Post: #1

I've been thinking about this for awhile...

The U.K. had the pioneers: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc.

The USA had the most popular heavy metal and hard rock bands of the next decade like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, etc. in the 80s.

The U.K. had many of the pioneers of extreme music during this time - Napalm Death, Carcass, Cathedral, even Iron Maiden was a huge influence on later acts even though they weren't as extreme.

An English speaking Canadian dude started one of the heaviest bands of all time:





I find an Australian band doing the heaviest version of the metalcore shit a lot of the young kids are into:




I realize there are outliers such as -

Norway in the early 1990s, although Venom was a band from the U.K. and they coined the term black metal and influenced much of went on around that second wave.

Brazil - Sarcofago was way ahead of their time with extreme blasphemy and Sepultura outdid Slayer in the late 80s to early 90s at their own style.

Sweden - Meshuggah is on their own page and the melodic death metal scene is interesting, but not as balls to the wall as the heavier genres.

If you include punk and hardcore it really is the English speaking dudes that are fucking pissed off. There are plenty of other brutal non-English speaking bands I can produce as counter-examples, but English speaking countries really seem to dominate and influence others when it comes to this kind of music.

Post: #2

Well, they were the most successful colonizers...

Post: #3

Define brutal. Hardcore rap can be extremely brutal after its own fashion.

Post: #4

English is most widely spoken around the world. Plus, major labels invest more money in music that's in english. It can reach more people thus generating them more money.

IMO, latin music and latin singers sing with their heart more often (eg marc anthony). Sometimes songs in english seem lifeless or like it has no real feeling.

Post: #5

Devin Townsend is one of my favourite dudes in the entire music industry.

Thy Art Is Murder are pretty baws. Fairly sure I've seen them live. Tons of brutal as fuck post-hardcore bands coming out of Australia in recent times. Not sure if it's slowing down, been out of the loop for a bit. These guys are pretty sick as well

Post: #6

You ever listen to Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation? It's got some of the heaviest production ever. Super industrial aggressive beats.

If you consider to be not part of the anglosphere and more part of the afrosphere or whatever, than you aren't checking out enough music.

Post: #7

I love Cookie Monster vocals. No matter what they sing, I hear

"I'M MAD AT MY DAD. FUCK YOU DAD!!! I"M REALLLLLY REALLLLLY MAD AT MY DAAAAADDDDDDDD!!!!!"

Post: #8

My honest opinion is that some of these groups with their grotesque obsession with death, violence, and carnage, have psycholgical issues, drug problems, or mommy and daddy did not love them. The mind is very capable of making up false problems. Look at our feminists. I have a very hard time these deathcore artists are capable of producing music. Yelling about grotesque acts of violence while wailing on a guitar is just too much for me. Not to say that there maybe good artists out there, but the scene is extreme. You seen the names for these bands?? Aborted fetus, satans asshole, all kinds of fucked up shit.

Post: #9

Its all an act Agent 47. No different than hardcore rap. I think Deicide MIGHT be real satanists but look at Slayer lol. They sing about crazy shit but are normal guys. Same with King Diamond. I did hear about that European death metal musician who blasted himself and the neo nazi out there who killed another musician. You should check out GG Allin if you think these bands are extreme.

Post: #10

The west had allowed for the most evolution of music as a medium. There's not much more to it. In many middle eastern nations heavy metal and even pop is considered blasphemous.

Post: #11

More money + more free time + more open avenues to attack/parody/sing about XYZ issue (or often non-issue) in the West = more teenagers growing up and having said time/money and energy to spend on music of all varieties.

Having English as your native tongue means you also have access to a much larger fan base that you can appeal to either broadly or on a niche basis, hence the rise of the Anglosphere music scene.

Re the brutality, I think a lot of the kids in these groups generally grew up in middle or lower middle class environments but were able to turn any little old problem in High School into some sort of groundbreaking or evil event (for groups like Marilyn Manson I guess). America in particular is a fairly violent society in many ways with glorified violence on the TV 24-7 so it's not suprising much of the mainstream music followed suit. But metal is a bit more underground/nichey these days...I don't see heavy metal bands hitting the pop top 20 as much as they did in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Post: #12

The Anglosphere just does the vocal rock/pop music full stop.

As for the darkness, well it is a very repressed paradigm. A lot of people not speaking their truth, keeping their emotions hidden.

Go to the middle east (as just one example) and you'll often see people speaking in a way which is really full on and emotional and direct.

Anglo's keep it all in, some of them use the music to express these emotions, I have had friends in bands who use their band to vent emotions they are keeping inside.

Post: #13

(10-11-2013 03:08 AM)Pete Wrote:  English is most widely spoken around the world. Plus, major labels invest more money in music that's in english. It can reach more people thus generating them more money.

IMO, latin music and latin singers sing with their heart more often (eg marc anthony). Sometimes songs in english seem lifeless or like it has no real feeling.

I've long wanted to survey latin music to find out how common the word "corazon" is. It seems like every other song I hear mentions it at some point.

Post: #14

I'm particularly interested in why Scandinavia exports so much extreme metal.

I think it's the same reason Japan has such violent media. A meek, passive society finds outlet for that kind of shit in media?

Post: #15

Ziltoid, if you had 6 months of winter you'd be pissed of too.

Post: #16

(10-15-2013 11:41 PM)Ziltoid Wrote:  I'm particularly interested in why Scandinavia exports so much extreme metal.

I think it's the same reason Japan has such violent media. A meek, passive society finds outlet for that kind of shit in media?

Probably yes. Japan and Scandinavia have many similarities and both have a history of violence, conquest and warfare which they have sought to deny and forget. Just like it is impossible to believe the modern day Japanese were once Samurai warriors, you will find it hard to see the Viking heritage in modern scandis.

It comes out in sports and music only in Scandinavia. Those two are the only outlets were ego and agressiveness are allowed.