You Aren't A REAL Fan!!!

I think we've all seen the fan police around somewhere, even if they weren't at our side. You get a lot of people going "You aren't a real fan if..."

I'm going to create a set of fan rules.

1) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you have to like the members. For instance, I've always thought Metallica were brilliant and extremely talented, but I don't like Lars Ulrich as a person. That doesn't detract from the fact that he is talented as fuck, though.

2) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you have to like every album. I like Asking Alexandria, but I think their first album sucked.

3) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you have to like their fanbase. I mean, there are a lot of 5SOS fans that hate the 5SOS fandom. 

4) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you have to hate on people who aren't. E.G, I bought 'The Black Parade' by My Chemical Romance and my friend told me she couldn't stand them because they were too emo. We're still friends. I don't give a fuck- I like MCR, and that's all that matters.

5) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you have to justify everything they do, or constantly be at their defense. When Justin Bieber was arrested for being under the influence, a load of Beliebers were like "It's only a DUI, it's only a DUI!"
He could have fucking killed someone. That's not OK. Get your shit together.

6) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you can't have a favourite song by them. I like (the old) Panic! at the Disco, but I like The Ballad of Mona Lisa more than any of their other songs.

7) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean your favourite song of theirs can't be their most famous song. I love Of Mice and Men, but my favourite song is Second and Sebring, their most famous song. It's still a good song. 

8) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you want them to be globally famous. Sometimes its nice to be a fan of a band that isn't famous enough to attract poser fans or fake fans.

9) To be a fan of a band doesn't mean you can't think that any of the members are attractive.

FURTHERMORE

1) You are not a fan of a band if you like their looks more than you do their music.

2) You are not a fan of a band if you send hate mail to their friends/girlfriends/boyfriends that you don't like.

3) You are not a fan of a band if you say- "You can't like them, I like them.", I've done this before, and then realised I was being a fucking twat and apologised.

4) You are not a fan of a band if you only know one song. If someone asks you "Do you like (Paramore) you simply reply "I only know (Misery Business) but I really like it."

I realise this was a kind of petty article. Oh well, comment your opinions.

I thought this Danny Worsnop/ Ben Bruce/ Justin Bieber meme was topical and necessary.

Oh Dear, I Like Metal, Now I Worship Satan

I think the title of this post explains a lot. Just before I begin, NO, I do not worship Satan. Worshiping Satan would effectively be buckling under and admitting that there is a supernatural force that influences our universe, and I don't like being wrong. I'm an atheist.

Satanists
Their shared features include symbolic association with or admiration for Satan, who Satanists see as a liberating figure. It was estimated that there were 50,000 Satanists in 1990. There may be as many as one hundred thousand Satanists in the world.

This definition has quickly been revamped to;

Satanists
People who like heavy music.

These things are very different. Now I found a series of articles explaining that metalheads are ALL effectively Satan worshipers.

"Well, only very few people worship Satan openly and consciously.  A great number of people worship Satan indirectly without them knowing it. There are lots of musicians and bands out there whose songs directly or indirectly hail Satan and by participating in the singing of such songs you will be worshiping Satan, yet being completely unaware. I did a search on metal bands and to my utmost surprise I found out that most, if not all, of the metal bands represent Satan and Satanism (the worship of Satan)."

Taken from a completely troll-free Christian article. This was someone's serious belief.

The examples of 'Satanic bands' use in this article were bands such as Slayer, and Black Sabbath. However, people even think the WAY less heavy bands are still Satan worshiping.

"Known for their uncanny choice of tight-fitted clothing and mop-shag hair stylings, the band Asking Alexandria has attracted many fans who are addicted to the occult.  Journey to the food court of your local mall and you will see countless herds of unruly teenagers walking around hand in hand, boys in tighter jeans than a Vegas showgirl, eye-makeup and blood-red lipstick smeared over the necks of one another — no matter the gender — as they commonly engage in neck-lusting sessions of blood and sniffed drugs between the tables at Chic-Filet and Johnny Rockets.

These kids are the same volatile group that are addicted to JKR Rowling’s bloodbath series, Twilight.  And by no coincidence, when you hear the music produced by this band you can tell it is of Satan and celebrates vampire worship and LSD-ridden blood orgies."

If you haven't noticed, my current band obsession is Asking Alexandria. It was Bring Me The Horizon about a week and a half ago.
Anyway.

"In the following song, A Moment of Sincerity, you can hear a human’s voice go from normal to possessed. Is this Satan whispering secret commands to his followers, the fans of this band?"

Also on Asking Alexandria- Asking Alexandria from the Final Episode era. Asking Alexandria, when they were still a really shitty scene band.

Come one people. I like a heavy bassline, I'm not part of the occult.

Core Bands- Your Best Bet

Pantera. Metallica. Slipknot.

I think we can all agree they're brilliant bands. However, as brilliant as they are, there will only be one of them. There will never be another Pantera, another Metallica, another Slipknot- that generation of metal is over. Yet there are perfectly good metalcore bands that are talented all the same.

I cannot count the amount of times I've been watching the likes of Asking Alexandria, August Burns Red, or Of Mice and Men and read a YouTube comment that goes along the lines of "Noooooooooo, this isn't reeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal metal! Go listen to Slipknot."
Slipknot is fucking brilliant. However, Slipknot will not last forever. Metallica will not last forever. (Jesus, with the amount of hatred they have between themselves, it's a shock they've lasted this long. Props to them.)
What I would recommend to quench your need for a good headbanging (sounded slightly dodgy, just ignore that) are bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Blessthefall, and old Bring Me The Horizon. (I actually love the new BMTH, but someone who wants some heavy metal would prefer their old stuff like I Made Out With Medusa and Alligator Blood.)

I can kind of suspect why a lot of metalheads don't like the new wave of metalcore, though. It's the fans. There are a lot of scene girls who pose as fans of core bands, that I am forced to engage in conversations with that usually go a bit like;

Them: "Do you like (Of Mice and Men)?"

Me: "Yeah, they're really good. I absolutely love You're Not Alone."
Them: "Yeah... How hot is Austin?!"

I'm not gonna lie, people. I feel your pain. It's really annoying. But perhaps, if you ignored the fanbases and concentrated on the music, you'd enjoy the bands a bit more. Just a suggestion.

I mean, Asking Alexandria have brilliant basslines, BMTH have a brilliant (massively underrated) drummer, OM&M always have great anthem like clean vocals. (I must say I prefer Shayley Bourget to Aaron Pauley, but whatever.)

Lyrics wise?

Don't say I'm better off dead,

'Cause heaven's full and hell won't have me.

Won't you make some room in your bed?

Oh, well you could lock me up in your heart,

And throw away the key.

Won't you take me out of my head?

(Taken from And The Snakes Start To Sing by Bring Me The Horizon.)

Rescue the beauty that's left.

Restore the character that's long since gone,

Because these colors must never fade.

The beat must carry on.

(Taken from Creative Capacity by August Burns Red.)

I stand firm in my solidarity

The path I walk, I walk it with my own resolve

When darkness falls we are reborn

Our dream since the fall of man

We are reborn.

(Taken from When Darkness Falls by Killswitch Engage.)

One day all the old metal will be gone, and what are you gonna listen to? 5SOS? Leave your reservations behind you. Listen to some core bands.