Periphery Guitarist Misha Mansoor Puts "Musical Elitists" in Their Place

Periphery guitarist -- and Guitar World columnist -- Misha Mansoor seems just a tad ticked off in a post he wrote for Metal Sucks yesterday. In a very well-written diatribe on the state of the music industry -- and the state of the fans that inhabit the dark corners of metal forums and comment sections everywhere -- "Bulb" took on the "musical elitists" who make life all the more frustrating for aspiring musicians. You can check out an excerpt below.

"I see so many 'musical elitists' on all sorts of forums get their little endorphin rush from putting bands down in a rude manner. Many of these people are in bands themselves, which is what I want to talk about today. These people thrive on sites like MetalSucks, Metal Injection, Blabbermouth, The PRP and Lambgoat to name a few. Sometimes it’s just trolling to get a rise out of people, sometimes it’s elitism, sometimes it’s just peoples’ way of dealing with insecurities."

"I am all for self expression and I am in no way suggesting that you should not say what you mean or feel. What I am trying to convey is the simple and common fact that HOW you say something is oftentimes more important than WHAT you are saying. Watch Thank You For Smoking if you literally have no idea what I am talking about."

Music is wonderfully subjective, and that is what makes it so good. It’s so personal, and you feel a strong connection to it in a way you do with few other things because of that. So it only makes sense that someone would speak strongly for or against music they love or hate. There isn’t a single band in the history of music that EVERYONE has liked, so it stands to reason that every band has haters; how vocal they are about it depends on the band and their demographic, but they are out there nonetheless. This is especially true for people who are themselves in bands because they are so involved and emotionally invested in their art on a daily basis."

You can -- and we highly recommend that you do -- read the full thing here.