Rammstein Rocks the House

rob · Post by **rob** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 5:53 am

IMHO, I try not to justify on what type or style any given music group is anymore.

For example: Alternative Rock.

What is Alternative Rock? Alternative to what?
Everyone and their brother are trying to make a name for themselves by being different in a certain group of music.

As for myself, I try not to distinguish music anymore. I just listen to what I like.

philco · Post by **philco** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:09 pm

Dream Theater is supposed to be a progressive Metal band, but at one local music store it's in the Rock section. Some Metal songs aren't heavy and loud at all, like some of the acoustic songs on Opeth albums. Opeth's last album has no death metal vocals at all, and is way softer than most hard rock bands make, but it's reviewed by all the Metal websites while Rammstein is left out on some. Strange world.

Alternative Rock should be viewed as something out of the mainstream, which makes you wonder why U2 could be considered alternative since they seem to be fairly mainstream in popularity. Frank Zappa would be one of the first Alternative Rockers, in my opinion.

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 2:03 am

AFAIK

Alternative, back when it meant something, meant non-blues-based rock that mainstream radio stations would not play. Stuff like the Talking Heads, the Cure, Smiths, Husker Du, Throwing Muses, Pixies, etc. REM was "Alternative" in a real sense back then. AC/DC was definitively not.

Then right around the time Nirvana hit, it suddenly become cool to be uncool again, and the media jumped on the "Alternative" bandwagon, thus neutering its meaning. Right now the term suggests detuned PRS players doing power chords, growling, not very happy. In short, flava of the month.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 4:42 am

When I fist heard Nirvana I literally thanked god for bringing back rock and roll. I put them second behind the Beatles.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:49 pm

Wormdiet nails it.

Alternative rock was not the metal and blues rock you heard on some stations, not the mainstream pop you heard on other stations. It is easier to say "alt rock" than "post punk, post new wave".

philco · Post by **philco** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:59 am

Back to the Rammstein thing, I can't even find any agreement to how they should be labeled. Techno Goth Sex Metal, Dance Metal, Industrial Techno Metal, Techno Opera Metal, have been some of the descriptions. They have also described themselves as a bunch of David Copperfield-style idiots that put on a show with lots of theatrics and props. It's obvious they don't want to be tagged as just another one of the Heavy Metal groups and change their style a bit on each album to keep from going stale. They stay a bit sinister and heavy sounding without coming across too seriously. They said they belong to a genre of music where being extreme was more important than doing a particular thing. Maybe they are Alternative Metal since they don't want to be associated with past subgenres of metal.