When I got more in to newer rock music, I went through a
period where I listened to a lot of post-grunge alternative metal bands; the
bands like Puddle of Mudd or Seether or Chevelle. While I still very much enjoy
bands like this, I found that they lacked something that kept them from being
great. I’m not going to say that these bands sound the same from one another.
While some do, not all do. They just seem a bit too comfortable in a small
bubble of song writing style and are too afraid to experiment.
Nashville has famously been coined as “Music City” for years.
It’s no surprise really. It has been the designated home for country music for
decades; it got that nickname in 1950 and still stands tall to it today. It has
always been the city for country artists to migrate to, just as Los Angeles was
for rock music in the late 60’s/early 70’s. It is also the home of the Grand Ole Opry, which is essentially the
Country Music Hall of Fame; and apparently the oldest music hall of fame also.
But with such a reputation for country music, how would a rock band formed in
this city sound?
I’ve spoken negatively on “metalcore” before. It’s not that I
don’t enjoy it. I do. It is good music to listen to when you want something
loud, but in many cases, that’s all it is good for. Some bands stand out over
others, but much of the time, it is the same blend of screaming and clean
vocals; sometimes these clean vocals can be quite melodic, and sometimes just
bland. A must in the genre seems to be fast virtuoso guitar playing with notes
going so fast that you can’t even remember what just happened. Then there are
the haters; the people who, no matter how hard the band tries to change their
sound or whatever, still hate the band for everything they are.
The early 90’s “grunge” movement was such a unique movement;
arguably the last true music scene. It was so unique and important to music
that you could almost compare each bands impact with that of bands from the
golden age of early 70’s British hard rock. I can make a pretty good argument
as to why Alice In Chains are the Black Sabbath of grunge, just like I
can make an argument, maybe not as good of one, that Soundgarden are the Deep
Purple of grunge. Due to me not wanting this article to be a novel, which
it already almost is, I won’t discuss those arguments here (but you’re free to
ask me). I will, however, reveal my argument as to why Pearl Jam are the Led
Zeppelin of grunge. I only recently came to this realization. (If you’re
wondering where I’d put Nirvana, I’d
go a decade sooner than the previously mentioned Brit bands and say they are
the Beatles of grunge. I have more
than just a simple argument for that as well.)
I like to think I have a broad sense of music taste. It may
only really centre in the realms of rock, but which seems to confuse people
when I tell them I have a broad taste. Sure there are people out there whose
iPods feature rock along with hip-hop and country and what not, in a sense I
guess that’s a broad taste, more in genres than in music though. I mean they
have country, but only two or three different artists and only a song or two by
each artist, than they have whatever the latest hit is by Katy Perry or
whomever. And the people who listen to classic rock, I’ll be damned if I find
more than just Stairway to Heaven on their iPod. These people should listen to Supertramp, then Joe Walsh, then Our Lady
Peace, then move up to Alter Bridge
and Protest the Hero, THEN tell me I
don’t have a broad sense of music taste.
I’ve written two articles on Halestorm by now, one on their TheStrange Case Of... album (the first album I ever gave a 10/10 to) and then
one on their debut, so there really
is no need for paragraph after paragraph on the history of the band. Hence this
article may be shorter than most (at least pretend that’s a bad thing for my
sake).