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Report: Heavy Metal And SHAKESPEARE Together At Last
- July 25, 2009
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David Ng of the Los Angeles Times's Culture Monster blog reports: What do William Shakespeare and heavy-metal rock have in common? Why, a lot more than you might think, according to Jason Simms, a musician with the Portland, Ore.-based band called the METAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY. "There's sort of an element of exaggeration to both," Simms told Culture Monster. " 'Romeo and Juliet' is really hard to fathom in our day and age — two teenagers declaring their love after knowing each other for 15 minutes? Also, a lot of metal lyrics from MANOWAR and IRON MAIDEN are about going into battle, and so they work well with the historical dramas like 'Henry V'." He added: "And both have a lot to do with gender bending and costumes — I mean, IRON MAIDEN wore tights, had long the hair and put on makeup." Read the entire report from the Los Angeles Times. Watch METAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY's video for the song "To Bleed Or Not To Bleed" below. For more information, visit MetalShakespeare.com. 
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COMMENT |
posted by :
7/25/2009 9:11:41 PM
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...No.
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COMMENT |
posted by : blackXmetalXcore
7/25/2009 9:13:58 PM
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lame
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COMMENT | Wtf!!
posted by :
7/25/2009 9:16:01 PM
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The band picture is hilarious!! Yeah I can imagine these guys out wth 3 inches of Blood or Behemoth..LOL.
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COMMENT |
posted by : Fantacist
7/25/2009 9:18:30 PM
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Theatre people, I've met a few of them in my day. Always felt better when they weren't around.
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COMMENT |
posted by : The Grand Wizard
7/25/2009 9:26:13 PM
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The look is ridiculous, the sound is generic. This ain't good for my eyes and ears. P.S. The lead singer is balder than Devin Townsend.
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COMMENT | Excuse me, Mr. Jason Simms,
posted by : Neglect
7/25/2009 9:32:28 PM
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"I mean, IRON MAIDEN wore tights, had long the hair and put on makeup."
Your knowledge of metal is obviously as limited as my knowledge of hip-hop. From the perspective of someone who listens to a lot of metal, you have skimmed the surface of the genre, much as I would may have glanced at a few "known" hip-hop bands and classified the entire genre based on what I saw from The Black Eyed Peas or Sean Kingston. Please, no more metal analogies unless you know what you're talking about.
BTW, a metal band called Jag Panzer paid tribute to "Macbeth" with an album called "Thane To The Throne."
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COMMENT | ^^^
posted by : Hawkwinder
7/25/2009 9:43:20 PM
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also a CD I have by Rebellion (some members from Gravedigger) does a concept CD on Shakespeare. But a story like this doesn't need to be repeated here - unless for us to laugh at. It belongs in the Journal of the AARP.
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COMMENT | Worst thing I have ever seen....
posted by :
7/25/2009 9:52:47 PM
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Worst. Thing. Ever. Fucking lame, in fact that insults regular lame....worst ever, these dudes should be beaten up in an alley after every performance....this is beyond the most fucked up thing....that pic should be burned...this band should be burned...and never, EVER compare yourselves to Iron Maiden, you poncy fruit loop LOSERS! Jesus, is this what passes for talent?
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COMMENT |
posted by : Fani Dilth
7/25/2009 10:59:14 PM
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...in fact that insults regular lame...
That's a great line !
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COMMENT |
posted by : THRASHMONGER
7/25/2009 11:11:33 PM
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If they suddenly kick ass they can tour w NASTY DISASTER and SWASHBUCKLE.
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COMMENT |
posted by : SxWhichWayToFreeTx
7/25/2009 11:38:11 PM
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they look like hipsters
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COMMENT |
posted by : Billy Oxygen
7/26/2009 12:36:40 AM
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eeee fucking gaaadddss
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COMMENT | THRASHMONGER
posted by : Billy Oxygen
7/26/2009 12:39:04 AM
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ya made me shoot beer out my nose ya fuk!
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COMMENT | unique...
posted by :
7/26/2009 1:15:16 AM
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the 2 shouldnt mix. funniest picture ever. even funnier than
immortal pics.
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COMMENT | Neglect
posted by : juanneman
7/26/2009 2:44:14 AM
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Rebellion did the same with their first album, called `Macbeth´ as well. Hackwinder, you´re right.
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COMMENT | Fucking hilarious.
posted by :
7/26/2009 4:00:51 AM
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Kudos to these guys, very entertaining. Very cool.
Something of some relevance; Every year the city of Ashland, OR has a HUGE Shakespeare festival. They usually do something around 11 plays, 5 or 6 of which are the original shakespearean version.
Probably where these guys got their inspiration from.
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COMMENT |
posted by :
7/26/2009 4:33:24 AM
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Rebellion's MacBeth -A Tragedy In Steel is one bad-ass piece of Shakespeare-themed metal and about 200 % heavier than that joke of a band above.
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COMMENT | Great
posted by :
7/26/2009 5:37:49 AM
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An insult to both. Just what we needed, another band for the irony market!
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COMMENT |
posted by :
7/26/2009 5:41:42 AM
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I think it's funny, it's only a bit of a laugh FFS, if you can't see a funny side to metal there is something wrong!
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COMMENT | they say
posted by : dave imstayin'
7/26/2009 6:20:02 AM
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the whole Shakespeare thing is a hoax
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COMMENT | It's hilarious!
posted by :
7/26/2009 7:07:45 AM
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But I think it's rather cool. I myself have done a Shakespeare parody play, so I can tell what fun Shakespeare can be if done with the right type of humor.
And this is hilarious! After all, are their pictures any less funny then guys in panda makeup running around in the woods pretending to be trolls?
Get a sense of humor people ;)
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COMMENT | as for the band and what they play,
posted by : dave imstayin'
7/26/2009 7:11:12 AM
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this is far beyond retarded, 0% metal crap from a bunch of spineless hipsters
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COMMENT | Not the first...
posted by :
7/26/2009 9:11:03 AM
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...How Like A Winter took their name from a Shakespeare sonnet, and put said sonnet to music. It was pretty cool.
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COMMENT |
posted by : Skanna
7/26/2009 9:53:21 AM
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That singer should be the new singer in Anthrax.
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COMMENT |
posted by : Skanna
7/26/2009 9:53:28 AM
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That singer should be the new singer in Anthrax.
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COMMENT |
posted by :
7/26/2009 10:36:26 AM
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this is just brutal. what a bunch of dorks.
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COMMENT |
posted by : thenumberofthebeef
7/26/2009 11:33:44 AM
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Dig the early NWOBHM sound but the singer should be shot. And all of them should be shot for dressing that way. Kick out the singer, give up the Shakespear shtick and mayhaps there'd be a good band under there.
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COMMENT |
posted by : Mandalay
7/26/2009 11:57:18 AM
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Music is good, singer is horrible.
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COMMENT |
posted by : PikeChopsaw
7/26/2009 12:26:00 PM
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You know what will really be metal? If those guys set each other on fire!
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COMMENT | Forsooth!
posted by : Lapdog1
7/26/2009 12:34:18 PM
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Odds Bodkins!
What's next....a Chaucer concept album?
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COMMENT | Ummmmm
posted by :
7/26/2009 12:34:54 PM
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Exactly when did Maiden wear make-up? I may be mistaken but I'm pretty damn sure they didn't look like Poison. The tights yes, but make-up? I think Nicko should punch this guy in the face.
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COMMENT | Ummmmm
posted by :
7/26/2009 12:34:54 PM
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Exactly when did Maiden wear make-up? I may be mistaken but I'm pretty damn sure they didn't look like Poison. The tights yes, but make-up? I think Nicko should punch this guy in the face.
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COMMENT |
posted by : 0o0o0o01
7/26/2009 12:37:44 PM
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Joke or not, the singer is ruining it.
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COMMENT | Into the Abyss with em!
posted by : SolarReflection36
7/26/2009 2:16:07 PM
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o_O!
ooOOHMYGOD...
This is Blasphemy!
I just might have to show my friends at the Stratford Festival
On second thought
NOT :/
Then again.......
NO
Mind you
Kindove liking the tights!
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COMMENT | Fuck this
posted by : Lorn
7/26/2009 2:43:02 PM
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.
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COMMENT | Thane To The Throne
posted by : Metal2Metal6
7/26/2009 2:56:44 PM
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Jag Panzer already did the Shakespeare theme years ago. This shit just looks gay.
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COMMENT | Weirdo
posted by : dave imstayin'
7/26/2009 4:12:43 PM
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"I think Nicko should punch this guy in the face"
LMAO
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COMMENT | Metal2Metal6
posted by :
7/26/2009 4:37:31 PM
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Thane to the Throne - I forgot about that. It was pretty bad (as in not good) as I recall.
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COMMENT | You want epic masterpiece???
posted by :
7/26/2009 5:22:36 PM
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check out Judas Priest's Nostradamus! WOW!!!!!!!
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COMMENT | reading the comments above spurred me
posted by : Hawkwinder
7/26/2009 7:13:58 PM
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to watch the video. Not only does it sound NWOBHM, the singer has the quintessential NWOBHM type of voice. Good stuff, actually. I just don't want to hear a report that Shakespeare and Metal have alot in common.
Any more than that Rap and Metal have a lot in common or Wrestling and Metal, etc.
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COMMENT | LMAO!!!
posted by : postal
7/27/2009 6:40:45 AM
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Not only at the band attempting to market itself, albeit horribly, but at the posters here afraid of a little Bard. Would it have been OK if the guy said Behemoth wore makeup? And hey... Behemoth dons leather too!!! Does that mean that Shakespeare is impossible in metal? NO! As posters have already said before me, it has been done before. But most of you slag Shakespeare because you were forced to read it instead of watching TV or playing D&D listening to shitty black metal. What does black metal crap have on Hamlet... perhaps one of the darkest plays ever? Oh... lets look mean for the camera and screech like Banshees. Ooohhh... now that's great stuff.
While it sounds as though I am bashing black metal as an UMBRELLA term using Behemoth as a scapegoat (only because this was one band mentioned earlier), these bands come and go but the Bard has proven to stick around after a few centuries. Like it or not, and whether he wrote his own material or not (scholars regularly disagree on the authenticity of his work and how much he stole from his contemporaries), Shakespeare will be around long after black metal collects dust in the used CD bin at the record store, even at 99 cents a CD. The man utilized language, emotion, and human frailty in a way most writers today have forgotten, or ignored.
Feel free to bash me if you like. I have been listening to various forms of music for over three decades now. This does NOT make me better than any of you. In a manner of knowing what makes something timeless it has to serve the widest possible audience... WITHOUT selling out. We ALL know metal is a niche market and it always will be. But Shakespeare has entertained audiences old AND young for centuries. I bet, as I said before, if this world has centuries left in it, Shakespeare will still be around and 99.9% of the music we listen to now, or have listened to in the past, will be forgotten (Do you think black metal, death metal, metalcore, and insert-your-fav-metal-genre-here metal will be around in centuries? I really don't think there are enough musical genius' and scales to last. Hell, even now alot of new stuff my students listen to sounds like rehash from stuff I listened to in the 80's.
Enough of my rant. Long live Shakespeare. And anyone who puts it to metal and does it well deserves all sorts of pats on the back.
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COMMENT |
posted by : deathcore sux
7/27/2009 12:25:22 PM
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u gotta admit its better than deathcore
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COMMENT | Why the hate?
posted by : rusted_angel
7/27/2009 2:40:36 PM
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These guys put on a great live show, and have pretty good music for a local band with the level of experience they have. I definitely think a little shtick and theatre can suit metal well. Try seeing them in person before you knock them!
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COMMENT | postal
posted by : dave imstayin'
7/28/2009 6:28:43 AM
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wow, what a thoroughly expounded point of yours. i really see no sense in bashing it
besides, i dislike Behemoth too
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