Stoney

Yes, we need to see what this ideology consists of, because it's not enough to "say something" to be artists; what is said also needs to have substance and relate to the context in which one operates. Unfortunately, black metal has produced more scandals than albums, with murders, suicides, accusations of neo-Nazism, burned churches, occult symbols, satanism, and blind hatred against Christianity, which is blamed for taking away the pagan gods. I wonder how it makes sense to separate these things from the music (I can already hear many rising in chorus to say "what does music have to do with these things"). It would be like separating football from violence in stadiums or hip-hop from the myth of the rapper-delinquent-criminal. Shall we say that not all fans are criminals and not all rappers are criminals? Let's say it, but does this perhaps change the socio-cultural dimension of the phenomenon? No. The same goes for black metal. Many of those who write here are surely not like how the fans of this music are often portrayed, but unfortunately, a handful of people doesn't make a difference. The truth is that this genre derives its popularity from the desecration of values that has been so in vogue for a nice 40-50 years, from the ability to dare and not measure the extreme, to take it out on society as the source of all evils and of one's own marginalization, which, mind you, can also be valid; many have done it. But how does doing it this way make sense? A categorical rejection of everything, nihilism, misanthropy, and all carried to a senseless excess where more is always better. The painted faces, the inverted crosses, paganism, and all the macabre and funereal atmosphere—how much is a testament to rebellion against society and expression of solitude, and how much is simply an alternative and pompous way to show off? But of course, I "will never understand," right? In the end, everyone responds like this, that I cannot understand. And they don’t explain what there is to understand, maybe because there’s nothing to understand. I would like to know how many of those who define themselves as solitary and depressed truly are, because solitude and depression are serious and rather grave things, sometimes pathological, and how many instead put on a mask and take a stance. It seems to me more like a huge game, with the aggravating factor that many people sometimes take it seriously, rather than a movement of people who are aware of the implications this attitude carries with it. Then you can say whatever you want, that it isn't true, that I'm wrong, that jazz musicians can be crazy too, but we all know there’s a big difference and we all know what it is. And this is my last comment on the genre, the result of reasoned positions (I have a brain and understand many things even if I don't listen to black) and considering the responses I’ve obtained from other reviews. Regards.

I want to emphasize that I am not generalizing. I wrote "many," not "everyone" who listens to black.

I only said: if the review had stopped at describing the album, that would have been fine, but making clarifications saying that "black is also art" and has the right to express itself is, in my opinion, unnecessary. It's like justifying something that you already know is wrong from the start. There are many other genres of music that are not catchy and not understood, such as avant-garde, experimental electronic music, but also grind, and no one there complains about not being understood. If you are convinced that your music has dignity and is niche, then of course many people won't get it, right? Criticism is also normal at this point, don't you think? A clarification like that remains unnecessary: you have already described all the beautiful things about this album in the review, so you’ve already said it expresses something, you’ve demonstrated that it is, in your opinion, an artistic product. What’s the point of adding those things? To avoid future potential criticisms? But why care? Look at that... all the black metal fans always say the same things, that their genre is true art even if no one understands it, and at this point I don’t know what matters more: that it is true art or that no one understands it, maybe the latter. Because if your genre were so "niche," you would be quite happy with it and would hold onto it tightly, disregarding the whole world that criticizes you. That’s exactly the essence of something being "niche." I don't know, maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that black metal, without detractors, wouldn't be appealing to you. If the whole world appreciated black metal, you’d probably listen to pop. For many of you, unfortunately, it’s not a passion for art or music, but rather a matter of attitude, as evidenced by the comment above that brings up society, wrong values, and family misunderstanding—the usual complaints heard for 50 years. It's as clear as day that no one forces you to pay a mortgage or get married, nor to send texts with your phone. There are thousands of examples of people who don’t do it, who couldn’t care less about their neighbors, don’t engage in a lot of casual sex, and mind their own business, without complaining about anything. It's the same old story of people who walk around with upside-down crosses and do everything to scare the "average man," then complain that everyone thinks they're bad when instead they are "normal people" and it's society that doesn't want them.

I was about to respect you until I read the last paragraph, where you decided to get defensive and make an apology for black metal. You see... this is having a guilty conscience. You could have described the feelings this album communicates to you and not cared about what others think, put a nice period and that’s it. Instead, you had to pull out the usual tale of the misunderstood metalhead. You know very well why people denigrate you. You know very well that the music you listen to is noisy and cacophonous, and made specifically to disgust as many people as possible. You want people to hate your music, it’s designed that way and its only purpose is that. The more disgusting it is, the more you like it; it's a childish attitude. The music doesn’t fulfill any artistic function, but only serves as a flag and a pretext for a “status.” You enjoy being a misunderstood minority, reviled by the world, so you can continue in your victimhood. But don't worry, it's cool to be depressed. Everyone's doing it: metalheads, grunge fans, emos. Muslims do it too, and Christians did it some time ago. It's human. Perhaps a tad immature, but human.

If shit had a sound, it would probably be that of Rhapsody. Grotesque, pathetic, exalted, incapable. They managed to break through the wall of ridiculousness in a genre that was already quite ridiculous on its own. The score would be -10, if only DeBaser allowed it.

I don't understand... what’s the problem with saying that Queen aren't a historic band? Does it take something away from you, Percy? There are two levels of discussion. If we take it personally, then you and I could sit here for hours talking about how beautiful the Queen songs we love are and how they made us fall in love. I could recite from memory almost all the lyrics to their songs, play them for you if you prefer, tell you the memories I have tied to pieces like Nevermore, like White Queen and others; I could tell you how to the notes of Love of My Life, my most beautiful and intense love story of my adolescence ran away... but those would be conversations that don't lead anywhere. It’s nice to share similar emotions with a friend, but what’s the point here? It’s nice on a melancholic evening to play records to remember the good old times, but all of this stays in the personal dimension of each one, mine, yours, or even if it were that of a billion people. But here we’re talking about something else. All these beautiful and rightful things have NOTHING TO DO with the artistic, historical, and cultural discourse of Queen within rock. They are two totally different things.

And Laura Pausini always has two beautiful breasts.

Guys, the truth is that in rock, masterpieces are truly few. The much-lauded culture has often been reduced to a mass phenomenon or a trend. How many of you consider bands great because they are actually great, and how many instead only see as great those that are considered so by definition or word of mouth? I do it too... Often, we confuse the beautiful with the sensational, and they are two very different things. Music, as an art form, is beautiful and indispensable only when it manages to express something that could not be expressed otherwise, when it "invent" new sensations and thoughts and does not simply limit itself to repackaging the same things we already know, no matter how pretty and enjoyable the package may be. Using this criterion of judgment, Queen, and probably 90% of the rock bands generally regarded as valid, do not fall into the category of "geniuses," "historic bands," nor into the category of the indispensable.

@ Neu! I think you didn't understand anything. The point wasn't "since Queen gives emotions to people they must be fantastic," it was exactly the opposite. It was that you can say that Queen is not such a great band as people believe without offending the emotions and personal history of those who love their songs.

47, but Queen are not the only band immensely celebrated by fans. There are countless others; let's say this discussion could be applied to all cult bands for which commercial success has often been mistaken for actual skill. It happens that certain bands are discovered in adolescence and replace previous listens, or stimulate interest in music and the search for new horizons to explore. This happened to me as a kid; Queen were the first rock band I discovered, and I will never forget the emotions they gave me at every moment in my life, from the excitement of the most rocking tracks to the melancholy of the more reflective ones. However, many often stop at that primitive feeling of awe they had when listening to the first cassette of what would become their favorite genre and do not go beyond it. In fact, they seek every possible justification to objectify and universalize that feeling. A band that seemed brilliant to you the first time becomes THE brilliant band on a universal level, and one doesn’t budge from this position. One can experience emotions with whatever they want, certainly, but they must also realize that there is always more to it. Recognizing that Queen might be an overvalued band does not detract from anyone's personal emotions.