The Past Remains Untainted

“You used to go online to escape the real world. Now you go out into the real world to escape the internet.” The quote was taken from an article in a Spanish newspaper, which reported a recent increase in CD usage, as reflected in compact disc sales figures in the United States, Spain, and worldwide.
The article attempts to contrast this data—and a supposed increase in the purchase of music in physical format—with the overwhelming figures achieved by digital platforms, because reality continues to proclaim digital as the dominant force in the global music market. This comes as no surprise.
Today, everything revolves around the virtual, the digital, speed, and immediacy. Everything is disposable—just like digital music. I’ve always maintained that the main difference between physical and digital formats lies precisely in the ability to appreciate something that stays with you for a lifetime—something that’s tangible, collectible, and palpable. Digital music, on the other hand, is listened to and then discarded.
Perhaps this means nothing to someone who doesn’t know what it’s like to browse record stores, share knowledge with others, or simply enjoy heavy metal—finding hard-to-find items, discovering new music, and so on. Physical formats give us that possibility and more: the ability to truly value a record or an album, in addition to other technical aspects like sound quality, which is clearly superior.
It’s not that we’re trying to cling to the past. Digital media also allows us to discover new music and bands for whom this medium is the only way to get their material out there (as was once done with demos), which, in that sense, is great. What I’m saying is that one thing shouldn’t overshadow the other. The tangible is remembered, treasured, and stored in the soul as well, and it takes us to unforgettable places and memories.
It’s not that we celebrate nostalgia as the only thing Metal has to offer. We love reminiscing about the old days; we love ’80s metal—and even ’90s Metal, too—and many aspects of those bygone eras that have been lost, but we shouldn’t go so far as to suggest that nostalgia is the only thing that exists in Metal.
You just have to read the media to realize this. Every tour has that “tour commemorating such-and-such album” or “anniversary of album X” vibe; it seems like the only thing driving it is nostalgia, which is fine, but is that all there is to it?
Personally, I’m pretty tired of all the posts about album anniversaries, the endless “reminiscence” tours, or celebrating so many years of this or that. We respect—and often even share—that sentiment, but it doesn’t end there. What’s new? That should be the question. Because at some point, we have to leave the sepia-toned photos and old recordings where they belong and set out to move toward something new—and mind you, that doesn’t necessarily mean just doing anything, but rather putting your mind and heart into making new music while maintaining the spirit of heavy metal.
This isn’t a criticism, but rather a reflection, because we also need to think beyond just what’s new from established bands with a long history on the scene. Every day there are new acts emerging, and the reality is that nostalgia and clinging to the past obscure the new bands—who are the reality of today and who are taking the baton in the metal scene.
In our webzine, we’ve always aimed to uphold the spirit of Heavy Metal, reminiscing about the old days but also committing to the more challenging task: promoting the underground scene—both White Metal and Argentine bands—regardless of the latter’s religious beliefs, as we’ve explained many times. We chose the harder path, not only because the metal audience, in general, isn’t particularly interested in Metal with Christian content, but also because it’s challenging to promote new material and bands with interesting concepts that don’t have much exposure.
We always stay within the realm of Metal, and while we support the various styles within the scene, we have our limits because we understand and believe in what Metal truly is. We don’t use the label just for the sake of it. We’re not in this just for a “like”—that doesn’t interest us. We’re only interested in spreading the word, and we use social media to share what we write and publish on our website. Rubbish isn’t our thing, and we do this because we believe in what we do—not to show off, and certainly not for profit.
And as proof that we’re also committed to our recent past, this October we’re launching a new section called “White Metal.Ar”—a space where we’ll be reviewing old material from Argentine bands in the White Metal scene, such as independent albums, demos, etc., bringing back many items from our archives that are well worth rescuing from oblivion, But that’s not all—as we mentioned above, we remain committed to the new, and October will bring our usual string of album reviews, many of which are recent releases, and, God willing, more interviews and everything else we typically publish.
Thank you to everyone who supports us in one way or another—by contributing material, reading and sharing our articles, offering your opinions, and even spreading the word about what we do. It’s heartening to know that we’re not the only ones who think this way.
And never forget that the truth isn’t on social media or in the virtual world; it’s out there (to paraphrase a line from a famous TV series). God is much more real than you think and much more than just a religion. He’s right there, waiting for you to step out of the virtual world.
We’ll be back in November… Long live Heavy Metal and the true warriors of Metal!!!!!