THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: KharBevNor on 28 Apr 2005, 14:06
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We've had threads talking about metal for those who like it, but scooting around the forums I notice lots of prejudices and misconceptions about metal popping up, and as I, really, love metal only slightly less than my own left testicle, I thought I'd disabuse some stuff, make some suggestions etc. etc.
There are several points I'd like to make:
1: "Metal is all screaming/growling etc." = As someone who has a reasonably wide musical palette, and wider experience, I have to say that, next to electronica, metal is probably one of the most diverse genres...well, ever. Within the scope of what is generally agreed to be 'real metal' (very little of which you will ever hear played on the radio, btw) are an insane variety of bands, sounds and genres. Metal encompasses a vast range of sounds, both homegrown and exterior: metal bands have been influenced by and incorporated literally everything: space rock, punk, opera, folk music, techno... if you want to get some basic idea at what you're dealing with, get a track from Sigh's latest album and a track from Nattefrost's latest album. That's just the diversity in what you could very loosely call 'black metal'. (elitists debate genre boundaries constantly)
2: I've noticed lots of indie people seem to like Mastodon, Isis and sometimes Opeth. Whilst not meaning to be uncharitable, I think this is mainly because they are the only metal bands you've been exposed to that fall anywhere near your musical environment. Those of you who like these sorts of bands could do with exploring the genre more and picking out other prog-influenced bands: Ayreon )or anything else with Arjen Lucassen in it), Dream Theatre, Wuthering Heights, Amorphis, maybe even the later works of Edge of Sanity/Dan Swano. Then there's the instrument-driven genre of Melodic Death Metal, which will totally throw out any conceptions you may have about the word 'Death Metal'. In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Soilwork, maybe Arch Enemy... be prepared for rawriness here, but all in a good cause. the Older works of a lot of these bands are normally the best, the genre is tired and oversaturated nowadays, but to a new-comer this can be pretty vibrant stuff. Just drop your pre-conceptions. Focus on the instrumentation. A lot of this stuff kills the conception that metal is all about killing people or being depressed. Concept albums about the information age, songs about astrology, punk-like sociopolitical rebellion songs, commercialism, even (som) love: this is what you'll find in MDM, and even more in prog metal (along with the songs about killing people and being depressed of course, but nothing's perfect). Want stuff that's totally off the wall? Try the Opera metal of one of the later Therion albums, or get the wits scared out of you by the raucous Polka metal of Finntroll or Korpiklaani. It's a whole musical universe you haven't been to before.
3: Linking on to the previous point, not all metal is violent, or stupid. Commercial 'metal' (which is nine times out of ten not actually metal) often appeals to the lowest common denominator of it's teenage audience with lyrics about angst, violence, etc. Whilst a relatively common theme in metal, such things are normally treated with a great deal more intelligence and musical ability outside the mainstream. Added to them are all manner of other themes: Fantasy and Sci-fi are a relatively strong one, with some bands turning whole albums into sci-fi/fantasy novels set to music. Metal groups have poltical agendas that cross the entire spectrum, from socialism to the ostracized fringe of neo-nazi black metal bands. Bands have written songs about everything from gun control (Edge of Sanity - Enter Chaos) to nuclear weapons testing (Skyclad - Bombjour!). There are joke metal bands: The black metal band Sportlov sing entirely about evil winter sports (grim snowball wars, the dreaded figure-skaters of Satan, etc.), Satans Penguin's dedicate tracks to themes such as the ultimate victory of Gargamel over the Smurfs. Viking and folk metal have plenty of good drinking songs, as well as rousing battle hymns. Religion and spirituality are a common topic (both for and against), and complex philosophy is regularly delved into by bands such as Borknagar and ...And Oceans. There are all sorts of literary references (Lovecraft and Poe featuring quite heavily as one might expect), concept albums, and so forth floating around.
Anyway, I could rant on for ages...but what I'd like to say finally is, give metal a chance! You may not like all, or even most of it, but there's bound to be at least one or two bands you'll like lurking out there in the vast ocean of metal. If you really like unique, interesting and challenging music that does something different, and are willing to push the envelope of your musical comfort zone, the only thing to do is to get heavy*
* and no, not all metal is even heavy, really.
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metal always seemed soulless and boring to me
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*What Robbo said below*
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What bands? Did you just not read the above or do you really think you'veheard enough to say that?
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i checked out a random slew of 30 second samples on amazon, and it just feels glossy and safe to me. not my thing, for sure
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Again, what bands? And 30 seconds...wow, such an insight into the music. And yet if that's what we did to check out Indie, we'd be dead.
So what have you actually heard that is or you think is Metal? Glossy and safe? Right....sure.
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I sense a harsh musical bias from godbowstomath. Metal is most certainly not glossed and safe. Not all of it is anyways. Plus, how much can you really tell from random 30 second clips?
PS. Skyclad rocks your face.
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buh, bias?
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Yes, so again, what bands are you using to judge Metal on? Or are you gonna keep avoiding it because you dont have a good answer?
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i just downloaded a 9 minute opeth song, and i want my money back
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Wow, 9 whole minutes! That's what, an average track. What track hmm? What did you think of it, did you even understand it?
Even Jeph likes Opeth, can't be that hard a jump for anyone really.
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Try some Crotchduster monsieur 'metal is safe and glossy'. I recommend 'Mammal Sauce' or 'Let Me Into Starfish Land'
Pre-packaged radio hits ;)
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Crotchduster - Mammal Sauce So you have NO reason not to listen.
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alright, i listened
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Describe to me what characterises music as 'metal'
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Hmm. I am never sure of some of the stuff I like is some sub-genre of metal or influenced by but I like alot of stuff that I associate with metal.
I have a feeling I've heard Mastadon somewhere and liked it. I'm almost thinking it was on one of the Tony Hawk Skateboarding games.
A list of things I like I consider metal (or influenced by)but am not sure (and slightly too apathetic to care) what their sub-genres are considered: Turbonegro, GWAR, Motorhead, Zeke, Clutch, Neurosis/Tribes of Neurot, Faith No More/slough of alot of things with Patton on them, and uhhh damn if I can think of anything else. (Oh, I Dillinger Escape Plan I like as well. Murder City Devils I'm not too sure what to consider them as far as genre names go.)
I can imagine that a majority of what I just listed would not be considered metal but that hardly concerns me.
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alright, i listened
No you didn't, because there's not enough time between downloading it and the song playing through. (Gotta love log files) So, what was the track like then?
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Kids, relax. We all have absurdly different musical tastes. I personally do not like metal. Just not my bag. But a couple points for both sides of this.
1) just because you may dislike metal does not mean it sucks. It just means you don't like it.
2) If people don't like metal, don't get all bent out of shape and worked up about it. Turn your sarcasmotron beams down a bit, step back, and just realize we're all quite different.
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it played immediately, but i will admit that i fast forwarded through the skit at the beginning. :(
EYE LUVD THEE ARTIFISHAL HARMAUGHNICKS THEIGH WERRE TEH RADDE
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As for 2) It's fine, if they have a base for it. Because like I said, if me or Khar said such things bout Indie without being to prove about a dozen albums of good bands we'd heard, you lot would have us against the wall.
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Describe to me what characterises music as 'metal'
That takes a very, very long time.
http://www.anus.com/metal/about/faq/*
and in slightly more condensed form:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music
*A.N.U.S: American Nihilist Underground Society. Not the bottoms.
The thing I object to is, if somebody had just come into the rap thread, for example, and said, without qualification 'ALL RAP SUX TOTAL BOTTOM'. Then it would have gone down totally differently. Plus, statements are being made that are definitively stupid. Metal is by no stretch of the imagination 'tame and glossy', and I have the County Medical Examiners albums to prove it.
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I'm not saying it's wrong to debate it. I'm just saying don't go bat-shit crazy over it. It just makes you look angry and screaming. And, yes, it is a two way street, indie kids.
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Besides why hate on each other when we can pick on the those foolish hepcat jazz kids?
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Hey, dont be dissing Jazz. Jazz is great...and had a few key influences on some of my favourate stuff.
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Crotchduster as dangerous and raw metal? Oh come on, they're just too silly. And... well they do get a bit tiresome after the first couple of listens. The words 'mammal sauce' just aren't that funny. The County Medical Examiners are mint though. Is it them or General Surgery who are all real doctors?
Dismissing any genre (well, apart from a fairly narrow sub-genre such as screamo) so easily based on a few songs is a bad idea. I like metal, but if I clicked on 30 random songs on Amazon I probably wouldn't hit on anything I liked.
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Robbo, he was taking a shot at me. I'm a total jazz kid. He's just being a smartass.
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I know he was. But you're not the only one that likes a bit of Jazz.
A pack of wolves, blame the fact I had the track uploaded from ages ago making it easy. Should break out some Zyklon or something later, really scare the kiddies.
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A friendly shot mind you. I dig on jazz.
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I think Zyklon might hurt them. How about a little Thorr's Hammer? :)
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EDIT: Had the band names the wrong way round in my head. Thor's Hammer is the NS group.
Thorr's Hammer is the Southern Lord band of Doom goodness.
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That takes a very, very long time.
http://www.anus.com/metal/about/faq/*
and in slightly more condensed form:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music
Well, the first link has a lot about 'culutural implications' and the such like but I could only find about 1 sentence as to actually what it's like musically, but the Wikipedia link was quite good.
Right, the reason why I asked this is, is because I don't think I like the fundamental musical characteristics of metal music. Guitar riffs, heavy drums, the kind of 'dark' sounding distortion (along with the various non-standard vocal styles), and as a lot of people say "oh that's not metal" when I say bands sound metally, I thought I'd make sure. For example, even a band like Thrice, who I don't think you guys would consider metal in any way, I don't like them because they use metal-style guitar riffs and have quite heavy (probably double-bass) drumming. I don't know why I don't like that whole thing, but I really don't, and I can spot it a mile off.
Of course they are probably lots of metal bands that don't feature this quite so much, but then if I did like it, it wouldn't really be metal that I was liking, if you know what I mean. For example, let's say someone hated how guitars sound. If they heard an indie rock song that only had keyboards in it, they might like it, but that wouldn't mean they liked indie rock at all.
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Thing is Metal is big, really really big. And there's a large number of people who like some sub genres but not others.
You go to say a Motorhead concert, you'l find a load of people who love Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal, but hate stuff like Death, Black and Power Metal. Then you'll find people that love that lot.
The whole dark thing...yeah...when you have Prog and Power bands that sound as light and symphonic as possible...even getting some the nick name "Flower Metal".
Now, some people do just like Metal, as in pretty much any and all real Metal. Other people, just like bits of it. Just like your Indie Rock example.
So what Metal and so called Metal have you listend to then, just so I know where you're coming from. Yes, I know I've seen you throw a few names around before, but ya know.
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The County Medical Examiners are mint though. Is it them or General Surgery who are all real doctors?
It's the County Medical Examiners. One of them is sixty!
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Sixty? Awesome! I keep meaning to get their split, one of the guys from General Surgery was posting about it on a grind board I go on and the tracks sounded pretty sweet.
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(http://www.robbo.oeck.net/Stuff/2169_photo.jpg)
Yes folks, that's a goregrind band.
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So what Metal and so called Metal have you listend to then, just so I know where you're coming from. Yes, I know I've seen you throw a few names around before, but ya know.
Oh crikey, I'll try and remember. Ermm, firstly the usual 80's stuff you might hear in a rock club: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns 'n' Roses, Motorhead, all that. Some Slipknot, if that counts, Soulfly I think (this is back in the late 1990's here), maybe Slayer. Ermmm, some ridiculous troll-related stuff on the Forced Listening thread - 'Sigh' and 'Sargeist' (they all seem to begin with 'S'). Oh, I can't remember. Also, (presumably) non-metal stuff that I didn't like for the same reasons I don't like metal, such as Funeral For A Friend and Planes Mistaken For Stars
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If anyone feels a little confusion as to just what the hell grindcore or goregrind is, there's a pretty good rundown here: http://www.traumatizedzine.com/grind.htm
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Thanks for the effort to drag names up.
Metallica are average at best.
Iron Maiden are classic and Hallowed Be Thy Name is the best Heavy Metal song ever damn you.
GNR are just over liked Rock.
Slipknot are Nu Metal that really really wants to be Goregrind.
Soulfly are just a Nu Metal to the core.
Slayer have their good moments, but nothing beyond their classics.
Sigh are brilliant.
Sargeist I don't know.
FFAF just down right suck.
PMFS just dont have anything to do with Metal.
So yeah, not the best run down of Metal ever and fairly limited as well.
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[specially noted for its humour -John] I, really, love metal only slightly less than my own left testicle
1: i) "Metal is all screaming/growling etc."
2: i) I've noticed lots of indie people seem to like Mastodon, Isis and sometimes Opeth.
ii) Ayreon
iii) Melodic Death Metal
iv) Opera metal
v) Polka metal
3: i) Commercial 'metal' (which is nine times out of ten not actually metal) often appeals to the lowest common denominator of it's teenage audience with lyrics about angst, violence, etc.
ii) There are joke metal bands: The black metal band Sportlov sing entirely about evil winter sports (grim snowball wars, the dreaded figure-skaters of Satan, etc.), Satans Penguin's dedicate tracks to themes such as the ultimate victory of Gargamel over the Smurfs.
I'll respond to these in the order I've taken them out.
1: i) Oh, of course there's a lot of variety. The problem is, SO MUCH of metal is "HRURR" that it really just grinds on one's nerves after a while, or at least the nerves of one who likes it when his music has audible, middle-C-and-beyond notes and its frontmen sing, dammit. But I will concede that metal does have a lot of variety, once you burrow past the incredible number of derivative, sound-alike bands. (more on that later.)
2: i) Yeah. What can I say, it's good tunes. Plus Isis sits comfortably next to Mogwai on playlists I make.
ii) Yeah. Ayreon are possibly the best metal band ever (besides, you know, Sabbath and early Priest and stuff). They are actually beyond words to try and describe. Well, no, they're not beyond "FUCKING XTREEM" but it's hard to get much deeper than that. Unfortunately I've run across bands that try desperately to sound like Ayreon and fail, and that's never pleasant.
iii) ARGH ARGH ARGH. I can't stand MDM. It's everything I hate about metal, wrapped up, packaged neatly, and presented to me in one genre. Hooray!
iv) Opera metal is one of the best things to ever happen to metal. Seriously, it totally makes sense: the grand musical wankery that is metal mixed with the grand musical wankery that is opera! And the best part is, opera metal is always a sterling example of either what metal could sound like at its most amazing and grandiose, or what opera would have sounded like had it been invented by angry, morbid white kids in the 1970's who were obsessed with Hammer horror movies! A vote for opera metal is a vote for free America.
v) Oh my GOD it actually exists? I told one of my friends that it would be the coolest genre ever - a bunch of goth kids in black leather lederhosen jumping around with one playing an electric accordion somehow hooked through a deathmetal distortion petal. Please tell me they work in the tuba somehow.
3: i) Reading that, I've... I've just... I've become so numb. I can't feel you, there.
ii) You have not divulged the existence of these bands sooner? Why? Are there more like them? Can I invite them to my home and have them tell me why they're so awesome?
In summary, I like metal when it stops wanking and being unlistenable.
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None of those bands can beat my mate's band LBW. They're grind, and play in full cricket whites. Mint.
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Are their songs about running the bowler or pitcher or whatever he's called through with their cricket bat?
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v) Oh my GOD it actually exists? I told one of my friends that it would be the coolest genre ever - a bunch of goth kids in black leather lederhosen jumping around with one playing an electric accordion somehow hooked through a deathmetal distortion petal. Please tell me they work in the tuba somehow.
Imagine a folk musician.
Imagine a finnish folk musician
Imagine this finnish folk musician is a troll who listens to black metal.
That's roughly what a polka metal band is like. I am giving Robbo some Finntroll to upload over MSN as we speak. Whilst you await your troll metal, may I tell you about the rest of folk metal? Why stop at accordions, when there are hunting horns, tin whistles, bodhrans, fiddles, bagpipes, yodelling and goodness knows what else to be included into metal?
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As someone who only likes a bit of metal (the Isis/Mastodon/Opeth triumverate Khar mentioned, as well as industrial-metal and some grind), I'll say that I didn't read most of Khar's post. I didn't because I know that metal, by and large, doesn't interest me. There are certain elements that do, but most of it doesn't.
I know that Khar's post won't reflect my own tastes, though I don't doubt that it was sincerely written by someone who really loves that kind music.
Sorry, Khar. I'm saying this because a lot of people who don't share your enthusiam for metal probably did the same thing with your post.
I respect you and I respect your convictions about the greatness of metal, but your convictions don't affect my personal tastes. But then again, my personal tastes don't affect your enjoyment of metal. :)
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Ooooh...but it's so great! ;_;
Anyway.
HUMPAA!!
Finntroll - Kitteldags (http://www.robbo.oeck.net/Stuff/07%20-%20Kitteldags.mp3)
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I don't think he was trying to change the tastes of the well-informed, but rather to clear up some misconceptions about metal that float about.
I think LBW's lyrics are more serious in their cricket obsession. These men respect their game.
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Clear up, and also maybe help show people some of the wierd and wonderful stuff out there.
I mean, when I was a 14 year old listening to Metallica, I had bloody all idea that I'd be sitting here right now listening to a version of Iron Maiden's 'Fear of the Dark' with violins, bagpipes and black metal vocals. What I was really trying to say was: there's all sorts of cuhrazy stuff when you scratch the surface, and you may like some of it!
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bagpipes!
I was highlighting to delete the rest of the post to emphasize what I wanted to emphasize, and I ended up missing the tail end, and it ended up summarizing how I felt about it.
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Everyone should listen to Keelhaul, insturmental metal one of the most badass band I've ever seen.
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Yeah Keelhaul are pretty great, Hydrahead in general is worth some investigation. There are all kinds of great intelligent heavy bands out there these days, Boris are also well worth a look.
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most things that i have heard described as 'metal' i have ended up not liking. MOST characteristics that the metal bands i've listened to all have in common, i don't like. (i didn't bother to read the articles linked because i really don't care WHAT metal is - i know enough of what it sounds like). i've listened to quite a few 'metal' bands.
but i'll listen to any band once. no description of any band will turn me away before i hear them.
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I'm glad you posted the link to anus.com Khar. S.R. Prozak is a very well spoken man and really knows his metal. I must admit I don't agree with him on every topic, and his writings some times get a bit arrogant, but overall he's very intelligent and anybody wanting to know anything about metal should visit anus.com.
My personal favorite style of metal is black metal, which can best be explained by, again, anus.com.
Perhaps the furthest evolution of metal music, black metal diverged from the mainstream by taking the hoarse and bassy vocals of death metal and turning them into an inhuman hiss, accompanied by fast music in which elegant, Romantic melodies were discernible amidst the chaos. It also embraced dangerous thoughts explicitly; where previous generations of metal protested society or reminded people that death was more predominant than sociopolitical reality, black metal rejected modernity entirely and espoused a feral, naturalistic spirit. It also got itself in the news for the burning churches, neo-Nazi doctrine, murders and suicides of its musicians. It is the most popular form of underground metal yet, in part because it is both melodic and aggressively rhythmic without going to the ludicrous extremes found in death metal and grindcore, but in part because it fulfills what hardcore tried to do: it steps entirely outside of the belief system of modern society, and endorses our inner natural selves, with absolutely zero "morality" regulating the emotions and behaviors therein. Some say it is getting in touch with the Id, others claim it is alienation taken to a logical extreme, but to a student of art history or literature, it appears thematically entirely contiguous with the European Romanticists of two centuries ago. One can hear echoes of Emerson, or Wordsworth, in its cosmic yet earthy insistence on the meaning to be found within reality, and there is always F.W. Nietzsche's surly voice in its rejection of populist and utilitarian value systems. Musically, it took the lawlessness of death metal, and amplified the phrasal constructions therein to create music of a melodic construction, often with rhythm that minimizes its own impact through repetition of linear patterns that do not rely on listener expectation of an offbeat. As such, it is as different from rock'n'roll as most electronic bands are, but even moreso, in that with its indiscernible vocals and percussion, it is almost purely motif-based composition via guitar, much like that of classical music - if it were deliberately simple, feral in its bellicosity, and of course, made by people who act on their dissident beliefs.
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metal always seemed soulless and boring to me
Funny, I feel the same way about this new explosion of rock or indie or whatever it is.
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Metallica are average at best.
Iron Maiden are classic and Hallowed Be Thy Name is the best Heavy Metal song ever damn you.
Slayer have their good moments, but nothing beyond their classics.
1. Yes, although I still love Master of Puppets.
2. Yes, and I'd put Hallowed Be Thy Name around 3rd on my best metal songs list.
3. Have their good moments!? Reign in Blood is the greatest metal album ever. It's my favorite album ever. I'm one of the jerks who likes to yell SLAYER at inappropriate times. I befriend people at parties by spontaneously screaming the lyrics to Raining Blood. I love that band, almost as much as Motorhead.
The diversity of metal can partly be summed up in Vomitorial Corpulence... Christian goregrind.
(Speaking of goregrind, and grindcore in general I guess, give me some recommendations folks. I've been a big fan of grindcore for years now, but I admit to don't listen to a diverse body of bands. Napalm Death, ANb, Anal Cunt, Pig Destroyer, Nasum, Carcass, Cephalic Carnage, Yacopsae, you know, the usual. I've been meaning to check out SOB and Bathtub Shitter, but I don't have a lot of money. A good list of stuff to check out would be appreciated.)
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Two of my personal faves are Circle of Dead Children and Discordance Axis. If you want a bargain, get hold of 'Original Sound Version' by Discordance Axis: Their first album, their halfs of three splits, several live recordings, rehearsal tapes and bonus tracks: 3 years of material, Making for 69 tracks of Grind. (To make it even better one of these tracks is 19 minutes long, being basically an entire live show on one track). As far as goregrind/deathgrind goes, I'm always partial to a bit of Cattle Decapitation, as well as all your other 'Carcass worship' bands like County Medical Examiners, General Surgery, The Berzerker*, etc.
*Yeah, they count.
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3. Have their good moments!? Reign in Blood is the greatest metal album ever. It's my favorite album ever. I'm one of the jerks who likes to yell SLAYER at inappropriate times. I befriend people at parties by spontaneously screaming the lyrics to Raining Blood. I love that band, almost as much as Motorhead.
Yes, the 3 classic albums and bits of the early stuff are good to very good. But there's bands out there that give more on a higher level more often. But yes, Reign In Blood is one of the classic albums, even if I do think Darkness Descends is miles better.
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Yeah, their big three are undisputed classics, but I like all of their stuff. Even "God Hates Us All." I might even rank "Hell Awaits" as better than "Seasons" or "South of Heaven", but I guess that depends on my mood. "Haunting the Chapel" is classic just for "Aggressive Perfector" and the mighty "Chemical Warfare". I'll stop now, cos this stuff is all a matter of opinion, and at this point, I'm pretty sure my opinion is all too clear.
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Oh, there's no question that I like pretty much all of Slayer's stuff, just I find there are a lot of better Thrash bands out there. But they do make a good solid bench mark for bands that do just pure balls to the wall Thrash stuff.
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Pfft. Guitars are for pussies.
Please, please tell me you listen to 'Cyber Porngrind'
Cyber Porngrind is simply a combination of Porngrind and Cybergrind. The bands [usually consisting of only one or two members] use catchy techno beats and programming and sodomize them with Porngrind lyrics and vokills. The downtuned groove riffs of Porngrind are an intergral part of some Cyber Porngrind bands' music, whereas others either dispense with this element altogether or bury it deeper in the mix on their recorded works. Cyber Porngrind bands use samples from various films in their music.
One of the best and most popular Cyber Porngrind bands in the scene is Libido Airbag [a band containing ex Gut members] but also keep an ear out for Smothered Brothers, Nunwhore Commando 666, Goat Orgy, The Bitch Project, Misogynist Pussy Slasher and Hot Lesbian Goat Sex.
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It's odd, but for some reason I cannot fully get into Black Metal. This is kind of weird for me, because as a genre, it definitely embodies what I think rock 'n' roll should be. It challenges the status quo, and generally scares the hell out of most people. At first I thought it was because BM bands and fans take themselves "too seriously", but that's bullshit cos I take music pretty damn seriously myself. Anyone who speaks ill of the Misfits, Johnny Cash, the Business etc. in my presence had better be ready for an argument. Hell, I like Empereror, Mayhem, Behemoth, and I fucking love King Diamond, but still for some reason I just can't embrace the genre as a whole. I'm not opposed to listening to Black Metal, but I don't go out of my way to check it out either, like I do for grindcore, or psychobilly, or some such other subgenre far off the beaten path. Maybe it's the Catholic in me, but I doubt it. Can't figure it out.
Edit: Different subject, but there's a Vaginal Jesus mp3 on that Traumatized site. Grind or not, those guys are racist fucking scum. "Affirmative Apartheid"? I guess that's supposed to be funny. Assholes.
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I know one of the guys that runs Traumatized and he regards lyrics as completely worthless and irrelevant (an interesting standpoint, since he himself is a vocalist), so he never cares what bands are singing about. He's also very apolitical so he would never bother to find out if a band were genuinely racist or just trying to provoke a reaction. Not a justification, I'd never host an mp3 of a racist band on a site I ran, but that's his standpoint on this stuff. Plus he gets off on pissing people off, on a forum I go on he used a swastika as his avatar for a while. Oh, the hilarity...
Anyway, on the subject of grind recommendations here's some of the cream of the UK crop:
Narcosis (http://www.narcore.com/)
Executive Distraction Tasks (http://www.executivedistractiontasks.co.uk/)
Reth (http://www.myspace.com/reth)
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I actually went to a Nazi Blackmetal gig to taunt the band. Apparently America's first Blackmetal band, "Grand Belial's Key". Great fucking name, shoddy songs and repulsive politics. I kept yelling free bird and asking the singer point blank if he was a racist. He never answered me.
Maybe we should've brought some SHARPS along, and had us a little boot party.
That said, I love a lot of good metal. Venom is practically a punk band, which is awesome. And they even have funk breakdowns in certain songs (A thousand days in sodom)...
I love My Dying Bride, Manowar, Candlemass, Megadeth, etc.
I just can't STAND this super glossy bullshit guitar tone that's dominated it.
It's so over produced. The snare sound on most powermetal albums is soaked in so much reverb, it sounds like a cannon ball crashing in the ocean. BOOM - WOOOOOSSHHH
It is really glossy and candy coated sometime. I can't listen to Samael, Nightwish, or Children of Bodom without feeling nauseated.
Pardon my spelling, but a lot of it is over produced,
~ Basim
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I personally think there's a difference between good production and over-production. I like the 'true' end of commercial metal (including those three bands you mentioned), but they're actually very well produced, imo. The problem comes when you have shit like those drab sounding Morrisound death metal bands, which just sound boring. CoB, Samael etc. have got unique sounds and their style works well highly polished, as opposed to, say Cradle of Filth's 'Damnation and a Day' where the production simply eradicated any feeling.
CoB in particular are a band that I love which people on both sides of the fence often rubbish. They write fun, aggressive songs, and they have some frankly brilliant guitar-work, and indeed keys: definitely one of the most technically proficient bands to make it anywhere near the mainstream.
Edit: Also, I do actually have a libido airbag track lying around somewhere. Go me!
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Haha, you mocked Grand Belial's Key? They're a good band in my opinion, not one of my favorite but certainly one I respect.
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I personally think there's a difference between good production and over-production.
Well, clearly. The difference being that over-production is bad, and good production is...well...good.
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Even though I can understand the point some people have of just not liking metal too much and hence seeing KharBevNor's post as being aggressive, really I am more sympathetic to the idea that music should be explained more to people to keep silly generalisations from happening. I'd readily acknowledge that if I didn't like an album it'd be my fault for not liking it, not the music's, and I would be open to see the interpretation of someone who was more of a fan.
The site anus.com has been mentioned a couple of times, and I must admit that they are admirably articulate in their definitions of styles and genres - and also have excellent reviews of metal albums which everyone should check out - however the philosophies behind much of that side would be enough to put many people off metal. I myself was disgusted by much of what I read there and I still am - I for one wouldn't dare post on any of their communities. A great site for music nonetheless.
As far as metal goes my favourite is surely Darkthrone, there is more variety in their output to date than many people give them credit for and I love the atmospheric yet energetic qualities of much of their music. Great and often hypnotic riffs, and albums that more often than not are admirably cohesive. People who love the more extreme/less melodic side of shoegaze music should give themselves a challenge and try out Burzum's Filosofem and Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger and see if these albums change their view of metal at all.
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Minimalist black metal drewestorys YOU ALLLL!!!
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^ Ignore that post too, the typos anyway.
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Minimalist black metal drewestorys YOU ALLLL!!!
Yes it does.
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as a metalhead, i can tell you that metal is good. Helmet is metal (loosely) and i think most of you would enjoy it( Jeph appears to).
Also, try Slayers Cosmic Sea, for a wierd yet oddly enjoyable metal song.
also, megadeath, metallica, slayer, helmet, Iron Maden, BlackSabbeth,(pretty much metal), Dokken, Venom, Cacophony, Tesla, Helloween, Accept, Grim Reaper, Judas Priest, Ac/Dc, Helix, Def Leppard, Exodus, King Diamond, Pantera, Hamlet, (Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Classic rock now) Sepultura, Gamma ray.
Pretty much my whole collection there...
phew!
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^ Ignore that post too, the typos anyway.
I can't as i was drewestory'd!
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Helmet is metal (loosely) and i think most of you would enjoy it
Helmet is awsome. I think they're more post-hardcore then anything, but still heavy goodness.
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Agreed.
But loosely as they dont have that "screaming-out-your-lungs" hardcore metal sound.
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No they don't, but Page can still growl. :)
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as a metalhead, i can tell you that metal is good. Helmet is metal (loosely) and i think most of you would enjoy it( Jeph appears to).
Also, try Slayers Cosmic Sea, for a wierd yet oddly enjoyable metal song.
also, megadeath, metallica, slayer, helmet, Iron Maden, BlackSabbeth,(pretty much metal), Dokken, Venom, Cacophony, Tesla, Helloween, Accept, Grim Reaper, Judas Priest, Ac/Dc, Helix, Def Leppard, Exodus, King Diamond, Pantera, Hamlet, (Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Classic rock now) Sepultura, Gamma ray.
Pretty much my whole collection there...
phew!
generally agree.
gamma ray should be renamed gamma gay.
Juda's last album is superb
hell of a lot of classic rock ^^
i'd add:
Black Label Society
Demons & Wizards (metallish actually)
Down - NOLA
Iced Earth (kickass composition, i've lost my taste for it)
Meshuggah ( prog metal (?))
Turbonegro
In Flames (swedes know their shit)
Poison the well (hardcore)
Lamb of God
Iommi - Iommi (holy shit falling from heaven)
oh. anthrax (thrash)
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I personally claim that I know crap about metal. However, I will say that I respect the devoted metalheads of this board, as they do indeed know their shit.
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Demons & Wizards I find a little lacking considering who they got in the band, but they turn out some decent stuff. No one really knows what Meshuggah plays* but it's hella funky and "I" is one of the must messed up bits of experimental music I've heard in a while.
Hopefully the goodness of this music will be enouhg to convert this person to the true way.
*Well, not without a lot of debates.
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does faith no more count as metal?
why the hell did anybody invent "genres", these things always get out of control
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Faith No More where Metal...and a bit Avant Garde because everything Mike Patton does is some sort of fucked up Experimental or Avant Garde music,
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The origional metal is best.
1970-1990
After that metal got CHANGED, by the bands like Korn.
Listen to any ORIGIONAL post 1990 Metallica CD, then listen to St. Anger.
Point Proven...
Gamma ray is wierd, as a group, but some of their music can be good...
I just like the old stuff better i guess...
You'll hear me comin, thinking im playing like a new CD, Bass booming... like a punk...
Really im just blasting out Led Zepplin... Head bobbing to the beat, screaming lyrics out...
WHAT? Im not wierd...
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Led Zeppelin is metal?
Also, there's alot of good metal that was made after 1990, it just doesn't have nearly as much spotlight as most of the metal bands before then (Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, etc)
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They certainly are just Blues Rock. They dont even cross the line like Deep Purple do in some eyes.
And as for post 1990 stuff: You have the shift towards Extreme Metal, so less straight up Heavy Metal being popular in the underground and the genre fall of good Blues based music from a lot of popular interest, etc.
Hell, there where types of Metal popping up in the 90's that didn't exsist in the 80's.
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I gave metal a chance. I kind of like some of it, but I'm not a big fan.
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Again, really sort of helps if you say what bands.
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If you say "Ayreon" I'll be forced to hurt you.
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Ayreon are great. Silence fool.
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Ayreon are great. Silence fool.
I watched Lucassen's "Star One" DVD a while back. . damn that was cheesy. :D
I haven't heard Aryeon, although I hear great things.
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Yeah, he makes no bones about the cheese. You might like Ayreon, or some parts of it at least, specially if you like the vocal line ups used.
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I'm not a big fan.
If you say "Ayreon" I'll be forced to hurt you.
CONTEXTUALIZE'D
Ayreon is cheesy a little, but awesome a lot.
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They certainly are just Blues Rock. They dont even cross the line like Deep Purple do in some eyes.
Deep Purple is awesome live. Thin Lizzy is better though.
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Nah, Deep Purple all the way for me.
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johnny, you don't have to be such a jerk about this. it seems to me like khar was just trying to stick up for the music that he loves and yr being just a bit mean about not liking it, dude.
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@Kai:
No, Led Zepplin is Classic Rock....
my point is i like the older stuff....
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I agree that there is some metal out there that I really appreciate, but there is so damn much of it that also sucks, I have a hard time finding bands that I like.
My favorite metal(ish) bands:
Acid Bath
In Flames
The Gathering (if they count, I think they may be melodic metal maybe?)
Lacuna Coil
Faith No More
There are a few songs by other bands that I like, but I can't think of them right now.
If anyone can think of bands similar to the ones I posted... like Acid Bath rocks... interesting lyrics, cool sound, not too much obnoxious and annoying screaming. I downloaded some Isis already as a suggestion, and while the music itself is pretty cool, I find his vocals surprisingly irritating.
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le ouch!
What, wait, where? This topic? I think it was in another topic, in which the phrase "metal owns you all" or something similar was repeated a few times.
And you'll never catch me saying that metal doesn't have its merits, nor that people are perfectly capable of being able to listen to and enjoy it. I just don't like it, is all.
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Poke, in review of what you like.
Acid Bath are great, and you'd probably like other Sludge bands. Why not start with the band that formed from their ashes, Agents of Oblivion.
In Flames where decent, now they're whiny Emo/Nu Metal bollocks.
The Gathering will shock the hell out of you if you listen to the first album. They used to be a Death/Doom band. Then the femal vocals joined and they turned Goth Metal, then ran down the road of Atmospheric/Experimental Rock really.
Everyone has to love Lacuna Coil really, even if they anit brilliant, they work.
Faith No More we have already covered.
So basically, you want Sludge, non sucky MDM, and softer Goth Metal/Melodic Atmospheric stuff. Shall see what I can do about that.
But as for vocals, train your ear. It doesn't take that much work really.
Johnny C, that's because it does. And people here have already proved that Indie is just ripping Metal off in a lot of ways right now (eg the Kvlt Elitism thing)
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And people here have already proved that Indie is just ripping Metal off in a lot of ways right now (eg the Kvlt Elitism thing)
Oh my god you listen to CDs?! You fucking poser, true fans listen to only vinyl records limited to 3 copies.
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Please, I dont even listen to that. Dont want someone over hearing it. I just get all the tabs down in memory and hum it inside my head. While wearing a special hat to protect my brainwaves from spying of course.
And now to wait for the kiddies to actually start doing that.
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So anyway, I got this urge to make a recommended listening list of more unknown bands.
Feel free to argue or whatever.
Black
Anaal Nathrakh: Getting big in the UK. Technical/post-black The next OED carries as it's definition for the word 'fact': 'Anaal Nathrakh are more hardcore than you'
Immortal Ayatollah: JIHAD!
Nazgul: Folkish black. Creepy as fuck in places. Lyrics are in latin.
Profanatica: Fast and nasty black metal. For fans of Impaled Nazarene and Marduk.
Sportlov: Joke band. Awesome music.
Death
Bloodbath: You can't beat a good supergroup. Try getting hold of the first EP. Very nice.
Grave: Grooooovy.
Unleashed: Fucking solid death metal.
Electro
...And Oceans: Mix of Techno and Black Metal
Contrastic: Czech Electro-Death. Kind of like Fear Factory, but better.
Ewigkeit: Cuhrazy experimental metal from Bournemouth. Crosses about twenty genres and creates 'Really Good Metal'.
Folk/Viking
The Clan Destined: are going to be the best band ever. Former members of Skyclad and Immortal ^_^.
Forefather: Anglo-Saxon metal. Rousing!
Korpiklaani: Following firmly in the foot-steps of Finntroll, this is fun, stripped down polka-metal. The singer did all the jolk (yodelling) on FT's 'Jaktens Tid'
Goth/Symph
Crown of Autumn: Prove that anything medieval is cool.
Silent Stream of Godless Elegy: Have violins. This is a huge asset if you want to sound really depressed.
Virgin Black: Very airy and miserable sounding vocals, but they can get fucking heavy when they want to.
Heavy
3 Inches of Blood: They're getting pretty big, and stirring up a goodly amount of controversy. I like 'em.
Dream Evil: Have switched from Power to Heavy, and are better as a result.
Running Wild: Are often, unfairly excluded from lists of classic old-school metal bands. I cannot fathom quite why.
Viking Skull: WARNING! Listening to too much Viking Skull can permanently mold your fingers into the horns.
Melodic Death Metal
Arsis: If you haven't heard Arsis you are not metal. Rectify the situation now!
Cryptic Wintermoon: Blackened MDM/thrash. Technical. Brutal.
Dark Lunacy: Violins and MDM work. Yes they do.
Power
Avantasia: Are as cliche as fuck. But they spin some decent tunes.
DragonForce: Another one that's getting big in the UK. You may have heard fast melodic metal before, but Dragonforce just get silly with it. One of the best '4 solo per song' bands.
Ninja Magic: The Cheesiest Band Ever. Absolutely no contest. If they ever drop that silly cymbal sound, or hire a vocalist who can actually pronounce 'Ninja' they will lose all their charm and be shit.
Wuthering Heights: will rock your arse off with their speed/folk combo.
Symph-Black
Gloomy Grim: Blew up the clicheometer. But they did it with style.
Hecate Enthroned: Get called a CoF clone a lot. Aren't. Have funny videos where they fail to look grim.
Illnath: Actually are a CoF clone. Redeem themselves by being better than CoF.
Limbonic Art: Would like you to know that they are feeling very depressed.
Thrash
Tankard: Beer is one of the cornerstones of metal. Good to know that it has such an awesome band dedicated to it. Solid German Thrash.
Sabbat: Martin Walkyiers first band. Awesome guitar, great lyrics, wierd vocals.
and loads more, but I got bored and I need more coffee. Also, I stuck mainly to ones I could make witty summaries for.
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Anybody here like Doom Metal?
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Gah, I forgot a whole genre! It's okay though, as I don't really know many lesser known Doom groups, just big names like My Dying Bride and Candlemass (though I'm pretty in on the underground UK sludge/stoner scene). Everyone should listen to the big three founders of nineties UK-doom though (MDB, Paradise Lost and Anathema)
As for sludge, Eyehategod, Acid Bath, Iron Monkey and Electric Wizard are where it's at.
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Doom bands I like:
Abysmal Grief
Black Forest
Candlemass
Forest of Shadows
Katatonia
Morgion
Mournful Congregation
Ningizzia
Nortt
Pantheïst
Shape of Despair
Whispering Forest
EDIT: Forgot a few :)
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I'm partial to some Thorr's Hammer, Warhorse and Red Right Hand myself. And Last Good Sleep, my mate's doom project which mixes it up with post-rock. Very, very good, and he's nearly finished the new record which is going to have Walton from Reth doing some harsh vocals. Mint. And the Red Right Hand album's out this month which I'm massively excited about.
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Bands.
You know more about the metal than I do, but I would also like to emphasize the awesomeness of Anaal Nathrakh, 3 Inches of Blood, Bloodbath, and definitely, DEFINITELY, fucking DragonForce. Those guys are brilliant.
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4 solos per song Khar in Dragonforce more like 10. And of course, every single one HAS to be credited in the album notes.
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Herman Li sure can play the shit out of his guitar.
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Indeed. And that list of bands just reminds me I need to get around to checking more of the lesser known Doom bands at some point.
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I'd like to join in the Drahonforce loving too. They're one of those bands that just stick a big daft grin on my face. And Anaal Nathrakh rock my socks as well.
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Indeed. And that list of bands just reminds me I need to get around to checking more of the lesser known Doom bands at some point.
Check out Nortt, it's a one man project. . he likes to dress / act like he's black metal (corpse paint, etc) but it's really horribly depressing funeral doom.
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Heard lots of good things about Nortt, need to check it out. In fact...as DC++ is on the go, let's see what I can find.
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Heard lots of good things about Nortt, need to check it out. In fact...as DC++ is on the go, let's see what I can find.
If you want, you can download from me. Feel free to add me on MSN or AIM.
AIM name - Signum Tenebrae
MSN address - [email protected]
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I'm looking for some math-metal.
Any recommendations?
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Basically you're looking for Meshuggah?
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Dillinger Escape Plan > Meshuggah. Well, until they made 'Miss Machine'. Man that album was dull, I'm glad I didn't buy it.
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Most math is core not metal.
And quite a bit of it is poo.
If you want some decent technical stuff, try some technical power or death metal, blows math out the water.
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And if that doesn't work, there's aways Avant Garde metal stuff for you.
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I haven't heard anybody mention Dying Fetus. They were always one of my favorite whatever-metal bands...(metal is too fucking organized)...with the crazy guitars and the badass drummer.
Are they considered "worthy" in the metal critic circles?
EDIT: Oh yeah, and Deicide! Those guys kick ass too! What better band could you find to play your local church function?
heh, and did anyone start talking about Anal Cunt and their great song titles? (ie. You were pregnant so I punched you in the stomach, I Sent a Thank You Card to the Guy Who Raped You, You Robbed a Sperm Bank Because You're a Cum Guzzling Fag, I Got an Office Job for the Sole Purpose of Sexually Harassing Women... it goes on.. you get the picture..)
And they later released an album with happy song titles.. like:
I'm Not That Kind of Boy
Saving Ourselves for Marriage
I Respect Your Feelings as a Woman and as a Human
In My Heart There's a Star Named After You
Metal is great.
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I guess that last post wasn't very PC, was it...
One more band: Vomit Remnants.
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Finally a great place for recommendations! I wrote down a lot of the bands mentioned and am going to go crazy trying to dl them all this weekend. One thing though: I'm really trying to expand on my metal knowledge lately. My stepbrother gave me a Krisiun album, but it's just too... much... for me. I tend to love bands like 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Evergreen Terrace, Unearth, and Most Precious Blood more than most when it comes to "metal". And whilst I realize those are classified as "hardcore", they are very heavily influenced by metal. I love the earlier Sepultura works (my old bandmates and I used to warm up EVERY PRACTICE by playing Starighthate) and really dig power riffs. Have any recommendations to help me out?
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Dying Fetus are pretty cool, and Anal Cunt rock. More grind than metal though.
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Dying Fetus are fun live and hellishly brutal.....mmmmmm the memories.
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If you want some decent technical stuff, try some technical power or death metal, blows math out the water.
if you're looking for Technical death metal make SURE to check out Demilich and Acerbus.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of super technical death but I have TONS of respect for both of those bands as they are amazingly talented.
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Oh, and before I forget, everyone should listen to Macabre at least once in their lifetime. It's the perfect (insert whatever adjective metal is called now here) band for all you fragile-hearted indie rockers who don't like the scary death metal growling.
Instead you get pig squealing..ha
What's that smeeeeelll??
Plus, it's like a crash course in the history of serial killings. Two birds - one stone = good times indeed.
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YES!
Death metal + mullet + nursery rhymes + serial killers = Macabre
"I'm gonna strangle you,
and I'll slit your throat too!
I like to see your blood run,
that's the thing that makes me cum
I'm gonna kill you
Just because I want to
Vampire of Dusseldorf
and I'll cut your life short!"
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Wow, that only slightly* creepy
*"only slightly" being a euphamism for "absolutely fucking" creepy.
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Demilich have some of the most fucked up Death vocals ever. And they also have all their music up for free because someone shafted them.
And the promo pic of Macabre scares me deeply. Really deeply.
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Macabre totally rock. The cover to 'Sinister Slaughter' with all the serial killers is one of the best Sergeant Peppers parodies ever.
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HEART OF THE EAGLE
HE FLIES THROUGH THE RAINBOW
INTO A NEW WORLD AND FINDS THE SUN
SPREADING HIS WINGS
ABOVE ALL THE SORROWS
THE GLORY OF EAGLEHEART
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I WALK TO MY OWN SONG
EVERY DAY THE POWER GROWS STRONG IN ME
I WALK TO MY OWN SONG
HEAD UP PROUD
SO DON'T QOUTE CAPITALISED STRATOVARIUS SONGS AT MEEEEEE...
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Macabre totally rock. The cover to 'Sinister Slaughter' with all the serial killers is one of the best Sergeant Peppers parodies ever.
Haha yes, it is quite awesome.
I had the pleasure of seeing Macabre in concert. . I went absolutely fucking nuts during when I heard him announce. . "ALBERT. . .WORSE THAN ANY FISH IN THE SEA!"
Edit: Another cool thing about seeing them live was he told a little bit about each serial killer before performing their song. interesting!
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Most math is core not metal.
I'd say most of it falls into the math rock category, which I like because it's nice and big. Vague genres are handy, they give a handle to what kind of ballpark you're talking without pigeonholing too much. Heard some good local mathy instrumental stuff tonight, Trees. I'd recommend Creation Is Crucifixion for mathy grind, Hella for some good mathy rock and Maximillion Colby for hardcore with a math vibe. All very much worth checking out.
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Lamb Of God << holyshitZOMG!!!1111oneone11
Porcupine Tree
did i mention Iced Earth?
Arch Enemy
Fantömas
Iommi , particularly iommi - iommi
Megadeath - Cryptic Writings << the rest is shite
Strapping Young Lad <<< goddam!
Tomahawk
Trivium - Ascendancy << not bad, black metal.
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Lamb Of God << holyshitZOMG!!!1111oneone11
Trivium - Ascendancy << not bad, black metal.
:O
*vomits*
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Trivium - Ascendancy << not bad, black metal.
Please tell me you're joking....
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Trivium - Ascendancy << not bad, black metal.
Please tell me you're joking....
dunno, just listened to it once.
its sitting around my hd somewhere, didnt sound to bad
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Trivium are nothing more than the latelst crappy Metalcore band to sign to Roadrunner.
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Why does everyone hate Slipknot so much?
I mean, well, ok, most of their songs suck.. especially nowadays..
But their self-titled was cool, except for the couple of obvious radio-targeted songs (spit it out, wait and bleed).
I guess the masks aren't helping my argument much..
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Because they're not Metal? Even the one before the self titled wasn't good. Maybe certain members are skilled, but the band sure doesn't show it.
Add to the fact their the band of posers age 8-18 who think they listen to really heavy music...please.
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Anyone into Pelican or Mastadon.
Also does Nerouses count as metal?
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I was really disappointed by Pelican live. Their first two songs were great, really excellent riffs, but after that they seemed to drift off and it all lost focus. Maybe I'd like them more on record, plus the fact that Jesu pulled out at the last minute wasn't putting me in a good mood. Mastodon are pretty mint though.
What would Slipknot be if not metal? And on the subject of them being heavy, I know a guy who'd disagree with you on that front Robbo. And since he's done time in Tangaroa and Narcosis he's no clueless kid. Not much of a fan myself, but the drumming's usually pretty good and I don't actively dislike them.
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I love Pelican, as I love all things Drone. Mastodon just seem to be one of these bands that have exploded on the underground and with fair reasons as well.
Seeing Drone live is always an iffy thing, if you dont really like it or the atmosphere doesn't catch you, you're not gonna like it or have a clue where the music is going.
Do you mean Neurosis? If so, yes.
Slipknot have always struck me as just a really bad Nu Metal version of members previous Death and Grind bands. I knew a few people have thrown the "Death n Roll" tag at them that's used for bands like Six Feet Under.
....far to may edits there.
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Yeah Nerosis. Sorry spelling and aren't getting along today.
I always thought of Slipknot as the metal version of Blink 182.
Does that make Metallica the metal version of Green Day?
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Nah, Metallica were once pretty good.
Slipknot =/= Metal, but I will admit that it's not by much. If they were really obscure, popular opinion would probably lump them as metal. They are definitely the most metal nu-metal band, mainly seemingly by Joey Jordison's influence, though what I've heard of their latest album is whiny, trend-whore faux-emo crap.
Man, as fucking annoying as it was at the time, when you look back, wasn't nu-metal such a better trend than emo?
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I don't know this emo trend annoys me more becuase it's not even emo. It's pop punk about girls, and they called it emo. Really pisses me off considering the label meant hardcore bands that sang. Rites of Spring, Fugazi, Nation Of Ulysses, and the rest of mid 80's D.C. stuff.
Hey Green Day was once good listen to Kerplunk. They wrote pretty good stuff. they even still kinda do. They just spend way too much time trying to look punk rock.
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That definition of emo is something clung to desperately by a decreasing few that bears little relevance to what most people discuss as emo. But I know what you mean.
Not that I like that stuff either.
I've heard lots of old Greenday, I have a friend who was in to them way before they got big over here. I never liked them, but American Idiot and Boulevard of Broken Dreams have made me totally hate them.
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I wouldn't say it was a decreasing few, there are probably as many hardcore kids knocking about as there ever was and the number of emo/screamo bands about seems to have been going up at late. There's some quality stuff coming out of continental Europe these days like La Quiete, and there seems to be a bit of a screamo resurgence in the UK too with the likes of Mock Heroic, Yossarian Is Drowning and We Are Corpses!! doing the rounds.
But yeah, nu-metal was much better than this fake-emo crap. At least some of that was fun, all this pop-punk, pop-rock and hideous distortions of metal business is just boring.
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Nah, Metallica were once pretty good.
I agree with you there.
What's really funny is, that if you listen to the first Metallica record (Kill 'Em All,) it's pure Mercyful Fate worship. Funny how Metallica is a household name but most "casual" metal listeners don't know who Mercyful Fate is.
Ride The Lightning is great, of course. Pretty much everything up until (but not including) the Black Album was good. Heck even the Black Album, Load, and Reload were decent compared to St. Anger. St. Anger is mid-life crisis metal. . a bunch of washed out, once good musicians trying desperately to cling to the dying fad of nu-metal to milk just a little more money out of their mockery of music.
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I have a bit of a soft-spot for the Black Album as it was one of my gateway releases (though it's critically overplayed), but have been able to see no real merit in Metallica since, beyond the odd decent rock song. I once, in a fit of stupidity, bought the truly aeful 'The Unnamed Feeling' EP, and let me tell you this: They suck bad live too.
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Hey Green Day was once good listen to Kerplunk. They wrote pretty good stuff. they even still kinda do. They just spend way too much time trying to look punk rock.
I generally agree with this statement. I prefer to think of Green Day as being a pop-rock band rather than a punk rock band, and I enjoy their first two albums more than what came later. 39/Smooth is a pretty unusual release despite its plainly obvious mainstream sensibilities, with a kind of tongue-in-cheek "wannabe popular high school boy" theme running straight through it and much more attention paid to clear and simple riffs than in any of their later albums. Kerplunk is the most solemn Green Day album I have heard, with some interesting social commentary as well as the tongue-in-cheek style of the debut.
Slipknot to me are like musical sugar rather than musical food for thought. I've downloaded both their self-titled debut and their latest, and both gave me a bit of a rush while laughing at the hilariously affected vocals and secretly admiring the interesting/elaborate rhythm section. I'd listen to them loads and then eventually grow tired of the novelty, glad that I didn't actually spend money on 'em - unlike say music from quite a few "real" metal or grind bands such as Napalm Death and Darkthrone, who I actually had to develop a taste for but would definitely spend money on now. If someone were to play an album of Slipknot's I would still be pretty happy sitting there and listening to it.
As for whether Slipknot are "metal" or not, I really couldn't care less. As long as a band confronts me in the right way, by being inventive in its song-writing techniques or otherwise, it doesn't matter what genre the band supposedly inhabits. If I were asked about Slipknot's self-titled though I would be stuck between nu-metal and grind with somewhat grim-sounding production values.
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Green Day are a punk rock band who play pop music. Seriously, they're punker than you.
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Green Day are a punk rock band who play pop music. Seriously, they're punker than you.
Whatever, I have Stiff Little Fingers vinyl and an eighties Anti-Nowhere League patch. *slap*