Why Metal music makes us happy

[Ironic Pirate]

Psychobilly is really the only branch of metal I can get into. Everything else seems really kind of... soulless, & empty.

Pyschobilly is metal? Some of it, I guess.

Also, what's some good pyschobilly? All I know is Reverend Horton Heat, who is awesome.

I've always considered it so. A bit of a stretch though, I agree.


You might like The Cramps?

The Cramps are awesome! I was a Teenage Werewolf is a great song.

 

[trooper6]

For a great scholarly treatment of of Heavy Metal, I recommend: Running With the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music by musicologist Robert Walser.

 

[Inconnu24]

Spoiler: Opeth - Baying Of The Hounds

Great band, this album is by fair their weakest, i think the introduction of full-time keyboards let them down a lot.

I agree with you about Ghost Reveries as a whole, but it does have a few worthwhile songs. The song I listed probably should have been from Blackwater Park, but it's difficult to choose just one on such a consistently solid album. Baying Of The Hounds is an easy choice compared to the rest of that album. Haha.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

While I'm here, here's something that's not really Death Metal - In fact it's actually somewhat lighter than most of the stuff I listen to - but just wouldn't be the same without the growls.

You have no idea just how much unbridled glee I derive from the knowledge that your enthusiasm for Orphaned Land can ultimately be traced back to me - yay musical evangelism at work!

 

[WhamBamSam]

You have no idea just how much unbridled glee I derive from the knowledge that your enthusiasm for Orphaned Land can ultimately be traced back to me - yay musical evangelism at work!

Deep down I knew you'd eventually find that post and react more or less in this way. It turns out that you're rather predictable. But yeah, I really enjoyed the Orphaned Land album. The first few listens didn't do all that much for me, but it really grew on me after a while.

On the other hand, although I am not one for judging musical movements for their aesthetics, I just find the whole carnage esque atmosphere surrounding metal annoying, I find it to be of terrible taste in the same way that I find punk to be counter-productive; it's just obscene imagery that depict nothing but vulgarity.

I think over time this is diminishing as a necessity in the genre. I'm not sure where it came form in the first place, I'd imagine it had something to do with the whole rebellious attitude that came with metal in the 80s... people saying 'let's shock people and push this as far into sub-culture as we can'.

Pretty much. Death Metal started out by looking at the angrier, more aggressive side of Thrash and saying "you know what, we can top that." Also most early bands in the style were following Death's example. The sub-genre was invented with an album titled Scream Bloody Gore and that really says it all. It sort of stands to reason that it'd take a while for bands in the genre to move away from that aesthetic, though interestingly enough, Death themselves grew out of it it fairly quickly. They essentially decided that they didn't want to try outdoing Canibal Corpse or Morbid Angel in terms of brutality, and instead matured both lyrically and musically, moving toward Tech Death and eventually Prog Death.

The whole idea of being 'br00tal' will likely persist in Death Metal to some extent, simply because there are people who genuinely want to write songs about these things and Death is the style that most naturally lends itself to such themes, and because fans of the genre likely won't care, as most of the time you can't make out the words anyway.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Okay this may not be completely metal, it's more metalcore, but I encourage everyone to listen to this song:

I love you. It's more post-hardcore than metal, but these guys are great, saw them live a couple weeks ago after being introduced to them at Warped.

A lot of bands nowadays blur the line between metalcore and post-hardcore.

Are they any good live? I'm seeing them at warped this summer and I don't wanna be dissapointed.

 

[MisterGobbles]

Are they any good live? I'm seeing them at warped this summer and I don't wanna be dissapointed.

Yes, when I first saw them at Warped, I was sunburned and tired and in pain from what I would later find out to be cancer, so the only thing I noticed was that the guitar work seemed to be very, very good. They were also either following or right before Iwrestledabearonce, which I will not go into any more detail about for obvious reasons. Anyway, the sheer shock of that overshadowed what they did, so I don't remember much about it.

But this most recent time, I was much closer up and I was actually paying attention, they played a setlist of mostly what you would expect them to and the singer hit notes very well (which is sometimes a problem for bands like that). The bass overshadowed the melodic guitar parts a little too much, but it was indoors and I don't remember that being a problem at Warped Tour.

Also, if you're going to Warped, assuming this band is touring on Warped this year, go see Dilinger live. Best. Stage presence. EVER. Although Jeff Tutle nearly ran me over when he ran out to mosh, so I think it may be a little hazardous to your safety...

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Are they any good live? I'm seeing them at warped this summer and I don't wanna be dissapointed.

Yes, when I first saw them at Warped, I was sunburned and tired and in pain from what I would later find out to be cancer, so the only thing I noticed was that the guitar work seemed to be very, very good. They were also either following or right before Iwrestledabearonce, which I will not go into any more detail about for obvious reasons. Anyway, the sheer shock of that overshadowed what they did, so I don't remember much about it.

But this most recent time, I was much closer up and I was actually paying attention, they played a setlist of mostly what you would expect them to and the singer hit notes very well (which is sometimes a problem for bands like that). The bass overshadowed the melodic guitar parts a little too much, but it was indoors and I don't remember that being a problem at Warped Tour.

Also, if you're going to Warped, assuming this band is touring on Warped this year, go see Dilinger live. Best. Stage presence. EVER. Although Jeff Tutle nearly ran me over when he ran out to mosh, so I think it may be a little hazardous to your safety...

I've always wanted to see Dillinger, but I don't know if they're playing this year, but they haven't announced all the bands yet. But I would love to see Iwrestledabearonce, they're awesome. So far I'm going to warped for Winds of Plague, The Word Alive, Miss May I, Woe is Me, Set Your Goals, and Of Mice and Men. But The Acacia Strain is playing and my friend let me borrow some of their cd's and I must say, they're pretty good. I'm also going to Mayhem a week after Warped to see Megadeth, Disturbed, and Suicide Silence. Have you seen Suicide Silence live? They're fucking amazing!

 

[MisterGobbles]

Are they any good live? I'm seeing them at warped this summer and I don't wanna be dissapointed.

Yes, when I first saw them at Warped, I was sunburned and tired and in pain from what I would later find out to be cancer, so the only thing I noticed was that the guitar work seemed to be very, very good. They were also either following or right before Iwrestledabearonce, which I will not go into any more detail about for obvious reasons. Anyway, the sheer shock of that overshadowed what they did, so I don't remember much about it.

But this most recent time, I was much closer up and I was actually paying attention, they played a setlist of mostly what you would expect them to and the singer hit notes very well (which is sometimes a problem for bands like that). The bass overshadowed the melodic guitar parts a little too much, but it was indoors and I don't remember that being a problem at Warped Tour.

Also, if you're going to Warped, assuming this band is touring on Warped this year, go see Dilinger live. Best. Stage presence. EVER. Although Jeff Tutle nearly ran me over when he ran out to mosh, so I think it may be a little hazardous to your safety...

I've always wanted to see Dillinger, but I don't know if they're playing this year, but they haven't announced all the bands yet. But I would love to see Iwrestledabearonce, they're awesome. So far I'm going to warped for Winds of Plague, The Word Alive, Miss May I, Woe is Me, Set Your Goals, and Of Mice and Men. But The Acacia Strain is playing and my friend let me borrow some of their cd's and I must say, they're pretty good. I'm also going to Mayhem a week after Warped to see Megadeth, Disturbed, and Suicide Silence. Have you seen Suicide Silence live? They're fucking amazing!

No, is that the Mayhem lineup this year? I'm DEFINITELY going to that. I hope Uproar is good this year too, they haven't announced anything about it yet.

As for Dilinger being on Warped, I'm not sure, I think last year was their first year on it but I could be wrong, they do so much touring it's hard to keep up with it.

The only other band I've seen out of those is Woe, Is Me. They're pretty good live too, not much to say. I would have gotten to see Of Mice and Men this December but couldn't make it, my friend ended up with one of their picks and randomly gave it to me since I collect and play with them.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Are they any good live? I'm seeing them at warped this summer and I don't wanna be dissapointed.

Yes, when I first saw them at Warped, I was sunburned and tired and in pain from what I would later find out to be cancer, so the only thing I noticed was that the guitar work seemed to be very, very good. They were also either following or right before Iwrestledabearonce, which I will not go into any more detail about for obvious reasons. Anyway, the sheer shock of that overshadowed what they did, so I don't remember much about it.

But this most recent time, I was much closer up and I was actually paying attention, they played a setlist of mostly what you would expect them to and the singer hit notes very well (which is sometimes a problem for bands like that). The bass overshadowed the melodic guitar parts a little too much, but it was indoors and I don't remember that being a problem at Warped Tour.

Also, if you're going to Warped, assuming this band is touring on Warped this year, go see Dilinger live. Best. Stage presence. EVER. Although Jeff Tutle nearly ran me over when he ran out to mosh, so I think it may be a little hazardous to your safety...

I've always wanted to see Dillinger, but I don't know if they're playing this year, but they haven't announced all the bands yet. But I would love to see Iwrestledabearonce, they're awesome. So far I'm going to warped for Winds of Plague, The Word Alive, Miss May I, Woe is Me, Set Your Goals, and Of Mice and Men. But The Acacia Strain is playing and my friend let me borrow some of their cd's and I must say, they're pretty good. I'm also going to Mayhem a week after Warped to see Megadeth, Disturbed, and Suicide Silence. Have you seen Suicide Silence live? They're fucking amazing!

No, is that the Mayhem lineup this year? I'm DEFINITELY going to that. I hope Uproar is good this year too, they haven't announced anything about it yet.

As for Dilinger being on Warped, I'm not sure, I think last year was their first year on it but I could be wrong, they do so much touring it's hard to keep up with it.

The only other band I've seen out of those is Woe, Is Me. They're pretty good live too, not much to say. I would have gotten to see Of Mice and Men this December but couldn't make it, my friend ended up with one of their picks and randomly gave it to me since I collect and play with them.

The lineup for Mayhem is: Disturbed, Godsmack, Megadeth, In Flames, Machine Head, Trivium, All Shall Perish, Suicide Silence, Straight Line Stitch, Red Fang, Kingdom of Sorrow, and Unearth.

I saw Of Mice and Men in November, they were good, but when I see them this summer they have Austin back as their singer instead of Jerry Roush.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

It sort of stands to reason that it'd take a while for bands in the genre to move away from that aesthetic, though interestingly enough, Death themselves grew out of it it fairly quickly. They essentially decided that they didn't want to try outdoing Canibal Corpse or Morbid Angel in terms of brutality, and instead matured both lyrically and musically, moving toward Tech Death and eventually Prog Death.

Agree completely... and then they made 'Symbolic', which to me is their best work. Crystal Mountain is such a gorgeous, perfect song... and the drum intro to Sacred Serenity... ARGH such a great album.

The whole idea of being 'br00tal' will likely persist in Death Metal to some extent, simply because there are people who genuinely want to write songs about these things and Death is the style that most naturally lends itself to such themes, and because fans of the genre likely won't care, as most of the time you can't make out the words anyway.

Plus a lot of death metal fans these days see the fun in the retarded OTT lyrics... there's almost a self-referencial humor to Cannibal Corpse these days, kinda the way we watch a horror movie with our buddies and laugh and cheer at the but where Paris Hilton gets skewered. Have you ever seen George Fisher's World Of Warcraft interview? He is one funny, very geeky dude

 

[Cobweb_Morphology]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnd......MOSH!

 

[Zechnophobe]

Metal (particularly Death Metal) is probably the most mis-understood popular music genre I can think of, and has been since I was a kid in the 80s jumping up and down on my bed to Obituary and Slayer.

The biggest misconception people seem to have is that this musical style somehow makes people feel angry and violent... and hey, that's ok. I can understand why people would think so - on the surface it does sound noisy and angry and the imagery often focuses on dark themes that can seem angsty or childish.

Even the most devoted Slayer fans can't deny the crap-tasticness of their early album covers....​

But.... this couldn't be further from the truth. It's all about release, catharsis and a joyfully primal expression of the chaos and aggression in us as humans, refined into something wholly positive and beautiful that, while it sounds like angry noise to most, makes us feel really, really good.

Anytime I've been to a metal gig the atmosphere has been thoroughly joyful and everyone is best buddies with total strangers for an hour or two.

Remember - the fat hairy dude in the Cannibal Corpse t-shirt who just knocked you over meant it in a manly bonding way.

Is moshing unsophisticated behaviour? Damn right it is. That's why it is great. Thinking we are sophisticated creatures is arrogant. We are primal, tribal, instinctive beings. We have not yet evolved past our fundamental primal nature. Sometimes it is a good thing to remember that and embrace it for a while, beat our chests and howl and let all of life's frustrations out through beautiful music and noise.

Though to most peoples' ears, it is but a raging cacophony, if you were fortunate enough to be born with ears that enjoy this kind of music, there literally is no other musical style that can give you the same joyful adrenalin filled primal rush. I'm 30 now and a fan of all kinds of music from cheesy pop to classical, but it's always metal I go back to because it is the one genre that consistently excites me.

As someone on this forum once pointed out: 'Metal is an expression of chaos through order (i.e.. structured notes) and it is beautiful and it is Zen.'

My questions to you is:

Do you 'get' metal and/or extreme metal?

Are you a fan? Are you indifferent? or does it make want to scream 'ARGH TURN IT OFF!'?

If you are a fan, tell us why and how it makes you feel to throw on some good old blast beats and death growls

To finish, I shall leave you with some sexy melodic death metal to make your eardrums happy

I listen mostly to symphonic metal. That is, same styles of guitar and beats, but less growling. This is for a few reasons:

1) Growls or grunts aren't fun to SING and I like singing along to music... a lot.
2) I honestly just don't think they sound as nice. They can WORK for sure, sometimes well. But a lot of the time the tonality is lost in favor of grind.
3) I love awesome guitar work, and powerful vocals, but screamer music rarely qualifies as the latter. If it takes skill to do (And I don't doubt it does) that skill is simply on a different plane than actual singing. It's like Rap being a test of fast thinking and rhythm finding, and not singing power and range.

Just my thoughts.

Oh, here is example song I guess:

 

[Dr. wonderful]

So...the point of this is...?

 

[Outright Villainy]

They essentially decided that they didn't want to try outdoing Canibal Corpse or Morbid Angel in terms of brutality, and instead matured both lyrically and musically, moving toward Tech Death and eventually Prog Death.

I'd certainly say it was for the best as well.

Glorious...

 

[MiracleOfSound]

So...the point of this is...?

Try actually reading the OP. It's hardly vague.

See the 3 questions in big bold text? Yeah. There you go.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

So...the point of this is...?

Try actually reading the OP. It's hardly vague.

See the 3 questions in big bold text? Yeah. There you go.

I said: the point of this is...?


As in: Was he bored when he written that?

I could care less about Metal as a whole, I listen to it sometimes but you understand what I'm saying.