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On the Superiority of Early Recordings
by Noctir (Dec. 2010)
In many creative fields, it is often true that the artist's earliest works are usually the best; the ones most worth remembering and those that really set the standard by which the artist would always be compared. In general, this is also accurate when it comes to music. Regardless of genre or sub-genre, early material is usually considered to be the best, or the most pure and meaningful. For bands that quickly disappear after a couple of albums, such a matter is not cause for concern. However, those that endure for many years or decades must face the irrefutable fact that the quality of their music is quite likely to deteriorate, at least in the eyes of their fans. The changes that a band goes through can be caused by many factors: time constraints and label pressure, outside influences, a changing musical landscape, larger budgets or perfectionism, stagnation or development of musicians, age, and so forth.
While not always true, most metal bands are not given recording contracts within a few weeks or months of forming. They go through a lengthy process of finding the right members and deciding upon a creative direction, gradually honing their craft. They rehearse as much as possible, motivated only by the dream of making a single album. They record demo tapes and put a great deal of effort into their first songs. Through rehearsals and playing live, they work on the songs, revising them and getting everything just right as they go along. At this stage, they struggle to get noticed by fans and labels, hoping to secure a deal and release a proper album. This is not primarily for fame or glory, but simply to make a record of their own and contribute something. In many cases, bands have not thought far beyond making that one album, so they pour all their energy into it. During this phase of a band's existence, the primary focus is on creating. If the band happens to attain even a small level of success, things transform rapidly.
Once signed to a label, inevitably things become different. How much they change depends largely on the size of the label. Within the underground scene, this is more negligible. However, for bands signed to larger labels, a variety of new forces begin acting upon them. They may be told directly to alter their sound in one way or another to appeal to a broader audience and reach a higher level of success. This decision can also come from within the band. To use well-known examples, consider Slayer and Metallica. After signing with Rick Rubin, Slayer was advised to remove reverb and trim songs down, thus oversimplifying them and sacrificing a great deal of atmosphere to gain a larger following. The masses prefer music that is easily digested and requires little attention or thought. A similar thing happened to Metallica, when Bob Rock was brought in to produce their self-titled album. Rather than following their inner creativity and passion, they listened to a big-time producer aiming for radio hits and succeeded in transforming the band into a stadium rock act. Credibility was traded for mass acceptance.
One must also consider time. Early in their career, a band creates songs at their own pace, with months or even years to get them exactly as they want. After signing a contract, they begin releasing albums each year or every other year. Strangely, early on the band has more time to create but less time to record. Once signed, they have a larger budget and more studio time, but less time to perfect songs before entering the studio. The result is that much of the album is written during recording, with experimentation using new technology. Most musicians prefer to play with such toys whenever possible. Another factor is touring. Sometimes, a record must be rushed to take advantage of a touring opportunity, which often results in a drop in quality.
Look at Testament, for example. The songs that made it to The Legacy had been worked on for several years and had ample time to be perfected. This yielded arguably the best album of their career. However, once they began releasing albums yearly, their work became watered-down and more generic. After a couple of lackluster records, they improved somewhat with Souls of Black, but it still lacked the passion and intensity of their first album. Later, they tried to follow in Metallica’s footsteps with The Ritual. In the end, they succeeded only in alienating their fan base.
This brings up another point. Once a band gets even a slight taste of mainstream success, they often abandon creativity to cash in. This can be a response to similar bands becoming big or to their own success; for example, they get radio play for one song and then attempt to repeat it. After Metallica’s 1991 self-titled album, many thrash bands tried to jump on the bandwagon, slowing down and making simpler music. If these efforts gained any notice, it usually spelled doom for the band’s sincerity. Dave Mustaine admitted to altering his songwriting in hopes of creating radio hits. The spirit of metal was consumed by his own greed. The problem with metal bands trying to be pop stars is that it rarely works. Pop music is not art but rather a corporate imitation of art. Professional songwriters exploit popular culture and know how to craft simplistic, catchy garbage easily digested by the masses. Record companies find performers, often assembling groups solely for this purpose. Metal was never meant to be for everyone. When metal bands try to sell out, they usually fall flat, alienating fans and being ignored by the mainstream.
Another factor is outside influences of a different kind. This can mean bands incorporating elements of more popular or trendy music, or making changes to “keep up” with others within their sub-genre.
An example of the former is Anthrax and Slayer. In the mid-to-late 1990s, each band transformed into something unlike what they had started as. Anthrax added elements of alternative rock on Sound of White Noise, then tried to emulate Pantera in the years that followed. Slayer took influence from the then-trendy "nu-metal" scene, mixing bouncy groove-laden riffs with more typical Slayer riffs. In both cases, the end result was laughable and disgusting.
As an example of the latter, consider the deterioration of the death metal scene in the 1990s. Many bands tried to outdo one another in being more “sick” and “brutal,” playing as fast as possible with deeper vocals and random time changes, losing the atmosphere of the originators. Not long after, many black metal bands jumped on the symphonic bandwagon (as well as industrial or experimental) to keep up with the times. Once something becomes popular, it seems everyone has to join in. Losing sight of creativity and making decisions based on what others do usually harms the music. Occasionally, it motivates a band to tighten their sound and improve, especially early on. More often, though, bands end up joining one herd or another.
As the years go by, most musicians become more proficient with their instruments, songwriting, and the recording process. Early on, they may have been learning on the job. Later, they might look down on their earlier work and view it as flawed and imperfect. Artists approach this in two ways. Some find their original style limiting and boring and seek to add new dimensions in the name of artistic progression or musical evolution. Whether to show off new skills or expand boundaries, the result is similar. Others choose to stick to their roots but attempt to perfect their sound. Using modern production and more proficient skills, they maintain the same style while striving for the ultimate expression of their vision. Unfortunately, modern recording techniques always fall short in atmosphere and character compared to primitive, old-school methods. Even when trying to remain true, such bands often come off as pale shadows of their former selves, producing stale and rehashed music with no overall advancement. In a sense, musicians are damned either way.
Of course, age also plays a role. Even if musicians maintain their traditional style without modern excess, the fires of creativity fade with time. Passion and energy give way to an emptiness that cannot be avoided. Eventually, bands lose the ability to make worthwhile music. For some, this takes ten or twenty years; for others, two or three. Nothing lasts forever. A band or any artist will eventually fail to live up to past accomplishments.
Many dismiss this as an elitist attitude, assuming that no one genuinely prefers a band's old albums and that those who do are only trying to impress others. People who recognize this are thought to be contrarians. However, there may be a reason for this misunderstanding. Often, a band does not reach significant popularity until their third or fourth album, when their audience grows and casual fans take notice. Naturally, these newer fans prefer the material that attracted them, unlike those who were present from the beginning. Still, one need not have been there from the start to realize that old material is typically superior. It is not about seeming “cool” by rejecting popular albums and embracing lesser-known ones; it is about recognizing the energy, creativity, and passion that exist in the early stages of a band's existence, as shown in demos and early albums, and understanding that this is often lost over time.
In the end, there is no right or wrong. It all comes down to personal opinion, and this is mine.
While not always true, most metal bands are not given recording contracts within a few weeks or months of forming. They go through a lengthy process of finding the right members and deciding upon a creative direction, gradually honing their craft. They rehearse as much as possible, motivated only by the dream of making a single album. They record demo tapes and put a great deal of effort into their first songs. Through rehearsals and playing live, they work on the songs, revising them and getting everything just right as they go along. At this stage, they struggle to get noticed by fans and labels, hoping to secure a deal and release a proper album. This is not primarily for fame or glory, but simply to make a record of their own and contribute something. In many cases, bands have not thought far beyond making that one album, so they pour all their energy into it. During this phase of a band's existence, the primary focus is on creating. If the band happens to attain even a small level of success, things transform rapidly.
Once signed to a label, inevitably things become different. How much they change depends largely on the size of the label. Within the underground scene, this is more negligible. However, for bands signed to larger labels, a variety of new forces begin acting upon them. They may be told directly to alter their sound in one way or another to appeal to a broader audience and reach a higher level of success. This decision can also come from within the band. To use well-known examples, consider Slayer and Metallica. After signing with Rick Rubin, Slayer was advised to remove reverb and trim songs down, thus oversimplifying them and sacrificing a great deal of atmosphere to gain a larger following. The masses prefer music that is easily digested and requires little attention or thought. A similar thing happened to Metallica, when Bob Rock was brought in to produce their self-titled album. Rather than following their inner creativity and passion, they listened to a big-time producer aiming for radio hits and succeeded in transforming the band into a stadium rock act. Credibility was traded for mass acceptance.
One must also consider time. Early in their career, a band creates songs at their own pace, with months or even years to get them exactly as they want. After signing a contract, they begin releasing albums each year or every other year. Strangely, early on the band has more time to create but less time to record. Once signed, they have a larger budget and more studio time, but less time to perfect songs before entering the studio. The result is that much of the album is written during recording, with experimentation using new technology. Most musicians prefer to play with such toys whenever possible. Another factor is touring. Sometimes, a record must be rushed to take advantage of a touring opportunity, which often results in a drop in quality.
Look at Testament, for example. The songs that made it to The Legacy had been worked on for several years and had ample time to be perfected. This yielded arguably the best album of their career. However, once they began releasing albums yearly, their work became watered-down and more generic. After a couple of lackluster records, they improved somewhat with Souls of Black, but it still lacked the passion and intensity of their first album. Later, they tried to follow in Metallica’s footsteps with The Ritual. In the end, they succeeded only in alienating their fan base.
This brings up another point. Once a band gets even a slight taste of mainstream success, they often abandon creativity to cash in. This can be a response to similar bands becoming big or to their own success; for example, they get radio play for one song and then attempt to repeat it. After Metallica’s 1991 self-titled album, many thrash bands tried to jump on the bandwagon, slowing down and making simpler music. If these efforts gained any notice, it usually spelled doom for the band’s sincerity. Dave Mustaine admitted to altering his songwriting in hopes of creating radio hits. The spirit of metal was consumed by his own greed. The problem with metal bands trying to be pop stars is that it rarely works. Pop music is not art but rather a corporate imitation of art. Professional songwriters exploit popular culture and know how to craft simplistic, catchy garbage easily digested by the masses. Record companies find performers, often assembling groups solely for this purpose. Metal was never meant to be for everyone. When metal bands try to sell out, they usually fall flat, alienating fans and being ignored by the mainstream.
Another factor is outside influences of a different kind. This can mean bands incorporating elements of more popular or trendy music, or making changes to “keep up” with others within their sub-genre.
An example of the former is Anthrax and Slayer. In the mid-to-late 1990s, each band transformed into something unlike what they had started as. Anthrax added elements of alternative rock on Sound of White Noise, then tried to emulate Pantera in the years that followed. Slayer took influence from the then-trendy "nu-metal" scene, mixing bouncy groove-laden riffs with more typical Slayer riffs. In both cases, the end result was laughable and disgusting.
As an example of the latter, consider the deterioration of the death metal scene in the 1990s. Many bands tried to outdo one another in being more “sick” and “brutal,” playing as fast as possible with deeper vocals and random time changes, losing the atmosphere of the originators. Not long after, many black metal bands jumped on the symphonic bandwagon (as well as industrial or experimental) to keep up with the times. Once something becomes popular, it seems everyone has to join in. Losing sight of creativity and making decisions based on what others do usually harms the music. Occasionally, it motivates a band to tighten their sound and improve, especially early on. More often, though, bands end up joining one herd or another.
As the years go by, most musicians become more proficient with their instruments, songwriting, and the recording process. Early on, they may have been learning on the job. Later, they might look down on their earlier work and view it as flawed and imperfect. Artists approach this in two ways. Some find their original style limiting and boring and seek to add new dimensions in the name of artistic progression or musical evolution. Whether to show off new skills or expand boundaries, the result is similar. Others choose to stick to their roots but attempt to perfect their sound. Using modern production and more proficient skills, they maintain the same style while striving for the ultimate expression of their vision. Unfortunately, modern recording techniques always fall short in atmosphere and character compared to primitive, old-school methods. Even when trying to remain true, such bands often come off as pale shadows of their former selves, producing stale and rehashed music with no overall advancement. In a sense, musicians are damned either way.
Of course, age also plays a role. Even if musicians maintain their traditional style without modern excess, the fires of creativity fade with time. Passion and energy give way to an emptiness that cannot be avoided. Eventually, bands lose the ability to make worthwhile music. For some, this takes ten or twenty years; for others, two or three. Nothing lasts forever. A band or any artist will eventually fail to live up to past accomplishments.
Many dismiss this as an elitist attitude, assuming that no one genuinely prefers a band's old albums and that those who do are only trying to impress others. People who recognize this are thought to be contrarians. However, there may be a reason for this misunderstanding. Often, a band does not reach significant popularity until their third or fourth album, when their audience grows and casual fans take notice. Naturally, these newer fans prefer the material that attracted them, unlike those who were present from the beginning. Still, one need not have been there from the start to realize that old material is typically superior. It is not about seeming “cool” by rejecting popular albums and embracing lesser-known ones; it is about recognizing the energy, creativity, and passion that exist in the early stages of a band's existence, as shown in demos and early albums, and understanding that this is often lost over time.
In the end, there is no right or wrong. It all comes down to personal opinion, and this is mine.
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