True metal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manowar at Norway Rock Festival 2009

True Metal ( Engl. "True metal") is a term for bands of different styles of metal , which in addition to musical aspects mainly by their ideological approach to metal and by specific textual features. The term was coined by the band Manowar and is mainly used by fans and musicians to categorize their music. Musically, the bands can usually be assigned to Heavy Metal or Power Metal .

term

The name True Metal was coined in 1984 by the band Manowar, who added the following statement to their album Hail to England : “We are Manowar. We are invincible. Death to False Metal. Hail to England ” (“ We are Manowar. We are invincible. Death to false metal. Heil England. ”); the statement Death to False Metal implies that Manowar want to see themselves as a representative of True Metal . On the same album in the song Army of Immortals , which the band dedicated to their fans, there is direct talk of True Metal : Battle hymns did sound the call. You came to our side. You heard true metal into glory ride . On the following releases of the band the false metal was also frequently attacked and the true metal was named as the original, true metal. On the album Kings of Metal (1988) in the song of the same name, the followers are also referred to as True Metal People . Since then, the term has established itself among fans in the metal scene for bands of the same mind. Even the largest metal festival in the world, the Wacken Open Air , had a stage called the True Metal Stage until 2016 , the name has since been changed to Harder Stage.

ideas

The fans of true metal and of Manowar in particular see metal as a continuation of classical music. This attitude even goes so far that Joey DeMaio calls composers such as Richard Wagner the first metallers. As False Metal betrayal of the philosophy of Heavy Metal valid commercial reasons; certain directions of metal, e.g. B. Glam Metal , Nu Metal and Crossover are viewed as distortions of "pure" Heavy Metal and bands like Metallica are no longer viewed as Metal bands. In some cases, bands that musically cannot be assigned to traditional heavy metal or power metal are accepted as their own by true metal fans: DeMaio signed the death metal band Bludgeon for his label Magic Circle Music and called them off the black metal -Umfeld coming band Immortal as true metal band (which the band is doing itself); In addition to him, Manowar's guitarist Karl Logan also expressed his sympathy for the band, which play different music, but with the same commitment as Manowar. In their eyes it is the task of the True Metallers to save the musical level and thus that of occidental music.

The parallels between Wagner and Heavy Metal emphasized by DeMaio are only comprehensible for people who are familiar with both, while others see “instead of a bridge, trenches between unmediated fan blocks” . Due to the different needs of both sides for their music and their divergent communication about music, it is difficult for DeMaio to “ encourage his audience to contact the opposite sphere” ; the concise formulas, with which he can convey an interest in Wagner's music to a heavy metal audience, "again do not allow Wagner fans to suspect the horizon of a decades-long argument, so that DeMaio has not yet been viewed by them as a conversation partner" .

Textual features

True Metal lyrics often deal with topics like combat , masculinity , war and honor . The "warriors of metal" often serve (fictional) kingdoms or religions, such as the Nordic-Germanic faith , Christianity or in the fantasy context. Furthermore, the True Metal lyrics are also about metal itself and glorify it, such as B. in the songs of Manowar "Die for Metal" or Majesty "Heavy Metal".

The lyrics are often described as glorifying violence, but at the same time the struggle for freedom and the search for justice are sung about, for which it is worth fighting. Some True Metal singers understand the bloody passages as purely symbolic.

“On the one hand, our lyrics are meant seriously in terms of their message, because Heavy Metal means a way of life for us, and we want to convey that to our fans. On the other hand, their implementation - as in Hail and Kill  , for example - is very metaphorical, so that they should not be taken literally and should be understood with a wink. The reason is simply that this type of music is inevitably associated with certain clichés for us. "

- Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio : Interview in Rock Hard 2/94.

Representative of true metal

There are two types of bands to be distinguished here. Those who call themselves true metal bands as opposed to those who are so called by fans of the genre. There are some bands that can be assigned to True Metal musically and lyrically, but who don't call their music that or even distance themselves from it.

Bands who assign themselves to True Metal:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Michael Custodis : Classical Music Today . A search for clues in rock music . 2009 transcript Verlag, p. 39.
  2. ↑ " Sons of a new millenium is probably one of the largest True Metal Hits represent the decade." - MAJESTY - Hellforces :: review / review at metal-district.de ( Memento of the original dated 7 January 2011 at the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.metal-district.de
  3. ↑ "" Louder Than Hell "[...] is real concentrate for true metal fans." - Rock Hard Online rocks the web ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
  4. ↑ "Manowar's guitarist Karl Logan justified the decision to record Nessun Dorma with the close connections between the two genres:" We […] just wanted to show the relationship between [classical music, note by the author]. Ed.] And heavy metal because the music of that song is definitely, undeniably powerful. Again, it's just another side of the band and it's a reminder that heavy metal is about melody and memorable melodic moments, not just percussion […]. "" Michael Custodis: Classical Music Today . A search for clues in rock music . 2009 transcript Verlag, p. 38.
  5. ↑ "The band's conceptual thought leader and songwriter is their bassist Joey DeMaio, who appeared in front of the 25,000 fans and explained to them halfway through a more than two-hour open air concert (in the Franconian Geiselwind on July 23, 2005 on the occasion of the band's 25th anniversary) : “Richard Wagner gave us heavy metal. He played louder, heavier, more dramatic music than anybody could ever imagine, And this is why Germans own true Heavy Metal. "" Michael Custodis: Classical Music Today . A search for clues in rock music . 2009 transcript Verlag, p. 24f.
  6. ↑ "There are bands like SLAYER, which are very hardcore, and bands like METALLICA, who ... well, whatever you want to call it." Fierce: MANOWAR: Back to the origins? .
  7. ↑ Jackie Smit: To Ride a Northwind Storm . CoC chats with Abbath of I .
  8. ↑ "Please, try to not call us Black Metal anymore. We are not Black Metal. We are a true metal band ... “Toni: IMMORTAL .
  9. ↑ "The guys from Immortal first should say like, Abbath is a huge Manowar fan and uh ... I mean what they are doing is not what we are doing but their commitment and their dedication and their sincerity about what they are doing is no different than ours .... I mean they really believe in what they are doing and we respect that ... “Clark Chaos: Interview with Karl Logan (guitarist of Manowar) .
  10. ↑ Michael Custodis: Classical Music Today . A search for clues in rock music . 2009 transcript Verlag, p. 56.

Web links