Slipknot

Boris2008 wrote:

Sounds like a mediocre Cryptic Slaughter knock off to me. How do you guys measure "musical merit" exactly?

I'm not saying that the original Slipknot broke new grounds or inspired a plethora of bands, but I've had a better time listening to them than the nu metal/hard rock band of the same name.

Holy s***. I'll take a Cryptic Slaughter clone over angsty Hot Topic anthems anyday.

DakotaRogers wrote:

Holy s***. I'll take a Cryptic Slaughter clone over angsty Hot Topic anthems anyday.

You're trying too hard to be sarcastic. I'd kindly advise you to think of a funnier retort, or just stop replying altogether.

DakotaRogers wrote:

Holy s***. I'll take a Cryptic Slaughter clone over angsty Hot Topic anthems anyday.

I don't like Slipknot much either, it's not my thing but they do have talent and that to me = musical merit, whether it's to my taste or not.

A band with talented musicians doesn't necessarily make for unique or quality songwriting. I say the same thing about Dream Theater.

It doesn't matter how fast you can play the bass drums, how high or low you can scream, or how many notes you can shred per minute.

The only people who think otherwise are idiots and other hacks that you'll meet at your local Guitar Center. Instead of putting the time and energy into writing a memorable riff, most of them only care about gear.

Boris2008 wrote:

DakotaRogers wrote:

Holy s***. I'll take a Cryptic Slaughter clone over angsty Hot Topic anthems anyday.

I don't like Slipknot much either, it's not my thing but they do have talent and that to me = musical merit, whether it's to my taste or not.

All "no musical merit" means is that the person saying/writing so and so has "no musical merit" doesn't like that band/artist and is using the term as a way to put down the band.

Painkiller wrote:

A band with talented musicians doesn't necessarily make for unique or quality songwriting. I say the same thing about Dream Theater.

It doesn't matter how fast you can play the bass drums, how high or low you can scream, or how many notes you can shred per minute.

The only people who think otherwise are idiots and other hacks that you'll meet at your local Guitar Center. Instead of putting the time and energy into writing a memorable riff, most of them only care about
gear.

I agree with you, but you didn't say quality songwriting, you said musical merit. By your definition I'll assume that you mean artistic merit, which is an entirely subjective thing and the only people who think otherwise are arrogant pretentious elitists who place way too much stock in their own opinions.

Going back to the Slipknot tune. What part of the songwriting did you find to be unique?

thejokeriv wrote:

Boris2008 wrote:

DakotaRogers wrote:

Holy s***. I'll take a Cryptic Slaughter clone over angsty Hot Topic anthems anyday.

I don't like Slipknot much either, it's not my thing but they do have talent and that to me = musical merit, whether it's to my taste or not.

All "no musical merit" means is that the person saying/writing so and so has "no musical merit" doesn't like that band/artist and is using the term as a way to put down the band.

Wouldn't it be quicker to just say they suck!

Painkiller wrote:

You're trying too hard to be sarcastic.

No. I wrote that from the heart.

Boris2008 wrote:

Going back to the Slipknot tune. What part of the songwriting did you find to be unique?

Like I said, they didn't create metal history, but they played some terribly catchy hardcore punk. I especially dig the rage-filled bite of "Hate in Blue", which has the kind of riffs that could've fit Sadus' first album quite nicely. "World Leader" is a thrashy song with some great grooves near the end. I wish "Some Friend" could've been on the original EP, because it's kinda doomy.

Painkiller wrote:

DakotaRogers wrote:

Holy s***. I'll take a Cryptic Slaughter clone over angsty Hot Topic anthems anyday.

You're trying too hard to be sarcastic. I'd kindly advise you to think of a funnier retort, or just stop replying altogether.

Pretty sure he was agreeing with you, you dope.

Eyesore wrote:

Pretty sure he was agreeing with you, you dope.

In that case, he should've worded it better than this:

DakotaRogers wrote:

There's more musical merit in that one crossover EP than the mallcore Slipknot has displayed in 5 albums spanning 15 years.

Whenever I read these kinds of arguments online, I've already concluded that the person I'm discussing music with is using sales figures and other measures of popularity to attempt to justify their band's merit.

You dope.

Sales figures are as good as any other way of judging musical merit. It means that lots of people like the record enough to pay money for it. Originality is another, records that literally redefine the scene and musical ability does sometimes come into that. Megadeth did something completely original with their first record that wouldn't have been possible without mad ability. Great songwriting is another, great band chemistry is another.

What I find difficult to accept is when people pluck the term musical merit out of nowhere and apply it to their opinions for no other reason than it's their opinion, particularly with a record that fails to meet any of the above criteria.

Boris2008 wrote:

Sales figures are as good as any other way of judging musical merit. It means that lots of people like the record enough to pay money for it.

A lot of people mostly buy into whatever that gets hyped up, anyway, so you shouldn't pay attention to them.

If that's the case, then people like Madonna, Rihanna, and Britney Spears are some of the greatest music artists to ever live. Whether or not you like them isn't the case, but my point is that using sales figures in a heated discussion about music is a very poor argument. That's MTV/VH1 Classic mentality, dude.

Many popular musicians aren't nearly as talented as the rest in performing or writing diverse songs, but they're still making more money than hard-working bands like Manilla Road or Riot.

Hey, Painkiller is back.

corplhicks wrote:

Hey, Painkiller is back.

How much for the parrot?

One cracker is enough, thank you.

Anyway Dakota, Slipknot isn't mallcore (still unsure what that means), and if Hot Topic bands are bad, then we may as well lump Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Motorhead in there, since their merch has always been a hot item there.

Slipknot is an alternative metal band, nothing more. And they have a diverse amount of creatively crafted numbers that transcend the typical teenage angst found in most "nu" metal bands.

Are Hot Topic stores even still a thing? For a while it seemed like labeling a band as "Hot Topic metal" was just about the worst insult you could hurl at them, but I haven't heard that one in quite a few years now.

corplhicks wrote:

Slipknot isn't mallcore (still unsure what that means)

I thought mallcore was exactly what Slipknot is. Probably the band that most defines the term.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mallcore

It's just another tag, and doesn't say anything about the quality of the music.

That's all I really have to say, because I don't want to be a hater.

This thread became super funny!

Nu metal is actually good for comedic value! Gotta love the redneck "chugga-lugga-da-chugga-pa-chug-chug" breakdowns that come along.

Muahahaha

So is it hot topic or redneck music now? And could we get a count of all the users here that both enjoy breakdowns and are in fact fitting to a redneck lifestyle?

Its Hot Topic music for Rednecks.