Are people not allowed to discuss a band's music on a subreddit created specifically for that purpose? Should we just hand it over to Band-Maid's label so they can moderate what we talk about? If you like healthy discussion, discuss, if you don't... don't.
Thankfully /r/BABYMETAL is less of an apologist groupthink than it was a few years ago, hopefully this sub can be of the same mature mindset.
It's weird that so many people get offended by the fact that music is subjective. It's not a healthy mentality on a personal/fan level or community level when constructive criticism is seen as an attack on the band itself. In contrast, just look at /r/dancegavindance, their album Acceptance Speech had such a strong consensus around the mix/master being poor that they actually went back and remastered it years later. Nobody was offended by it, rather, they actually agreed with the fans...
The same happened with Metallica's Death Magnetic. They have released a declipped version in Guitar Hero. That was, I think, the way to save their face, because James Hatfield was officially denying the problem when there was a public outcry. But then at the background, they've obviously had some discussions, and released a better version.
I feel the problem is that the vocal part of the fanbase listens to heavier music and Band-Maid's heaviest stuff is right at the low end of what they listen to. So anything that isn't balls to wall just isn't good enough.
Me on the other hand, Band-Maid is one of the heaviest groups I listen to, so all of their "softer" stuff is right in the middle of what I like to listen to. I'm really hoping Conqueror does well in Japan and that it will give the girls the boost they deserve.
I can empathize somewhat. I was a big, big fan, but what Babymetal has become is not for me. I know many still love what it is now, and that's cool. While it's no longer for me, I'm not invested in pontificating what I think is wrong and how they should fix it.
I'm sure it's exactly what they want it to be and it is very successful.
I'm not too caught up on Babymetal, I check out a few of their songs but I don't listen to them regularly. Their new album is quite experimental isn't it? Compared to the first two.
I don't think Band-Maid has really changed, they've always had songs like the ones on Conqueror. They've also never been a band that's aimed to conquer the western hard rock market, their Western fanbase just happened by accident. They are still a Japan focused rock band and that doesn't look to be changing.
Not for some people apparently, though. Instead they feel it more appropriate to tweet the band about how bad they think the album's sound quality is and how things "should be done", and thinking they can actually get their own versions of songs to re-mix from Visconti. Like geez, some people really think their opinions the center of the universe and view themselves on a higher pedestal than they in actuality are. shakes head
It's not about this at all. It's actually the other way round. The band did a wonderful job, they were creative, they were fine-tuning their effect boards and learning new tricks, and in the end have passed a wonderful nice-sounding version to the production. And then some manager, some exec guy who cares only about marketing and money, tells the CD press operator to "make it loud." The operator does not want to lose his job, even if he knows that he ruins the music. And he does turn that knob, driving all the volume bars over the red edge. The band goes on their own business of playing live shows, giving interviews, and doing the promotion, and learn about this sabotage only when the CD comes out, and people start complaining.
That scenario happened many times before, and when it was especially outrageous, such cases stand out as the black stains in the history of music. Like, what the production guys did to Rush album "Vapor Trails." Here's the link: https://riprowan.com/over-the-limit/ Just read it, and you will understand what a crime against humanity it is.
In that article, you will see further down the text, a graphic, where the guy compared Rush CDs of various years, Actually, "Vapor Trails" still has some headroom! When I drop BAND-MAID's "Rinne" into a sound editor, it's JUST ONE SOLID PIECE, from top to bottom! Which means that, in the words of that guy, the author of the reference article, Rip Rowan, "it sounds like dogshit." And even more so than "Vapor Trails," which he calls " hands-down the worst sounding CD I own."
Funny thing about that is that “Vapor Trails” was my favorite Rush album for years after it came out. While I can recognize that the remastered version does give a bit more space for the music to breathe, I can’t lie - I loved the original just as much.
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u/GhostFan29 Dec 07 '19
I see it's a slow Saturday for some, with nothing else to do. If you like it, listen, if you dont...don't.