#makes scathing comments at the ninja where he can | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

preserving-ferretbrain · 5 years

Text

Garth Ennis Is A Hack

by Rude Cyrus

Friday, 10 April 2009

Rude Cyrus is deservedly rude about The Boys.~

Once upon a time, superheroes were seen as protectors of the innocent, bringers of justice, and saviors of mankind. When I was a kid, there was no greater thrill than watching Superman pummel giant robots or stop a plane from crashing into a city. As time went on, the public began to tire of flawless beings that could do no wrong, so creators began to make the heroes more “realistic”, at least in terms of character. Antiheroes like Wolverine and The Punisher became popular while concepts like vigilantism would be explored in comics like Watchmen.

Unfortunately, the pendulum swung a little too far during the ‘90s, a decade where you couldn’t swing a dead badger without hitting some DARK and GRITTY antihero. This is the same decade that gave birth to Image Comics, a publisher that needs to make an acquaintance with an H-Bomb. All you need to know about Image Comics is that it took over the canceled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfranchise and turned Donatello into a cyborg. That says it all.

This brings me to the present and The Boys, a comic series written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Darick Robertson (which I keep pronouncing as “da’ Rick”).

Let me just say that I hate this series. I don’t hate it because it’s ultra-violent and ultra-sexualized. I don’t hate it because it makes superheroes (or “supes” as they’re called here) turn out to be a bunch of amoral douchebags. I don’t hate it because I think Garth Ennis is an overrated hack who’s convinced everyone he’s a genius. No, I hate it because I can’t stand the characters.

Everybody, with few exceptions, is thoroughly repugnant. Just look at the main characters:

Billy Butcher is a sociopath with a neck the size of a ham and a perpetual smirk plastered on his face. He owns a bulldog named Terror that can fuck things on command; seemingly hates supes because one raped his wife, who ended up dying because the fetus ripped through her stomach. Butcher ended up beating said fetus to death with a lamp.

Wee Hughie joined The Boys after his girlfriend was accidentally killed by a supe named A-Train. Much of the series is focused on following Hughie’s thoughts and actions, which is unfortunate because he’s a wet blanket with exactly three facial expressions: anger, incredulity, and shit-eating grin. He’s also a dead ringer for Simon Pegg – I suspect Ennis was sitting around, smoking pot, and said to himself, “Dude, wouldn’t it be cool if Simon Pegg had superpowers?”

Mother’s Milk is a somewhat decent guy, which means he gets shoved into the background more often than not. He seems to derive his powers from an entity he calls “Momma” in a process that makes him vomit. Why does he have to do this? Who cares, let’s watch a midget use a massive vibrator!

The Frenchman and The Female are psychotic killers with the ability to rip people apart with their bare hands. Defining characteristics: one is French, the other lacks a penis. Garth Ennis doesn’t give a shit about them, so why should I?

And what would a team of morally dubious antiheroes be without a team of superheroes to oppose them? Enter the Seven, an analogue of the Justice League, filled with characters that make The Boys look like The Boy Scouts. The only good member of the group is Starlight, and she’s constantly degraded by the other members, whether it’s forced into wearing a more revealing outfit, giving fellatio to the male members of the group as a “test”, or nearly being raped by the aforementioned A-Train. It’s also strongly hinted that Homelander (leader of the Seven and Superman analogue) was the one who raped Butcher’s wife.

What a charming bunch. Thankfully, it’s not all bad, as Starlight later becomes Hughie’s girlfriend. It’s a match made in heaven, as they’re both outstandingly bland.

Other notable characters include a CIA analyst with a fetish for female paraplegic athletes, a CIA director that frequently has humiliating sex with Butcher, and recurring cameos by Stan Lee – okay, he’s called the Legend, but it’s supposed to be Stan Lee. Perhaps “Exposition Man” would be a better name, because all he does is talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk…

Speaking of stereotypes, there are quite a few on display here. For example, there’s the two fat, hairy, greasy, comic book store-owning Italian brothers who are constantly using variations of “fuck” and threatening their customers with graphic violence; the enormous bearded Russian who talks about communism and the Motherland all the time; the “East Coast vs. West Coast” superhero teams that are always fighting each other, throwing up gang signs and using the n-word. I kept wondering why Garth Ennis was doing this, and I settled on “because he thinks it’s funny.” See, Ennis is pointing out how absurd these stereotypes are, so it’s not really racist, right? Right?

Despite all of this, I forced myself to read all 29 issues, which, at times, felt like I was cutting off my legs with a rusty hacksaw – oh, look, the Russian guy is called “Love Sausage” because he has a fifteen-inch cock! Oh look, Hughie has menstrual blood on his face from oral sex because Starlight was on her period! Oh look, one of the superheroes can vomit acid! Isn’t that a knee-slapper? Worse still was the heavy-handed social and political commentary that Ennis shoehorned in, ranging from how St. Patrick’s Day sucks, to how the military-industrial complex has the United States in a chokehold, to American politics (the President and Vice President being analogues for Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, respectively), to how superheroes are evil. He even uses 9/11 to make his point, for fuck’s sake. Basically, one of the hijacked planes crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge (the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were spared) because the Seven tried to save the day but bungled it due to incompetence and selfishness. Do you see? SUPERHEROES ARE EVIL!

No, that wasn’t what made me stop reading this comic. What made me stop was the latest story arc, called “We Gotta Go Now”. The Boys have to investigate the public suicide of Silver Kincaid, a member of the G-Men (no prizes for guessing who they’re supposed to be an analogue of), for reasons I can’t be bothered to look up. Hughie has to go undercover and infiltrate one of the younger G-teams (as “Bagpipe”, because he’s Scottish, get it?) called G-Wiz. See the subtle pun there?

It’s immediately apparent that something is off with G-Wiz – sure, they might seem to be your average fraternity (i.e. boorish drunks obsessed with bodily functions), but they’re a little too comfortable with each other, if you catch my drift. Couple this with the revelation that G-Men’s leader, John Godolkin (analogue of Charles Xavier – apologies for all the analogues) actually abducted almost all of the G-Men when they were kids and turned them into superheroes, the fact that he refers to the G-Men as his “children”, and all of the dark mutterings of “what we had to deal with” and things start becoming clear.

At this point I thought, “No way. There’s no way Ennis would be so cheap and unoriginal. There has to be more to this.” I read issue 29, and, lo and behold, one of the characters confirmed my worst fears:

John Godolkin is a child molester.

That was the last straw. It wasn’t because one of the villains was a pedophile; rather, it was because Garth Ennis had resorted to such tacky exploitation in order to wring an emotion from his audience. Instead of taking the time to craft something novel, Ennis, out of sheer laziness, decided to go for the biggest heartstring and yank. Why have a complex villain when you can just say, “He’s an evil kid-toucher! BOOGA BOOGA!”

I’m sure Ennis pats himself on the back every day for what he thinks is scathing criticism on the superhero genre and insightful commentary on numerous aspects of life. He isn’t clever, creative, or even likable. He’s just a lazy hack. My smoldering ire also extends to the fans that keep buying this dreck and give it good reviews. What the hell is wrong with these people? My guess is that, in their minds, they equate DARK, GRITTY, and SERIOUS with being good. In my mind, it’s just BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT, and more BULLSHIT.

Themes:

Damage Report

Sci-fi / Fantasy

Comics

bookmark this with - facebook - delicious - digg - stumbleupon - reddit

~Comments (

go to latest

)

Wardog

at 17:17 on 2009-04-10I don't know what to say ... I am completely flabbergasted by the awfulness of this. Why on earth is it garnering praise?

permalink

go to top

Arthur B

at 17:26 on 2009-04-10Once upon a time the publishers of

2000 AD

thought it would be great to hand over all the writing duties for the comic for a few months to Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison, and various hangers-on. Why they thought this was a good idea was a mystery because Garth had already proven he shouldn't be trusted with other people's properties when in

Strontium Dogs

(the sequel series to

Strontium Dog

) he pulled a blatant retcon out of his capacious arse to turn the sweet, gentle comic relief character The Gronk into a psychotic gun-toting protagonist. Nonetheless, the magazine went ahead with the Summer Offensive, as it called the promotion (because, you see, it's Garth Ennis and he likes being offensive, and it happened in the summer), and the general tone of the comic went from "12A bordering on 15" (in movie age rating terms) to "18 certificate and a big argument about violence in the media on the side", which prompted the parents of certain younger subscribers, such as myself, to cancel the magazine.

And that's how Garth Ennis ruined

2000 AD

for an 11 year old Arthur.

Seriously, the man is awful. I think the only thing he's done that I've actually liked was

Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits

. Frustratingly, that was brilliant. He's capable of not being an idiot if he tries, he just

doesn't try

permalink

go to top

Rude Cyrus

at 19:49 on 2009-04-10This was actually nominated for an Eisner Award for "Best Continuing Series" in 2008. And comic bok fans wonder why so many people don't take comics seriously.

Thanks for the image, by the way.

permalink

go to top

Wardog

at 20:35 on 2009-04-10For a moment there I was wondering if you meant the image of an 11 year old Arthur but then I realised you meant the literal image that illustrates this article. I hope it's okay - I chose the cover that most annoyed me :)

permalink

go to top

Sonia Mitchell

at 23:23 on 2009-04-10This series sounds horrific. Thank you for the warning.

(I badly want to google cyborg Donatello. I'd like to think it can't be as disastrous as I'm imaginging, but that would probably be naive. I'm therefore restraining myself...)

permalink

go to top

Arthur B

at 00:46 on 2009-04-11

Oh hey look what else Image have published.

On the other hand, they also put out

The Walking Dead

, which

I really like

permalink

go to top

Guy

at 03:59 on 2009-04-11Speaking of Image, this is one of the most funny/disturbing things I've ever read: Rob Liefeld's 40 worst drawings: http://progressiveboink.com/archive/robliefeld.html

permalink

go to top

Arthur B

at 15:04 on 2009-04-11I'm amazed they were able to find 40 drawings worse than

the infamous Captain America one

Actually, I'm not amazed, Liefeld is terrible. Oh God, the feet...

permalink

go to top

http://webcomcon.blogspot.com/

at 06:31 on 2010-07-11Thread necromancy: After reading this article from the random button, I'm reading

The Boys

out of morbid curiosity. I've gotten through the first couple of storylines, issues one through ten. It's about as disgusting as Rude Cyrus has said, with everything as juvenile and pointlessly violent and so forth.

One of the annoying things is that there are occasionally glimmers of interest that make me think "You know, if Garth Ennis actually gave a shit, and stopped dropping tons of stupid violence and stupid sex and stupid ham-fisted 'haha the gay activist is violently afraid of actual homosexuals' shit, he might actually be able to make some points about 'how do we make superheroes accountable?'" One advantage of

The Boys

is that, unlike

Civil War

, it's just one author, so there aren't a bazillion different axes being ground. And it doesn't seem like it's constrained by being a DC Comics Continuity Event, the way

Civil War

was a Marvel Comics Continuity Event. And every once in a while, it seems like Ennis might have something to say on the matter.

But it inevitably degenerates into "hurr hurr supes are pervs, butcher punches them." Fuck you, Ennis, for being wasted potential.

permalink

go to top

http://webcomcon.blogspot.com/

at 06:32 on 2010-07-11Aack, unclosed HTML tags. Sorry! (I'm used to a forum that won't let me post if I have unmatched tags, and didn't check.)

permalink

go to top

Rami

at 05:43 on 2010-07-12@webcomcon: Fixed it for you. I'm afraid FerretBrain doesn't really do warnings -- but we do suggest using the Preview button!

permalink

go to top

http://blackgeep.livejournal.com/

at 18:20 on 2010-07-13Continuing thread necromancy!

I am a comic book artist. I detest

The Boys

with a deep, abiding disgust. My employer thinks it's brilliant. He is also a big fan of Liefeld (needs more pouches!), so go figure. While

The Boys

is bad, try having your only income being working on the dream project of someone who likes

The Boys

, and feel your artistic integrity shrivel.

I actually considered sending in issue one of

Polis

(what I'm paid to draw) to Ferretbrain for a review; I may yet do that alongside

Polis

issue two and my own side project for what the great minds here could find a fun comparison. "The world is corrupt and drug-addled, corporations are evil, and our main hero is an amoral Cape [superhero] with few redeeming qualities." versus "A space princess and space pirates act terribly toward one another, but all in good fun." I asked my employer, and he thinks any publicity is good.

Speaking of "Cape" and "Supe", what is this allergic reaction to the word superhero? Yes, superhero is a long word, but so is computer. From my perspective, it would seem more likely that superhero would get shortened to just hero. Then advert campaigns about "The

real

heroes of X city: our policemen and firefighters" would take on a whole new weight. Plus, I haven't met many people who say 'puter, and compy only caught on after Strongbad popularised it.

permalink

go to top

Dan H

at 19:11 on 2010-07-13I think the thing about abbreviating "superhero" to something like "cape" or "supe" (did Watchmen use "mask" or am I making that up) is that it highlights the fact that this is an EDGY SERIOUS WORK OF FICTION about EDGY DARK CHARACTERS not some KIDDY THING about SUPERHEROES.

Because as we all know, nothing screams "maturity" like going to great lengths to appear mature.

permalink

go to top

http://blackgeep.livejournal.com/

at 21:32 on 2010-07-13The thing which screams maturity the best is to have everyone swear all the time, and put blood and torture on every page. The ability to engage in traditionally adult themes while employing transgressive story elements such as bodily fluids, misogyny, and rape is the hallmark of an individual whose mind has progressed past puerile adolescent fascination. As you said, superheroes are so childish. We aren't writing stories about superheroes under a different name. These are adult stories about well rounded characters employing serious themes. Just like Terry Goodkind is definitely not a *pfft*

fantasy author.

Sarcasm over, I honestly don't remember if

Watchmen

used "mask." I guess I've just lost some comix-cred.

permalink

go to top

https://me.yahoo.com/a/O9dPXbw3peUAacFQM4aervEXf232TbhO0FE-#dcc46

at 13:13 on 2011-10-28Hey guys. I'm aware this is a few years old but just discovered the site and enjoying it, even when I disagree.

But this is the only one I think I needed to comment on.

Firstly, Garth Ennis is demonstrably not a hack. That's just incredibly lazy.

Secondly, this review seems to have totally failed to come to terms with the text.

OK. I'm not going to argue against certain points here. There's gross out humor, there's swearing, there's a hamster well-up in a zombie's bum. There's puke and disgusting, disgusting periods that no man should ever have to read about (cos girls, right! ew. The writer of this article agrees!) and there's even some blood and guts and a superhero orgy and someone strangles Scarlet Witch with a belt!

But.

The scene where poor old Annie, Starlight, has to service six members of the Seven to get in? It's awful. And a considerable part of the text is concerned not only with her coming to terms with the assault but (and how often to you see this?) actually come to terms with and starting to heal from the assault.

The two black teams who scream the N word at each other? There's no discussion of the young black man who is going to be forced into one of the teams who sees nothing he recognises of his experiences in tired mainstream hip hop lingo and posing. A man who has begun to understand that to become a superstar, he has to enter into a well-dodgy narrative.

No discussion of the good people warped into being celebrities and what that costs them, which is the central metaphor of the book.

Or the actual honesty when Hughie, who's never met a gay man but has to hang out in a gay club and suddenly finds his liberal sensibilities a bit overwhelmed. A scene that's never, ever played for cheap gay joke laughs.

The point of Hughie going down on a girl with a period is not that it's gross and his mates laugh at him. It's that he refuses to let something as dumb as that get in the way of his relationship with Annie. He cops some jokes and some pisstaking but then will not let the deathly embarrassed girl freak out over what turns out to be ... nothing at all.

In recent years, we've also seen a cheap man-on-man 'Dark Knight Returns' rape joke actually turns out to actually be a proper discussion on the reasons why a chap might not be able to discuss it with his friends. And what that cost him.

St Patrick's Day sucks? Surely an repatriated Northern Irishman who grew up in the Troubles has nothing to say about the immigrant experience to the United States. What a hack!

As for scoring political points off 9/11.... mate. Welcome to the world. I fail to even see an argument here.

I'm not going to say everyone should love The Boys. And sometimes I get a bit weary of schoolboys bleeding out of their arses and all the rest. And I think Ennis has made his point about religion by now. I do. (Spoiler alert: Preacher)

I like the comic but I don't expect everyone to be able to laugh like I do when the mentally ill Batman analogue has sex with a meteor.

So don't like it. That's cool. It's not like I'll gnash teeth if you don't like what I like. But this review has really failed to come to grips with and has actively misrepresented the text.

permalink

go to top

Arthur B

at 13:32 on 2011-10-28Hi dcc46, welcome to Ferretbrain!

I've not read

The Boys

but I have read enough Ennis to at least address this point:

Firstly, Garth Ennis is demonstrably not a hack. That's just incredibly lazy.

You know what else is incredibly lazy? Basing your writing career so heavily on cheap shock tactics which come across like a 13 year old trying to be edgy. I couldn't get past the first volume of

Preacher

because Ennis' obsession with gore, fucking, and other scatological subjects just became intensely monotonous. His contributions to 2000 AD were much the same. His

Hellblazer

run started out brilliantly - I think

Dangerous Habits

is both the best thing he's written and the best

Hellblazer

story that

anyone

has written - but I couldn't abide the rest of it precisely because he kept falling back into bad habits.

When a man makes a career out of indulging his puerile instincts to an extent where consistently and repeatedly his material degenerates into lame attempts to be shocking for the sake of it, that's pretty hackish.

permalink

go to top

https://me.yahoo.com/a/O9dPXbw3peUAacFQM4aervEXf232TbhO0FE-#dcc46

at 13:51 on 2011-10-28Well, if that's all you've read of Hellblazer, that's cool. When he was, what, 21, he wrote that. There was a bit of a fall off in quality before he'd come back with stories of Kit and Ric the Vic and end up telling stories of the devil contrasted with the nasty realities of racial politics in early 90s London.

If you passed on Preacher, that's cool. That second story arc is uninspired. But you missed out on a a meditation of faith, friendship, watching a man try to navigate between his old-fashioned 'chivalry' and a woman who refused to be patronised or left behind.

So I honestly don't see shocking for shocking's sake. I see bad taste. But I've never felt there's a kind of splatter punk aesthetic at work.

That's sort of my point.

I see humour that may or may not work for you. But I'm suggesting to you that if you can get past the guts and jizz all over the shop. And if that's really a sticking point for you, then you won't ever get into it.

But I think your wrong if puerility is all you get out of the work.

I know you had issues with his early 2000AD run. I never got that. I'm Australian and 2000AD seemed to ship... on a madman's calendar. So I can't comment on that.

So I tell you what. Try something like his PG Hitman. His war stories, where he reigns himself in. His Punisher MAX, which is humorless as a Derek Raymond novel.

But I'll split you the difference: Jennifer Blood is fucking awful.

permalink

go to top

https://me.yahoo.com/a/O9dPXbw3peUAacFQM4aervEXf232TbhO0FE-#dcc46

at 14:05 on 2011-10-28Anyways, I'm off.

But, a hack writer is a bad writer. Matt Reiley is a hack writer. He's bad at the English language, his plots are hackneyed, his haircut is stupid.

If you don't like Ennis' work, that's cool. But just because you think he wraps things up in grossness doesn't make him a bad writer -at all-. He's an accomplished writer with themes and metaphors and all that writery stuff.

Nevertheless, good site. Talk later.

permalink

go to top

valse de la lune

at 16:00 on 2011-10-28

So don't like it. That's cool. It's not like I'll gnash teeth if you don't like what I like. But this review has really failed to come to grips with and has actively misrepresented the text.

How quaint; you appear to be gnashing your teeth exactly because Cyrus didn't like the thing. I also agree with Arthur's assessment of Ennis: overrated hack pandering to things teenage boys--usually teenage white boys at that, what with the n-word thing--find oh so edgy and clever.

Preacher

is absolutely fucking unreadable and I spit in its general direction.

And, while you can certainly use the word "hack" to denote a poor writer--which I'd argue Ennis

, at that--his general attitude and output are pretty hacky too, in the lowest-common-denominator sense.

permalink

go to top

Rude Cyrus

at 20:31 on 2011-10-29Here's the thing: whatever good points or ideas Ennis may have are ruined by the juvenile shock tactics he wraps them in -- it's one thing to use violence and sex occasionally and for great effect, it's another to use them

all the time.

For example, I can agree with Ennis that St. Patrick's Day is an excuse for every American with a drop of Irish blood to wear green and get sick on beer, but when he ends this commentary on a close-up on a hat filled with puke, it makes me roll my eyes.

permalink

go to top

In order to post comments, you need to

authenticate with OpenID

. Don't have an account? See the

About Us

page for more details.

Show / Hide Comments -- More in April 2009

#Ferretbrain #Rude Cyrus #The Boys #Garth Ennis #Superhero

1 note · View note

dcviated · 3 years

Text

talk about the muses || [ open ]

@aplushemporium sent: 🍬 (for raguna, samus, malkuth, mizuki, and tenzou)

🍬 for a family headcanon

Raguna is the kind of person who is trapped into reverse adoption scenarios quite easily. Saying no is something he finds difficult to do, and at the same time he’s not the kind of person who can leave someone alone if they’re in need of assistance. Younger kids are pulled to him like gravity, and it’s been shown time and time again as I write him even outside of canon that Raguna loves kids. He may not outright admit it but if someone said he looked like a dad, or older brother, or something similar- it’d touch him good. And further inspire him to have kids of his own someday... as if he needs encouragement.

Samus, meanwhile is the opposite. ... kinda. In certain ways? She wants to help kids and those in need, don’t get me wrong. But getting personally involved with them and becoming their system of support is not in the books for this lone huntress. The people around her get hurt and if she doesn’t enforce that sense of isolation it’d be like she sentenced them to whatever misfortune came their way should they stay by her side for too long.

Though it’s clearly not a popular stance in fanon around Library of Ruina, my Malkuth sees the other patron librarians/sephirah as part of a found family rather than possible romantic candidates or somesuch. Hod is like a sister (older? younger? hm) and Yesod n’ Netzach are like brothers. They’ve all been through two deaths together on top of mountains of mental torment, and drawing romantic possibilities out of that, while endearing in a closure sense and moving on, isn’t how my portrayal sees it.

Mizuki is very defensive when it comes to Date and Iris. For all her scathing comments and derision towards her new guardian if someone else tried anything else against him you can bet your butt that this kid would come around to his defense. One of those only I can beat his stupid face in scenarios. She’s also wary of people befriending Iris, particularly romantic suitors, but trusts her best friend to make proper judgement calls and be careful... if only this was smart of her! Alas. Fortunately she’s not going to the level Ota would.

Also. People are allowed to pick on him. Because he deserves it. Weirdo. But still her friend.

For better or worse, Tenzou’s perversion runs in the family. His father, like himself, is also biased towards busty blondes. In the LN source material which I haven’t completely read because I’m a huge faker with my muses it’s mentioned that when Tenzou brings Mary back home with him, his father kicks him out of the family home out of the raging jealousy, calling him a traitor. Gotta feel bad for his mom.

Nonetheless, the patriarch of the Crossunite family is an accomplished warrior and ninja himself, a fabled warrior and one of the former lords of the Izumo Divine State. It’s a situation where you have to look past the man’s perversion due to how incredibly accomplished he was, and as his son and disciple Tenzou is on a similar path.

#aplushemporium #inbox :: answered hc #muse :: raguna #muse :: samus #muse :: malkuth #muse :: mizuki #muse :: tenzou #WHEW thanks for sending that one in for all these guys!!#it's a spectrum of perspectives to be sure

1 note · View note

obsessedauthorchan-blog · 7 years

Text

Shakespearean - Chapter 9

AO3 | Wattpad | FanFiction

Chapter Summary:

*posh British accent* Dinner is served.

Also feels.

Also (hopefully) humor.

Chapter:

When the movie was finished, Jason was quite a bit shocked by how much of the snacks the two of them had managed to polish off. He stood up and stretched his limbs out, arching his back. "That was a good movie, Timmers. I still prefer reading the original script, though."

Tim nodded from the other side of the desk where he was also stretching. "I figured. You're a book person, like me."

"So what now? Do I need to leave so you can get ready to have company over or what?"

Tim actually laughed. "For Clark and Conner? Please. They're pretty much family at this point. I wouldn't clean my room for them if Clark was the President of the United States. No, you can stick around as long as you want."

Jason thought about it. If there wasn't anything to study or a movie to watch, this just might get awkward. Jason wasn’t exactly the best at socializing and maintaining a conversation. But he really didn't want to leave yet. He liked hanging out with Tim, and he wanted to get to know him better. The chances of them having a thing were minimal, but Jason would love to have Tim as a friend. He was smart and funny, and they got along pretty well.

Before Jason could say anything though, the door opened again. "Hey Tim- woah, you have a friend over." Jason wanted to say he was surprised at seeing an entirely different tall guy with blue eyes and black hair bang into Tim's room, but he had figured out by now that only the unexpected happened when one was around Tim Drake.

They guy took a second to survey Jason before smiling and stepping towards him, extending his hand just as Dick had. "Hey, you must be Jason. Tim told me you were going to help him with his Shakespeare. I'm Conner."

Now that Jason knew who this was, he could definitely see the uncanny resemblance between him and Professor Kent. It was almost like he was looking at a younger, cloned version of the professor. "Yeah, that's me. You must be Professor Kent's kid. Tim told me you were a good friend of his."

Conner's smile was warm. "The one and only Conner Kent at your service. Now that you mention him, I do remember my dad telling me that he met you. You made a good impression."

Jason mentally patted himself on the back, but externally he only nodded and smiled. "That's good to know."

Tim cleared his throat, as if reminding the two of them that he was still there. "Conner, I wasn't expecting you guys until dinner time." His tone seemed pointed, and Jason looked over his shoulder to see that Tim was almost glaring at Conner.

The other man only smiled bigger. "It is dinner time, Tim. Alfred sent me up here to get you." He turned to Jason. "Bruce wanted me to tell you that you are welcome to stay for dinner, too."

Jason was about to politely decline with a clichéd 'I don't want to intrude' when Tim spoke up first. "Sorry, Jason, but when Bruce Wayne invites somebody to dinner, if really means that he's holding you against your will until you've eaten your fill of the best food in Gotham City." He gave Jason a meaningful look. "You remember when I said Alfred is a ninja?"

Jason nodded and Conner whistled, nodding solemnly. "Yeah," Conner said. "Good luck getting out of here hungry."

Jason couldn't help chuckling. "Awe, if you guys wanted me to stay for dinner you could have just said so."

Tim rolled his eyes and Conner smiled. "I like this guy, Tim. You sure know how to pick your targets for coffee spills."

The youngest groaned and stomped out of the room. Jason and Conner shared an amused look before following him down the stairs to the dining room. It seemed that everyone else had already congregated. Bruce Wayne sat at the head of the table, with Clark Kent to his right and a small child, approximately seven or eight, to the left. Dick was sitting next to Clark, for some reason, and Tim sighed harshly as he made his way down to sit next to the child, who Jason assumed was Damian, the one that Tim really didn't like. Damian didn't seem too happy about the arrangement either. On the other side of Dick, there was a tall, skinny redhead who was talking to Dick animatedly, flinging his arms about in quick gestures. Conner sat across from the redhead and next to Tim. On the other side of him, there was a girl about the same age as Conner and Tim, who also had black hair and blue eyes, though she appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent as well. While there was another seat at the other head of the table open, Jason didn't even consider sitting there. The only seat that was really an option was the one next to the redhead. He made his way over to the seat, but Professor Kent spoke before he could sit down.

"Hey, Jason, right?"

Jason smiled, not quite shyly, but not the most confident smile of his life. It was safe to say he was not in his comfort zone. "Nice to see you, Professor Kent."

The older man waved his hand dismissively. "Please, call me Clark. It's nice to see you, too." His eyes twinkled with mirth. "When you told me that Tim spilled his coffee all over you, I had a suspicion you two would end up being friends. Glad you could join us."

Jason felt kind of bad for Tim, what with his clumsiness being recalled over and over again. With a quick look, he saw that Tim was staring down at his plate, a cross between exasperation and embarrassment on his face. Jason chuckled.

Mr. Wayne was the next person to speak to him. "Jason, it's nice to meet you. I was impressed by your application for GCU. You showed a lot of promise." Jason gulped audibly, but he managed to keep himself together enough not to embarrass himself.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne. It's nice to meet you, too." Jason realized he was the only person still standing, so he quickly sat down. Tim seemed to notice his discomfort, because he decided to go ahead and speak.

"Um, Jay, I know you've met Clark, Conner, and Dick, and now Bruce, but this is Damian," he gestured to the kid next to him, confirming Jason's earlier assumption. The kid gave him a dirty look before reverting back to ignoring everyone at the table. "The crazy redhead beside you is Wally West, Dick's 'friend', who's also, for some reason, the only person at the table who doesn't have black hair or blue eyes." Jason couldn't decide if he imagined Tim's odd tone when he said 'friend', as though Wally was indeed not a friend – or more than one – but he decided not to comment. Wally smiled at him and they shook hands. "The girl next to Conner is Cassandra. She's one of my adopted sisters." Cassandra nodded in what seemed to be acknowledgement of him, but it wasn't an unkind gesture.

"Babs is coming later. Work kept her late," Dick said. "Jason, you should probably call her Barbara unless and until she says otherwise."

Jason nodded just as Alfred came in, wheeling a black cart with dishes on it. He distributed the food among the people at the table and announced in his posh British accent, "Dinner is served."

Jason waited to dig in, looking around at everyone else at the table to make sure he followed proper Etiquette of the Rich. He was a little stunned to see that nobody was really eating any differently than normal people. Maybe they were slumming it for him.

Or maybe not, because this Wally guy was really shoving it in there. He was even holding his silverware like a shovel. Talk about class. Then again, Jason couldn't think of any rich people with the name West. Just as Jason decided to go ahead and start eating, Wally decided to speak to him. "So, Jason, do you usually exchange numbers with guys who dump their coffee on you?"

Okay, now Jason was really getting tired of that story. He gave a half-smile anyway. "No, not usually. I ran into him again at the library, and this poor soul needed assistance with his Shakespeare homework. I was generous enough to offer my services," he said, looking at Tim teasingly. Wally laughed, but Tim was already distracted by Damian, who had begun shouting at Bruce, apparently about Clark.

"I still don't understand why the alien is here, but he needs to leave. I am Damian Wayne and I refuse to share a dinner table with such a creature. And as for the clone," the child shot a scathing look at Conner, "he also needs to leave. Immediately. These foul, unnatural creatures are beneath me!"

Bruce rolled his eyes and ignored the child, though Clark seemed to be having a harder time with it. Conner just seemed slightly amused and mostly used to Damian's antics.

"Damian," Dick said, with a Disappointed Parent Voice, "that's not nice."

Damian scoffed. "I'm rich, Dick. I don't have to be nice." The snootiness was strong with this one.

Wally nudged Jason in the arm with his elbow. He whispered to him, "Don't mind Damian. He spent most of his life living with the Wicked Witch of the West, a.k.a. his mother, and she taught him that he was a prince to be worshiped. It's not usually personal, but you should be prepared to be a target."

“So he just hates everyone but his mother?”

"Sort of. He adores Bruce, and for some reason he likes Dick, but he hates Tim with a burning passion, probably more than he hates Clark."

"Huh. Any idea why?"

"Probably because Tim has more money than either of his parents, and Damian likes to pretend he's the richest kid in the world." Wally's face lit up with an idea. "Maybe that's why he likes Dick. Even though he's technically a Wayne, he's dirt poor. He refuses to use Bruce's money for anything. He even paid his own way through GCU with crappy jobs."

Jason whistled quietly. He looked around Wally at Dick, who was trying to calm Damian down. Tim just looked annoyed and was doing his best to ignore everyone at the table, while Conner looked entertained. Jason could tell Cassandra was paying attention, but her facial expression was completely neutral. He focused his attention back on Wally. "What does he do now that he's out of college?"

"Actually, he's still in college. He went straight to a master’s degree after he finished his bachelors. He’s a teacher's assistant, and he also has a part time job at the medical school here in Gotham. He's a standardized patient there."

Jason nodded and mentally added standardized patient to a list of potential jobs if he needed more money or wanted to quit working at the library.

His attention was suddenly redirected when Damian leaped up from his chair and ran around the table to Clark. A can of silly string he'd been hiding in his lap was now aimed at Clark, and the poor guy didn't have enough time to dodge. In seconds, most of his hair was covered in bright pink silly string, and Damian was running circles around the table.

"Damian Wayne, get back here now!" Bruce stood up when Damian did not heed his order, following after him. The two ran around the table twice, Damian just barely staying far enough ahead to not get caught, when Alfred suddenly appeared in the middle of Damian's path. The child stopped, but not quickly enough to avoid falling into Alfred's grasp.

"Unhand me, servant," he spat, kicking his legs and doing everything in his power to twist himself loose. Bruce caught up and took the child from Alfred.

"Thank you, my friend." Bruce dragged Damian back to his seat, setting him down. "You will behave now, son." Bruce's stern gaze was truly frightening, even to a hardened badass like Jason. "If you get up again or say one more rude thing to any of our guests, or if you disrespect Alfred like that again, the punishment will be severe. Do you understand me?"

Jason for sure thought that Damian would ignore his father and continue being a little demon, but the child swallowed and nodded. "Yes, Father."

Damn. Way to parent, Wayne.

Bruce exhaled in relief and took his seat again, looking apologetically at Clark. "I am so sorry, Clark."

Clark merely chuckled, pulling some silly string out of his hair. "Don't worry about it, Bruce. I'm used to it. I like the color, though. Makes quite a statement." Alfred had made his way around the table to stand behind Clark. The butler proceeded to fuss over Clark's hair, trying to get as much silly string out of it as possible.

The table was pretty much silent for a few minutes or so before Wally apparently decided the silence was too much for him, which didn't seem out of character at all. "This food is amazing, Alfred. Well done, as always."

Alfred didn't smile, but everyone could tell he was internally preening at the praise. "Thank you, Master Wally. I do my best."

That apparently broke the silence for everyone, because Wally struck up a conversation with Conner about food, Clark and Bruce were conversing about GCU, with Alfred still cleaning Clark's hair, and Tim and Damian began arguing. After a moment of listening, Jason discovered that Damian had accused Tim of having hairy toes, and Tim was outright denying it. Dick was trying to mediate between the two, to no avail. Jason had never paid enough attention to Tim's feet to notice, so he decided not to contribute for fear of not being accurate in his defense of Tim (of course he wouldn't take Damian's side).

The conversations around him continued for a good portion of dinner. Jason decided to just eat in silence, as he did not share such an ardent love of food with Wally and Conner, there didn't seem to be much merit in getting into Tim and Damian's conversation, and Clark and Bruce were definitely too far away for him to even consider engaging in theirs.

The only other person who wasn't in a conversation was Cassandra, who was keeping entirely silent while eating her food. Though her expression never changed, Jason could tell from her eyes that she was most certainly paying close attention to all the other conversations at the table. She was eating, but with the tiniest of bites. Jason couldn't tell if she was truly interested in what everyone was saying or if she was just the kind of person who always paid attention to everything. He assumed it was the latter, as he didn't understand how any sane person could be so interested by Wally's love of corn dogs and Conner's opinion that corn dogs were one of the most disgusting foods in existence (he preferred food that was actual food, not 'a processed cacophony of animal parts').

Cassandra's attention suddenly shifted from everyone at the table to just Jason, and having those intelligent gray eyes focused on him unnerved him. An expression, possibly concern, temporarily shown in her eyes before it was replaced with subtle determination. She nudged Conner's arm with her elbow, drawing the man's attention. She motioned to him in sign language, something along the lines of, "Help me for a second," before turning back to Jason.

After a moment’s hesitation, she signed, " I'm sorry my family is so crazy."

Conner started to translate, "She said that she's sorry-"

Jason had already begun signing back to her before Conner finished his interpretation. " Don't worry. I'm used to insanity. Granted, it's usually my own insanity ." He smiled warmly at her, pleased by the fact that she had finally made an unguarded expression for the first time since he'd met her. It was one of pleased surprise at the discovery that Jason knew sign language. She smiled back at him as she signed her reply.

" Tim and Damian are always like this, I'm afraid. Bruce has been making them sit next to each other at meals in hopes they'll learn to get along. " She paused for a moment, silent laughter crinkling at the corner of her eyes. "We're all skeptical."

Conner seemed equally pleased to see that Jason knew sign language. He mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Jason, to which he nodded, before turning back to a stunned Wally. In fact, it seemed everyone was stunned, because most of the table was now silent and looking at him. He gulped audibly, and went back to eating his food in order to avoid everyone's gaze.

"Jason," Tim said, his voice soft. "I didn't know you knew sign language."

Jason reluctantly looked up and made eye contact. "Yeah, well, it didn't really come up in any of our conversations." He shrugged flippantly, really hoping nobody would make a big deal about it and he could escape this conversation.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Where did you learn?"

Jason glanced over at Cassandra. Her face was mostly neutral again, but Jason had figured out her minute expressions enough to wager that she was both sympathetic for his plight but curious to know the answer like everybody else. Jason exhaled softly and made eye contact with everyone at the table as he answered Bruce's question.

"When I lived on the streets, there was a younger girl whom all the lowlifes seemed particularly inclined to target. I helped her out as much as I could, and she sort of became like a little sister to me." Jason looked down at his plate, using his fork to push around what little food was left, though he made sure not to tilt his head down so Cassandra could read his lips (he didn’t know if she was deaf or just mute, but he wanted to be considerate either way). "She was deaf, so she taught me sign language."

The table was deathly silent, everyone somberly nodding at what he had said. Jason could tell some of them were feeling sorry for him, but a look at Cassandra showed no pity. Only understanding, and a little bit of gratitude. She signed to him, " Thank you for helping her. That was very kind of you." Jason only shrugged. He didn't think he could reply without his hands shaking.

"What happened to her? The girl, I mean." Jason knew Tim was only curious, but he really was hoping nobody would ask him that.

He cleared the lump in his throat. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since I was 11."

They all had sad looks on their faces, except for Damian, who was just sitting there with a bored expression on his face. Clark looked like he might cry, the poor guy, and Jason was really hoping the mood would lighten soon.

Apparently, God was real and he was answering prayers, because the front door suddenly opened and slammed closed and the sound of hurried high heels could be heard stomping toward the dining room. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. Work was murder. Quite literally. This stupid homicide case is wearing me thin." A tall, attractive redhead in a gray pantsuit and bright red heels strutted her way into the room. She sat down her briefcase and took a seat in the only empty chair at the other head of the table. Then she noticed the somber mood that had taken over everyone in the room. "What the hell happened?" she asked warily.

Dick cleared his throat. "Nothing, Babs. We were all just surprised to learn that Jason speaks sign language." Dick motioned toward Jason, as if the redhead, who Jason now recognized as Barbara Gordon, the head homicide detective for the GCPD who had been all over the news for the last couple months, couldn't have figured out that Jason was the only one at the table she didn't know.

Barbara didn't look as if she believed Dick's explanation, but she was smart enough not to pry. "Oh, that's nice." She turned to Jason, a politely pleased expression on her face. "Nice to meet you, Jason. I'm Barbara. You must be Tim's friend. I heard about you. If laundry detergent didn't get the stain out, try cold water and vinegar. Works wonders with coffee stains, in my experience."

Jason couldn't help but chuckle quietly. Tim was right about this never going away.

AO3 | Wattpad | FanFiction

2 notes · View notes

dissertation-delhimetal · 6 years

Text

Chapter 4: I: The Metal Scene in Delhi

Beginnings:

The Delhi metal scene, as partially inactive as it may seem on the surface, has similar origins as that of the national metal scene. But almost all (of the very few) earliest metal bands from Delhi, for instance, Nightmare on Elm Street and Vishnu, used to play covers of other well known bands like Metallica, Megadeth and Iron Maiden; all other heavier bands at that time were either covering rock or grunge tunes, or playing a Guns N’ Roses inspired hard rock. The earliest metal bands to create their own original compositions started emerging only in the early 2000s; bands like Prestorika and Acrid Semblance were the first of Delhi’s crop of metal artists making their own music.

Though it may seem detrimental to the creative environment of a subculture at first for metal bands from the capital to have only played covers during the beginning of the scene, it is the same that seems to have laid the groundwork for original material to surface, as Noble [Artillerie] explained:

“… they were trying to prove a point, by doing all that… it was necessary because what happened is that in that process, a lot of guitar players became really good at their skill, a lot of drummers became really good at their skill, a lot of vocalists became really good at their skill. Which is what we did as well, we just played a lot of covers in the beginning.”

Luke, N. [Artillerie]. (2018, February 26). Personal Interview.

Vikas [ex-Prestorika; Acrid Semblance; Drohkaal] pointed out the early environment of the Delhi metal scene around the time metal bands started to play original music in an interview:

“They were basically playing covers. I would say we were one of the few bands that started with a full originals set in our shows. So we were there, Demonic Resurrection from Bombay, Myndsnare, Pin Drop Violence. Bombay had a good number of bands who were doing originals… Basically, in those days, everyone started with IIT Rendezvous (2002), where they had a competition for bands. So we played at a few of those, and we got invited by RSJ for GIR. Then people from RSJ started organizing pub shows all throughout Delhi. So we used to be there with a couple of other bands like Undying Inc., who had just started, and a couple of other bands who are no more active now. So we started from there, and started getting calls for outstation gigs from Bombay and Bangalore. Sahil Makhija from Demonic Resurrection was big into organizing metal shows in Bombay, so he helped us a lot. He offered us a lot of gigs there. That was a good time, lots of shows.”

Dharmsattu, V. [ex- Prestorika; Acrid Semblance; Dhrokaal]. (2018, March 3). Personal Interview.

This is also the time when Rock Street Journal, an independent music magazine started by independent musicians and enthusiasts in the year 1993, started operating the RSJ forum, which proved to be an integral part in the movement in Delhi’s metal scene (as well as the Indian metal scene) from a seemingly unoriginal atmosphere to a scene producing original compositions. It becomes necessary to point out Rock Street Journal’s role in all of this because now with the presence of a platform where artists and their songs could be reviewed and scrutinized, a place where metal fans could express their opinions on prevailing metal artists and the state of the scene became integral for the development of the scene.

“To this day, I think those forums were really important, which is something we sorely miss and lack now… Suddenly you had people commenting. They had a place where they could go to, they didn’t have to reveal who they were and they could be scathing in their reviews of bands, sometimes unnecessarily, but this forced bands to become better. I remember that at that time it felt very detrimental, it felt as if no one gives a shit, no one cares… but now that I look back, I think those things were necessary. And that’s what truly makes a scene, you know? When people get real about what they think. And so, bands tried to outdo each other in terms of being creative and that changed everything. Suddenly people who were writing on these forums, some of them went on to become critics; they went on to write for RSJ. And it’s sad to say, but at that time, it was only RSJ that was really driving the machine, actively coming out with articles about Indian bands, full page articles, double page articles; no one had ever thought about that.”

Luke, N. [Artillerie]. (2018, February 26). Personal Interview.

It is quite necessary here to point out that here because of the presence of a driving force like Rock Street Journal, a focus from the mainstream could now be shifted not only on the independent music scene in India and metal scene in India, on top of that, there was now an incentive for metal artists to have their art appreciated and reviewed by enthusiasts and music critics alike. And most importantly with a certain level of constant socialization now made possible through the medium of the forums, the metal scene in Delhi could now operate as an independent and powerful creative cultural movement.

A Crack in the Bone:

Ever since 2007, international metal bands finally started to fly over to India, starting with possibly the biggest and most important metal concert even to this day where Iron Maiden performed in Bengaluru. Iron Maiden’s 2007 performance is the key moment when metal in India was put on the front page of mainstream music. Iron Maiden then visited India again in 2009, but it is their performance in 2007 that one can argue opened the gates for countless metal giants to then come and perform in India over the next decade. To present this graphically,

Fig. 4.1: Number of performances by international metal/rock bands in India from 2006-2014 Source: metalbase.in; 2017

The increase in performances from international metal artists is encouraging because that provides an opportunity for cultural crossovers that enable not only sustain the scene but also bring new ideas and exposure to native metal artists.

Fig. 4.2. Twelve Foot Ninja’s (Australia) first ever concert performance at the Hard Rock Café in Delhi, India. October 27th, 2017.

The state of the Delhi metal scene at present is a little disappointing given the lack of genuine and creative engagement owing to various factors, within the genre and even the functioning of the capital and its infrastructure, physical or otherwise. This was pointed out by a number of participants in the questionnaire responses and interviews, where metalheads stated that the metal scenes in Mumbai and Bengaluru are far more active precisely because of the presence of the required infrastructure, an ease to secure venues for gigs and concerts, and support from the fans of the music, a “different kind of excitement and fervor” coupled with an equally high amount of will to participate in events and the organization of the same. And some metal artists echoed the same during interviews, that just to play in other cities somewhat more rewarding because metalheads in Delhi tend to “hold back” during shows and the reception by fans in other cities has often been more visible.

But to be reflexive in our understanding of the scene it is extremely necessary to be self critical, and that is where part of the responsibility for the lull in the Delhi metal scene lies on the performers as well. Moses [Kraken.], speculating on the possible reasons behind the lack of activity in the metal scene pointed out at something that might be far more concerning for a metal enthusiast seemingly unaware of the happenings within the scene than the lull itself:

“I feel there’s this very strong superiority complex that exists among metal musicians, at least the ones there are in India, or Delhi for that matter which is this ‘holier than thou’, ‘we are better than you musically’, or ‘we understand life better than you’. That sort of translates into the attitude that they sort of put forth, which is extremely off-putting for fellow musicians and also people who come to attend their shows. I guess this is also what sort of caused this sudden decay and decomposition... If you’re playing a genre of music that is very off centre and has a very niche crowd, and on top of that niche crowd you’re playing to a very niche crowd in India where Bollywood takes most of the cake, there is no reason for one to feel like they are Steve Vai, or Alexi Laiho, but it’s just the attitude that exists among musicians.

So that is something that’s made me feel very uncomfortable and not feel a part of it because I don’t really see my band or myself as someone who’s ‘holier than thou’; given the right context, I’ll enjoy any sort of music. That’s one thing. Then I guess the audience as well. At least in Delhi, they’re not very forthcoming when it comes to coming out to enjoy metal music, maybe it’s because of the quality of metal bands, maybe it’s the venues, or maybe it’s just the timing of the whole thing.”

Koul, M. [Kraken.]. (2018, March 4). Personal Interview.

Now, the following three narratives from performers who have seen the changes in the metal scene in Delhi over the years are presented here in order to best reflect the current state of the Delhi metal scene.

“Now it’s pretty scarce, and mostly shows happen elsewhere (Bombay, Bengaluru). I mean, they happen in Delhi but the scale has gone down. Earlier we used to have GIR, NH7, those were big platforms, but now as international bands have become so accessible, so people prefer calling them. So that has hurt the local Indian bands a bit. It boils down to lack of bands and lack of interest, but yeah, lots of fans are here in Delhi, it’s just that the scene is more or less dead because a lot of fans wish to see international bands, and now they can.”

Dharmsattu, V. [ex- Prestorika; Acrid Semblance; Dhrokaal]. (2018, March 3). Personal Interview.

But surely with the present state of the scene, its lack of engagement or inactivity can’t just be put on the shoulders of international metal acts to help and resuscitate. So to systematically increase our net of reasons for this decline, Moses [Kraken.] points out:

“When it comes to the metal scene in Delhi, or India at the moment, it’s going through a very deep lull. No one’s releasing any music, I don’t think there’s hardly any metal shows in line, so I hope, fingers crossed, that this is a temporary lull and not a permanent lull. But there’s a very strong quiet in the metal scene at the moment. To add to that, people are sort of going towards more experimental sides of metal which is like modern, instrument based… like Plini just did a tour, so did Twelve Foot Ninja.

So in terms of international bands coming in, there’s a huge influx but the metal bands in India, or Delhi for that matter, sort of just wake themselves up when there’s an international guy coming in to play; they play the opening slot and sort of die out, they don’t release any new stuff or don’t go out of their way to push their own band. Which has a lot to do with, you know, the crowds, the people, the audience, the opportunities, and just the output compared to the input. You have to put in a lot more than you get out of it, and then you have day jobs, or people get married.”

Koul, M. [Kraken.]. (2018, March 4). Personal Interview.

And a lack of engagement due to a lack of will to even create or play music owing to personal preferences does make sense while trying to reason out just why the metal scene in Delhi has been now left to the hands of a presence of international metal acts. Now to bring these arguments to a close and provide the final narrative that sheds a little more light on just why the metal scene in Delhi is now not as exciting as earlier to say the least:

“The scene dropped the moment that scathing review, the idea of weighing the band on how creative they were, the moment that fell through, you know? Like when it came back to just playing covers, like in tribute acts and all that. It came back to that and that’s how it all fell apart. I remember the Norwegian embassy was very interested. We never went to Norway, but there were those that did (Undying Inc., Bhayanak Maut, Scribe) and this cultural exchange happened and that’s how scenes are built, you know? At the moment, we lack that infrastructure; no one’s filling that gap… GIR used to run because people were genuinely interested. It’s show business after all, people were interested in seeing ‘Ye kya karenge?’ (What are they going to do?), ‘how heavy was that band?’, and ‘was it heavier than that band?’ It’s not like people don’t give a shit. There are some who really genuinely enjoy music and they do give a shit, but the talk is not happening anymore.”

Luke, N. [Artillerie]. (2018, February 26). Personal Interview.

A Future of the Delhi Metal Scene?

Given the bleak picture that one might arrive to from the narratives that I’ve included in this paper so far, it is necessary to come to terms with the present situation, and to look forward optimistically to a more engaging and relatively more active, self regenerating subcultural scene. As difficult it is to speculate where exactly the Delhi metal scene would head next, it is necessary to try to understand how and where metal artists perceive Delhi’s metal scene to move forward. Given that the two excerpts provided here are from the first very metal artists from Delhi, who unfortunately no longer perform with their earlier bands, there is undoubtedly a much clearer insight that can draw from these.

“The local bands need the fans’ and organizers’ support. And organizers will only support these bands when they see a large enough audience for this kind of music, to whom they can market it as a gig, right?... For example, 1833 AD almost sounds like an international band now, so musically they are evolving. But without the support, it’s difficult. You can’t keep on spending your own cash just for the love of it. You can do it for 4-5 years, but after that you need some kind of support.

Plus this kind of music, as a performer, you need certain kinds of financial support and backup. Without that you can’t really do it. If you look at bands from US, South America, most of the international bands that made it big, they used to be really poor or were from a very humble background. But over here, it’s a totally different scene. So to buy good instruments, to buy good technology, you need that financial backup and only then will you be able to really go on stage. But it will take time, I think around another 15-20 years for people to really accept… but yeah, at the end of the day it all boils down to the fans. The fans have to make a stand and support. Personally, I knew two bands who at that time used to sound like most international bands but they were from a very humble background and after 3-4 years, they just faded away. I’ve seen instances like that.”

Dharmsattu, V. [ex- Prestorika; Acrid Semblance; Dhrokaal]. (2018, March 3). Personal Interview.

“I would like to believe that just like all these electronic artists that we’re getting to see now, who were sitting in their bedrooms all these years and working on their craft, I’m sure that I would like to believe truly that there are some artists in Delhi who have been relegated to those bedrooms and they haven’t stopped working. No one will come and tell them that their music is good, not right now; it’ll be many years before they’ll be found again. Maybe they have a few friends who’ll come and tell them that they’re good, that they truly believe in what they’re doing because no one cares right now. But as long as it just stays stubborn, we have a future.”

Luke, N. [Artillerie]. (2018, February 26). Personal Interview.

#indianmetalscene #delhimetalscene #india #delhi #metal #music #sociology

0 notes