Inside Rock Loud and outrageous, noxious to adults

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 26

Inside Rock Loud and outrageous, noxious to adults

By

SHARON LIVETEN

Metal and punk/ alternative fans consider their tastes polar opposites,, and they often come to blows. But the real question is what they are fighting about. The musical similarities between the two genres are overwhelming — both are loud, pointedly outrageous and noxious to adults. It was only a matter of time before smart musicians picked up on the common ground, combined the best aspects of both genres and exploited them. That time is now, and just in time to take advantage of metal music’s all-time popularity high. “Gothic-metal,” as the new style is dubbed, incorporates the gloom-and-angst arm of punk/ alternative — made popular by Gothic bands like Depeche Mode — with the volume-and-outlaw image of metal outfits like Anthrax. Not surprisingly, the melange is working. The four leading lights of '“Goth-metal” — The Cult, The Mission U.K., Balaam and the Angel and Zodiac Mindwarp — are all building a solid and devoted following. In doing so, the bands have managed the seemingly impossible; they have attracted a mixed audience of both alternative and metal fans. Still, the bands — all of which began as Gothic groups leaning toward punk — emphatically deny that their music is a calculated move designed

to lure the headbangihg crowd. “We’re just a rock band,” says singer Zodiac Mindwarp of his self-titled band. “Heavy metal started somewhere, in the mid ’7os. It used to be just rock ‘n’ roll. Then something happened; the imagination went out of it, and heavy metal came in. The originality turned into a formula. We’re just bringing a little imagination into the whole thing.” . The fact that hard-core punk and heavy metal have become dull and predictable is one reason Goth-metal achieved a cease-fire between the warring factions. “In theory,” says Harold DeMuir, editor of “Creem Metal” magazine, "metal is the coolest music. Because it has everything about rock ‘n’ roll, only magnified. But in practice, that has become neutered, and very commercial. The Gothic aspect of this music appeals to metal fans because it contains the same modicum of outrageousness, but it is different from what metal fans are used to. The difference in this music is what makes it attractive to more people.” That has been true for Balaam and the Angel. The original audience for the trio of brothers was almost entirely a Gothic crowd; a sea of black shrouds, mousse and dramatic, dark makeup. Today, however, Iron Maiden T-shirts and long hair are as just as commonplace at their con-

certs. And while Balaam singer Mark Morris admits that his band’s music has a harder edge now than in the past, he claims the change is due to growth, not greed. .» “We did change a bit,” he says. “On our first record (“The Greatest Story Told”) we tried to be too adventurous, and people didn’t know where we were coming from. So with this one (“Live Free or Die”), we have moved a little less quickly and tried to keep the music a little more accessible. What is attracting a lot of people is that we’re bringing something different to hard rock. At the same time we are keeping the Goth-rock fans. It is funny, because we never really thought we’d be appealing to the hardrock people.” Industry observers are amused by Goth-metal’s occupation of the musical DMZ and consider it a heartening compromise between the electronic wails of metal and the static depression of Gothic new wave. But naturally, band image is as important as sound. “You can’t discount the visual element of bands like Zodiac or the Mission U.K.,” says Dave DiMartino, Los Angeles bureau chief of ‘Billboard’ magazine. “There are some surface similarities in the look: long-haired guys in black clothes. Both styles are sort of a contest to see who can be the most outragebus.” ffos Angeles Times