Double Fine's New Adventure Game

Malf on 13/2/2012 at 16:26

Not really suitable for Brutal Legend at all. And to be honest, a lot of the music in the game wasn't exactly to my tastes either, but they did a pretty good job of capturing the sounds of an era, one filled with the likes of Judas Priest, Motorhead, et al.

I fit the stereotype in the Eighties, with a painted & tassled leather jacket, skin tight black jeans, basketball boots, bullet belt, band t-shirts, the lot. I leaned more towards the thrash side of things, but the Brutal Legend sound track does conjure up fond memories for me. And it's much more representative of the time than the links you just posted. That stuff, well, some of it may have passed as classic Goth (I'm talking Fields of the Nephilim, original Cult, etc.), but really not "Metal" as it was understood back then.

june gloom on 13/2/2012 at 16:37

Quote Posted by Malf

Not really suitable for Brutal Legend at all.

And that's part of the problem, innit? Bands like these (absolutely not related to goth, or they might actually have fit -- see Type O Negative) are a sign of the kind of innovation that often gets ignored in the metal scene in favour of, well...

It's really telling when Darkthrone -- Darkthrone! -- gets bashed for changing their sound somewhat the last few albums because stupid black metal fans are too closed-minded to understand anything that isn't exactly like Transilvanian Hunger over and over. Incidentally, while I love Transilvanian Hunger, their new albums have been their best in years.

And I'm not saying that it's only post-rock-influenced bands that have been innovating; I just picked those examples because, well, why not?

I guess it boils down to, I'd rather my metal look like this:

Inline Image:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Aaron_Turner_on_the_cover_of_Alarm.jpg

than this:

Inline Image:

http://www.corrupt.org/drupal/files/images/metalhead.jpg

There's no reason to look like the guy in the office mailroom in this day and age.

Thirith on 13/2/2012 at 16:41

So you wish a loving, self-aware parody of something that is cheesy as hell hadn't been a loving, self-aware parody of something that is cheesy as hell? Do you also criticise Spaceballs for choosing to spoof Star Wars when it could've been a comment on some really interesting hard sci-fi of the era?

june gloom on 13/2/2012 at 16:42

I wish Brutal Legend didn't fucking exist. Sci-fi fandom may be aware of satire and parody; the metal scene has no concept of either, or of subtlety. All Brutal Legend does is perpetuate negative stereotypes about a genre of music that I love, that a subculture I hate wears like a badge of honor.

Malf on 13/2/2012 at 17:10

Heh, you're not going to win me over with arguments like that dethtoll; I used to look like that bottom pic :)
Significantly less hair now and a lot less leather (I think my shoes and belt are the only leather things I wear on a regular basis, neither of which are black).

I love seeing young people dressing ridiculously. It's their prerogative. Of course, I'm not saying that to like Metal, one must look Metal, but it adds colour and variety to life.

But yeah, while Brutal Legend, for me, got its art direction and musical choice spot on in trying to evoke a "Golden Era" of Metal for people in Schafer's age range, it was still a god-awful mish-mash of genres. My criticism is of the game whereas yours is of its art direction.

june gloom on 13/2/2012 at 19:06

Quote Posted by Malf

Heh, you're not going to win me over with arguments like that dethtoll; I used to look like that bottom pic :)

"Used to" being the operative words, yeah?

Metal fashion honestly has not changed much from the 80s and that's sad. Maybe less denim, more chains, but still... come on guys, seriously?

Aja on 14/2/2012 at 05:15

Quote Posted by dethtoll

How does it affect you in any meaningful way though? I get the impression you're arguing on metal forums, and, well, there's a much easier way to prevent that than telling every metal fan they should to start dressing more conservatively...

You haven't actually played Brutal Legend, but I can assure you that it *is* a parody, it's totally self-aware, and loving though it may be, it still makes fun of everything you hate.

Aja on 14/2/2012 at 05:22

I like those links you posted, btw.

june gloom on 14/2/2012 at 07:05

Oh, I'm well aware that it's futile to try and change a subculture that hasn't wanted to change in at least a decade and a half. But that doesn't mean I can't be disgusted by it. My problem with the metal scene, and with Brutal Legend, is I can't tell anyone I like metal without them automatically assuming I'm a shabbily dressed troglodyte or otherwise a closed-minded elitist. The metal scene is responsible for a lot of its own negative image and that's just sad.

And I did say that Brutal Legend being a parody is obvious to everyone except the metal scene, didn't I? I understand that it's parody, but that doesn't mean it's perpetuating the very things it makes fun of.

But at least it's not Metalocalypse. Brutal Legend is a best an awkward homage; Metalocalypse is metal blackface and it's one of the worst shows I've ever seen.

I'm glad you liked the music -- those five bands are incredible. Or were, in Isis' case. :( I have more where that came from, I'll dig them up later.

Angel Dust on 14/2/2012 at 08:59

Yeah, that was some nice stuff. I borrowed Oceanic off a mate (same dude also got me into Russian Circles actually - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D49kUI6IxFY) one of my favs) a few years back but couldn't really get into it. That Isis track you linked, however, was awesome. Maybe I'm more in the mood for it now or is their subsequent stuff just better? Might have to go poking around in some music stores this week.