FUCK YOU BLACK TIDE. FUCK YOU.
Ok, why am I angry at Black Tide? Well, it's novelty hyping bullshit. For some reason, people (namely the mainstream) attribute teens (or worse, pre-teens) playing instruments to being ROCK GODS!!!!!
And clearly, they are not.
Now, I'm all for new talent breaking the mid-20's mold, but that's the problem. With age comes experience, at least in this case. Most metalheads (because that is the genre I will be focusing on) start playing somewhere between 12 and 18- right about when they start LISTENING to metal. Thus, when they hit 25, they can have anywhere from 7-13 years of experience under their belts. Gabriel from Black Tide (lead vocals/guitars) isn't even legal yet (according to Wiki ATOW, 16 be the age).
They got kicked off the Jager stage at Ozzfest BECAUSE of their age.
Now... the meat of the problem: their medocrity. (Disclaimer: Gabriel IS A BETTER player than I am. No question there, but I've only been playing for 4 months.) I'm saying that, for the level of critical praise they recieved (3.5/5 from AllMusic, positive Kerrang! and Blabbermouth reviews) they aren't that good.
I like a good novelty act now and again, but to keep me interested you need to have a lot of talent to back up the hype. Kittie is a good example, but they petered out. Girlschool is fantastic. Lordi is hilarious, but they can throw out some of the best hooky riffs in the business. Black Tide accomplishes no such feat. See, they tried to break into Thrash Metal, a predominately Old-Guard dominated genre. Mistake. Then, they recorded what can only be described as fitting the music store label of "Pop-Rock". Mistake. Then, they recorded a shirtless, campy "Sk8r" video for Shockwave, their first single. MISTAKE. Either go all-out camp (Lordi) or go badass (Warbringer). Half-ass it and pay the price.
Stop now. Seriously, it's been established that people trying to stray too far from the metal genre (while still calling yourself metal and fanbasing metalheads) are shot down in miserable balls of flames.
And clearly, they are not.
Now, I'm all for new talent breaking the mid-20's mold, but that's the problem. With age comes experience, at least in this case. Most metalheads (because that is the genre I will be focusing on) start playing somewhere between 12 and 18- right about when they start LISTENING to metal. Thus, when they hit 25, they can have anywhere from 7-13 years of experience under their belts. Gabriel from Black Tide (lead vocals/guitars) isn't even legal yet (according to Wiki ATOW, 16 be the age).
They got kicked off the Jager stage at Ozzfest BECAUSE of their age.
Now... the meat of the problem: their medocrity. (Disclaimer: Gabriel IS A BETTER player than I am. No question there, but I've only been playing for 4 months.) I'm saying that, for the level of critical praise they recieved (3.5/5 from AllMusic, positive Kerrang! and Blabbermouth reviews) they aren't that good.
I like a good novelty act now and again, but to keep me interested you need to have a lot of talent to back up the hype. Kittie is a good example, but they petered out. Girlschool is fantastic. Lordi is hilarious, but they can throw out some of the best hooky riffs in the business. Black Tide accomplishes no such feat. See, they tried to break into Thrash Metal, a predominately Old-Guard dominated genre. Mistake. Then, they recorded what can only be described as fitting the music store label of "Pop-Rock". Mistake. Then, they recorded a shirtless, campy "Sk8r" video for Shockwave, their first single. MISTAKE. Either go all-out camp (Lordi) or go badass (Warbringer). Half-ass it and pay the price.
Stop now. Seriously, it's been established that people trying to stray too far from the metal genre (while still calling yourself metal and fanbasing metalheads) are shot down in miserable balls of flames.
