Having "a look" in metal.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

exact33 wrote:

I never understood the 80s glam look to be honest. It sold a lot of mascara but didnt make the music any more or less metal.

Meh, that's just an example of the whole generation gap thing. I'm pretty sure my grandfather thought this guy was equally ridiculous in his own way...



"GET A HAIRCUT, HIPPIE!!"

huh? I was a teen right in the middle of the whole glam thing. I just never saw that appeal of making yourself look like a woman.

I'm not sure I saw the exact appeal of it either, but it was just accepted for what it was. While I donned the torn jeans and cowboy boots, I never teased my hair or thought of wearing make-up. But I also didn't have a problem with Armored Saint and their body armor. I thought that was pretty cool, although I wouldn't sport a chest protector either. A leather jacket with some well-placed studs was about the extent of it. But I didn't think anything less of those that did.

People were shocked and appalled at the "long hair" on these guys:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm not sure I saw the exact appeal of it either, but it was just accepted for what it was. While I donned the torn jeans and cowboy boots, I never teased my hair or thought of wearing make-up. But I also didn't have a problem with Armored Saint and their body armor. I thought that was pretty cool, although I wouldn't sport a chest protector either. A leather jacket with some well-placed studs was about the extent of it. But I didn't think anything less of those that did.

I was hearing music from homemade tapes so the image didnt really have much impact on whether i liked the music or not. I do remember trying to figure out at first if Twisted Sister had a female lead though...

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Eh, to my father, these guys looked just as ridiculous to him as those "nerd" guys look to us...





It's just a generational thing I guess. What's cool about horn-rimmed glasses and stretched earlobes? I dunno, same thing that was cool about teased hair to the sky and frilly stage clothes.

These were costumes that the band wore on stage. It was part of a show. It was suppose to be ridiculous, out of the ordinary and over-the-top. It was meant to shock and entertain. Regardless of what label you put on these guys, they put on a performance. Showmanship isn't something most bands are into anymore.

BTW, Nikki Sixx's look in that above photo is 100% stolen from Steven Tyler, circa 1977.


I thought Crue looked better like this:

Quote :

These were costumes that the band wore on stage. It was part of a show. It was suppose to be ridiculous, out of the ordinary and over-the-top. It was meant to shock and entertain. Regardless of what label you put on these guys, they put on a performance. Showmanship isn't something most bands are into anymore.

Right on. That's pretty much true. No argument there. It doesn't make it any less ridiculous though through the eyes of a different age group. And you're making excuses and defending that look, probably in the same fashion that your son will defend his choice to wear glasses he doesn't need. No harm, no foul.

But 5 pages back when you said you didn't get the nerd glasses and big floppy ears, it wasn't about showmanship or stage get-ups. It was about a "look" that you didn't get. I don't either. It looks stupid. Nor do allot of the older guys here. We're just getting older and things kids do today seem foreign and crazy to us.

I think Grandpa Simpson summed it up best...

Quote :

"I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was. Now what I'm with isn't it, and what's it seems weird and scary to me, and it'll happen to you, too."

Amen, Abe.

You whipper snappers have no idea what you are talking about. When I was a kid, I use to walk to school in the middle of winter with no shoes, up-hill, both ways and we were HAPPY ABOUT IT!

Getting old sucks!

ultmetal wrote:

You whipper snappers have no idea what you are talking about. When I was a kid, I use to walk to school in the middle of winter with no shoes, up-hill, both ways and we were HAPPY ABOUT IT!

Getting old sucks!

You forgot the part about having holes in your socks, and having to eat scraps of wood in the wintertime because there was no food!

I would listen to Nifelheim ANY day over that geek band in the 1st picture! I was lucky enough to even play with Nifelheim when they came to play GotBL fest a few years ago in Hollywood. The band is serious about the image and serious about their music.

An image to me does count! Imagine you liking a band you never seen a picture of then going to see them live and they look like that 1st band's picture! I'd be F'N IRATE! Things would be slewn at them for sure!

Metal is NOT what you want to be!!!! Its a feeling, an attitude, a certain personality, a certain look. F#^* bands with a nerdy Weezer look! Damn homos!

Is it going to be a new sub-genre of metal.. ?

Geek Metal.

Sole Survivor wrote:

Is it going to be a new sub-genre of metal.. ?

Geek Metal.

No. Geek-core.

Lurideath wrote:

I would listen to Nifelheim ANY day over that geek band in the 1st picture! I was lucky enough to even play with Nifelheim when they came to play GotBL fest a few years ago in Hollywood. The band is serious about the image and serious about their music.

An image to me does count! Imagine you liking a band you never seen a picture of then going to see them live and they look like that 1st band's picture! I'd be F'N IRATE! Things would be slewn at them for sure!

Metal is NOT what you want to be!!!! Its a feeling, an attitude, a certain personality, a certain look. F#^* bands with a nerdy Weezer look! Damn homos!

Uh huh, uh huh. But how do you really feel about it?

ultmetal wrote:

Sole Survivor wrote:

Is it going to be a new sub-genre of metal.. ?

Geek Metal.

No. Geek-core.

The tour will be sponsored by Apple (no offense to the Apple fans on this board!)

I still say unless you're like krokus and view "metal" as a lifestyle, judging a band by their look is ludicrous IMO. For me, it's all about the music and that goes for all genres, not just metal. When I listen to punk, I don't care if the band has pierced everything and a spiked mohawk. I care how the band SOUNDS.

That's all that matters to me in music. Period.

Metal is a lifestyle just as I said earlier.

You can go ahead and like the poser band in the 1st picture all you guys want, but I'll pass! hAHAHA

Lurideath wrote:

Metal is a lifestyle just as I said earlier.

You can go ahead and like the poser band in the 1st picture all you guys want, but I'll pass! hAHAHA

I think that's the crux of the matter. Some people view metal as a lifestyle; others view it as a music genre. I fall in the latter category for all genres.

tohostudios wrote:

I think that's the crux of the matter. Some people view metal as a lifestyle; others view it as a music genre. I fall in the latter category for all genres.

as do i, as i've been pretty vocal about before. being a "metalhead" is no different than being a "Trekkie". it's weirdos taking a form of entertainment & molding their lives around it.

mc666 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I think that's the crux of the matter. Some people view metal as a lifestyle; others view it as a music genre. I fall in the latter category for all genres.

as do i, as i've been pretty vocal about before. being a "metalhead" is no different than being a "Trekkie". it's weirdos taking a form of entertainment & molding their lives around it.

absolutely. I enjoy metal music and listen to it a lot. I dont let it rule me and I dont dress or act a certain way to fit in. I do what makes me happy and if someone trys to say that wearing this or not wearing that doesnt make me a fan they really dont understand what the music is about.

exact33 wrote:

mc666 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I think that's the crux of the matter. Some people view metal as a lifestyle; others view it as a music genre. I fall in the latter category for all genres.

as do i, as i've been pretty vocal about before. being a "metalhead" is no different than being a "Trekkie". it's weirdos taking a form of entertainment & molding their lives around it.

absolutely. I enjoy metal music and listen to it a lot. I dont let it rule me and I dont dress or act a certain way to fit in. I do what makes me happy and if someone trys to say that wearing this or not wearing that doesnt make me a fan they really dont understand what the music is about.

a big A-freakin-MEN to this entire set of posts

Rex wrote:

exact33 wrote:

mc666 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I think that's the crux of the matter. Some people view metal as a lifestyle; others view it as a music genre. I fall in the latter category for all genres.

as do i, as i've been pretty vocal about before. being a "metalhead" is no different than being a "Trekkie". it's weirdos taking a form of entertainment & molding their lives around it.

absolutely. I enjoy metal music and listen to it a lot. I dont let it rule me and I dont dress or act a certain way to fit in. I do what makes me happy and if someone trys to say that wearing this or not wearing that doesnt make me a fan they really dont understand what the music is about.

a big A-freakin-MEN to this entire set of posts

I will see your A-freakin-MEN and raise you a "Worrrrrd UP homeys"

Fat Freddy wrote:

Rex wrote:

exact33 wrote:

mc666 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I think that's the crux of the matter. Some people view metal as a lifestyle; others view it as a music genre. I fall in the latter category for all genres.

as do i, as i've been pretty vocal about before. being a "metalhead" is no different than being a "Trekkie". it's weirdos taking a form of entertainment & molding their lives around it.

absolutely. I enjoy metal music and listen to it a lot. I dont let it rule me and I dont dress or act a certain way to fit in. I do what makes me happy and if someone trys to say that wearing this or not wearing that doesnt make me a fan they really dont understand what the music is about.

a big A-freakin-MEN to this entire set of posts

I will see your A-freakin-MEN and raise you a "Worrrrrd UP homeys"

Yes, Yes, Yes, and one more Yes. I love college and pro football, but I don't see myself walking around town in shoulder pads and a helmet every Saturday and Sunday from the beginning of September through the end of January. I think the notion that someone has to look the look 24/7 and say, "Hi, I'm metal" is silly. First off, it leaves nothing to the imagination in regards to what other interests one might have, and I take more pride in dispelling the myth regarding what people are "Supposed" to look like, who love this great genre known as heavy metal.

I agree with Lurideath as if i saw that geek band i wouldnt wanna look again or listen to that crap.To me when i see a band that looks metal i know a lot of times they will be a band i would listen to as they usually play the style of metal im into.To me its a way of life also.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Rex wrote:

exact33 wrote:

mc666 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I think that's the crux of the matter. Some people view metal as a lifestyle; others view it as a music genre. I fall in the latter category for all genres.

as do i, as i've been pretty vocal about before. being a "metalhead" is no different than being a "Trekkie". it's weirdos taking a form of entertainment & molding their lives around it.

absolutely. I enjoy metal music and listen to it a lot. I dont let it rule me and I dont dress or act a certain way to fit in. I do what makes me happy and if someone trys to say that wearing this or not wearing that doesnt make me a fan they really dont understand what the music is about.

a big A-freakin-MEN to this entire set of posts

I will see your A-freakin-MEN and raise you a "Worrrrrd UP homeys"

Add me into the mix! The most metal I look is in jeans and a concert shirt - tattoo free and piercing free, short hair (longer hair wouldn't go over well in my line of work)

I have no problems with tats or piercings.... Now, those giant gaping holes in earlobes is another story, IMHO

I am not sure what the metal look is anyway, for awhile in the 80's and 90's even actors had long hair, in this past decade you've had Disney pre teen stars wear rock t shirts, now adays even Grandma's are getting tattoos, and long hair is making a comeback....I have no idea what having the metal look is anymore...I am so old and uncool.

If wearing all black and big heavy boots all the time is still metal, then I'm good.