So it’s a big day over at the Metropolis Records camp as three releases hit the streets. Man, it almost seems inconceivable how many albums the Metro crew has put out this year.
[:SITD:], which stands for “Shadows In The Dark” in case you weren’t aware, present Rot – or, Red, in English. It’s a pretty aggressive album with plenty of club floorbangers including some nods to the classic big beat of Prodigy. The lyrics are all silly as hell and the music isn’t at all inventive, just derivative. But if you like hard club fare this is going to be a hot album for you. The production is excellent and the execution is actually well done. It may not offer up anything new but it sounds fantastic.
Just a month or so ago Rotersand put out the digital only War On Error EP as a prelude to the new album Random Is Resistance. And just as with [:SITD:] the music sounded fantastic while the ultra dumb lyrics made me cringe. If you’re a big Rotersand fan you’re not going to care however as this is a big new album chock full of catchy stompers. They even try to go all Pink Floyd again with the marginally thoughtful acoustic number “We Will Kill Them All,” replete with bombing sound effects and machine gun fire. Rotersand are a class act so you’ll probably want to check this out. And don’t miss their live show when they come to your town.
Aaand finally, the VAC is back. Bryan Erickson’s Velvet Acid Christ has about as many fans as detractors but he’s been a scene mainstay forever and still gets plenty of play in the club. He’s trying out some new tricks with The Art Of Breaking Apart, including acoustic guitar strumming and clean vocals. That isn’t to say he’s completely abandoned his old style and even acknowledges that with “Phucked Up Phreak” which revisits a classic track from Calling Ov The Dead. It will be interesting to see how this release is received by fans.
Hope you’ve been stashing away a little cash because this week could seriously make a dent in your food budget.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:30 am
So it appears Metropolis likes to release lots of clubfloorstompbanger albums. Yet to get the full experience from such music, I have to go to a club and listen to someone else’s copy of the album, and I may not even spend a cent while I’m there! Does most of the profit on these albums come from the clubs paying a license to play the songs in public, or regular non-DJ music fans buying the CDs for private home use?
October 27th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I wouldn’t necessarily agree that “to get the full effect” you need to go to the club. Though, if your home stereo or car stereo are pretty lean without the added benefit of surround sound, subwoofers, etc. than you probably wouldn’t get as much pleasure out of a bass-heavy electronic album. I do just fine, though my neighbors might protest.
Clubs/DJs don’t pay fees for playing music. Quite the contrary. Most labels recognize the promotional capacity of club play and typically form alliances with DJs, sending them copies of the hottest tracks. There have certainly been a few instances where I’ve felt compelled to rush the DJ stage and find out what he or she just played. They typically feild those types of questions quite often.
A band’s profits come from CD sales and merch sales.
Oh, and club bartenders don’t make a damn thing unless you patronize their wares. So try spending a cent or two at the club next time you’re there.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:45 am
Agreed with what Christopher said…
However, all clubs pay dues to Ascap and BMI, simply for the right to play music in a public venue. This is kind of a problem as the fees are quite high, and most musicians never actually see a check from either of those outfits. Many industrial (etc.) artists aren’t even covered by those agreements.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:53 am
…as far as getting the proper effect for hearing the music at a club.
Much of the “club stompers” actually sounds like garbage in many clubs, simply because some clubs don’t have enough subs (or possibly poor choice in eq).
October 28th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Thanks for the responses. I live in an apartment and I don’t have a car, so I guess it’s less intuitive to me that music doesn’t have to be in a club to be extremely loud and stompy. I take it that describing the music in terms of club appeal is merely conventional and not meant too literally.
The economics of clubbing seem pretty messed up, in my opinion. What do bartenders do to deserve my money? I can drink the exact same beer at home for about a third of the cost! I probably would pay to go to industrial clubs if it was more relevant to supporting the music.