In an interview with Louder Sound, ASKING ALEXANDRIA guitarist Ben Bruce discussed the current state of rock and metal music.
He said: “I think the rock scene, in general, is too far behind. It’s slow. There are a lot of stubborn people in rock, in general, that are like, ‘No, I don’t want things to move on, I’m happy where I am,’ and you can’t be that way inclined.
“If you look at EDM artists, or rap artists or pop artists, they all tend to use social media to its full extent, and they are great at it.
“I think you’re seeing rock musicians start to take steps towards that, but I still think we’re a long way behind. But people are starting to embrace it more and find new ways to engage and interact with their online audiences.”
Talking about today’s younger rock and metal acts, Bruce noted that “bands aren’t paying their dues,” saying:
“When we started 10 years ago, you had to earn your stripes. That was important to me growing up in this industry and I’ve taken a lot away from that. Now I feel like bands aren’t that way inclined; they’re let out loose to do what they want.
“There are bands we’ve offered tours to where they’re like, ‘Well we just did this.’ All of a sudden they think they’re the s**t because they’ve done this one successful headline tour. Alright, come back to me in 10 years’ time and tell me if you’re still doing these numbers.
“It’s so weird that bands just don’t seem to have respect anymore. Bands used to work together to create packages and tours that fans would enjoy from start to finish, and create a great night. Now, no one wants to do that.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Nope, I’m too big for that s**t, I just want to go and headline.’ Where’s this competition come from? Again, if you look at rap or EDM or anything, they help each other; they collaborate on songs, they tour with each other.”
He also pointed out that success isn’t selling out: “I think BRING ME THE HORIZON are a great example of this. Their last record propelled them into the mainstream, and I saw them getting a lot of flack from rock and metal bands – ‘You sold out!’ I don’t think they did. What they did do is open a doorway for more rock and metal bands to be more acceptable in the mainstream.
“They can take out a band like BEARTOOTH, who are now getting to play in front of five or six thousand people a night. They’re gonna turn heads towards rock bands. So why don’t you think about that before you say ‘sell-outs’?”
