A few thoughts on the evolution of metal.

^ I wish Nile would increase their usage of egyptian influences,that´s one of the bands that could have that potential to bring folk further.
 
I totally agree with the Nile thing. I was hoping Ithyphallic would be epic but it was pretty much the same old stuff. I had a vision of it before it came out. A few (5-6) longer songs, with a lot of their Egyptian folkiness, and much more melody. A lot of times their guitar riffs become a blur of notes.
 
More bands should sound like Soilwork, Raunchy etc. (bands combining pop/rock with metalcore/melo-death...I like that sound tbh)

Anyway, there are of course bands pushing aesthetics and styles within death and black metal. There are bands like Lykathea Aflame (R.I.P.) and Wormed which push extreme brutal deathgrind into even MORE extreme areas with abnormal subject matter and a fresh outlook on the music. In black metal the greatest offenders would be the French and US scenes, currently producing some really awesome acts who will definitely leave their mark on metal when it develops in the future. Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord and other related acts are doing some pretty daring and new things which the purists might not like but what I see as generally at least respectable. I don't think metal is dead at all, in fact...I think it is really just beginning, to be honest. Just needs some more creativity and rebellious minds to craft some timeless music all over again.
 
yeh. It would be cool if they used egyptian stuff more extensively. Constant blast beats and a-melodic riffs get boring after a while.
 
No. Well, maybe...
Funk metal? RHCP did some stuff that's sorta like this. It was cool.
Blues metal? (Kind of exists - Sabbath drew heavily on the blues, if you consider Zeppelin metal they drew heavily on the blues and everything I've heard from Blue Oyster Cult has been somewhere between blues rock and metal)
Jazz metal? There's definitely some jazz/death metal fusion. I've yet to hear anything incorporating trumpets and sax, but I'm sure it's out there...not sure I want to hear it, though...
 
Ephel Duath could be considered jazz metal, but they are more like hard/metalcore. I'm talking about The Painter's Palette by them btw.
 
Prog(70´s prog) metal is also still pretty unheard of. Opeth has showed it´s possible to make some pretty groundbreaking music by blending stuff like King Crimson with metal.
 
There's also stuff like mathcore and math metal. One way where there's no end in sight is technicality. Metal continues to get more complex, both in the speed, the rhythms, and the actual riffs and melodies. I was poking around on the tech death thread and watched the videos in the braindrill thread. That's some crazy shit, but there's no reason to think that that's the limit. While shredding continues to get faster inch by inch, the general technicality of bands grows much faster.
 
V.V.V.V.V. said:
I don't think metal is dead at all, in fact...I think it is really just beginning, to be honest. Just needs some more creativity and rebellious minds to craft some timeless music all over again.
Click to expand...

It is not just beginning. It's been mature for nearly two decades. The fact that more and more new bands are incorporating greater amounts of non-metal into their music is proof that metal as a distinct musical style is fading away. And by this I don't mean it's dying (at least not in a negative way), rather it is assimilating itself into the larger realms of music, whether mainstream, alternative, or underground. You're right about something amazing is just beginning, but it metal as we know it may not exist in the decades to come.
 
I think the biggest trends in this decade have been explicit non-metal influences and "localization" of metal genres, specifically black metal. This sometimes is through local folk influences, but also in other regional attributes, i.e. Norwegian BM being cold is now seen as a regional interpretation of BM, rather than a requisite part. French BM seems more philosophical, suiting the national character to a degree. Urban themed BM is also developing. Not sure how much this is happening in other genres.

Metal has room to grow in terms of structure and composition. BM in general could do a lot better in terms of album flow compared to other genres. Metal structures are still largely rooted in rock forms. Lots and lots of ABAB stuff, which is fine when the riffs are good, but there's room to be more adventurous.
 
not at all. Like I pointed out, there are tons of revival bands playing old school thrash, death metal, etc. True metal is in no danger of fading away.

It is true, though, that some elements of metal are assimilating themselves. Shit like Atreyu, MCR, Bullet for my Valentine etc - bands that have elements of metal - have achieved pretty crazy success. This may serve as a gateway to true metal or not. Whatever.

Just look at the lists of albums coming out this year. There is no way in hell metal is fading.
EDIT:mad: Zeph
 
Zephyrus said:
It is not just beginning. It's been mature for nearly two decades. The fact that more and more new bands are incorporating greater amounts of non-metal into their music is proof that metal as a distinct musical style is fading away. And by this I don't mean it's dying (at least not in a negative way), rather it is assimilating itself into the larger realms of music, whether mainstream, alternative, or underground. You're right about something amazing is just beginning, but it metal as we know it may not exist in the decades to come.
Click to expand...

I disagree with you on the fundamentals here. Where do you hear lots of new bands including non-metal influences? The great majority of new bands/new albums are very much strictly metal with very little crossover appeal to rock/whatever fans. Just because some bands are utilizing industrial, folk, shoegaze etc influences doesn't mean it is "more and more"...it might be more obvious because those bands get more publicity for avant-garde or whatever...

And I know it's been mature for a few decades, but we (as humans) have been mature(ish) for about a decade now and yet there's a lot for us to do and look forward to doing despite every day seeming similar in some ways and I think of metal in the same way, with a very human/organic pattern of evolution. In this sense, I think metal is very much "just beginning." Of course it will never be exactly how it used to be and I think this is where you're partially correct, but I believe it's pretty natural.
 
Maybe metal will become more integrated with technology as everything seems to be becoming every day. Just a thought though... haven't really thought of the specifics.
 
You mean...cybergrind and technometal?
No.

People at one point predicted that soon all music would be done in midi. Hasn't really happened yet.
 
what?
people did predict that. It hasn't happened yet.
It was a ridiculous prediction, though...
 
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