The Problem with Perth Metal
The Metal scene in Perth is a farce. It is a clique, a hobby, and not even a subculture. One goes to a local metal show and is met by socialites and pretenders, people whom, aside from their dress and long hair, wouldn't be out of place at a Presets gig or at Metros, "pissing up" and talking about work and cars. The scene is infected with leftists, normals, hypocrites, posers, scenesters, etc. - this is too apparent on the Western Front forums. I have lurked here occasionally over the past 9 years and have found nothing but the sort of discussion preferred by children and construction workers. Every now and again, somebody (usually from outside the "clique", ignorant of the stupidity and vacuity of its participants) will attempt to encourage an actual discussion. Usually, in accordance with example, the forum members respond with cries of "elitist!", or of "taking music too seriously" (although, music is an artform), apparently upset at the reminder that humans like to discuss their interests and ideas. Why come to a Metal forum if you don't want to talk Metal? Nobody cares about your dad's car, or that clip on YouTube, or Dimebag Darrel (not Metal), or Christian "metal"(again, not Metal), or badly-designed band logo g-strings (the people who do care are precisely that - nobody). It's even more unsettling to know that the moderaters permit and encourage this stupidity, and that supposed musicians engage in it. But then, this makes perfect sense when considering the poverty of idea and spirit which defines "Perth Metal".
Our bands reek - they are uninspired and bland, unspirited, weak - they don't even deserve cover band status. I would not call them Metal bands (Metal having something of a warrior spirit which is yet to be identified in the music of Perth bands); that would be an affront to actual Metal bands. Perth has contributed nothing to Metal music. Pathogen was irrelevent when it formed (even more so now), Grotesque is a parody, as are our "black metal" exports - Naetu, Wardaemonic, Bereavement (emo), Ancient Dawn (and the rest of your hilarious Norse/Polish-worshipping bands - remember which country you live in), Spithre, The Furor, etc. I don't need to mention Neverborn, Voyager, Enforce, etc. as I think their value is evident, and they are under no illusions as to what they do. But to the Black and Death Metal people: you are all competing for scene points, for hesitant congratulations from your friends who know, but are too kind and stupid to tell you (and too absorbed in the idea that "my fwend has dis sick band lol"), that you are no Burzum, and that even Xasthur is better than your trashy band (and here I expect some of you to scratch your heads while wondering "duhh, whut's wong wif Xasfur?"). You forget that Death/Black Metal peaked and exhausted itself over 10 years ago - everything you do now is irrelevent. No doubt you feel important when you wear your Metal clothes in public, you feel as if you are a part of something that "normal" people will never understand, ignorant to the fact that nobody outside of your club cares about your "screaming crap". Most people would view it with the same disdain and embarassment as when you show them your comic book collection - does Metal means as much to you as that? Does it sit beside your Star Wars figurines?
Another confronting fact is that you all seem to welcome "-core" music - at any rate, you accept it. If you don't know what's wrong with Dyscord and Fool The World, you have no idea of what Metal is. Boycott this shit! Metal is not throwing a tantrum, it's not about hating your girlfriend while enjoying a cold one; if you want to sing about "life experiences" and "relationships", start an indie band, instead of playing indie music and calling it "Metal". Here you are thinking "who is this guy to tell me what Metal isn't? Elitist!". Do some research - have a look at the history of Metal music; notice the aesthetics, read the lyrics, listen to the ideas, and this doesn't include your modern hipster math-deathcore-porngrind-prog-indie-emo-suicidalblackmetal (all of that is not even a digression, nor is it "progression" - it's the updated form of whatever spawned Bon Jovi and Poison in the 80's; Slipknot and Machine Head in the 90s; it is commercial, derivative, novelty trash created by people who think metal is "crazy, angry music"). Consider what distinguishes Metal music, as an art form, and what it represents. Metal is not an ideology as such - it is an expression of a general mentality and way of living. People are inclined towards Metal, they have a disposition to it - you do not find and suddenly become Metal - you look for it. It is violent; it represents war, elitism, evil, reverence of death, amorality, nobility, tyranny, dominance, oppression, intolerance of the weak and stupid - the balancing forces of life, the things we deny with our modern world. It is not politically correct - it is apolitical. It is our answer to the modern world, the disease of Christianity and other slavish religions, it demands a return to what is real and eternal and natural in men (it is a masculine expression; female participants are no exception - Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower, Lori Bravo from Nuclear Death, etc. are expressing masculine qualities). Hipsters and parasitic types find Metal and want to make it Christian, emotional, modern, open-minded, tolerant - soft. This is what -core stands for. I direct this to the -core people: when you realise what Metal is, you will understand that it is contrary to your very being - you have absolutely nothing to do with it, in every sense musical, artistic and practical, and that maybe you should get the fuck out and quit pretending. Metal wants you dead.
As to the "Metal" people: where is our Disembowelment? Even a Portal? Sad Ex? Are we capable of it? Australia is known for having little in the way of taste and culture - we are a young nation; we were sat on by the fat arse of Americanism before we had a chance to grow. We contribute nothing of our own because, culturally speaking, we have nothing of our own - we are a multiculture and a patchwork. We look elsewhere for inspiration; this shows in almost everything we produce - everything in Australian music wants to be Britpop, or Eurotrash electro, or indie, funk, blues, jazz, folk, or some supposedly "unique" and "clever" combination of the above - something else other than what can be inspired by being here; in general an adoption and bastardisation of things that occurred naturally elsewhere, rather than a refining and development of those foreign influences. Perth seems to have suffered the worst of this. An example of what potential this country has to inspire us - Disembowelment sounded like Australia - desolate, harsh, isolated, of extremes in climate and temperament; yet they refined and distilled their foreign influences into something unique. Abramelin had the same spirit, as did Alchemist, although the music of the latter was atrocious. The rest of you want to be Norwegian or Polish (Naetu, Ancient Dawn), or Swedish (Pathogen) or American (Grotesque). Granted, you all sound like Australian bands - meaning that most Australian bands sound like tenth-rate plagiarists. But you do not sound like Australia, in the sense that Ildjarn sounded like Norway, Sarcofago sounded like Brazil, Morbid Angel sounded like America. How can you compete when you do nothing but follow by example?
I do not intend to merely shit on Perth Metal - it's swimming in enough of it. There are sincere, intelligent people in the scene who live for what they do - this is not an insult to them personally, even if I have mentioned and openly criticised their bands. Intelligent people are not exempt from stupidity. To the intelligent, creative, spirited people - why not forget your tribute bands, and abandon your aesthetic standards. Metal was never about being safe, or about following trends. Trends will always happen - they are transient, temporary expressions of the greater identity, they rise and fall. Accept the fall, lead to a new rise, never follow. There will always be followers, but they are not Metal. They are as slaves are to leaders. Metal is about leading.
