September 11, 2011
For those of us who are old enough, we can still remember exactly where we were when 9/11/01 happened. For me, I was a senior in high school and I was sitting in my Latin Civilization class. Our teacher had just started ‘The Burning Season’, the film with Raul Julia. The opening credits hadn’t even finished when our principal came in and pulled out our teacher who, a minute later (at the most), came back in, stopped the movie and turned on the news channel where we saw WTC #1 in flames. Not five minutes later WTC #2 was hit. The person sitting next to me burst into tears as other students were frantically calling their family, friends, loved ones, whomever they could get a hold of. I can remember more details about that day than I can nearly any other day of my life. But what I remember was the sense of community that poured forth. Yes, we were different cultures, different races, different ethnicities and different genders. But that didn’t matter because we were Americans and we were going to stand together and unite against this horrific attack. For months, the question, "Where were you?" needed no explanation. For one of the first times ever, we were able to understand each other in a way that had never been felt before. And for one of the first times ever, we stood by each other, comforted each other, and helped each other out in ways that had never before been seen.Photo Courtesy So, by now, I’m certain that many of you readers are wondering why I’m even discussing this on BD Music. It is because of the camaraderie and sense of community that was once so strong that I am writing this. The vast majority of music that I write about on here is metal, or some variation thereof, and for years I’ve noticed the complete disconnect between us metal heads. I find myself constantly asking myself, "Why do us metal fans, who already face the scorn and condemnation of the vast majority of society, turn on each other?"Let me give you an example: Korn, Godsmack, Disturbed, and Five Finger Death Punch. To all of the metal "purists", these bands would not be called metal or even hard rock in any way, shape, or form. But why? Why the negativity? To be sure, they might not be as heavy as Cannibal Corpse or Meshuggah or Behemoth, but they’ve got the attitude and the want to bring heaviness to the masses. Every night they go up on stage they bring this urge with them, this need to show fans a way to connect the dots; that metal and positivity CAN be one. Now, let’s talk about bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Escape The Fate, Motionless In White, and Black Tide. Again, purists wouldn’t dare call these bands metal, but give me a reason why. If you don’t like their music, that’s fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But don’t go around saying, "These guys are all emo fags and their pussy music isn’t worth two shits." Instead, respect that they are trying to do what all other metal bands aim to do; put out what they believe is heavy music to inspire and open people up to new musical horizons. Be honest with yourself metal heads, did you really start listening to Opeth right off the bat? I’m sure that you had to go through a few years of finding the style of metal that suited you right, be it through AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, whatever. If you look at the audience of those "emo" bands, you’ll probably realize that they are mostly made up of younger teenagers. Take the opportunity to let these kids know what else is out there, that these bands are NOT the "end all be all" of music. Let them know about bands such as The Haunted, Within Temptation, and Dark Tranquillity. Get them listening to the Big Four. Turn them onto Black Sabbath, Dio, and Kiss. Teach them about Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Rush. Show them what an astonishing, beautiful, and powerful history we metal heads have come from. Photo CourtesyWhat we fail to understand, or perhaps know and just ignore, is that by attacking those who listen to metal genres that we don’t like, we only harm our own community. What good does it do to prove society right? Instead, we should be looking at each other, respecting everyone’s musical choices even if we don’t like them, and helping each other find new and exciting material. For all you know, that "emo fag", who you have been mocking and hating, knows of a song that will change your view of their music. It ends up being your own fault for denying yourself that experience. The biggest block in the path of metal heads and respect is the common misconception that metal music is all negative, violent, satanic, etc... To say that this is not true is not even scratching the surface of how ignorant that statement is. Metal has been shown time and again to be an effective method of catharsis. I personally listen to metal not to build up anger, but to release it. I listen to metal to wake up and get pumped up for the day. If the lyrics are satanic, so be it. For every metal band that writes satanic lyrics, there is another metal band that writes lyrics about change and positivity. Metal, just like horror, is not just what we enjoy but also a huge part of who we are. The music I listen to is a part of my identity, just as the movies I love are important to who I am and can help someone understand my character. I belong to the metal community and I have no shame or regrets about standing next to my metal brethren. However, I mourn our self-imposed segregation. So I end this by asking that we remember those feelings of community after 9/11 and try and bring them back. If you see someone wearing a t-shirt of a metal band that you don’t haven’t heard of, ask them what their favorite song of that band is and give it a serious shot. What’s the worst that could happen?
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April 25, 2008
Tonight some crazzzzzy news hit Yahoo!, something that I don't think any of us could have expected to hear or could have predicted - gore master Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) is aiming to make a big budget PG-13 horror film aimed at a more general audience! Before everyone jumps in and starts giving him sh-t for making a PG-13 horror film, let me be the first to say that I am fully behind this for two reasons. First, I think Eli is the type of guy who could make a good PG-13 horror film and second, it's nice to see a director avoiding the typecast. I'd like to see what else Roth has up his sleeve. What do you think? Read on for the story.
From Yahoo! Movies:
Eli Roth, the director of the relentlessly gruesome "Hostel" movies, is aiming for a family crowd with his next project.
Roth told reporters on Wednesday he is two weeks away from finishing a script for a science-fiction action film inspired by the mainstream hits "Cloverfield" and "Transformers."
"This will be my first big-budget, PG-13, mass-destruction movie," he said backstage at the music industry's NME Awards in Los Angeles. "I went total chaos and pandemonium."
He declined to detail the plot ahead of a "big announcement" next month.
Films rated PG-13 in the United States strongly caution parents that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. But they are easier to market than R-rated films, which require viewers under 17 to be accompanied by an adult.
"I feel like I pushed the violence in R movies about as far as I can push it. I feel like I'm bled out. I wanna switch it up," said the 36-year-old protege of Quentin Tarantino.
"Everyone I know has been saying 'When are you gonna do a movie my kids can see?' And finally, I'm gonna make a movie that 13-year-old kids can see."
Roth was in theaters last year with "Hostel: Part II," the latest in a string of films belonging to the so-called "torture porn" genre. As with its 2005 predecessor, it revolved around hapless backpackers who are killed for sport by paying customers in Slovakia.
In the sequel, the tables are turned and one of the customers is castrated by his female victim. Critics were appalled and audiences did not exactly rush to see it. Still, it was profitable even before its DVD release, Roth said.
While the "Hostel" films and Roth's equally violent 2002 feature debut "Cabin Fever" were set up at independent studio Lionsgate, he said he would shop the new project to "the big guns."
Roth said his latest project meant he is not turning his back on violent movies and he expected to fulfill the needs of his bloodthirsty fans by shooting some gratuitous violence to include on an unrated version of the DVD.
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April 15, 2009
One of the faces of horror, Eli Roth, has been pretty quiet lately as he's been off in Berlin filming his scenes for Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. Now that he's back in the saddle again, the director of Cabin Fever and the Hostel films has finally reveals his plans for the forthcoming year. They include an untitled big-budgeted monster movie and "the sickest, bloodiest, most violent slasher movie," which is the feature-length version of his Thanksgiving faux trailer from Grindhouse. Read on for the skinny.
"I'm almost done with my new script," Roth told MTV. "I was actually almost done with it before `Basterds,' but I had to put it down, and that was actually a good thing I took time away from it, but I'm going to finish that up and start shooting this fall."
Roth continued to shroud the film in secrecy and the way he's talking makes me think this isn't Cotton he's referring to. "I don't want to give away the title yet, because I have to make sure I own it 100%, but it's going to be something that is really fun with lots of mass destruction," he said. "I wanted to do something along the lines of `Transformers' or `Cloverfield' that was a little more science fiction-based, and with lots of chaos and mass destruction."
"I don't want to say what [the monster is] yet," Roth teases to MTV. "Once it gets set up, I will let everyone know. It is not aliens or robots or a virus - it's a little more grounded. But when people hear it they are going to be like `That is going to be insane!'."
The big news that was revealed in the interview is that Roth plans to use leftover money from the shoot to finally bring us a feature-length version of THANKSGIVING, the faux trailer used in the GRINDHOUSE film from 2007.
"The plan is this: I want to do a huge budget movie, but tack on three weeks to the end of it and shoot `Thanksgiving'," he revealed. "I want to do an $80 million dollar movie, and then schedule three weeks at the end to quickly shoot a $5 million dollar movie."
Roth said that after he shoots his untitled sci-fi blockbuster, he'll get back to his roots by filming "the sickest, bloodiest, most violent slasher movie," he said of the "Thanksgiving" flick inspired by the holiday-themed horror classics of the `80s. "I want to make the highest body count slasher film I can."
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