Are rocker's too strict on their fav bands(+rant)?

I was just thinking, that alot of people act like the bands they listen to owe them something and complain if they want to try something new.





I'm not sure, people claim Metallica for example sold out and neglected their die hard fans, but thing is, if a band wants to experiment, even if you don't like it, you should still support them right? If you're an actual die hard Metallica fan, you wouldn't act like they're idiots or evil just because they made St Anger for example, and wouldn't complain about them doing it just because they wanted to try something new.





Just because they want to step outside the box we claim right off that they sold out?





And, here's the paradox, I'm using AC/DC as the example this time..they've never ';experimented'; but a lot of their fans still lashed out at them in the 80's when they came out with Flick of the Switch, claiming that they released the same album for the millionth time. This isn't the first time or first band this has happened to.





Are fans ever happy? A band cant experiment and stay fresh without claims of selling out, but on the other hand they can't stay the same because then people will claim they keep coming out with the same album.





Are we too strict on the bands we like? Are rocker's too strict on their fav bands(+rant)?
I think this issue stems from a lot of folks just using the term ';sell-out'; for any band that doesn't play what they like anymore or any band that changes it's style. Truly, a band hasn't really ';sold-out'; unless they are doing just whatever it takes to sell albums and make money ... hence where the term ';sell-out'; comes from. In fact, when most bands receive the criticism that they have ';sold-out';, they have actually done just the opposite - made music that is different from the sound that they originally got popular for and could continue to safely make them more money.





There's also nothing wrong with saying that your favorite artist made a bad album or that you don't like their latest release. Bands make good albums. Bands make bad albums. Some bands make horrible albums. It is, in the end, all a matter of opinion anyway.





In regards to the two bands you mentioned ...





St. Anger was not necessarily a bad album, but it was significantly different from the majority of Metallica's previous catalog and it should have come to no surprise to the band that they were taking a risk by making music that was so different from what their fans had come to expect of them. To answer your question: are fans ever happy? I would say yes, I know plenty of folks who have welcomed Metallica back into their CD players because of Death Magnetic, because it draws upon many of the elements of their earlier writing that Metallica fans so want and cherish.





And as far as I can tell, AC/DC basically HAS re-released the same album for the umpteenth time. Yes their songs are fun, but they basically all have the same 4-4 back-beat and are constructed and thus sound relatively the same using the same chords and rhythms repeatedly. Most people while they want to hear something familiar in an artists work, also don't want the same music and lyrics regurgitated to them on every album. I know people who have made the same argument about Dragonforce. Everything they put out since their first albums sounds exactly the same only with the part rearranged.





It is somewhat of a fine line that musicians have to walk to sell-records, stick true to the music they want to create and also not become a ';sell-out.'; However fan will always have a right to speak their minds one what they think of an artists material. You can love an artist's collective works, really enjoy seeing them live, and still think they are great musicians, even of they have put our one or two or a few albums that you think were really awful.Are rocker's too strict on their fav bands(+rant)?
I like to think that I give them all a fair shake. If I have the money I buy my favorite bands music. I pass on reissues and compilations and the DVDs are optional. I have often found that after a few years of sitting on the shelf not getting played, I discover something that I like about it. This means music is like a fine wine aged until it is best.
Yes we are I Like Both Of those Bands a lot. Ac/Dc Because of their consistency and Metallica Because They Experiment.
My friend, that is a great question. As a fellow metal head I think I can say yes we do. For example, a band that calls themselves a ';death metal'; band is strictly limited to that categorization and fan base of music. They cannot write anything about love, religion, government, basically anything that has nothing to do with death, they can't write about without being called ';sellouts.';


Another great example, Metallica. They have changed their sound and song structure so much in the past 15 years, its . Listen to the massive difference between Master of Puppets and ReLoad. Bands have to MATURE as musicians. I think that is the key thing. I have not heard of one legendary band that has not done something to their sound and song structure as they grow older as musicians. Many people called the Black Album a sellout by Metallica. Well yea, they sold out EVERY venue they played from their on out. So yea I think that a lot of folks are too rough and strict on bands and a lot of fans don't give their favorite bands room to grow and mature as musicians.


This is just my 02. cents though.


Cheers!
Probably. But at the end of the day, we're entitled to our opinions %26amp; when you've given a band your money... of course you'd want to rant if the album sucked.





Edit - I agree that constructive criticism is the best way to review an album. But no way... rock is not dying at all. You seriously don't believe that? There's been tonnes of great album releases this year.





- I think lower sales of albums can be explained with more people choosing to download the music from the net.