Abandon All Ships vs Norma Jean

by marten

category: compare-contrast

I am a little concerned for the teens of America. They might grow up thinking that THIS is metal.

Terrible, terrible song. They mix, like, "deathcore" with dance beats and synths, with auto-tuned vocals. I really hate that part at 1:23 where they simultaneously whip their hair back and forth. Actually, this video is a lot like Willow Smith's - you know, with the constantly annoying shaky cameras? And the hair-whipping?

God, I have so many questions. Why do they sometimes use auto-tune? (Why would a hardcore band ever use that?) Do they think that, like, PANIC! AT THE DISCO was a great band? Do they idolize 3OH!3 and BROKENCYDE?

What would happen if they only played the heavy parts? I mean, they'd sound like a generic metalcore band, which would be fine. But instead, they wondered, "How can we make this the poppiest metal ever?" I can't believe someone at Universal Music Canada thinks this is what metal should sound like.

What do these guys stand for? If you think it's anything beyond "appealing to MySpace kids", you're an idiot. And you're reading way too much into them. They have a song called "Bro My God". Ugh, I hate how this video is so obviously geared towards some teenage boy fantasy. Sooo many gratuitous cleavage/crotch shots too - they're extra-noticeable because those shots are the only ones where the camera doesn't shake. And it's, like, all these tattooed cheerleaders/nurses? Ugh, this is the absolute worst aspect they could steal from 80s hair metal. It's no wonder girls don't like metal like this.

I'm embarrassed that, per their Wikipedia page, they think they're inspired by bands like NORMA JEAN. Not even close, buddies. I mean, this Norma Jean's music video shows how it should be done. It's TOOL-esque, like an art project, with a narrative. It tells a story. And it was played on MTV2! Now, we could argue about whether NORMA JEAN's current direction is a good one, but they are the sort of band that I wish would get play on "rock" stations. I get the feeling you could maybe hear this band in your Deftones Pandora station. If you play this on FM radio, people will like it, because every once in awhile, they need to listen to something darker than Nickelback.