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JJ'z Bizarre Blog #58 - United We Stand Part 2 - Home of the Brave
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JJ'z Bizarre Blog #58 - United We Stand Part 2 - Home of the Brave
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Welcome back, yall! Prepare for trouble and make it double, because we continue our July festivities with part 2 of the megablog project tackling the full spectrum of music of the United States of America. After we covered the greater variety of music throughout the ages in part 1, now we get heavy and talk about the impressive American legacy in hard rock, punk rock and of course, heavy metal. Without further delay, saddle up and let's do this!
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As previously mentioned, rock 'n' roll had already become an intrinsic part of American culture, so its evolutions always had a large presence as well. As the 80s rolled on, hard rock was taking a stronger and stronger footing, conquering the largest stages the States had to offer before expanding into the world and entrancing them as well. In the footsteps of Elvis, the modern rockstar was born and they became deities that walked the Earth! Times keep changing, but the rock way of life is a constant!
From this movement, the US has blessed us with some of the biggest superstars rock music has ever seen. The biggest of these would probably be Kiss, a band with a massive influence on many facets of music, including revolutionizing what a live performance can be with their make-up, costumes and elaborate pyrotechnics and stage designs. They also embraced another American dream by kickstarting the merchandising game as we know it today. Shortly after them, Guns 'n' Roses swooped in with a bang during an era when hard rock was waning and put it back in its rightful place at the top of the world! An instantly recognizable sound, an unmistakable presence and a relentless attitude, GnR proudly took the banner of American rock and ran with it!
One of the most important developments in the history of rock music is the birth of punk rock! During the early 70s when rock was getting more complex, introspective and pretentious, inching closer to new age classical music, a new generation of rebels came in and stripped away the excess, revived the rock 'n' roll spirit and became the flag bearers of counterculture. Just like with hip-hop, it was in the streets of New York City where this first took place thanks to absolutely legendary Ramones. In their footsteps, a whole movement was born and New York punk remains one of the strongest footholds of the genre today and it continues to spread the whisperings of rebellion the world over. Also like in hip-hop, after punk was born in New York, the other side of the country followed suit and California became the next massive breeding ground for legendary nonconformists that changed the world forever. They will rise above and they will fly the banner proudly!
Where hard rock dwells, heavy metal isn't far behind and the USA were among the first to happily import this new British creation and dabble with it themselves. Fuelled by a bold American spirit, their heavy metal was potent, sharp and unforgiving, while also being relentlessly fun! A strong foundation for all that is to come! Despite all mass panic and rejection by the mainstream, it roared through like a steam engine and refused to slow down!
In order to appease said mainstream, during the 80s the peculiar glam metal movement was born. A more fun and leisurely take on the classic heavy metal sound, full of all the colourful, fluffy, leopard print excess of the decade, while the substance can be disputed, the enjoyment cannot! For several years, America birthed countless glam stars that took the world by storm and became the stuff of legend. While its dominance was brief, it's legacy remains and it has become inseparable from the core vibe of the 80s
But if you want something more raw, gritty and unfiltered, try the distinctly American sound that is southern metal. Loud, in-your-face and unapologetic, no other style embodies the idea of being yourself and proud about it. At the tail end of the era of glam, many southern bands cut through like a knife and shattered the mainstream, especially names like Pantera who ascended to become some of the biggest stars in the global metal scene. As the name implies, the genre takes many stylistic cues from southern rock and many of the classic styles I introduced to you at the beginning of part 1. While other nations have their own spins on this style, the core of it is the most purely American thing there is.
It would be silly however to claim that the US is nothing but partying and loudness or that they lack sophistication. Progressive metal has always had a strong presence there, respecting the classic British prog rock sound and boldly expanding upon it. It seems also that American prog bands are the ones most commonly able to take this complex and mind-bending style and make it appealing to a general audience, while sacrificing none of the depth or substance. Now that takes some skill!
We all love speed though so when European metal started speeding things up in the late 70s/early 80s, both of the movements born from it quickly made their way on the other side of the pond. Firstly, adventure is a universal passion of us all, so power metal didn't take long to catch on. Plus we can't forget that it was America's own Ronnie James Dio who traveled to the other side of the pond to help birth this might genre! While European power metal was more melodic, epic and with a strong connection to folk and classical music, American power metal was more hard hitting, viscous and visceral like the heavy metal it was built upon and presented with a more macho aesthetic of glorious strength. Among all, New York titans Manowar have risen as the generals of this warband. They are the Warriors of the World and we are all united under them! For victory, glory and valour! Other bands play, Manowar kill!
But that much intensity is not enough and it was when the other movement of speed metal made its way across the Atlantic that things got really interesting. Mixing it with the unfiltered passion and honesty of the aforementioned punk rock, the blisteringly fast and ruthlessly aggressive thrash metal was born. The Bay Area of San Francisco became the sacred ground where the genre first took hold and the biggest legends the genre had ever seen were born (SLAAAAAAYYYEEEEEEEEER!!!!!). Big Four, Big Five, Big Ten, call it whatever you want, California at this stage was where the fire began and thrash metal went on to be the genesis point for all extreme metal to come! But the classics, they never die!
Uncharacteristically, this time it was New York following California's lead and equally as unexpected was that this time it was the East Coasters that were the laid back, more fun types compared to the dark and angry Bay Area dudes! With some exceptions though, as there are some East Coast bands, especially in the crossover sphere, that have a lot more edge and bite than anyone else! Regardless, thrash metal soon took a foothold on this side of the nation too, once again pulling from the powerful punk rock culture already present and rocking the planet to its core!
Make no mistake though, it's not just either ends of the country, thrash has become beloved worldwide, but it remains an American darling and bands have popped up all over to join the charge at breakneck speed!
Among all, there's a certain band that arose, you may have heard of them - Metallica! I mean, what is there to say, they were among the first to kickstart the Bay Area craze and they have become arguably the biggest metal band on the planet. Their early albums were the stuff of divine legend and their name is uttered on every continent, even the one with the penguins.
Thrash was the catalyst and soon the birth of extreme metal was inevitable! First came death metal, christened by San Francisco's own Possessed before it was on the other end in Florida where the aptly named Death helped truly create this visceral new genre. Unlike anything that has come before it, death metal went against any previous norms and preconceptions and despite it all, has become a worldwide phenomenon. All from a bunch of lovely sickos from Florida that really loved horror movies, the Cookie Monster and tuning guitars all the way down.
Quickly, death metal spread country-wide and now you have all kinds of approaches from every corner of the States piling bodies on this magnificent mound. I mean, the US has also blessed us with the most influential horror movies of all time (George Romero anyone?) so it's only fitting that they are just as powerful in the death metal department too.
Next we have to mention black metal. While this genre remains firmly a European stronghold, it casts a worldwide shadow and the USA have had a noticeable contribution to it. Their free spirited approach also begets many more experimental and avant-garde approaches, expanding the horizons of what is possible within these realms of darkness. Also, let it not be forgotten that even as early as the 80s, the obscure American band Von (formed in only the darkest and more depressing places like Hawaii and San Francisco) was a key influence on the up and coming Scandinavian bands, even giving Swedish legends Watain their name, so the dark connection was always there!
Americans love to dabble in darkness, as many of their own were also among the key pioneers of the slow and gloomy doom metal genre! To this day, while comparatively rare on even a global scale, new bands come up that shake up the sound and prove that within the oldest offspring of heavy metal, there is ample room for growth and exploration! Seattle's own Bell Witch even managed to make people outside the sphere check out funeral doom, how about that?
From this pioneering doom legacy, the United States were also the birthplace of many of doom metal's important subgenres. Chief among them, as I've previously told you at length, would be stoner rock/metal, born of a free spirited and collaborative movement in the deserts of California, before quickly growing and spreading to all corners of the nation. From it, the much darker and grimier sludge metal sound would be born in the underground scene around the boggy marshlands of New Orleans, Louisiana, a unique sound that remains somewhat popular, yet noticeably misunderstood to this day. Regardless, whichever vibe you wanna go for, America's got you covered!
But enough gloom, let's lighten the mood, shall we? One distinctly American movement within metal is the aptly named New wave of American heavy metal. Not really confined to a specific genre, it's a trend beginning in the 90s of new US bands bringing in an intense and heavy sound and no nonsense attitude. Rooted mainly in the aforementioned thrash and punk, emulating the songwriting and playing style of the legendary Pantera, the riffs are tight, technical and hard-hitting while the vocals are often shouted and screamed with bits of melody mixed in. In fact, this movement was among the first that helped popularize breakdowns and mixing clean and harsh singing. Just like how punk did to rock music, NWOAHM strived to make metal more raw, unfiltered and honest, yet also keep it varied, unique and evolving. Many pioneering bands like Machine Head and Lamb of God, would go on to be massively successful and would help define the sound of an entire era and usher in the next evolution in heavy metal!
This would come in the form of a distinct genre, one that would define generations - nu metal! You saw in part 1 how much musical variety was born and bred in America such as funk, R&B, jazz, techno, house, etc. You also saw that they were the birthplace and to this day strongest scene for hip-hop. Well, all of this combined with the new popularity and intensity brought in from NWOAHM would be the perfect set of circumstances for nu metal to be born! A bold mix of styles, crossing over genres till now kept separate and creating a brand new crowd in the process! Thanks to this, us 90s and 2000s kids would grow to be more open minded and less picky with our music and to the dismay of elitists all over the world, metal started mixing in with basically any other musical genre in existence, creating previously unseen possibilities for growth and exploration!
Right as the 2000s rolled around, another new genre was brewing across the States that would go on to be groundbreaking on many levels. I'm of course talking about metalcore! Taking core (hehe, get it?) aspects of punk like the punchy riffs, general heaviness and aggression (as well as moshing and hardcore dancing), the pioneering bands would also import epic guitar playing from British legends Iron Maiden and the melodic riffing style and use of keyboards from Swedish melodic death metal. The unique new sound would be capped off with rich vocals mixing in harsh screaming and clean singing, as well as forgoing guitar solos in favour of breakdowns (there's that NWOAHM influence again). Just as the popularity of nu metal was on the decline by the end of the 2000s, metalcore only soared to new heights and was in the right place at the right time to take the torch and become the soundtrack of the next generation. For many years, metalcore was inescapable, by far the most popular subgenre within metal and while ever country contributed, American bands dominated the lot all the way through!
If metalcore wasn't intense enough, it's edgier brother soon came along to fill the gap - deathcore! The same core fundamentals as metalcore, but clean vocals are usually nowhere to be heard and the whole sound is made infinitely heavier by introducing elements of death metal - dowtuned guitars, guttural vocals, increased speed and heaviness, etc. Deathcore was also at the tip of the spear for many years and converted many young people to the realms of the extreme!
And all of that, my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg of what the United States of America has contributed to the world of heavy metal and all of its branches! I know that per capita countries like Finland and Iceland are "the most metal", but thanks to population and scale alone, it's more than like the US has the most metal bands in total worldwide! And I didn't even go into detail for massive bands like Five Finger Death Punch or Avenged Sevenfold that have risen to global superstardom one way or another. Or the multiple American artists I've already dedicated full blog entries to. Or the countless experimental and niche bands that don't fit neatly into any category. But I'll cut it there and leave you some breadcrumbs to explore more on your own.
With that, the great cross-country run comes to its grand finale! The music of America as a whole is a massive patchwork of so many things both famous and obscure. Despite the fact that they are the biggest cultural powerhouse worldwide and that you've surely been exposed to their music before, I think I've covered a very wide variety of things and I hope you learned something new across all of this. They're far more than just Hollywood, the Grammys and professional wrestling. Definitely warranted the first ever double blog. I had great fun tackling this massive challenge and it allowed me to discover and rediscover all the varied American music and what it all means to me. So go out there, be yourself, chase your dream and be proud of who you are. Take care, stay safe and catch you again soon!
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