"But It Sounds Like _______."

        One of the things I am most put off by the scenes of music I follow are the following phrases, "I like okay, but it's not as good as [insert groundbreaking band here]," and "I like their old stuff better." It's like tying the hands of artists and holding them hostage. Furthermore, I think it's limiting to your own experience as a music listener. It puts up a wall preventing the people who utter the above phrases from finding other music that, while not groundbreaking, is still mind-blowing and enjoyable. 

        "I like it okay, but it's not as good as [insert groundbreaking band here]." It's like saying "I like Bolt Thrower okay, but it's not as good as Slayer." Sure, Slayer and the other bands in the Big Four changed the face of Thrash Metal, but it doesn't take away that Bolt Thrower right some utterly amazing songs with some truly incredible riffs. "I like Sleep okay, but their riffs are basically Sabbath." Again, I will concede that Black Sabbath was a foundational band in the world of metal, and more specifically, Doom Metal. That doesn't mean that Sleep doesn't have something truly exceptional to offer the listener, something that further what Doom Metal means as a genre. It does mean that the folks in Sleep were fans of Black Sabbath and were inspired and occasionally offer up homage, but that's it. Sub-genres have been embraced by the metal community because there is a difference between homage and mimicking an artist, and that difference is hugely important. 

        "I like their old stuff better," is the equivalent of calling art interesting. I can concede that not all risks taken by an artist, and not all new albums by artists are great. But there are plenty of albums offered up by favorite bands everywhere that don't get the love they deserve because the artists have grown and their music has grown with them. Magma by Gojira is one of them. It was a pretty large change in their sound but the foundation of the band, the Duplantier brothers, had recently lost their mother to an illness. They used the music on this album to heal and cope with this loss and created an album that beautifully embodied this pain. 

        The inability to embrace that people change and, in turn, their music, will only hinder a scene in the long term. It turns great bands into watered-down Slayers, a band who's largely spent their career recreating the same (albeit excellent) albums to placate their fan base. This will create complacency and boredom. If left untreated, it could kill a scene. I challenge the people to set aside the preconceived notions and the fear of the unknown and celebrate people for growing as individuals and letting their music grow with them. Your favorite albums aren't going anywhere, listen to them when you're feeling nostalgic.