In Defense of Heavy Metal and Crowdfunding: Again We Bang Our Heads in Disagreement

Metal heads are a fickle lot. If there’s one thing we all know how to do well it is voice our opinions loudly in the hope that everyone around us will bend to our indomitable will. Whether we’re arguing the finer points of King Diamond’s “Abigail” versus “Them” or who can spew the most facts about how many band members a group had (reciting their names verbatim in chronological order). As newer trends rise within music and in the technological world around us, more arguments from within the scene rear their ugly ten-horned, seven heads like some monstrous dragon from a fantasy novel about a resurrected dead guy and whores. Lots and lots of whores... Anyhoo, crowdfunding is our latest pariah and boy are there a lot of strong opinions…and whores!

Let’s start off with what crowdfunding actually is for those who have heard the term, said it was stupid, then wandered away and listened to their bootlegged digital copy of Old Funeral. According to Wikipedia (it never lies…NEVER) it is “…is the collection of finance from backers—the ‘crowd’—to fund an initiative and usually occurs on Internet platforms.” So basically you ask for money from friends, family, and strangers with the hope that a certain monetary goal is reached in order to record, master, print, and distribute music. Some bands utilize crowdfunding for other purposes such as paying for a new tour van…

Or help finance tours which they otherwise could not have afforded.

What makes asking for cash through websites like Indiegogo or Kickstarter stick in people’s craws and make their stainless steel undergarments chafe? Is it because the platforms are gaining popularity and make the discussion between investor and investee impersonal? Perhaps these platforms have become intermediaries in an arena where do-it-yourself (DIY) truly meant cutting that third party out? Why is it that now, when the technology is there, in place, and proven successful are Hessians being such sticklers about asking for money? Even though online crowdfunding sources charge a percentage of what is raised, is it really that much different from asking your friends, family, strangers, or maybe even applying for a bank loan to help you out? Did you notice this entire paragraph is made up entirely of questions? Cool, huh?

Like a public corporation, a potential downside for the lazy musician in all of us is that crowdfunding holds a band responsible for releasing a product on time in order to satisfy its investors. Because that’s what the people who are contributing to your art are and they want to see a return on that investment. Not necessarily monetary but a finished product would be nice. Now that may sound intimidating to many musicians out there. Deadlines can be scary and goals…holy hell, goals are the worst! What successful artist ever made goals and stuck to them?

Believe it or not, there are a lot of bands who aren’t on labels or have mass distribution. Most labels nowadays do not support their roster as they did back before the Interwebs so artists have to be flexible and adjust with the times (unlike the record companies). With the increase in DIY recording and being able to make an album sound professional from the comforts of home, recording costs have been halved or taken out of the equation almost entirely. The real costs come with album art and design, what kind of media the music is printed on (vinyl, cd, etc…), distribution, and promotion.

Los Angeles-based Cobra Venom is one of many examples of a DIY band with no label support who exceeded their modest financial goals (twice) using crowdfunding. They released two projects and delivered what they promised to their fans. Black/Thrash band Vrawsche exceeded their goal as well, released an album, and even donated a portion of the additional funds back into their community. Why are these success stories horrific to Hessian purists? Is crowdfunding another version of “selling out” to Luddite metal heads? These bands made it clear to anybody who contributed money to their projects what they would receive based on donation level. Nothing else. Nada. This isn’t some Washington D.C. fundraiser where the rich press hands with other rich people and garner favors and back door deals. It’s about supporting music, not egos.

Like any other investment opportunity in the real world, crowdfunding can be risky and there are a few bad apples. If you donate $10 to a campaign, were guaranteed a copy of the music, and the band doesn’t deliver, you’re out $10. It will piss you off and you’ll stew and curse and wish you could have spent that $10 on a twelver of Natty Light or something equally exotic. But the cost to the band is greater. Pissing off your entire fan base and cheating them out of money is not exactly the best way to keep your musical project going (see Blake Judd).

In the end though, it’s really about the fans of the music. We constantly hear the battle cry of “support your scene” and “support this band” but when it comes to actually opening up wallets and putting money where our mouths are, the Bitch Fest Bonanza™ erupts. Crowdfunding is not a demonic technology used to pilfer your hard-earned money and funnel into a black hole of lost artistic integrity. You are getting new music or seeing a tour that you helped finance. You helped contribute to a successful project and have helped a band you enjoy listening to achieve success. Some call it begging, some call it charity, but what if…hear me out…what if crowdfunding is actually investing in the future of a band no matter if they are DIY or Obituary? Imagine that. Supporting your favorite bands directly instead of indirectly. What a concept.

In the Works: Fratricide Demo

There once were two metalheads who met by chance in the military. Both were into death and black metal and both were relieved that there were other "heads" in the Army. Being surrounded by constant barrages of rap, hip-hop, r&b, country music, and shitty alternative rock, it's a wonder that neither of these two individuals committed "fratricide" on their fellow soldiers during this time period.

Fratricide is the black metal brainchild of Rob Gaines (aka Hellfire Helviti) and moi (Coaxial "Coax" Helviti). In all actuality, it was Rob's idea. His experience ranged from great vocal prowess in several Ohio death metal groups as well as some good guitar abilities. He knew I played guitar and approached me one evening about starting a black metal "group." Starting any kind of band while serving in the military is virtually impossible so our "group" pretty much consisted of he and I. It was his idea to create this fantastic militaristic image of black SWAT fatigues complete with name tapes of the group and our respective stage names. But his most original idea was changing the traditional corpse paint of standard black metal fair to black and green. Those who know me have already seen these pictures and I will post them up later.

So we had a name and look, all we needed was music! I lived in a very small barracks room designed for one person. Space was limited but that didn't stop me from plugging in the guitar and wailing for days, trying to come up with Fratricide's sound. Rob came over anxious to see if I had come up with anything. At the time he didn't have a guitar rig so I was pretty much the primary music writer. I played him some riffs along with a drum machine I had. He immediately sat down and started writing lyrics. This was Rob's talent. Not only does this guy have a powerful set of vox on him, but he's an extremely talented lyric writer. What he produced was Bastards of the Battlefield. To this day I think this song has some of the most evil and powerful lyrics I have every seen or heard. I may be slightly biased though, but these lyrics are fucking brutal.

Rob and I were couped up in my barracks room for a couple of nights arranging the music for Bastards of the Battlefield. From searching the still fledgling Internet for sound clips to setting up the drum machine, bass, guitars, and vox to patch through my sad little 4-track recorder. We recorded several versions of Bastards... and finally settled with the one you can hear on our MySpace profile (visit http://www.myspace.com/fratricidemetal). During this time period, Rob and I also wrote two other dynamic songs called Prayers for an Apocalypse and Attention to Orders which we sat down and painstakingly wrote out.

But then the bad news came, Rob was leaving the Army and moving back to Ohio. It seemed as if what was destined to be the ultimate kvlt black metal would just fade back into the night. But he and I kept in touch and I continued to write. A song called Schwerpunkt was developed but the recording didn't turn out that well and frankly, it was a disorganized disaster. This was my first time writing Fratricide material without the other half of Fratricide! I still sent it on to Rob who then proceeded to write lyrics for it.

After wallowing in several cases of beer, I decided to jump back on the horse after several months. Inspiration hit after a visit to a Chinese restaurant. I opened a fortune cookie and the title of a song was staring me in the face, "No One Conquers Who Doesn't Fight". To me, that sounded war like and I'm guessing the actual fortune can be interpreted in several ways. I took it as "You will never conquer anything unless you actively stand up and fight." It affected me on numerous levels. On my way home, riff ideas were rushing through my head and that night I created the actual song No One Conquers Who Doesn't Fight. This was the song that made up for the travesty of Schwerpunkt and also reignited the Fratricide fire. After recording, I forwarded it on to Rob for lyrics.

Fast forward 8 years later (give or take a few months). I've kept Fratricide's spirit alive in various forms. From comedy, to small demos of our 4-track recordings, to websites. Rob and I are communicating once again after a long hiatus and we have decided to pursue and finish what we started so long ago.

Already he is practicing with session musicians in Ohio and I am building my strength back up on guitar. He has a recording studio, photo shoot, and all manner of things set-up. I've seen video of a practice session of Rob and the session drummer, Kellum (I believe that's his name) rocking out to Prayers for an Apocalypse and it sent chills down my spine. It looks like Rob has pulled together some extremely professional musicians and that's refreshing. Out of everything that's coming up with this demo, that's what I worry about the most. I'm hoping I can even keep with their caliber of expertise. We still haven't set a recording date but I hope it's soon.