Mountain goats, best ever death metal band

[t4ll3y]

you can't play an acoustic guitar without sounding like NMH apparently.

Go back to reading pitchfork, faggot.

[tracehazarrrrd]

@t4ll3y just saying and not replying, how droll.

also, it appears to me that this band is far more pitchforkesque than nmh. bad lyrics, bad music ideas, put to acoustic guitar to up the hipness. small band with bad ideas praised to the sky because they are obscure, as well. also, the influence from nmh, to me, seems obvious; with a little bit of belle and sebastian and celtic acoustic-pub stuff. is nmh not a good measuring stick, then?

[tracehazarrrrd]

these dudes are terrible--they're obviously borrowing from Neutral Milk Hotel and doing a bad job of it. I heard this dreck in a record store and found it to be such a violation of my ears that I had to come here and troll. Mountain Goats are terrible shit.

[unprofessionalemail]

@tracehazarrrrd

Considering they formed years before Neutral Milk Hotel I would say you're wrong buddy.

[tracehazarrrrd]

@unprofessionalemail K, was that their bad period, or their terrible period, their early days?

[AnonymousAnemone]

@tracehazarrrrd No, it wasn't their bad period. In fact, it was a golden age of Mountain Goats music that many people love. By the way, John Darnielle (the lead singer of the Mountain Goats) doesn't try to hide the fact that he's been influenced by NMH. He covers their songs sometimes live. And by the way, MUSIC IS A FUCKING MATTER OF OPINION. If you can't grasp that idea, you shouldn't even be listening to any of it.

[tracehazarrrrd]

@AnonymousAnemone actually, i was just in ireland recently and this really sounds like good pub music to me now, although it is still a bit weak in the songwriter category. I guess sometimes it just takes context.

[monkeycrescentwrench]

oh god, that was wonderful, with the audience calling back.

[dadaproletariat]

it's called "Sarcofago Live", on the EP "Satanic Messiah". unfortunately i haven't been able to find it on youtube though

[NativeMetalVT]

@dadaproletariat I've had the same issue... probably because of all the actual videos of Sarcofago playing live. That's another one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs.

[dadaproletariat]

i think john darnielle would approve of that venture

i was so surprised when i found out he listened to not only metal, but fucking awesome underground metal. i mean the man wrote a song about sarcofago for fucks sake

[catalinaguerrero]

wtf is this shit

[rillgrand]

I really like the way he sings this live.

[madpunkloserTV]

the denton affair?? i know them, shit

[Nicky3guns]

LMAO!!!!!!!! OMG this band is fucking awesome!!!

[blithium]

*sigh* There's something about a room full of people screaming Hail Satan that makes me smile inside :)

Also, for the morons: This is not death metal. It's about death metal.

[pleasemallorie]

@blithium hey i know you from songmeanings!!!!!

specifically, mountain goats lyrics on songmeanings....

haha did you see that idiot on there the other day with the username godsoldier? they said, "my son is not allowed to listen to this anymore. it's a bunch of devil-worshipping drug using...." something or other like that.

effing hilarious, it was....

i believe it was you who said, "fuck you. hail satan." hahaha

nice..

[blithium]

Haha, yeah. I saw him/her. That was hilarious. Poor kid :(

[Rawwwwwwrq]

@blithium HAIL SATAN! from me and all of my friends hahahahaha

[blithium]

And a happy Hail Satan to you!

[MorkaGraven]

@blithium "Hail Satan" is the most unintelligent thing to say if there is nothing to support it. Just think of those 12982734289163 norse-core bands whose lyrics repeatedly feature things along the lines of "Hail Satan, he's so evil and awesome, Hail Satan, Fuck christians up the ass"

[blithium]

@MorkaGraven Good thing there's a song full of things to support it, then :)

[looshkin66]

what a great song!

[Kjfitzdude1]

i think the message is, it doesn't matter what you like, what you do (using a unique and ostracized topic as Death Metal) you should follow that goal despite any holdbacks (being from an area like Denton).

Thats what song means for me.

[dthmetalrox]

there macking fun of death metal

[xjr9xjr9xjr9]

No they aren't.

[hank1972]

The song could be about a Cuban salsa band in rural Iowa and they troubles they would face for making there music in a area that could not understand them.

[CodyAllenmusic]

no they aren't.

[nathanpolk47]

I'm a metal head and I like these guys. I listen to Death metal and Prog metal, no mainstream. ....and macking? lol jk dude, enjoy the music man! These guys!

[rifleriverkilla]

john darnielle loves death metal.

bands like Deicide.

[blueamerican54]

no they are not-

this song is about succeeding in the face of societal disapproval. (death metal isn't exactly the most popular music genre in the world)

[causticacrostik]

Whether you agree with his choice to end the song with "Hail Satan" or not, don't confuse his creation of art with personal opinion. He's using "Hail Satan (a common phrase in death metal music) as a powerful and elegant way of celebrating what was dear to the kids in the song: the inspiration, passion and connection they felt to an art form - deathmetal - a silly genre to many, but that doesn't take away from it importance to the characters in the song or it's message to us as listeners. <3TMG

[Knarf009]

This is very well put, and JD is an educated writer so it's very easy to assume he meant it this way. Part of being a good writer is being able to submerge the reader into the picture you're painting and by repeating "hail satan" he is helping you to picture them and what they were about. Personal beliefs don't matter when you're writing about someone else, only their beliefs matter.

[sonorpaiste702]

@causticacrostik To be honest, Hail Satan is not very popular in Death Metal music. Darnielle just uses it because it fits the context of the song which features misguided youth that don't feel they fit in and find refuge in something they don't really know about, but really passionately believe in. It really personifies that sort of outsider stage that a lot of us went through in school. The sort of thing we look back on and go "well that was silly".

[MorkaGraven]

@sonorpaiste702 Pfft. "Outsider stage"? I think someone like Gaahl (Formerly of Gorgoroth) would claim your argument silly. Some people start off in metal during their teenage years and keep with it until their 40's+.

I think Varg Vikernes celebrated his 39th Birthday last year and he's still releasing new material. This "outsider stage", although I understand your point, and that it may apply to other subcultures, when used with metalheads can have poor accuracy.

[sonorpaiste702]

@MorkaGraven I was talking about the context of the song, not the actual Metal culture. I know what the culture is like, I've been involved in it and raised with it.

I think I could have worded my comment better though, because I wasn't calling Death Metal a whole outsider thing, because most people tend to stick with it their whole life if they actually get into it.

[albuspotter9]

Can someone do a really in-depth description of the meaning of this song? I like it a lot, but I'm having trouble grasping which parts are sarcasm and which aren't.

[CodyAllenmusic]

It's about an outcasted group of friends who put together a band, and dreamed of becoming one of the best deathmetal bands of all time, and they put one of the guys in a mental institution where they told him that it was stupid to dream to be in a deathmetal band. It's just about how sometimes people get punished for merely dreaming their dreams.

[kc7fys]

I can't play this song without crying. The characters are real kids to me. And killing their dream, that's killing the child's hope. This song makes me want to be a better dad--and to get my kids to sing "hail satan" along with me. I never thought I would so exuberantly want to sing hail satan, but I do.

[belliot060]

the best satire is that that touches on REAL issues in a smart and funny way. take for example news break on SNL. he's doing the exact same thing, only in a different form.

but none of this matters...

his songs are amazing! and that's all that matters.

:)

[Questpeace]

Yeah, this isn't satire really...

[Snatchbot88]

well it's his art that allows him to evoke our sympathy for him. he takes a serious topic like the evil ways of people who kill dreams and posits himself as such a victim. it's his sarcastic, iconoclastic personality that turns our emotions on their head (some of us...) when he says that he is a follower of satan... so basically a lot of people wouldn't feel pity for him at the end of the song. theres a double metaphor he uses to create 2 characters, the death metal guy and the satan worshipper.

[TurboMuhnkie]

lulz The very nature of the word wrong defies the nature of relativity, while importance defines it, eh? I'm not interested in your convoluted logic. The song's all a joke, he never worked at a mental hospital, he doesn't care about kids imprisoned for the music they dig. :) Peace.

[Snatchbot88]

dude...lol that's what i SAID. he's goofing around. and i didn't even say importance defines relativity you're just connecting 2 unrelated topics that were mentioned in my comments, man.

what a load of crap.

[BumPooWeeFace]

hail satan

[theironyengine]

Yes. Yes!

YES!!!

[jimbomckeckney]

John Darnielle is genuinely one of the biggest fans of non-cliche'd death metal and black metal on the planet.

[padrogfromcali]

RAW and PURE, nobody does it better than JOhn Darnielle

[XxDarkMinixX]

death metal n black metal music vids ROCK!!!!!!!

[Friggoffbarb]

this music is funny

i'm a death metal fan, but we dont take the lyrics of our music seriously.

and btw satan is a just a metaphor, not a being.

anyways different music.

[elahbo]

Well said!

I agree!

[Fraeg]

its kvlt and grim from the frostbitten lands of the heart of winter while storming the lights bane of the welkins at dusk while in a dark funeral... anyway yeah this video made me smile at least.

[Friggoffbarb]

hahaha yes emperor

[SoulTassadar]

Id just like to say that he isn't even talking about death metal, its just a tool to talk about something entirely different.  And by he, I mean The Mountain Goats and this song.

[Snatchbot88]

he's just goofing around, is all

[TurboMuhnkie]

No. He's not. He's talking about a genuinely important issue. When you punish a person for dreaming their dream, don't expect them to thank or forgive you. That's not goofing around. :)

[Snatchbot88]

Importance is relative. Listen to the lyrics and you'll understand me :P

[TurboMuhnkie]

-_- Importance is relative, as are ignorance and being wrong. Relatively, you've got much more of the last two than I do. There's an article by John floating around the internet somewhere that explains it in more detail. Know what you're talking about or don't talk.

[Snatchbot88]

Ignorance and being wrong are not relative, boy. The very nature of the word "wrong" defies the nature of relativity.

[Snatchbot88]

For example, your sense of humor is ignorant because you can't understand the sarcasm and bitterness in the man when he sings "Hail Satan!".

[Imtheman1man]

ok let me but in. Yes there is a lot of sarcasm here. But he does touch on a real topic here. The line 'When you punish a person for dreaming their dream, don't expect them to thank or forgive you' he is making a valid point, yes granted in a vary funny way. But that is what true artisit does, and The Mountain Goats do that in all there songs even this one.

[wombo2]

HAIL SATAN

[SouperSaiyan]

HAIL SATAN.

John is a god damn genius.

i want this mans children.

[heathcoteheat]

THIS WAS THE EBST SHOW EEVER!

[tommytumult]

hail satan

[deluxe93amstrat]

hail hail

[sammysamsaminson]

tonight!

[yenaled]

i was there! amazing gig.

[RustyGonzo]

Hahahaha, his little jump made me laugh... That's awesome.

I just wish I could've been there. Damn you, Yooootube!

[yooootube]

i was there too and it WAS that good!!!

[deathofdragons]

Out of sync for me. You're right about the guitar jump.

[hanakuso100]

i watch it back and its out of sync, what i do? out of sync for any body else? david

[ashlian285]

Please bring this band and all it's fans to a death metal concert. It will be so much fun. heh. bye

[monkis50]

why so you can rip them apart and bathe in the blood? you must be one of those kids that wants desperately to be different, sorry your not.