Death metal performers and fans

[The_Echo]

A lot of the music I listen to is aggressively heavy death metal or deathcore, (or at least, of all the genres I listen to that has the largest population) but if you saw me in person, the only thing that might clue you in is my hair. (Also if I happened to be wearing my We Butter the Bread with Butter shirt, which is my only band shirt.) And even then, my hair isn't the metal-Nathan Explosion-long-for-the-sake-of-long type of long. It's like, stylized and shit.

I also don't know anyone who fits into the metal stereotype beyond long hair and band shirts.

It should be noted that I've never been to a concert for a metal band (I did go support a band I know at their first gig, but the crowd was tiny so I don't think that counts.) and the reason for that is because A) I'm not one for crowds and 2) I'm legitimately afraid of being punched in the face or a wild Illicit Drugs appears!.

 

[ChadSexington]

Now I'm not a fan of death metal myself but I'm a fan of near on every other metal sub genre that there is to hear (death metal bores me, no offense guys). A lot of people around where I am don't see metal as violent but because of the generation I'm in they actually mistake metal for emo or screamo.

Whenever someone would talk about music and I'd try and say something like yeah, I like Pantera or yeah, I like Iron Maiden I'd get the immediate response "Is that some screamo band?" So to bring this on topic I've never gotten the violent stereotype, I've had quite the opposite. People thought I was a pussy and I was going to cut my wrists because I had long (brown) hair. High School sucked lol.

Captcha: Blood type. That's relatively metal, for a captcha.

 

[Keepitclean]

Going to a death metal concert there is a great sense of comradely. Some of the nicest people I have met in my life are fans of vulgar and violent bands like this.

What are your thoughts?

I'm a Death Metal fan and I agree with you whole heartedly. The sense of togetherness I get at metal shows I've found is shared with other niche tastes and hobbies. I think the fact that such a small percentage of the population likes death metal is what creates that feeling. We are a relatively small group of people doing something that is often looked down on by the greater population that doesn't know any better.

Does anyone else refrain from telling people that they like death metal when new people ask what sort of music they like?

On a side note: That bullshit metal episode of Bones was bad for metal's image in general. I assume a lot of the people here know which one I am talking about. I thought it was hilarious when I saw it. Some of my friends were offended by it though.

 

[Vault101]

really?

I dont know..I used to like some metal but I'm really not into the genre

I'm not saying that if you don't like metal, you're stupid, but a lot of the people who are into metal, in my experience, are very smart people. Quite a few exceptions, especially with all the elitists floating around, but a lot of them are. And very social, too.

does Disturbed count as metal?

 

[Chairman Miaow]

Snip.

That has to be the most retarded thing I've ever seen. I didn't know mosh pits were just flailing around pathetically. Also it's more likely M-Ket than MDMA, everyone knows that.

OT: You can't complain about the way the music you listen to reflects on you. The music itself is really intimidating and the band members often are too, even if they are lovable off stage. Then you have the people who actively partake in that idea who then become the image for that genre.

Most music suffers the same fate. You link classical music to the posh, rich and refined; you link rap with gangs and gang culture; you link pop music with young children. It's just the way it works.

That isn't a mosh pit. That's a group of the people who ruin mosh pits acting like idiots.

 

[Vault101]

I'm not being a rebel, I just hate ignorance. I don't give a flying fuck about whether I get ban-hammered.

you don't need to use the C-word to fight ignorance

in fact falling back on petty insults only weakens your argument

 

[Vault101]

On a side note: That bullshit metal episode of Bones was bad for metal's image in general. I assume a lot of the people here know which one I am talking about. I thought it was hilarious when I saw it. Some of my friends were offended by it though.

if we are thinking of the same one...

for *that* kind of show (mainstream crime shows are notorious for getting shit wrong and making putting it in a negative light)

it didn't seem *that* bad..I mean the guy, the psychologist guy was shown to like it and that was a good thing

hell Stephen fry even got a monologue about they were "true mucisians" or something..I mean c'mon Stephen fry

 

[Keepitclean]

On a side note: That bullshit metal episode of Bones was bad for metal's image in general. I assume a lot of the people here know which one I am talking about. I thought it was hilarious when I saw it. Some of my friends were offended by it though.

if we are thinking of the same one...

for *that* kind of show (mainstream crime shows are notorious for getting shit wrong and making putting it in a negative light)

it didn't seem *that* bad..I mean the guy, the psychologist guy was shown to like it and that was a good thing

hell Stephen fry even got a monologue about they were "true mucisians" or something..I mean c'mon Stephen fry

I like Stephen Fry.

However, what sticks in people's heads is what is shown in the the episode, not so much what is said. The musicians and fans were portrayed as sociopaths living in a secret society where Mayhemesque antics are common.

I guess that's far more interesting to an outsider than the truth. I can't remember one neckbeard from that whole episode.

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

I don`t care what people think of Death Metal(or metal in general)and how it is seen by them, enjoy what others can`t.

 

[Rule Britannia]

But Stephen King books are, well, books. Not real.

The "stereotype" must have been based off something, it didn't invent itself. I get the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" but if you dress or act odd based upon the genre of music you listen to I will treat you odd.

 

[TTMichael18]

I'm not being a rebel, I just hate ignorance. I don't give a flying fuck about whether I get ban-hammered.

you don't need to use the C-word to fight ignorance

in fact falling back on petty insults only weakens your argument

I never fell back on insults, I used a word to emphasise my whole point. The argument was still there and it was the majority of my comment.

 

[TTMichael18]

I'm not being a rebel, I just hate ignorance. I don't give a flying fuck about whether I get ban-hammered.

Sorry to interrupt your rage, but is that a Sunn O))) avatar?

Yeah, it's a Sunn O))) avatar.

 

[TTMichael18]

Can someone explain the concepts of sub-genres to me?

It seems like if 2 bands do not sound the same they get their own sub-genre which, to be honest casts a very bad light on the entire metal genre.

Well, it's simple. Say we're talking about Metal sub-genres. They're all Metal in essence, but are all very different. I mean, compare Technical Death Metal to Post-Metal. Tech Death is about speed, low growls, blast beats, tremolo picking. Post-Metal is about repetition, atmosphere, incorporation Post-Rock elements and it's about being dense, and it's usually slow. They're completely different genres all up, but they're both Metal at their roots.

You know, it's like asking the difference between Blues and Folk.

 

[TTMichael18]

Can someone explain the concepts of sub-genres to me?

It seems like if 2 bands do not sound the same they get their own sub-genre which, to be honest casts a very bad light on the entire metal genre.

Well, it's simple. Say we're talking about Metal sub-genres. They're all Metal in essence, but are all very different. I mean, compare Technical Death Metal to Post-Metal. Tech Death is about speed, low growls, blast beats, tremolo picking. Post-Metal is about repetition, atmosphere, incorporation Post-Rock elements and it's about being dense, and it's usually slow. They're completely different genres all up, but they're both Metal at their roots.

You know, it's like asking the difference between Blues and Folk.

Sounds just like elements of a song, not a genre.

If you extend this to some of the "greats" who aren't in metal then they cannot have a genre. I mean, can you really give Led Zeppelin a genre if you tried to do that with their music?

"Oh yeah, they are a speed-slow-melodic-reggae-folk-blues-rock-metal ARGHHHHHHHHHHH"

Those things seem to apply to songs, not genres. I don't see how one band could stick to such rigid definitions.

Bands can incorporate different elements occasionally and still be a genre, and that's what you're talking. But when a band focuses on a certain sound for all their music, that's what makes a genre. You know, I'm not gonna call the Beatles Progressive Rock because they experimented with it a little on Sgt. Pepper, but I'll call King Crimson Progressive Rock because that's what they're making.

Of course, there are bands that swap up genres for separate album and eras of their music. Take the band Swans for example, they started off as a Post-Punk band and over time, they've changed their sound to something along the lines of Industrial/Experimental music. They're a bad example, actually, they're too difficult to define. New example; Neurosis. They started off as a Crust Punk band, then successfully shifted their sound to Sludge Metal and (eventually) inventing/pioneering the genre of Post-Metal.

 

[Mutie]

If we ignore all the horrors in the world, then they shall become the norm. If we glaze over all that we see with strawberry flavored sugar syrup, then the raped and the murdered shall go forgotten. The more vulgar aspects of Metal music are none-to-dissimilar to classical horror works such as Frankenstein or Jekyll and Hyde: Cautionary tales harboring strong morals designed to remind us that the world can be a very dark place. Only through the acknowledgement of these horrors can our society strive to avoid them. Beware your fellow man, for he is a murderer.

 

[TTMichael18]

So it's not like I'll call a Groove Metal band like Lamb of God a Death Metal band because they have made minor experiments with a Death Metal sound at points. Or I'm not gonna call a Black Metal band a Folk band because they added a Folk-inspired acoustic interlude on an album.

 

[The Funslinger]

Can someone explain the concepts of sub-genres to me?

It seems like if 2 bands do not sound the same they get their own sub-genre which, to be honest casts a very bad light on the entire metal genre.

Well, it's simple. Say we're talking about Metal sub-genres. They're all Metal in essence, but are all very different. I mean, compare Technical Death Metal to Post-Metal. Tech Death is about speed, low growls, blast beats, tremolo picking. Post-Metal is about repetition, atmosphere, incorporation Post-Rock elements and it's about being dense, and it's usually slow. They're completely different genres all up, but they're both Metal at their roots.

You know, it's like asking the difference between Blues and Folk.

Sounds just like elements of a song, not a genre.

If you extend this to some of the "greats" who aren't in metal then they cannot have a genre. I mean, can you really give Led Zeppelin a genre if you tried to do that with their music?

"Oh yeah, they are a speed-slow-melodic-reggae-folk-blues-rock-metal ARGHHHHHHHHHHH"

Those things seem to apply to songs, not genres. I don't see how one band could stick to such rigid definitions.

This. It would end up being incredibly subjective. For the record, blues music tends to be fairly lamenting in subject matter, and is inspired by Jazz, and African music. Which is about as far away from the Western stylings of Country as you can get.