The State of Music These Days

This is a rant post and has nothing to do with Thailand. 

I remember that when I was a teenager, listening to new albums by my favourite bands was always exciting and an event, even more so when I get to do so with like-minded friends. 

So it happened that I had some new albums that I wanted to listen to for quite a while but never had the time to do so. These include:

Repentless – Slayer
The Book of Souls – Iron Maiden
Sounds of a Playground Fading – In Flames
Siren Charms – In Flames
Rock or Bust – AC/DC 
Super Collider - Megadeth

Sure, I could have listened to them in the car but I prefer to do so when I can drink all night while giving the music my undivided attention. So as you can imagine, I was really excited when I finally found time to listen to them. 

How did it go? Well, in a word, it was disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, these are great albums on their own but I had expected more. For example, Repentless was full of fast riffs and solos and Tom Araya was screaming his lungs out all over the place but, unlike the early albums, it seemed as if I was listening to a blur of sound; there were no memorable riffs. Also, it seemed that I had heard all of these before, since the album Divine Intervention. The Book of Souls was undeniably Iron Maiden but gone were the galloping rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and inventive solos. Even though I had a taste of things to come in the later albums after Fear of the Dark, I had expected more especially since they have three guitarists on board now. Sounds of a Playground sounded like Linkin Park. Even AC/DC, the only one among them whose sound stayed the same, sounded like as it they were just going through the motions. 

I fully understand if artistes want to explore new sounds, try different things, or go in a new direction. But when the change is too drastic, it alienates the fans who like them because of their original sound. So I cannot understand why so many bands are making such big musical changes. And you can often pinpoint which album marked a turning point in a band’s sound. These include:

Metallica – Black Album
Megadeth – Youthanasia
Slayer – Divine Intervention (though there were some great tracks in the later albums)
In Flames – Colony (or some might even say the Jester Race)
Iron Maiden –Fear of the Dark

I do not know if the sound of these bands changed because they had sold out, run out of ideas, or that they have simply gotten too comfortable (it seems that success is a creativity killer). But it seems to me that the music of today is a poor copy of the past; it is sometimes hard to believe that the same bands wrote the music that they got famous or are remembered for. Like what someone said of Megadeth, “I cannot believe that these are the same guys that brought us Rust in Peace”.  

I will prefer it that a band sticks to its original sound; that is the sound I expect and want to hear when I play their tracks. If I want to listen to Bon Jovi, I will play a Bon Jovi song and not play a track from someone else that sounds like a copy of them.