Why is metal dead?

I have some sort of attention deficit disorder when it comes to music in that my first reaction will often not be the final judgement on a song or album. My initial reaction to Metallica's "Black Album" was a positive one. I think what happened was when the opening to "Enter Sandman" chimed in I thought "wow, that's a cool little riff.. ok.. I'm on board so far".. I think the fact that Hetfield sang more melodically was also a nice surprise because his older singing style was something I had to get used to over time to appreciate.

Also during "Sandman" I started thinking, "uh.. ok.. things were cool until the song went up a whole step.. that doesn't sound right" and also thinking, "jesus. It's a wah pedal. It's for occasional use. Would you please put that fucking thing away Kurt! Your guitar doesn't even have the bluesy balls to handle the sound.".. Not to mention realizing that "Of Wolf and Man" and "Don't Tread on Me" were never going to be played on purpose by me again.

And as radio would rotate that cd up my ass for the next 10+ years I started to really appreciate just how bad they sounded. I can hear kick. I can hear bass, but there is a giant hole where a frequency should be. Every song on that album has a serious flaw somewhere in its writing, except maybe "Holier than Thou" and "Nothing Else Matters", but I can't seem to get excited enough about those songs to even touch the cd anymore. And to make matters worse, Metallica was saying that they slowed things down on that album for more groove. Really? Funny, there is more groove on "Whiplash" or "Disposable Heroes" than anywhere on "Black" or "Load", where slop is the order of the day.

I cringe at the thought of what their next collection of suckage will be. Maybe I'll have to put on my cowboy hat and spurs in order to get the full effect.

Cy
 
Isn't taste in music a beautiful thing....



I thought Metallica was total and complete crap....





and then I heard the Black album....





I liked it so much that I went out and bought it... (which is a pretty big statement, considering I almost never buy CD's..... ever.) It's just amazing how one person can see that album as "the beginning of the end" and another can see it as "the beginning of something better". I guess we just have to accept that other people's tastes in music are just as valid as our own. (a concept that most will never grasp, unfortunately :p )




WATYF





P.S. I may like the Black album... but Lars still sucks big huge donkey balls. :p
 
There seems to be a huge line in the sand when it comes to that album. Almost every girl I know (my wife included) loves that album, while they HATE anything before then, especially "Master of Puppets". And I have met very few guys who actually share that sentiment: Most male metalheads seem to consider the first three albums of Metallica classics.

In fact, when I mention metal to my wife, she thinks of GnR, Motley Crue, Ratt, Poison, and just about all the hair bands of the 80s. While when I mention metal, I am usually referring to Megadeth, Iron Maiden, and Slayer. She loves Ozzy's solo work, and while I do enjoy Ozzy, I'm always grabbing for Sabbath. We only seem to completely agree on the brilliance of Savatage and Ugly Kid Joe.

Seems like the differing perspectives hit gender lines too.

Cy
 
actually... I'm not a chick... :p

(don't let the avatar fool you) :p


but I was never a metal head... I grew up (musically) on stuff like Rush... (and later on stuff like Pearl Jam...) I couldn't stand metal (and still can't) but Black was such a great combination of distinct melody and "grit" that I could actually like it, even though I hated the genre that it came from... to me, that was the smartest thing they could do... show the "rest" of the world that there's actually a bit of musical diversity in "metal-heads".


WATYF
 
Cyrokk, nice to hear the wifey at least enjoys some cool music ;)
My girlfriend really likes Nightwish, Iron Maiden and Helloween. Hell, when I played Flotsam's "Doomsday" she loved the fast sound of it all...

BTW, I think Chuck Schuldiner is like the Paul McCartney of metal! I mean, his playing is superb, his harmonic and melodic sense are pure genius! I like Human and Individual Thought Patterns the best, but Symbolic and Sound of Perseverance contain some cool songs as well.

One must not forget that although 1991 may seem as a 'black year' for the history of metal (Black Album released, grunge hit big), it was also the year that spawned one of the greatest thrash albums of ALL TIME : DARK ANGEL "Time Does Not Heal".
FUCKIN' A!!!!!

I have mixed thoughts about the Black Album though. I mean, I'm more of a "Kill 'em all/Ride The Lightning" guy... The Black Album DOES sound very heavy, but 1980 Angelwitch and 1975 Black Sabbath sounded REAAHEEAAALLLY heavy too.
Oh, and I own "The Ultra-Violence" from Death Angel! GREAT RECORD! Sometimes the speed of music passes itself, but the songs are cool.

Anyway, there are but a few modern metalbands that I like, and most of them have older influences. Bands like Dissection, Iced Earth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Nightwish...they all have some Sabbath/Priest/Maiden stuff going on somewhere.

But those fags from Crazy Town can kiss my shred-ass! :mad:
 
Speeddemon said:
grunge hit big
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I'd just like to point out than the big four "grunge" bands (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Nirvana) sounded NOTHING like each other. Grunge is a clothing style which has NOTHING to do with music.
 
What little I've heard of Iced Earth is pretty good, although the singer's voice gets a bit tiring.

Other newer ones I like are Sentenced and Valley's Eve. I'm also interested in what the Jasoned-up Voivod will sound like.

Cy
 
Iced Earth is one of those bands that really, really, bugs me. It causes a similar reaction as listening to the Rolling Stones' Angie.

Everyone I know was gushing about them. Then I gave them I listen. Totally boring. Take them selves WAY too seriously. (never had to worry about that with Maiden or even Priest.) "I'm a warrior of light." Sure you are. lol.

They're one of those Century Media Bands???? I dig Moonspell and old Amorphous from that label though.

-Jett
 
Black vs. Justice

Ya know, it's funny that most people who loved And Justice For All hated the Black album.

I personally can't get past the crappy production of Justice. The songs may be good, but there's no bass. (All your bass are belong to us). I find the Black album enjoyable because of the great sounds. That album is just so powerful.

However, I prefer Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets to the Black album. Better production than Justice and IMHO better songs than Black.


Regarding Iced Earth, I bought Horror Show after hearing Speed rave about them. I've got to agree somewhat with jet-rocker in that they don't compare to Maiden or other similar bands like Sanctuary, Priest, etc. I dunno, I'll still give it a few more listens to be sure.
 
Lopp (and maybe jet-rocker too), you gotta check out their double-album "Days of Purgatory". It contains mainly older songs re-recorded with the newer line-up. I really dig the production. And Jon Schaeffer has one of the fastest solid rhythm guitar-hands... I know what you mean, Jet, but I never pay too much attention to that. Unless ofcourse it becomes some media-scandal (like with Van Halen in the DLR-days...DLR NEVER took himself serious, and that's what made at least 50% of his great performance!)
But Marilyn Manson on the other hand....that man/bitch should be hanged in the white house! :mad:
Right now I'm listening to Ozzy's "Crazy Train". Great song! Oh, I just downloaded some ol' Ratt-stuff (Back for more, I'm Insane, Lay it Down)... :cool:
 
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bullyhill said:
Of course Punk isn't dead...
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i don't recall saying that punk was dead-what i was saying is that the classification "hardcore" does not often refer to fast, rather rulebreaking punk any more; rather, it tends to refer to a metal/punk-spawned genre all its own.
 
W.I.S.C. said:
Zer0sig-on the money dude,all the bands you mentioned are well played in my collection,have you heard the new DEP w/ Mike Patton?
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irony is a dead scene? hell yeah-it's good stuff. i would have no complaint about them doing more together.
 
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clifchamb said:
I would like to check them out. Who are hey?
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zao is one of the best-known christian metal/hardcore bands. i'd reccomend trying out "where blood and fire bring rest"-it's good stuff. you can find them on a filesharing program if you want to hear them before you buy. ravage ritual is a particularly good track.
 
just in case anyone cares, i think ride, master, and justice are easily the 3 best metallica albums (kill em all, while i dig it, just doesn't have a lot of the elements that i thought made metallica great-excellent production, a brutal sound (like every LA band, metallica on that album suffers from what i refer to as "ratt" syndrome-i.e. you can take one of their later albums, compare it to the first, and the vocals and production sound like ratt, comparatively), sweet melodies/harmonies, and very strong meaningful lyrics). the black album, while not as ripping as the earlier offerings (and indeed the beginning of the end), i WILL still acknowledge as a metallica album. too bad they never put out any other albums :D
 
Musical genres dont die, they evolve. If every metal band out today played the same style, we'd be over saturated with clones of one band. But fortunately, people continue to put their own twist on a certain style, taking cues from other musical styles to make a new one. Is metal dead? no. Its just changing, just like it always has been and will continue to do.
 
Uladine, my thoughts exactly.


Speeddemon said:
Lopp (and maybe jet-rocker too), you gotta check out their double-album "Days of Purgatory". It contains mainly older songs re-recorded with the newer line-up.
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Well hell. Now I have to spend more money. ;)

I love it when bands rerecord their old stuff. Especially because they often get more power with newer production techniques. Like the new Testament album. Good stuff. Even the remix of Megadeth's "Killing..." isn't bad. Except for the hack job they did on "These Boots."


I just downloaded some ol' Ratt-stuff (Back for more, I'm Insane, Lay it Down)... :cool:
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You've GOTTA get stuff from "Detonator!" Especially the Shame intro and Shame Shame Shame. DeMartini oozes groove. I used to hate Ratt because they seemed so poseur. A careful listening to DeMartini changed my mind.
 
I was never a Ratt fan either, until I heard their contribution to the soundtrack of Pointbreak. Not the flashiest, but very groove infectious.

I love Kill 'em All and consider it a landmark album in the same way as I consider the first Zeppelin album: a little rough around the edges, but compelling and developmental. In fact, a couple years ago I spent serious time listening to nothing but metal that predated that album by a few years, like "Number of the Beast", "Piece of Mind", "High'n'Dry", "Borrowed Time".. Then I just so happened to pop "Kill 'em All" in the tape deck and a whole new appreciation for that album came to light. I completely forgot just how outrageous that album was when it came out (I'm sure there were other albums and other bands, but they weren't as accessible at the time). Metallica seemed to be the only ones combining the speed of Maiden with heavy pentatonic chops (except perhaps Motorhead, but I never liked them) and the James Hetfield of '83 sounded like a guy was singing in a straightjacket.

This newfound appreciation made me realize that sometimes you can't get a hold of why an album is so important until you see it from the context it was produced. Since then I've been doing the same thing with other bands and I finally understood the "Reign in Blood" appreciation and completely changed my opinion on Sabs "Vol. 4" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". And I would NEVER admit this before, but yeah, I can now understand and appreciate "Shout at the Devil".

Cy
 
interestingly, ratt tried to reform later as a more modern-styled metal band-named vertex. i have an mp3 from the never-released album they made called "one like a son"-not too bad-the vocals remind me of megadeth-the music, kind of like glitch.

i still have a fondness for some ratt (particularly the stuff on reach for the sky), largely for sentimental reasons, i believe. it's still catchy, but i don't think i'd get into it if i didn't already know it from some 13 years ago or so.
 
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