What's so good about metal?
Jan 17, 2009 at 11:55 PM Post #76 of 143
OMG... I know this is probaply so off topic but this guy really deserves horns and respect.
biggrin.gif

YouTube - Thrasher - My Cats
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 8:55 AM Post #79 of 143
Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It keep people from buying up all the good albums.


heheheh.
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 9:01 AM Post #80 of 143
What's so good about metal? It's an alternative form of art.

It's like Picasso's art. Straightforward in most cases it's downright ugly/horrible. Some beauty might be seen in it but overall, it's ugly to those who don't dig deeper.

But once you're willing to accept that it is art and understand it. Then you'll realize it is indeed, art.
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 9:50 AM Post #81 of 143
I'm not really sure how much the OP has gotten into metal so far, but I must say I would be outright embarrassed to listen to most of the metal mentioned in this thread. This might be a difference of musical evolution, as I evolved into metal from hardcore punk, but I find Metallica and Nightwish to be intolerable.

Personally, the first band that got me into metal was Isis. They've got some great, punishing riffs and Aaron Turner has one of the best growls in the business. However, you mentioned that you didn't like the long-form structure of Tool songs, so maybe Isis isn't for you.

Some of my favorites:
Torche: Their early works weren't anything special, but their recent Meanderthal really showed their potential. The guitars are fast and catchy, and the vocals aren't heavy at all. I hesitate to call them ethereal, but for some reason that's the word that comes to mind.
Gojira: French death metal band. Fairly mild growling (i.e. you can understand what they're saying) some decent guitarwork and all their songs seem to be about whales. Can't really go wrong there.
Mastodon: As far as progressive metal goes, Mastodon has got it down. Leviathan is a must-have for any metal fan.
Kayo Dot/maudlin of the Well: Experimental metal hasn't really been discussed here, so I thought I'd give Toby Driver a shout out here. These two bands produce some of the most bizarre music I've ever heard, but if you can get into it, you'll love it. Pretty much impossible to describe in words.
Old Man Gloom: Another experimental project, OMG combines hardcore and doom metal inspiration into one awesome package. A few of their songs deviate from metal quite a bit; they use sound clips in a manner quite similar to post-rock bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Electric Wizard: Doom metal is another frontier that hasn't been discussed, so I figured I'd bring it up. If you're into Black Sabbath, I highly suggest you go in this direction, as this is the closest to what Sabbath actually was. And, to be honest, Electric Wizard is like Sabbath's secret, heavier incarnation. A lot of deep, droning, heavily-distorted guitar, but nothing too off-putting.

I guess that's enough suggestions for now. I really hope that the OP gets something out of this, because in my eyes the true scope and nature of metal isn't getting shown by the recommendations in this thread. However, I am not trying to start any type of argument here; I believe that metal is a very individualistic genre, considering the plethora of sub-genres that exist within it.

A bit of an aside: I'm definitely not into the whole satan/anarchy/hate aspect of metal mentioned earlier, and I think that shines through in these recommendations. Some of them are just fun, and the more progressive stuff usually has very introspective and deep lyrics.
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 11:33 AM Post #82 of 143
To each his own. For me what draws near metal is definetly both melodrama and also the primal and spiritual side. Bands what you mentioned, except perhaps mastodon, dont do anything for me. I dislike bands like Tool and Dreamt theatre to.

But you are right, I completely forgot Doom Metal. I should have included it in my major metal genre list before goth metal. Especially for the fans of Black Sabbath, they should check Doom Metal out.

Too bad my knowledge of different doom metal bands is quite limited, I'm only aware of more harder funeral doom branch. Candlemass should be a good place to start though.
http://www.myspace.com/candlemass
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 12:45 PM Post #83 of 143
Usually I don't like metal at all. Recently though I stumbled upon Mastodon's album Blood Mountain. I didn't like it at first but after a couple of listens it really started growing on me and I found it very interesting. Every song on that record is quite different and involving. Afterwards, I tried to listen to Mastodon's earlier album but it was too heavy for me. I'd suggest Blood Mountain to someone who does not seem to get metal at all. At least it worked for me.

I would like to give a listen to something similar to Mastodon, any suggestions?
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 3:26 PM Post #84 of 143
Quote:

Originally Posted by tuhnu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I would like to give a listen to something similar to Mastodon, any suggestions?


By earlier album, did you mean Leviathon? Try Baroness - Red Album. Not as heavy as Mastodon, and might be the sort of feel you are looking for.
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 7:42 PM Post #85 of 143
I never understood the comparisons between Baroness and Mastodon... However, I haven't really listened to Blood Mountain that much, and that seems to be where most of the comparisons lie. I guess that Baroness's association with sludge (a stupid name for a genre, in my opinion) makes me connect it more with bands like Torche.

Baroness is definitely a great band, though; I actually think they're a bit boring but definitely worth checking out.

@MaZa: As far as a melodramatic and spiritual side, most of the bands I mentioned mostly exist for the sake of having fun. I wouldn't listen to Gojira to gain a deeper insight on life or anything like that. But really, I only mentioned these bands because of their existence (in my opinion) as metal-lite. I would imagine that the OP would be turned off by something like Converge; deep lyrical content but non-stop death metal shrieks. The only band I would really argue for in this case is Old Man Gloom; I don't know how much you've listened to them, but I can get so thoroughly lost in their music that it's almost awe-inspiring.

I almost mentioned Ahab (the quintessential funeral doom band) in my original post, but again I thought this to be a bit inaccessible. There is a lot more to doom that funeral doom however; check out EyeHateGod, Harvey Milk, Neurosis, Earth (their newer stuff seems to have shed the "metal" half of the moniker and become just doom), Melvins, Boris, etc.
 
Jan 18, 2009 at 10:52 PM Post #86 of 143
EyeHateGod is sludge, Neurosis is crazy weird sludge w/ metal, tribal, and ambient influences (well, their early stuff is hardcore), Earth is drone, and Boris is all over the place.


PS: Just giving genres out for the people who are wondering.
 
Jan 19, 2009 at 5:42 AM Post #88 of 143
As far as semantics go, ZackP is spot-on, but all those bands fall under the general umbrella of doom (except for some of Boris's more recent stuff, but I mostly listen to AbsoluteGo). I think that it was implied in my post that diversity is a major characteristic of the metal genre.
 
Jan 19, 2009 at 6:15 AM Post #89 of 143
Cannibal20Corpse_2_Cov.jpg


Sorry fellas, but assuming this is representive of the genre, you've just lost me. This would have to be the most tasteless and puerile album cover i have ever seen.

I do like Eagles of Death Metal though.
 
Jan 19, 2009 at 7:42 AM Post #90 of 143
Cannibal Corpse's big appeal is the shock value they present to disturbed individuals. They are, along with Gwar and Marilyn Manson, the musical equivalent to Saw. Don't write off death metal on the weaknesses of one band.

Eagles of Death Metal have nothing in common with real death metal, though.
 
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