Not what i was expecting, i really hop to be able to make one of the shows but i doubt it. Bugger.

Written by Angelic Storm on 07.12.2010 at 14:03

Noooo!

Getting older sucks! I think they could have continued, I just need to make sure I catch them if they play anywhere near me...

Come on! They're in their 60s now. Everything has to come to an end.
Getting older indeed sucks. If you ask me, it's one of the most awful thing in life. But there's nothing we can do about it. All we can do is accept it as fighting it is impossible and the only person you can harm by refusing to accept it is yourself.

If you don't learn to take this more lightly, you will be in a world of pain in the next years, as many bands are not only getting old but they're getting too old to carry on.
Personally, I have no problem with this, as I always considered the music world as a turning wheel.

Problem with old metal bands is people can't accept that they're aging and will all have to quit one day. People wish they could stop the wheel of time but no one can.
I consider myself lucky not to think like that, because roughly half the bands I'm listening to on a regular basis are not active anymore. Imagine how sad I would be if I cared for such things.

And this brings me to my next point. Does it really matter if a band is still active or not? Imo, no. Not at all. Bands come and go but music is eternal. It seems for some people as soon as a band stops being active, then it disappears from the face of the Earth. Music is still there. The musical legacy will never disappear. Is it not the greatest achievement an artist can reach? Living through his art long after his own death.
What really matters is music and it won't disappear. Music is the same after a band stopped being active and I don't see why we should enjoy it less after the band calls a quit.

It's my humble opinion, but I believe people need to enjoy music for what it is and care less about things they have no control on and will never be able to change. Especially now that we reach a point at which all bands who were big in the 80s (for those of us old enough to have seen this decade and remember it) are getting old and the sands of time, for them, are running low (yeah, this sentence is not accidental).

Think about all this and maybe you will see that things are not as sad and tragic as some people seem to believe. All people need is to learn to appreciate things for what they are, without trying to change what they can't change. And all this is just the normal, logical order of things. And we all knew such a time would come one day.

It just seems to me as some old metalheads, like Marcel or me, are more ready than others to this change.

P.S. See this post as some kind of message of hope for those who feel sad about the situation, and not as bashing.

Written by Mad Mike on 08.12.2010 at 02:14

This has me thinking, what will happen to metal when all these old bands (Maiden, Metallica, Slayer etc.) retire? One of the biggest, if not the biggest, elements in our subculture is nostalgia, and when that element is gone, how will metal survive it? Kinda scary if you ask me...

Don't want to start a debate. No one can really know, of course, so I won't pretend that I know.

I believe the future of metal lies more in extreme genres than softer genres.
What I think is the scene will have to change and I see it as a good opportunity for metal to make a new start and become more interesting than the actual scene, where it is all about quantity over quality.
I believe if nearly all the most famous and popular bands are no more there, metal will draw the attention of the masses less than now. I think the scene will become smaller, with much less bands.
I believe people (at least the mainstream masses) will forget metal and consider it as dead, due to their inability to see beyond mainstream metal bands. All in all, I believe metal will return to a more underground state.

Also, I think once the old bands retire, no metal band will ever have this kind of commercial success and make so much money. Things have changed quite a bit since the 80s (especially with the event of internet and downloads) and those bands (not that I want to undermine their importance or whatever) were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time, which will never be the case for new bands as you can't re-write history.

Man...it's bittersweet. I LOVE Priest, and I don't want to see them either. But..at least if they're gonna retire, they're gonna do so in as "heavy metal" a way as possible and not just flame up and burn out like some bands have done. I mean, obviously their most recent releases are not the pinnacle of their career, and certainly aren't the biggest fan favorites, but all things considered the last releases weren't bad either, and Priest will still always be remembered for how heavily they rocked..Painkiller and Screaming for Vengeance will always rank among my highest ranked and most listened albums.

Great, I'll be able to see them possibly before they fade away...

This sucks but they have been around for almost 40 years and it will be awesome to see them live one more time

Shiiit...

But we shouldn't be surprised. These guys are (getting) old. I'm definetly going to see them in Finland.

Fukk for reals... i was hoping at least one last album

Written by worm_is_gloaming on 08.12.2010 at 01:16

Shit................

No one is mentioning this but I know everyone is thinking this: I hope Iron Maiden won't be next to throw in the towel.

the guys at Priest are much older than them, i guess it will take a while before they also reach the end.

@RavenKing very wise words, i'm not as troubled as i was before, i guess it's not something Priest have taken lightly anyway, and if anyone of us loves their music and respects them as individuals, then we should respect their decision not to carry on.

let's not forget they all love metal music as we do, and they love playing it live, you can see it on Glen's smiling face, on Scott's gestures to the audience, on Rob's interaction with the crowd, these guys know what the fuck they're doing, and they know they can't keep it up for many more years.

Written by Valentin B on 08.12.2010 at 13:14

@RavenKing very wise words, i'm not as troubled as i was before, i guess it's not something Priest have taken lightly anyway, and if anyone of us loves their music and respects them as individuals, then we should respect their decision not to carry on.

There is something related to the situation with old metal bands I need to mention. Something I find really hard to understand.

Let me talk a bit of my own experience first. I know all the old metal bands, being lucky enough to have been around in the 80s, and old enough to remember, as I'm born in 1972. I enjoyed most of them quite a bit in my young days. It was the 80s.

Then, the 90s came and everything changed. And that's the real matter I wish to talk about on this post. The thing I don't understand is how people seem aware of the 80s but I have the feeling there's a gaping hole in their memory when it comes to the 90s. So, the 90s came, and pretty much all the famous 80s bands either stopped being active or were so 'caught in limbo' and forgotten that, honestly, I didn't even know, at that time, if they were still active or not. Even the most popular bands were not untouched by this: Iron Maiden were on the verge of death and only came out of their ashes when Bruce and Adrian came back, as for Priest it took an eternity for them to release "Jugulator" after "Painkiller" and you could barely find someone who cared. As for Thrash bands, they all either called a quit or started doing something different that made them fall in total indifference. In this decade, it was very hard to find anything new and good from traditional Heavy Metal and Thrash. Both genres were almost entirely dead. That was the 90s.

After that (starting around the millenia), there was some kind of 'old school revival'. But I have the feeling that now people have forgotten how it was in the 90s, have erased the decade from their memories. In my case, I saw lots of those old metal bands kinda die in the 90s, so I already turned the page on them long ago. That's why I can sound so untouched by the situation sometimes. For me (though some of them are still active), those old bands died in the 90s, and not now or in a few years.
I never jumped in the 'comeback to old school' wagon. When it happened in this decade, it was already over for me, the page turned, and I won't return to the past.

Of course, younger people have not gone through all phases of those old bands, so it can be hard for them to imagine how dead some bands were in the 90s. They probably believe that those old bands have always been at the forefront, which is quite wrong.
However, I think old metalheads (35 and over), who were there in the 90s, should not be too sad to see old bands call a quit because they should be able to remember a time when the situation was worse (as for old metal bands) than it is now.

Among members here, I would say I believe Marcel kinda has the same feeling about old bands, though I'm not sure. Only him can tell.
But I admit I really don't understand this will I sense from the metal community to act as if the 90s never happened. Because I remember very well how it was and I see how lots of people seem to conveniently overlook that decade.

It doesn't mean I can't enjoy a 'good old album' from one of those bands (I still do, from time to time, even if I moved through other metal genres) but the page is turned on the actual incarnation of those bands and I don't care at all for their new material.
I chose to keep the good memories and not care for the rest. It does nothing good to stick to the past and fall into bitterness.

I have seen Priest twice live already. SO I can die happy.

Oh, they're going on a farewell tour? Holy crap, this is huge. Yeah, they have been around for a very large time and have established themselves as staples in metal history. With that said, most bands are going to have to end eventually (collectives with not a necessarily solidified line-up may be able to postpone the musical project dissolution for longer periods than average, but that is a different subject), and this decision is totally appreciable. Their legacy will remain in tact amongst the metal community, and, correct me if I'm wrong here, but their latter career didn't seem to me to be plagued with frivolous bickering. This does lead to thinking of the future of metal, and what it will entail. I personally am looking forward to how metal will turn out within the next few years, within the next few decades. With that said, I hope the split of Judas Priest goes as well as it can be, and long live Judas Priest!

Written by Symmachus on 09.12.2010 at 07:04

This does lead to thinking of the future of metal, and what it will entail. I personally am looking forward to how metal will turn out within the next few years, within the next few decades.

Same here. As much as I think metal generally sucks nowadays, I look at the future with hope. I believe the departure of old bands will force the metal scene to change and renew itself. And I think it could bring more interesting things. Lets face it: old bands have seen much better days and released much better material than what they have done in the recent years. There's nothing groundbreaking to expect from bands who, creativity-wise, died many years ago.

So, considering this, I see the departure of old bands as something positive for the scene. Perhaps there are great things to come and metal will see a 'new golden age' at some point though, as I said previously, you can't re-write history, so I don't expect it will be the 80s all over again.
And the 80s were not perfect either.

Written by RavenKing on 09.12.2010 at 14:40

Written by Symmachus on 09.12.2010 at 07:04

This does lead to thinking of the future of metal, and what it will entail. I personally am looking forward to how metal will turn out within the next few years, within the next few decades.

Same here. As much as I think metal generally sucks nowadays, I look at the future with hope. I believe the departure of old bands will force the metal scene to change and renew itself. And I think it could bring more interesting things. Lets face it: old bands have seen much better days and released much better material than what they have done in the recent years. There's nothing groundbreaking to expect from bands who, creativity-wise, died many years ago.

So, considering this, I see the departure of old bands as something positive for the scene. Perhaps there are great things to come and metal will see a 'new golden age' at some point though, as I said previously, you can't re-write history, so I don't expect it will be the 80s all over again.
And the 80s were not perfect either.

Personally I think that today's metal scene is going very strong. There is a great variety of bands, production is much better than the 80s, and you can always listen to your classic favorites. Perhaps I am just too young, but I think that the metal scene has only improved from the 80s to late 90s and 2000s.

But then again, my favorite genres are progressive, symphonic, and doom, all of which had their hay days during the 90s.

Written by 4look4rd on 10.12.2010 at 00:15

production is much better than the 80s

Allow me to strongly disagree. It is more polished and synthesized but it doesn't make it better.
Production is too polished nowadays and make many albums suck.

Production is probably the greatest flaw of metal today, making songs that would otherwise have good potential sound utterly boring.

Written by RavenKing on 10.12.2010 at 03:54

Written by 4look4rd on 10.12.2010 at 00:15

production is much better than the 80s

Allow me to strongly disagree. It is more polished and synthesized but it doesn't make it better.
Production is too polished nowadays and make many albums suck.

Production is probably the greatest flaw of metal today, making songs that would otherwise have good potential sound utterly boring.

I think that some genres benefit more from today's production than others. I throughly enjoy the production quality whenever I listen to a symphonic (epica), progressive (pain of salvation), or death/doom (mar de grises) album. However, I can see that some grassroots styles like thrash/death/black (and even power to be honest) sound better with a more simplistic production.

Written by 4look4rd on 10.12.2010 at 05:46

However, I can see that some grassroots styles like thrash/death/black (and even power to be honest) sound better with a more simplistic production.

That's what I meant.

Even 99% of doom is better of with a simpler rawer production. A band like Mar De Grises which 4look4rd mentioned is actually only borderline doom and could as easily be called progressive and even in that genre slick production stiffles the music. Call me old fashioned when it come to the production of metal but I want it raw and with a bite and not pussified teethless poppish.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 10.12.2010 at 15:10

Call me old fashioned when it come to the production of metal but I want it raw and with a bite and not pussified teethless poppish.

Same here. There's hardly anything worse, when it comes to metal, than overpolished production.

This is UNBELIEVABLE !!! There are some things U are so accustomed to that they become a part of ur life. And Priest certainly was something like this to me. I just cant imagine Priest ever hanging up their boots !!
But does this mean that they are disbanding permanently

As far as I know, they won't disband. They will only stop touring.

I sure hope I'll be lucky enough to be able to see them on this tour... I can't believe they're hanging it up.