A quote that everyone needs to read

[MikeH]

So I came across this quote by Vincent Bennett from The Acacia Strain and thought a few people on here would appreciate it, and everyone would learn from it.

“Too many people in bands lately have just been putting out records and playing shows so they can BE in a band and be popular. There is no passion anymore; it’s all an internet popularity contest. We write the music we do because we like playing it, and if people are into it then that’s an amazing bonus. There are so many useless arguments on the internet about what kind of band is metal or metalcore or deathcore or hardcore or whatever. Shut up. Listen to music. The minute you try to define it is the exact moment it loses all of its actual meaning.”

That's something that really hits home for me seeing as every band in Cincy is now doing it for the fame and to get high school girls all over their nuts. So think about it the next time you're in a genre war.

[Rick]

Awesome.

[iondestroyer1527]

it's funny THEY would be the band that quote would come from because they're the biggest sell outs of any metal band EVER. listen to their first cd and then the ones that proceeded it. good quote from a shitty source IMO.

[metal_sam14]

The genre nazi's over at UG should read this.
I agree with the statement, why worry about putting a label on everything?, If you like it, then listen to it. if you dont like it, shut the .... up and go listen to something you do like, and dont give someone else shit because you dont like it.

[ry_z]

Hell, Oscar Wilde said:

To define is to limit.

[MikeH]

Originally Posted by iondestroyer1527

it's funny THEY would be the band that quote would come from because they're the biggest sell outs of any metal band EVER. listen to their first cd and then the ones that proceeded it. good quote from a shitty source IMO.

They went from death metal influenced hardcore to heavily hardcore influenced death metal. Major change.

[MFB]

Don't worry, anyone in a genre that's not popular has had this motto for YEARS. I've been saying it for about 2 years now since I've been working on Stoner/Doom stuff, and aside from that I have a Grindcore album that's halfway done and is about Mortal Kombat for ....'s sake! Do I expect to see ANY profit aside from who I show it to that might give me a dollar for a hard copy? No way cause it's unrealistic and I don't necessarily even want it.

[yetti]

Originally Posted by iondestroyer1527

it's funny THEY would be the band that quote would come from because they're the biggest sell outs of any metal band EVER. listen to their first cd and then the ones that proceeded it. good quote from a shitty source IMO.

Ummmm, what? In what way are they sellouts?

[Andii]

Originally Posted by iondestroyer1527

it's funny THEY would be the band that quote would come from because they're the biggest sell outs of any metal band EVER. listen to their first cd and then the ones that proceeded it. good quote from a shitty source IMO.

You're doing it here, in a thread about it.

[MikeH]

Success Troll is quite unsuccessful.

[ittoa666]

Originally Posted by metal_sam14

The kids over at UG should read this.
I agree with the statement, why worry about putting a label on everything?, If you like it, then listen to it. if you dont like it, shut the .... up and go listen to something you do like, and dont give someone else shit because you dont like it.

[Triple7]

Awesome quote

[iondestroyer1527]

Originally Posted by Andii

You're doing it here, in a thread about it.

Originally Posted by yetti

Ummmm, what? In what way are they sellouts?

i withdraw my statement and the one i was just trying to make to rebut these posts. everytime i read this quote in the op i just feel more like this guy is full of shit. simply my opinion.
"We write the music we do because we like playing it, and if people are into it then that’s an amazing bonus."
i feel when you alter your music to make it sell more you've done the opposite. so i will "shut up" and not listen to the acacia strain (cept the first cd).imo

[Aurochs34]

Great quote for sure.

Originally Posted by Ibz_rg

They went from death metal influenced hardcore to heavily hardcore influenced death metal. Major change.

hehe ^^^ be careful yourself mate

[Demiurge]

Isn't this guy more guilty of generalization or categorization than the latter group (the listeners debating on the internets) that he mentions? First of all, I've never seen people actually debate if a band is -core or not; the argument (as with ANY band discussed) is usually if the band is good or not. Second, his statement about trend-following bands tacitly implies that he, too, is guilty of the perceived sin of genre-consciousness as he obviously knows what style is popular right now and identify which bands play in that style... AND he goes as far as to claim to be able to identify people's motivations for playing in bands that aren't as genuine as his, apparently.

I think that if somebody likes to argue about music more than they like to listen to music, then there's a real problem- but that's a gimme and I'll agree with that all day. I also think that people can join and play in bands for whatever reason they ....ing want- not everybody wants to reinvent the wheel- so if they enjoy doing what they do, no matter how mind-blowingly unoriginal it is, there should be no quarrel with that. I also think it's retarded to imply that discussions of subgenres are useless and hamper one's appreciation of music- it doesn't take a particularly acute sense of hearing to know that certain styles of music sound different.

[Krullnar]

Usually when you hear someone say something like that, it's from a band that fits neatly into a genre that people tend to hate on. And that fits the bill here for sure (metalcore, deathcore).

[BigPhi84]

Originally Posted by Demiurge

Isn't this guy more guilty of generalization or categorization than the latter group (the listeners debating on the internets) that he mentions? First of all, I've never seen people actually debate if a band is -core or not; the argument (as with ANY band discussed) is usually if the band is good or not. Second, his statement about trend-following bands tacitly implies that he, too, is guilty of the perceived sin of genre-consciousness as he obviously knows what style is popular right now and identify which bands play in that style... AND he goes as far as to claim to be able to identify people's motivations for playing in bands that aren't as genuine as his, apparently.

I think that if somebody likes to argue about music more than they like to listen to music, then there's a real problem- but that's a gimme and I'll agree with that all day. I also think that people can join and play in bands for whatever reason they ....ing want- not everybody wants to reinvent the wheel- so if they enjoy doing what they do, no matter how mind-blowingly unoriginal it is, there should be no quarrel with that. I also think it's retarded to imply that discussions of subgenres are useless and hamper one's appreciation of music- it doesn't take a particularly acute sense of hearing to know that certain styles of music sound different.

I couldn't have said it better. Rep +1 for you, sir.

[AliceAxe]

why do it?
because its what humans are born to do since the invention of language, to explain , define , categorize , and describe thing to fellow humans. Relay without some sort of genre definition if you wanted to find music of a certain sound when wading through the hordes of possibilities that exist , how would you narrow it down for what you are looking for?

I think the problem lies more with musical prejudice than definitions.
place more importance on genre as a defining characteristic as to whether you will like something or not. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not liking something is ok too IMO.

[BigPhi84]

Originally Posted by AliceAxe

why do it?
because its what humans are born to do since the invention of language, to explain , define , categorize , and describe thing to fellow humans. Relay without some sort of genre definition if you wanted to find music of a certain sound when wading through the hordes of possibilities that exist , how would you narrow it down for what you are looking for?

I think the problem lies more with musical prejudice than definitions.
place more importance on genre as a defining characteristic as to whether you will like something or not. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not liking something is ok too IMO.

Rep+1 for you too.

I'll admit, I've been guilty of being prejudiced. I jumped on the bandwagon of Killswitch Engage hate years ago. A few months back, there was a thread here about trying to get a KSE-type tone from the Axe-FX. I figured that I would try to accomplish this with my Axe-FX, so I bought one of their CDs (End of Heartache) to get an ear for their sound and they're one of my favorite bands to listen to now while driving. Sure, the music isn't technical, but it's really aggressive and heart-pumping.

[nhersom]

The Acacia Strain have def followed the breakdown fad. They among bands like the Red Cord pretty much started metalcore. After they lost there 3rd guitarist i don't know what happened to them.

[groph]

Not a bad quote. The bit about people being in a band for a reason other than the music is something I can agree with, especially when it comes to underground music. There's no money, there's no publicity, if you're not in it for the music I don't know why you're in it. Yeah, The Acacia Strain and comparable deathcore (I think they're deathcore, either that or just really brutal hardcore) bands are in "style" but I don't know if bands are to blame for that, if people like it then people like it. I mean I make sweeping generalizations (IE: deathcore sucks) all the time in everyday conversation but that's because I'm not bothering to be 100% accurate in my speech. I don't care what genre a certain band is, if I like it I like it. Lots of people on here have this same view and it's a good one to have.

Without getting into a genre rant, I have a couple of things to say. This is not directed at anybody or any band in particular. It almost seems that people intentionally avoid classifying, while I don't see anything at all wrong with classification. That Oscar Wilde quote is bunk (to me) because I kind of think that while I can get the jist of what he's trying to say (defining something puts boundaries on it), it's being too black and white, and things that are "classifiable" are not all in the same, meaning his quote hardly applies to everything. To me, it's just some catchy thing some smart guy said a while ago.

Getting back to the music, for your own purposes I don't see why classifying a band into a genre has to be a bad thing. Having a preconcieved idea of what a genre is and putting the genre before the music is a bad thing; it's pretty much just ignorance.

The music comes before the genre, not the other way around.

[Variant]

Getting back to the music, for your own purposes I don't see why classifying a band into a genre has to be a bad thing.

Actually, I can't stand bands that are so pretentious that they think they somehow defy categorization. If the shoe fits, and you don't want to wear it, take it off.

[xiphoscesar]

There are so many useless arguments on the internet about what kind of band is metal or metalcore or deathcore or hardcore or whatever. Shut up. Listen to music.

This

[Stealthdjentstic]

Originally Posted by Variant

Actually, I can't stand bands that are so pretentious that they think they somehow defy categorization. If the shoe fits, and you don't want to wear it, take it off.

[signalgrey]

Originally Posted by Stealthtastic

yes yes yes.