Brütal Legend is a humorous heavy-metal, open-world, action-adventure game with light real-time strategy elements. As Eddie Riggs, lead the people of the Brütal World to rise up against the Tainted Coil demons who rule the world, and their leader, the sinister Emperor Doviculus.
The intro in the demo and what many of the reviews say kind of worries me, refferencing Metal as a bygone era. Where I live (gothenburg) the Metal scene is more living and vibrant then ever (Death metal above all but also some Viking Metal and other over-the-top ridicioulus stuff that wouldve suited this games theme perfectly).
The fact that a game that is supposed to be a tribute to metal ignores the scene that exists today is kind of baffling. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Tim Schafer didn't know who Dark Tranquility is.
Yes, the honorable metal that Brutal Legend honors and Jack Black cherishes, indeed has been dead for quite a while....
I'm not another robot who complains about whats new and cries in memory of what is old, but metal as we know it has been pissed all over by today's fucked up childish sound
It is more about the direction that 'mainstream' metal has taken. You look at HUGE gigs of the past, Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Black Sabbath, Motorhead etc. These bands are still big today, but it has to be agreed that overall their popularity is not what it once was and they don't pull the numbers that they used to. The metal scene may be vibrant in some places, but you look at what passes for mainstream 'metal' now and you have to do what Eddie Riggs does and just be disappointed.
I don't think metal fans care about "mainstream" metal, or even consider it metal. It's just really hard for a metal fan to relate to something like the opening scene when we know metal is alive and well. And if a game like this fails to make metal fans then it has kind of..... failed.
What pisses me off the most is that they didn't seem to take advantage of or make fun of all the intentionally ridicoulus folk and viking metal out there.
By the way, im willing to bet money that metal is more popular here now then it ever was in the 70s/80s as far as dedicated fans go. It's hard to beleive that stuff like death metal is so small/unpopular in the US that somebody making a game about metal is unaware of it.
Those sub genres are real metal. Unless you consider "NU-Metal" metal, which no reasonable person will. I dont see your logic there either way, how the hell is a bunch of subgenres a sign of the whole genre being small?
Anyway the fact that they treat it like its dead is just flat-out disrespectful to the fans that have kept it alive.
If you want to talk about dead music let's talk about BLUES. hasnt been a good recording since the 50's, and the best stuffs from the late 40s. Best music ever though.
Let me reply with this list, taken from a german forum thread in which the following genres were assigned to metal albums:
o Melodic Death Metal o Cello Metal (?) o Mellodic Black Metal o Death Metal o Progressive Metal o Folk Metal (?) o Melodic Death Metal (apparently different from Melodic Black Metal) o Heavy Metal o Symphonic Power Metal (what?) o Modern Metal (as opposed to what, ancient metal?)
@wackojackman: the big problem is that theyre completely ignoring what metal is today. i could be wrong but there doesnt seem to be a single reference to real contemporary metal.
@atomic_dumpling said:
" @mhkjtha said:
" Those sub genres are real metal."
Let me reply with this list, taken from a german forum thread in which the following genres were assigned to metal albums: o Melodic Death Metal o Cello Metal (?) o Mellodic Black Metal o Death Metal o Progressive Metal o Folk Metal (?) o Melodic Death Metal (apparently different from Melodic Black Metal) o Heavy Metal o Symphonic Power Metal (what?) o Modern Metal (as opposed to what, ancient metal?) "
......yes, thats a bunch of subgenres, whats your point? (all of those are real metal by the way) what does it matter if people divide metal into a bunch of subgenres? you dont have to, and even if you did, how is this relevant to anything?
Let me reply with this list, taken from a german forum thread in which the following genres were assigned to metal albums: o Melodic Death Metal o Cello Metal (?) o Mellodic Black Metal o Death Metal o Progressive Metal o Folk Metal (?) o Melodic Death Metal (apparently different from Melodic Black Metal) o Heavy Metal o Symphonic Power Metal (what?) o Modern Metal (as opposed to what, ancient metal?) "
Thats not even half the list of sub-genres that found in the metal scene.
" Good Metal is dead. Metal that involves playing instruments and not sodomizing them is dead. "
Very true. I love most of the stuff in Brutal Legend but I honestly can't stand Death and Black Metal and I'm sure Tim feels pretty much the same way. "
Then again no genre of music doesn't have its own very specific subgenres. I know some people that only listen to screamo or people that only listen to adult alternative acoustic. Honestly, I don't think the game was made to create new metal fans.
Sure metal exists and isn't dead, but it certainly isn't as lively as it once was.
Actually I think it is just about as lively as it can be considering that it just doesn't appeal to everyone by nature. Unless things are really, really, really, really different in the US.
@FlamingHobo
said:
" Sorry to sound like a dick but I think that most modern metal is absolutely atrocious, it just doesn't appeal to me whatsoever. "
I'm guessing you listen to the wrong stuff then. If you want something less self-serious then say black metal, listen to some viking/folk metal or something. If you like the slightly ironic over-the-topness off classic metal there is stuff for you there.
For someone who has long hair, wears a leather jacket and regularly gets involved in moshpits Brutal Legend is impossible to relate to. Classic rock snobs who think they know something (but are actually idiots who associate back door man with the doors) might think they can relate to this "metal is dead" stuff, but a real metalhead can't.
Seriously. If you go to a metalhead on the street (easily recognizable) and say something like "yhea man dont you wish the music was real like in the 70s?" you'll just be met by a "wtf" stare.
EDIT: assuming theres a bunch of metalheads where you live. not in the us, i guess?
" Well I haven't played the game yet but compared to the good ole 80's and early 90's, real metal is a very rare breed. "
Exactly. Thats the point that the game tries to get across from what Ive seen. That, and making fun of some of the garbage that people today call metal.
" Well I haven't played the game yet but compared to the good ole 80's and early 90's, real metal is a very rare breed. "
Exactly. Thats the point that the game tries to get across from what Ive seen. That, and making fun of some of the garbage that people today call metal. "
Except that it doesn't make fun of any contemporary metal. It acts as if it doesn't exist. i mean seriously, how the fuck cant they make fun of stuff like this??? (the song is kickass btw in case you didnt notice):
" Now if you want to talk about a dead genre, lets talk about punk. There hasn't been an epic album from a punk band since the 90's. "
What album do you have in mind? Personally, I can't think of any epic punk album released past Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables in 1980, and honestly, that's stretching it. Because there was a whole lot more interesting stuff going on during that time.
I think it's just a very very personal view of the game's creator. Heavy Metal is huge where you live, and in other counties, and I've always found that very cool, but in the USA, it's a shadow of its former self.
So I think what is not connecting well with you, is that the game features a very USA/Schafer view of the current state of Heavy Metal.
And I can understand that, I can understand wishing it was a more global view, and inclusive of great bands that are still writing good material... but at the same time, I think there is nothing wrong with creating something with personal points of views and opinions. I'm sure you agree with that part.
I haven't been listening to a lot of metal lately, but not because I don't like it, just because my attention is on exploring other genres lately.
The most recent things that I purchased were from Opeth, Anathema (I don't care if they're not "metal" anymore)..
Less recent, Arcturus, Dimmu Borgir, My Dying Bride...
Metal can never die. It can be and has been critically wounded by a whole new genre of "music" called rap. However, in my professional opinion, RAP IS NOT MUSIC!!!!!
" Metal can never die. It can be and has been critically wounded by a whole new genre of "music" called rap. However, in my professional opinion, RAP IS NOT MUSIC!!!!! "
" Metal can never die. It can be and has been critically wounded by a whole new genre of "music" called rap. However, in my professional opinion, RAP IS NOT MUSIC!!!!! "
Nope. Metal and rap can mix together pretty well; they both represent undergrounds/counter-cultures. However, mainstream music which includes mainstream rock, metal, hip-hop and rap has always overshadowed the good stuff. The mainstream is full of bad taste in just about everything, especially music.
" @Amorfati: There was a time when Metal was mainstream. Back in the day... I want those times to come again. "
Assuming the 88 in your name means 1988, you won't even remember or have been alive for those times. If that's the case, why get nostalgic for something you've never experienced?
" @Amorfati: There was a time when Metal was mainstream. Back in the day... I want those times to come again. "
Nah, I don't think it ever was. I think there's always been a negative stigma around rock/metal music (accusations of satanism, occultism, "headbangers" being identified as part of the working class and thus metal/rock being seen as music for the lower class, etc.)
There's still festivals like Ozzfest and Gigantour which attract sponsors, but nowhere near on the level of say... the Jonas Brothers.
Expecting a big mainstream game like this to delve into the minutiae of what people call metal today is asking a bit much. It's a comedy, not a history book.
EWW RAP METAL IS SHIT PLEASE GET THAT OUT OF MY THREAD.
@jeff: is asking a game about metal to appeal to metal fans REALLY asking to much? amongst metalheads there are TONS of gamers and vice versa. and like ive said before metal is big today, maybe not in the us, but it is. and i want it to be LESS of a history book. please make fun of contemporary metal aswell as classic metal. even if youre not into metal you can relate to it and understand jokes about it anyway. everybodys heard atleast a little bit of growling death or black metal etc. or heard of how idiotic satanists in norway burned down churches etc
" @jeff: is asking a game about metal to appeal to metal fans REALLY asking to much? amongst metalheads there are TONS of gamers and vice versa. and like ive said before metal is big today, maybe not in the us, but it is.
I think Schafer is more well-versed in the, lets say, Ozzy-era of metal.
And this game does appeal to metal fans, seriously.
Word. This game is about as mainstream as it gets. Its target audience is people who listened to metal about women and LA back in the day. Not 14 year old kids who use the internet and wear black hoodies and have eyebrow piercings.
Real metalheads dont wear black hoodies or have eyebrow piercings and im not suggesting that this game should appeal to such a shitty audience....not by any means. @Amorfati said:
" @mhkjtha said:
" @jeff: is asking a game about metal to appeal to metal fans REALLY asking to much? amongst metalheads there are TONS of gamers and vice versa. and like ive said before metal is big today, maybe not in the us, but it is.
I think Schafer is more well-versed in the, lets say, Ozzy-era of metal.
And this game does appeal to metal fans, seriously.
if you think a game that suggest that their favorite genre is dead when it clearly isnt appeals to metalheads then youre stupid. (the concerts they go to and the release dates of most of the albums they listen to say otherwise)
@JokerClown88: I was raised on 90's dance but that doesn't mean I want the glory days of The Paradox nightclub and my uncle's mixtapes to return. I can accept glory days of the past but more than anything, I want to experience new eras of society and music. I mean, Christ, the scene is dead in all but name and I near enough completely missed it but I'm not going to lust for it like 'metalheads' do with the glory days of Thrash.
the genre of metal still lives, but it definitely isn't the same. There are snobs who say that the only real metal is the old stuff, but they're just stubborn. I admit that modern metal is different from older stuff, but that doesn't mean it's total crap.
@Amorfati said:
" @JokerClown88 said:
" Metal can never die. It can be and has been critically wounded by a whole new genre of "music" called rap. However, in my professional opinion, RAP IS NOT MUSIC!!!!! "
Nope. Metal and rap can mix together pretty well; they both represent undergrounds/counter-cultures. However, mainstream music which includes mainstream rock, metal, hip-hop and rap has always overshadowed the good stuff. The mainstream is full of bad taste in just about everything, especially music.
I was talking ab out metal with a friend online the other day. I linked him a youtube video of an old Testament song (Over the Wall). So he said he listened to a lot of metal too, and linked me to some whiny emo "metal", with a feminine looking guy with bangs in his eyes. I sighed, shook my head, and turned Testament back on. I don't know wether to blame it on me being "old" (I'm 31), or just him having bad taste in music.
People like him make it seem like metal is dead. I somehow landed in with friends that listen to rap and techno, and hate my music...
" Now if you want to talk about a dead genre, lets talk about punk. There hasn't been an epic album from a punk band since the 90's. "
What album do you have in mind? Personally, I can't think of any epic punk album released past Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables in 1980, and honestly, that's stretching it. Because there was a whole lot more interesting stuff going on during that time. "
Smash, Dookie, Nevermind, Out Came the Wolves, Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues, Punk in Drublic, Recipe for Hate, Energy... Just from the top of my mind.
The 90's were THE era for punk, the 80's were pretty epic too dont get me wrong, but the 90's brought forth so many different styles in punk that can never be duplicated by other artists than the ones the pioneered them.
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