Image from Twisters (an RVA venue) care of Jentery Sayers
Metal-Punk Opposition
Some Common Assumptions:
Metal is about virtuosity. Punk is about social critique.
Metal is commercial. Punk is underground.
Metal is durable. Punk is novel.
Metal is polished. Punk is stitched together.
Influences are often unconscious.
Genres are socially constructed, not fixed.
Artists experiment with styles across bands.
Practices overlap, with political and aesthetic effects.
Cultural formations (gender, sexuality, race) always at play
My own experience: metal was a guilty pleasure.
Investment in punk meant denial of metal influences
Image of Thrones care of Jentery Sayers
Scene Study: RVA
The 1990s in Richmond, Virginia
Known for D'Angelo, Avail, Gwar, Firehouse, and Lamb of God
I grew up in RVA and went to university there (VCU).
Image of Avail care of Jentery Sayers
Inquisition, "Warning"
Inquisition
Pop Meets Protest (Anarchism and Pacifism)
Pick Slides + Short Guitar Solos + Tight Drum Rolls
Critiques of White Supremacy + Police Brutality
Echoes of Thrash + D-Beat + Classic Rock
Image of Inquisition care of Jentery Sayers
Action Patrol, "Golden Wings"
Action Patrol
Emphatic + Mathy (Punk Goes to College, with Jumpsuits)
Topically and Aesthetically Brainy (Nerdcore?)
Not Quintessential Punk (e.g., Sex Pistols)
Echoes of DC/California Hardcore + English Anarcho-Punk
Image of Action Patrol care of Jentery Sayers
Hose.Got.Cable, "Pat's Song"
Hose.Got.Cable
Mathy + Emotional + Even Industrial (like Shellac, Slint)
Distances Itself from Hardcore (Post-Hardcore)
Critical Relation to the Very Notion of a Stage
Echoes of Prog Rock and 70s Doom/Heavy Metal (e.g., Sabbath)
Image of Hose.Got.Cable care of Bott Skillby
Spitboy, "Emaciation"
Spitboy
Anarcho-Punk + Hardcore + Crust Punk
Women of Colour Feminism + Critiques of Patriarchy
Happening Alongside Grunge + Riot Grrrl Movements
Echoes of Alice Bag and Early 80s LA Punk
Not Actually from RVA, But Droogas Lived There
Image of Adrienne Droogas with Fugazi care of Jentery Sayers
Born Against, "Sendero"
Born Against
Grunge + Sludge + NY Hardcore
Arrangements Are Generally Loose; No Interest in Durability
Politics of Antagonism + Mockery (esp. White Masculinity)
A Sort of Avant-Garde for Hardcore (e.g., Theatre of Cruelty)
Kind of from RVA; Nathanson Lived There
Image of Sam McPheeters (of Born Against) care of Jentery Sayers
Ipecac, "Nuclear Family"
Ipecac
Mathy + Industrial + Post-Punk
Integrates Free Jazz into Post-Hardcore
Critiques of Disciplinary Mechanisms (e.g., Discipline and Punish)
Guitar Parts Frequently Premised on Virtuosity
Echoes of Prog Rock (e.g., Faust) and NY Hardcore
Image of Ipecac care of KILLTHATCAT
Eucharist, "Splintered"
Eucharist
Grindcore + NY Hardcore
Clarity of Lyrics Is Clearly Not Important
Politics Driven Largely by Class and Anger ("Powerviolence")
Opened Space for Queercore Bands Such As Limp Wrist
Echoes of Thrash + Death Metal
Image of Eucharist care of Jentery Sayers
Black Emanuelle, "Gas Station Scene"
Black Emanuelle
Classical Guitar + Swedish Pop + DC/LA Hardcore + Sludge
Notable Shifts in Distortion, with Mathy Feel
The Cardigans Meet Bad Brains Meet Sabbath Meet Paganini
Fun Fact: Didonato Set the World Record for the Longest Guitar Solo (24 Hours, 55 Minutes)
Image of Black Emanuelle care of David Didonato
Orlock, "Seizure"
Orlock
Post-Hardcore + Sludge + Grunge + Psych Rock
Aesthetic Combines Affectlessness + Process Intensity
Drums Highlight Virtuosity, But Low-Fi
Echoes of Doom Metal and Space Rock
Image of Orlock seven-inch care of Orlock
Four Walls Falling, "Aim"
Four Walls Falling
Hair Metal Goes Straight Edge
Vegan Politics Combined with Eco-Criticism and Anticapitalism
Body-as-Temple Form of Resistance
Echoes of NY Hardcore + Iron Maiden
Image of Four Walls care of Double Cross
Scenes Matter
Situation Is Partly Responsible for Crossover
Musicians Are Almost Always in More than One Band
Place and Venues Shape Aesthetics
Place and Venues Also Shape Politics
Genre Performance Is Deeply Geographical
Image of Less Than Jake Flyer care of Jentery Sayers