Too Heavy To Hug [#604]
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Too Heavy To Hug [#604]

Welcome to THTH, Forte’s premier source of all things heavy, hard, fast and metal.
Somehow, it seems, the mainstream metal press is suddenly obsessed with Papa Roach. The latest thing I read was that vocalist Jacoby Shaddix is going to launch a clothing line called Lovers Are Lunatics. He has been quoted as saying the style will be “real basic” – and if you read about fashion, you’ll know that the term “basic” pretty much means “shit”. Yep, much like Papa Roach’s music, the associated fashion is going to be “real shit”.
Also, it seems, when there’s no Metallica, Iron Maiden beer yarns, Scott Ian farting, Dave Lombardo farting, Mike Portnoy crying, Slayer saving kittens yarns or Queensrÿche legal action schoolyard whingeing yarns to report on, Papa Roach have become the next go-to, along with Megadeth’s constantly changing line-up. But that’s just it really, isn’t it? We love reading about the same old bands doing the same old stuff, saying the same old stuff because that’s all that’s reported on. I know I’m sick of reading about the same old shit and if I had the time and energy I’d be doing what real journalists do and going out and actively hunting down news, not just looking at Twitter to say who said what to whom first.
Having said all of that, you take away all of the above mentioned mainstays and what do you have? A list of articles about bands no one has heard of, no one cares about, no one wants to read and no one can relate to because new music sucks and only when new bands become old bands everyone knows do we get to know more about them.
Yep, it’s pretty much the same old media loop all sorts of celeb mags and gossip mags use to sell copies and as much as we like to think everything about metal is totally different to everything else to do with every other thing else, it’s really not. But that’s not to say things can’t change. New bands need publicists, they need clothing lines and controversy, drug and alcohol stories, hotel room trashing stories like old to bring them to the forefront, but no, they’re too busy been clean-cut and wholesome.
In other news…
Feed Her To The Sharks will release their new album, Fortitude, on Tuesday, February 10.
The 2015 Melbourne Soundwave Festival will be held at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22.
Soundgarden will play Festival Hall on Tuesday, February 24.
All That Remains will release their new album, The Order of Things, on Friday, February 27.
Psycroptic will release their sixth album, Echoes to Come, in March.
Cancer Bats will release their fifth studio album, Zero, on Friday, March 13.
Psycroptic with special guests Goatwhore will play The Hi-Fi on Friday, March 13, Ballarat’s Karova Lounge on Sunday, March 15, The Barwon Club on Friday, March 20 and Melbourne’s Wrangler Studios on Saturday, March 21.
Mastodon will play Festival Hall on Friday, March 27.
Gallows will release Desolation Sounds on Friday, April 10.
The Ocean will play The Evelyn Hotel on Saturday, April 18.
If you have any news about local metal bands, shows or albums, let THTH know by emailing to [email protected] or get in touch via Twitter at @TooHeavyToHug
By Paul S Taylor