Ever think about the fact that most bands from the same subgenres of rock...

[JRA]

...all hated each other?

Warning: This is another one of my stream-of-consciousness posts, it will probably look like a rambling to you but I swear I've tried to make this as coherent as I could.

I'm pretty much addicted to the BBC series "Classic Albums." When I can afford it I buy all the DVD's of it I can and watch them ad nauseam. Over the course of 4 or 5 days, I've watched Sabbath's Paranoid episode and Rush's 2112/Moving Pictures episode. Usually most of these episodes will have an "influences" segment in the bonus features, and it almost drives me nuts to know that Rush had so many influences and that Black Sabbath was not one of them. I understand that Led Zeppelin had a much farther reaching influence than Sabbath did, and I do not want to put across the fact that any band without Sabbath's influence is garbage, but it makes me wonder how often the fans of these bands fought with each other back in those days.

I mean nowadays usually those two bands and others from that decade will be played in a radio show and no one will think twice about it. But considering how cliquish society is now, and remembering that even back in the 80's the metalheads and the punks hated each other, I'm just getting all sorts of weird visions of Led Zeppelin and Motorhead fans yelling at each other in the parking lots about how much their band rules and the other band sucks, and then 20 years later, people like me play those two bands in the same block and they think "Goddamn kids, in a just world they'd never mention them in the same universe as "band X."

I mean think of how long the Big Four shows took to happen. Fuck think of how long the Clash of the Titans tour took to happen after thrash was born. Seven years! Forget Clash of the Titans, the Big Four tour should have happened back in 1987, no bullshit, no politics, no whining, just get it over and done with so we can move on. But nope, those bands didn't believe in unity, they were trying to put each other out of business. I remember reading a Dave Lombardo quote observing the camaraderie that all the nu-metal bands had, hanging out in each other's studios and going on each others tours, whereas back in the 80's most of the thrash bands were keeping their distance from each other.

So this has just been a "I'm glad these bands still don't hate each other" thought.

[MPF]

I think that may have been more true back then, then it is now. Or at least if bands hate other bands now, they are very PC about it. Back then, there wasn't the internet, so bands didn't like hearing about other bands making it bigger because all they really had to go by to make it big is in person, or the radio. So it lead to everything that happened in the 80s.

In a way it makes music interesting, in another way, it was Blabbermouth, before Blabbermouth.

Now a days, bands gotta support each other. If you are in a band trying to make it anywhere you don't have a choice. Piracy is up, the music industry is down, and all bands have now a days is the fans and each other to be able to tour. There' no time or money in making fights.

[JRA]

Goddammit! This was a good idea for discussion and you all know it! Someone else post a serious contribution to this thread! :snivel:

[Maiden33]

I certainly know that on some levels, there is competition between some bands trying to appeal to the same audience. There's actually a LOT of hostility between some of the people in my own band and some of the people in the other "big legit metal band" of our local region. Funny thing is that their bassist has been playing with us. But there is certainly tension abound, not hate of any kind though. When you're competing for the same gigs, or booking conflicting gigs on the same nights, trying to win over the same audience, it's just bound to happen.

And I'm sure this happens on other levels to, but only to an extent. For example, if my band was signed, had a few albums out, and at least some semblance of a fanbase worldwide, I doubt I would sweat the small stuff when it came to other bands on the same level, unless there was some very specific reason to.

[MPF]

^ Actually you have a good point. On a smaller scale I'm going through that as well with my guitarist in Shattered, who is now bassist of American Gothic, who is about to go on tour with Marilyn Manson.

I have a high amount of tension with them (all of which you can read about in the Marilyn Manson thread, which I'm sure everyone has by now) but the they are legit concerns. I was more upset about the whole situation until I joined another band (Tears Of Ash) and I'm really glad I did because they are 3 of the coolest dudes I could ever be in a band with. But at the same time, the band I actually founded, may never play a real show again, or release the album we recorded back in August.

Some people can go about that better then others, but all in all it's best to be civil and positive for all the reasons I gave above. As bands, we gotta help each other as much as we can.

[illuminatus917]

I think there might be more hostility between bands of the same genre more so under the surface - the type that doesn't meet the eye, and the type they attempt to conceal as much as possible out of respect for the other bands. It's certainly the case that bands can respect each other despite there being tension between one another. It just doesn't seem to come out as much as it used to. The thrash giants have a horrible record of drama and bickering; maybe bands these days just want to give of a more mature persona.

I'm not saying there isn't drama, I just think it's on a smaller scale than what it used to be. There's still open trash talking between bands these days (Amon Amarth and "real black metal bands" comes to mind).

I know the tension is more concentrated when the bands are more localized. I know this for a fact, having been to tons of local shows, and having been involved with local bands. And a lot of it does just boil down to trying to acquire a fan base. When there are few local bands in an area, and the same bands are always playing the same gigs together, it makes it worse.

But the music scene's a different place now than it was in the 70's and 80's. I like to think the whole "one genre's hatred of another" thing has diminished, somewhat, at least with reputable artists. No artist or band of integrity that has respect for music is going to say "I/we hate punk." If anything, they should realize their influences, and credit these genres. The best bands nowadays draw influences from multiple genres, so saying or announcing something of that sort would just be hypocritical and defeat the purpose.