There are too many bands. What do we do?

[Eoin McLove]

It's clear that the metal scene is in a state of hyper activity lately and with instant exposure to everything at all times via the internet it is overwhelming to say the least.  One problem is that you naturally miss great bands in the deluge, but another massive issue is the inevitable burn out making it sometimes feel all a bit pointless.  I have added my own share to the mess,  no question,  and will no doubt continue to do the same in the future in one way or another but I wonder,  is there any way out of the maze? Is there a way for bands to exist offline, go completely off the grid and rely on old school methods like flyers and cash in the post? I have a utopian vision of an alternative metal scene operating in a real underground fashion away from Sauron/Big Brother's ever watchful eye- the irony of this post is loud and clear,  but it might make for an interesting and pointless chat if nothing else.  What are people's view on this? Is endless access to all music a good thing or should we go back to the cave?

[Juggz]

There is too much of everything. Not just bands, music and whatever, but there is just information overload all the time and so much of it is utter shite. I don't think there are more bands than ever, it's just everything is accessible from everyone and everyone is trying to get your attention through the same narrow channels. Existing offline might as well just be playing for the sake of it and not attempting to publicise yourself at all. So much of what contributed to the underground setup, as I recall it when I was a kid, was through hanging out and browsing in shops, swapping tapes with mates, even going on the t-shirt someone was wearing or a patch on a jacket. It all carried a personal endorsement, if that's the right term, so you were more inclined to check it out. Being an old cunt, I don't hang around aimlessly as much as I used to, so it's all likely to pass me by now 

Having released tapes years ago, going to shops to get them to carry them, posted them to zines and buyers, put up posters by cycling around with a bucket of wallpaper paste, even stood around handing out flyers and, most recently, going through the grind of a digital release, I would be back on the bike with brush in hand in no time given a choice. I genuinely don't believe anyone would give a fuck, though.

None of the old music has gone away, so every new thing is just another one on top of the pile of stuff from years ago, some of which we all knew, some of which we're only discovering now. Too, too much.

[Ducky]

Even though most of my music consumption is through streaming these days, I'll still take my time and spend time with an album. Part of the problem is there's exponentially more, well, everything of what I can indulge in and accessing it all is so easy.

Finding music the old fashioned way certainly has a buzz that I miss, the "thrill of the hunt", as it were. That buzz of finally laying my hands on a copy of something like Human or Focus is hard to beat.

The again, I've always wanted to hear some of Starkweather's music, but never came across it. Was sitting down last night listening to The Cocteau Twins and it randomly popped into my head "Starkweather, listen to them right now". Ten seconds later I was doing that.

I do like the fact that we as music nerds can take in so much music we're almost supersaturated and yet still have the iceberg to contend with.

[Trev]

What are people's view on this? Is endless access to all music a good thing or should we go back to the cave?

One thing I've noticed myself doing, that I'm conciously trying to stop, is not sticking with an album that doesn't grab me immediately. It's so easy now to just click on a link and move on to something else

But back when I could only afford to buy maybe 2-3 cds a month I'd listen to them relentlessly even if I didn't think they were that good at first and end up getting much more enjoyment from them. Still got a few absolutely irredeemable duds though....

[ochoill]

It's not an entirely impossible feat but you would still need to have a very basic online presence.  You could set up a distro-style, basic site catering for bands that want to remain off the internet and only deal in physical releases but how well it would work is anyone's guess.

Effectively you're curating a label of bands that want to do this but to do this nowadays without making use of the tools available online would cost a lot.  You could have a subscription list where people give you their address and you post them a catalog, or some form of zine almost, at their expense, but why do that when you could mass email a pdf of it to everyone who wants it weekly instead?

You could find bands that want to be completely offline and add them to a roster, few considerations as to how you get their phsyical product to the buyer but nothing unusual or difficult.  Main concern here is how do the fans try out the music first?  You could cheaply press a few sampler CDs but again the cost of this vs. a freely downloadable bandcamp compilation is harsh.

You could still set something up with the same ethos you're looking for, basically, but you would have to adapt it and curate it carefully, and become a label/distro for a decent sized collective to make it worthwhile.  The end result is that the artists themselves remain disconnected from it all and social media is left non-existent.  It's not entirely offline but would be a fair balance where you use the tools available.  Your next problem though is getting the word out in the first place.

[Pentagrimes]

It's an interesting idea. Blood Incantation kind of did this initially - the demos were only available by post, though of course they were eventually uploaded on line, and then as soon as they went with DD obviously they kind of had to adapt, but they still don't have a bandcamp or facebook to my knowledge which is impressive for a band with such a large audience. Even with whatever that new black metal project they have (Storm somethingorother) the demo is on youtube but to get an actual copy you have to write to as postal address.

Wasn't there some black metal band who popped up on the  NaziWankcircleNow forum last year whose demo could only be obtained by sending a blank tape?

[Squigs]

Starspawn is also on Spotify now, which is obviously a label directive, but the longer a band lives and gains any degree of success, the more difficult you would imagine that sort of thing is .

I definitely agree though, the level of exposure and quality gear that emerges is nearly a stress. I stepped back over the last 18months or so, being a bit more selective with what I choose, spending more time with it etc., rather than the collecting, rather than listening I had nearly beend oing previous. I've definitely missed stuff, but that's inevitable and tbh I don't mind. I'm enjoying my music a lot more.

[Pentagrimes]

Death Metal in particular is absolutely at saturation point again as it was in the 90s. It's impossible to keep up, and it feels like any band sticking out a demo is getting undeserved hype. Reckon the bubble is about to burst fairly soon

[blessed1]

it sounds like you are trying to recreate a magic thats just not there anymore and probably will never return unfortunately.
like someone said already its not just with music this is happening but in all aspects of life.

[The Heretic]

I gave up on new stuff years ago..its retro for me all the way...much easier to trawl through....

[Pentagrimes]

I actually put the blame at least partially on labels - particularly in the underground. There's a couple of well established labels that come to mind who really do just seem to have abandoned any semblance of quality control and will seemingly put out any ould shite at this point - quantity over quality. Such is the nature of business I suppose but flooding an already overflooded market is unnecessary at this point. Again, I'm not looking at the likes of Relapse or big labels here, it's the black and death metal labels in particular, a few of whom really have dropped in terms of standard of release musically over the last while seemingly for the sake of having more product, which to me is totally not in the spirit of underground music at all. A label like Sepulchral Voice is a fine model of how to do it properly I think - less bands, care and quality put into each release.



The magic I guess in the old days - which of course we can't get back, nor do I expect to - is that if you picked up a Roadrunner, Peaceville or Earache release, or even smaller labels like Thrash or Seraphic Decay, there was at least early on a solid chance it was going to be a good one largely because they were trying to put out the best stuff.

[Eoin McLove]

And there's a million smaller labels to pick up the rest.  Everything is released,  hyped and forgotten in a month. 

[blessed1]

i was talking with my brother abut this recently , and not just about music but with everything thats happening these days and there's going to have be some kind of a crash in the future. things cant possibly keep going this way.

[Pentagrimes]

@Andy: Yeah. But I'm talking in terms of respectable labels ...ugh, right, naming names here as an example: Iron Bonehead springs to mind as the obvious one where there's a handful of great bands but  a lot of it is hugely average and faceless and disappears quickly, largely because he just seems to be churning out releases at a frankly obscene rate. Blood Harvest has always been a little like that. 20 Buck Spin is heading that way - does the world really need an Ossuarium or Cerebral Rot album this early on in their development like?? There's plenty others I can think of.

[Eoin McLove]

I agree,  yeah.  I keep my ear to the ground and am still mostly baffled by a lot of these labels' releases lately.  I'm not saying I know of every band going,  obviously,  but the names I see being released aren't even remotely familiar.  And you read the press blurb about how anticipated the album is... by whom???