Chris Barnes Apparently Just Subtweeted Suicide Silence and Jose Mangin
The PRP has called to our attention the following Tweet by Six Feet Under’s Chris Barnes from earlier today:
#Payola is still is alive and well in the music business..#lettheDJsingOnYourAlbum
— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) March 8, 2017
While Barnes could simply be commenting on the long-running practice of labels and bands covertly rewarding radio stations for spinning their tunes — he certainly wouldn’t be the first to rail against it — it seems there’s something more afoot. Consider the following:
- SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal station just announced that Suicide Silence’s track “Doris” topped their “Devil’s Dozen” countdown for the third week in a row
- “Doris” features a guest appearance by Liquid Metal programmer Jose Mangin (hence the hashtag)
- Suicide Silence’s first week album sales were atrocious compared to their past albums
So: where are all those spins coming from?
I’d make the argument that it doesn’t matter.
I don’t have a SiriusXM subscription, but my impression — based on what I know about Liquid Metal, Jose himself and the radio format in general — is that Jose chooses to give music he personally likes an extra push. In recent memory, Byzantine and Twelve Foot Ninja have gotten the same treatment. Jose does a fine job of keeping the channel diverse but most certainly lets his personal taste influence the playlist. Which makes a whole lot of sense: if you’ve ever met Jose in person, you’d know he actually is as passionate as he seems on the air.
And that’s the way it should be. That’s the philosophy we’ve always followed at MetalSucks: we’ve never pretended to be unbiased with regards to our musical tastes, and we choose the bands we give written space accordingly. It’s the passion that drives this site, and that drives Jose. To squash that freedom to be neuter our love of the genre.
The alternative would be a format similar to every other boring ass active rock station in America: the same bland shit, over and over and over again. Is that what Chris Barnes wants?
I doubt it. As such, he comes across as sour that Suicide Silence are getting more attention than Six Feet Under, who also have a new record out. I don’t blame him for feeling that way — he’s been doing it for WAY longer, he’s plenty deserving of the attention, and it is kind of bullshitty that one person’s personal tastes dictate the number of spins a track gets on a very prominent radio station — but that’s how it is. Ultimately the fans will do the talking regardless of radio spins: just as SiriusXM hasn’t made Byzantine into superstars (unfortunately), it won’t make all the haters suddenly like “Doris” and it wouldn’t give Six Feet Under millions of extra fans if they were the recipients of dozens of extra weekly plays. It’s just one part of an industry machine that’s very, very big and complex, which Barnes should know after nearly 30 years making metal.
Then again, I’m not trying to neuter Barnes either. He’s displaying that very same passion in his Tweets, and he’s known for being an outspoken fellow.
So let’s everyone just keep doing what they’re doing, and not get too upset. Mmmkay?
