N Roses hybridized generic fast-food rock (love the "fast food rock" line so consider it stolen) because they can book Saturday night shows at the good clubs with it. There's no room in any of that for putting your stamp on anything and there really isn't anything there worth putting a stamp on anyway.

I feel your pain and despite that we play different genres, this thing plays out over the whole music spectrum. If your soul is telling you to get out of the fast food biz, then do it.
 
Chaos Inferno is right. I love the simplified version you did lol. Im no good at putting things into words.

There are exceptions in metalcore and deathcore, but generally it brings a bad name to their musical roots.

personally im an anything goes guy, but metal has its fun parts the same way country or electronic music does, or any music for that matter.

Religion plays no part in music for me. xD
 
I feel your pain and despite that we play different genres, this thing plays out over the whole music spectrum. If your soul is telling you to get out of the fast food biz, then do it.

I feel more like being a gourmet chef with music, even if i have to sample everything untill i get it right. It feels worth it when you can stamp it your self

and go ahead and use "Fast Food Rock" I love the term xD
 
I remember people calling The Dillinger Escape Plan metalcore without anyone batting an eyelid. Dem were the days...

All I can say is it seems like every day I read these words somewhere in this forum and I don't understand a damn thing.

It's exactly here where your probably should have stopped and
don't even bother ranting.

Don't get me wrong; the compartmentalization of metal genres can and does get out of hand. But loudly proclaiming total ignorance and then making a bunch of judgmental assertions anyway is a little silly, no? Like here:

For Christ's sake, there were always angry teens, but this way of expressing it is getting way outta hand.

Anyway, to answer to your question, I really doubt that as long as you keep playing any genre with the word "death" in it, you'll be making true quality music

(Oh if someone tells me a band is "blackened death metal", that assists me in information in exactly the same way as when someone tells me a record is jazzy blues or free jazz tinged hard bop or funky hip hop. I don't care, while some do, about pigeonholing a group into such a description but what's wrong with benefiting from the information?)
 
Had to jump in:

While I am sometimes perplexed by the subdivisions in describing music (especially through the genres I'm not that familiar with), I prefer that to a band being described as "rock and roll", as this could mean so many things.

I get confused by the techno sub-genres (trip hop, club, trance, and far many more than I know).
 
On one hand, given the very limited commercial appeal of black metal, I'm not sure it can be called "fast food."

However, on the other hand, my biggest problem so many metal bands is so many bands try really hard to all sound the same. And as much as I call myself a "metal fan" the actual number of metal bands I listen to is relatively small.

But as I see it, that's not the point of the thread. Mike got to the heart of the matter and nailed it:
What I'm hearing from the OP is that it sucks to have some vision for what constitutes rewarding artistically-motivated music only to have that vision undermined by people who are more entrepreneurial being primarily motivated by monetary success than they are concerned about creating something meaningful enough for them to want to be buried with it. I get that, and it does suck.

I can relate. One band I was in, didn't start that way at all, but a year later, it had very much become just disposable "fast food" music, aimed at jumping on whatever bandwagon was going by. Although the band did get a lot of record company interest, but looking back, it's not something I remember fondly compared to the other bands I have been in.
 
PS:

If anyone ever gets confused about the 1001 sub genres of metal (and I agree, there are too many, and it's rather pointless to pigeon hole bands), there is a great resource that explains them all, their relationships to each other, and provides musical examples of every single dang sub-genre of metal, and them some:

http://www.mapofmetal.com/#/home
 
There's two issues in this thread. The sub-genres I'll leave to you guys.

But I think the heart of the issue was touched on by Mike. There is a clash of musical direction and you're feeling your creativity stifled in favour of a 'generic formula'. As for what to do.....my experience tells me that if it's ain't happening, then it's unlikely to change.

I like this:

If your soul is telling you to get out of the fast food biz, then do it.

I think if you get out and try to set up with some more likeminded people, you'll be happier for it. Seldom do bands work when they are stretching themselves in different directions. Musically, it always helps to be on the same page IMHO. That doesn't mean you have to have the same influences and tastes....but it does mean you all want the same end result (and I don't mean riches and fame :) ).

Very best of luck to you. I'm pretty damned sure you're gonna make the right call whichever way you lean, mate. ;-)
 
There's two issues in this thread. The sub-genres I'll leave to you guys.

But I think the heart of the issue was touched on by Mike. There is a clash of musical direction and you're feeling your creativity stifled in favour of a 'generic formula'. As for what to do.....my experience tells me that if it's ain't happening, then it's unlikely to change.

I like this:



I think if you get out and try to set up with some more likeminded people, you'll be happier for it. Seldom do bands work when they are stretching themselves in different directions. Musically, it always helps to be on the same page IMHO. That doesn't mean you have to have the same influences are tastes....but it does mean you all want the same end result.

Very best of luck to you. I'm pretty damned sure you're gonna make the right call whichever way you lean, mate. ;-)


Well i already called it quits, they can have their generic drummer. Im going to look for like minded people with more punk and rock influences.

A constant double kick is tiring, both literally and metaphorically bahaha xD

And thanks for the luck :)
 
Well i already called it quits, they can have their generic drummer. Im going to look for like minded people...
Bravo! Play the music that you'd want to hear and then find out how many people dig your stuff. Who knows, you may end up creating your own sub-genre!
 
There's two issues in this thread. The sub-genres I'll leave to you guys.

I think if you get out and try to set up with some more likeminded people, you'll be happier for it.

These two comments sum it up for me. I'm not a metal fan but I think the metal subgenres are great fun - had a good laugh when PQ posted "pirate metal".

As someone who'd always thought of metal as Black Sabbath I admit to liking some doom after Frosty sent me a link the group called Virgin Black, who include a lot of beautiful melodies and textures amongst the grunt.

As for the topic, it's always tricky to find a group where everyone is enough on the sae page for longer term compatibility. Most times my bands have lasted a few years before paths start diverging, so I've not found that Holy Grail. There are members of this forum who have given up on bands altogether for this reason and instead work as a hired gun.

Still, sometimes a style will grow on you. I wasn't keen on my current band's music when I started but now I really enjoy playing all lazy, slow, mellow old person shite :) It took me a while but I realised out it's a very different approach, where you try to create beauty more than excitement (although you still need a bit of sting).

So, if you're open to new experiences, compromising your tastes to suit someone else's can push you into new approaches and make you a more rounded musician.
 
A lot of the things said so far (to many to quote) are what ive been trying to get through my head so as not to feel guilty.

it is what i believe anyways, and also the reason i started this thread.

My favorite band has become generic as well. their latest stuff is over produced, and sounds forced out.
 
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