As a rabid music fan, I love and enjoy a lot of different bands of many genres. Some of them are bands that I listen to in passing and that “like,” while others are bands that I am incredibly passionate about. I love Judas Priest, and I am obsessively in love with Iron Maiden. I dig Jefferson Airplane, but I worship the Grateful Dead. I think YES is a remarkable band, but King Crimson blows me away so hard that sometimes it feels like it takes days to get back to where I was. There are particular bands that I bow my head to and open my heart to, but this doesn’t mean that they are perfect.
They might always be top-tier bands but let’s face it. Even my favorite bands are bound to, and one point (or more) let me down. They will let you, the listener/reader, down as well. Is this a bad thing? Not at all. As a matter of fact, it reminds us that these bands are human. They are flesh and blood just like we are, and like us, they will make mistakes and take missteps.
As a passionate fan of music, I set the bar high for the bands I love. I am not afraid to call out some of my favorite bands when I feel like they have dropped the ball. For the most part, it seems common for fans to accept everything a band/artist puts out as gold. Other fans that I’ve seen feel no restraint when exclaiming how crappy or mediocre a release and/or live performance might be. Some people call it trolling, some people call it a “hater” or a “Keyboard Warrior”, but I call it a true fan.
Sometimes the bands themselves can accept the criticism of doing something pretty shitty. Other times, bands/artists will retaliate in a defensive way that may even border on ridiculous or flat-out insane (i.e., Sebastian Bach.) A few years ago, I saw Sebastian Bach on one of his solo tours, and I looked forward to seeing him. I knew his voice wasn’t what it used to be, but as a huge Skid Row fan, I was a Sebastian Bach fan.
Back in the early days of Skid Row, he was one of the best metal singers around, but the performance I saw proved otherwise. I was so disappointed. He sounded terrible. The place was about ¾ full, which isn’t bad for a pretty big club. Bach looked awful, and his voice was horrible. This didn’t seem to faze the crowd who sang along to nearly every song, but I couldn’t get past how bad he sounded. When I posted my review of the show, Bach lost his shit and engaged me in a war of words via Facebook. It was entertaining, to say the least, but at the same time, It made me sad that he took my honest (yet snarky) criticism of his show and felt the need to defend himself and his performance.
KISS is another band that has let me down numerous times. The “KISS Army” is a dedicated bunch. This fanbase is hard-pressed to find anything wrong with Kiss. I mean, KISS could pretty much shit on a piece of plastic, and most KISS fans would call it amazing; the best shit they’ve ever seen. With some embarrassing albums in the ‘80s such as Asylum and Crazy Nights, Music’s mega failure from The Elder (which has 2-3 good songs, tops), and the KISS grunge album “Carnival of Souls” were all moments that made me cringe. I rolled my eyes, I testified how much I disliked it, but it didn’t make me any less a KISS fan.
Iron Maiden, one of my two all-time favorite bands (besides the Grateful Dead), has let me down a few times. The first was being when Iron Maiden released No Prayer for the Dying. This was the first album they did with Janick Gers replacing Adrian Smith, and honestly, I didn’t love this album. While it had a few moments, I was disappointed. Fear of the Dark seemed to be a step in the right direction, but then the unthinkable happened. Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden. Rumors ran amok until I learned that former Wolfsbane vocalist Blaze Bayley had replaced Bruce. I scratched my head, but I hoped for the best. What I got was two of the worst albums ever made (sans a song or two) and a live show that was one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed in my life.
I could list so many bands who have let me down over the years. Some more so than others, but does this make me any less a fan? Absolutely not. Nobody is perfect, and when one can be vocal about their disappointment in a much-loved band, it just shows the level of passion for said bands. Regardless of the shitty music or bad decisions they may make, I believe in giving them the opportunity to redeem themselves as a fan. Sometimes they will make it right, and sometimes they may continue on this trajectory of suck and disappointment. If this is the case, I can look back at the legacy of work that I love and find solace in the fact that, at one time, I wasn’t let down by the bands I cherish.
About The Author
