When Metal Ruled the World (1 Viewer)

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

Did anyone catch this show on Vh1 last night?

I did enjoy the show, but I dislike it when a show is put together to chronicle 10 years of music and it is condensed into a 1 hour show.

Basically the show was about the emerging metal scene in LA in the early 80's. There were interviews with Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil, Bret Michaels and Riki Rachtman (more on riki later)

I think they spent too much time on the sex and drugs part of their lives. To me, it was no suprise or great revelation that these guys reveled in these activities.

I agree with their reasoning to why metal died in the early 90's due to the grunge scene, but I would add that the reason metal faded and I also include grunge in this theory, when it also faded in the late 90's, was the watering down of the music itself. To many metal bands were catering to the 'ballad' hype and it was unfortunate that they had to make a ballad to get any air play. So what emerged were bands like Slaughter, White Lion, Firehouse who primarily played pop metal and love songs. So the true metal fans were tired of the lovey dovey part of metal and turned to something with more grit.

Also if it weren't for metal, alot of grunge bands probably would not of taken off. I remember seeing Soundgarden open for Skid Row in 91 or 92, Alice in Chains on the Clash of the Titans tour with Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth.

Also I have a question regarding Riki Rachtman. In the show he kept on referring to 'we' did this 'we' did that. Was he part of a metal band in those early days? I only know of him as the host of Headbangers Ball. Just the way he presented himself on the show, it seemed like he was the outsider wanting to be part of the metal scene but the big kids wouldn't let him in. That was just my impression of him.

Paul

 

[Aaron Silverman]

IIRC, Rikki Rachtman was mainly a promoter and club owner.

I remember seeing Alice In Chains get booed off the stage on the Clash of the Titans tour! The crowd was REALLY anxious to see Slayer.

The pop metal of the 80s was just the current style -- it came and went, just like lots of other musical fads. Of course, nowadays I can enjoy that stuff as the fun, light music that it is rather than dismissing it as fluff, which I did at the time.

Do you know if the show is going to be repeated anytime soon? I'd really like to see it.

 

[Joshua_W]

Riki Rachtma was the owner of The Cathouse, a popular L.A. Club and a fixture of the metal scene. Lots of bands played there before they got big.

He was never actually in a band that I'm aware of, but he was an influential player.

And, as to the metal scene dying with grunge, I think the biggest problem was that it crossed over too much into the pop genre. The "ballads" and the pin-ups. Heavy Metal had stopped being dangerous, and became something out of Tiger Beat. (Of course, this doesn't apply to the "harder" stuff like Slayer and Sepultura, which was never a part of that scene to begin with, and it's really debatable whether the "pop metal" bands were even "metal" at all.)

 

[Juan Castillo]

Warrant, Poison, Slaughter, White Lion, firehouse, Cinderella, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi, Europe... Metal?

I was into Iron Maiden, Metallica, Testament, Megadeth, Slayer. Even now I laugh at what passed as Metal back then, but those other groups? I thought they were in their own genre.. hair bands..

What a joke.

Sepultura wasn't around in the 80's hairband hey day.. They could kick all their asses with one song.. Chaos A.D. Anyone?

Thread Fart I know, but this show was more a slap in the face to real metal than it was informative. LIke you said, 10 years of metal, focused on hair bands for an hour was a waste of time.

 

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

Thanks guys for the info on Riki.

Juan

Here is a link I like to reference in regards to metal and its different genres.

Metal Genres

The bands you mentioned before, I would consider them metal, its just a different catagory under the metal umbrella.

I remember when Warrant was getting tired of being called a 'bubble gum' metal band and grunge was just rearing its head, they decided to make a record called Dog Eat Dog. I'll have to check to see if I have this album, but i remember hearing it and really not liking it.

Paul

 

[MickeS]

The show is on again this afternoon, and also this weekend (not sure about exact times). I will check it out then and comment on it.

As for "what is metal", I'd argue that all the bands mentioned above were metal, just not "heavy" metal. They are all different too, for example Cinderella was more blues-rock oriented a la AC/DC, while Poison had a more pop/rock oriented style. I liked all of them though (still do)!

/Mike

 

[Juan Castillo]

Guess I used to be a Power Metal fan (still am from time to time) but am more Thrash Metal now. Not that I don't listen to other genres as well.

Thanks for the link Paul.

I guess my question is, where is the line drawn for rock/Hard rock, and soft metal?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Incidentally, the best metal website I've ever encountered is the BNR Metal Pages at [url=http://www.bnrmetal.com]www.bnrmetal.com[/url].

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Paul,

I'm not sure that I agree much with the definitions at that link you posted. (On the other hand, the person who wrote it seems to have pretty good musical taste!)

 

[Joshua_W]

Actually, they were. I was listening to "Beneath the Remains" in 1989. And that was right in the thick of the pop/glam metal goofiness. "Schizophrenia" and "Morbid Visions" were released before "Beneath," so they go back to the mid-80s at least.

 

[MickeS]

I just watched it, and it wasn't very interesting. Most of it was the same stuff they've covered before in other shows. I don't think I learned a single new thing. Maybe there was something new and interesting for those who weren't interested in the music.

Plus the title is misleading, the show was about the music scene on the Sunset Strip in the 80's, it wasn't about the entire metal scene (not even the entire pop-metal scene). It would have been more interesting had they had bands from different genres, and talked about the differences and similarities between the bands. But that's asking too much I think, this was just another gossip-filled fluff piece, it wasn't actually about the music.
/Mike