Quote Originally Posted by nik0tine View Post
The biggest obstacle to originality in genres of 'alternative pop' like metal is the emphasis on the 'scene'. Despite all of the talk, most metalheads, skinheads, punks, etc. that I know aren't really 'in it' for the music so much as they are 'in it' for a place to belong. Metal is more than just music; it's a culture and culture is poisonous to original ideas.

You don't really see many (if any) metal musicians who don't look like metal heads. It's almost like theater on the bands part (I don't know about England, but in America we even call them 'shows'). These guys dress the part and the second they break that mold they are branded 'sellouts' by a bunch of whiny teenagers who, nevertheless, are the main source of income for the musician.
Imagine if a band came on stage dressed in a plain button up shirt and slacks? Or a tshirt and sweatpants? The whole community would lose it. Many people wouldn't even listen to the music at all because they would be too busy hollering about how the band wasn't as XxHardxCorexX as they are. When a community doesn't even allow a band to dress how they want there is no way in hell they will allow them to write original music.

In short, most alternative pop cultures are full of conformists and showmen. The only solution I have for something like metal is for the musicians to completely abandon the community and disregard their fans. It might also be helpful to move away from the 'fretboard masturbation' mentality that is so prevalent among rock communities.
Certainly if you are to watch many more dramatic bands (Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, all the way back to Alice Cooper or KISS) there is a LARGE amount of showmanship and theater involved. That created a group following that certainly mimed their fashion and shunned others who didn't follow suit. Their style is "dinner and a show". They all have some good songs, other than KISS, and the theatrics are just part of their art.

I disagree that this mentality pervasive all genres. Especially when it comes progressive metal and experimental genres. The bands and the fans are much more concerned about the music than what anyone is wearing. It attracts so many different types of people that a common fashion or mentality just really isn't even considered.

I don't know why the rest of the band isn't there, but for example here is the lead guitarist for a group i enjoy, Animals as Leaders. That's his style of dress at every show I've seen him at. The other members dress however they feel, and all the fans dress how they feel. Mostly jeans and t-shirts honestly, but it doesn't really matter. Last time I had on khakis and a polo shirt, I think. Who cares?

Here's another example. It's Between the Buried and Me. These guys get very heavy, but no one has any "deathface" make-up on or anything. Once again, the fans are just regular people too. They do it for the love of creating the music.

A third sampling is Periphery. They all dress like average folks, and when I saw them so did I.

Honestly, if I showed up in a tux at one of these shows I'd get a lot of stares, but I don't think I'd be messed with. It would just be viewed as unusual. If I were to go one of the shows you linked in your post wearing what would be considered common dress for the time, I don't know if I would have been let in. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find there was a dress code, and my clothes were too casual. You don't think the shows you used as an example had a fan base with it's own group mentality or fashion laws? I do.

I dress in what's comfortable for any show I go to. Others do dress for fashion or to fit in, but I've never been made to feel unwelcome. So even then, I don't think it matters.

ALL forms of music create bands and fan bases that make their own weird rules. They want to belong to the music. It's human nature. There will always be the more rational group that simply comes to play or listen to the music. The music belongs to them.