any creativity left ?

R

razoredge

Member
Jul 22, 2007
5,895
1
36
Is it really possible to be truely creative today ?

Could someone actually write a new kind of metal song ?

or is everything just derived and fused from various sources ?
 
Someone once told me that, in this day and age, it's damn near impossible to create something completely new and innovative. I would say we all as musicians draw a huge amount of influence from other musicians. I'm personally not worried about being something completely new. The music I like to listen to ends up being the music I like to write.

With that said, I AM going to start a Planet X type fusion band and incorporate many aspects of symphonic rock like Anglagard, Anekdoten, King Crimson etc. By that I mean fusion with flutes, violins, mellotrons, hammonds etc. It may suck, but I don't care.:lol:
 
the more I write the more I value originality. I've thrown out perfectly good riffs before if I find they sound too similar to another band. When I'm in writing mode now, I try to listen to as little metal as possible, or none at all. I mean, really, when was the last time a clone band did anything artistically significant?

I mean yeah, everyone has their influences but the idea is to make it sound like you. Theres only 12 notes to use and only so many ways to arrange guitar/bass/drums/vocals in a metal context, so yeah at this point you're not going to reinvent the wheel the way Iron Maiden and Metallica did for so many metal fans, but I certainly think its possible to put your stamp on it. Look at bands like Nevermore and Opeth. You hear two seconds of music by those bands and you know its them, regardless of if you like them or not. That says something.
 
I can honestly say that originality is overrated. Being a clone is both good and bad. Obviously, it's tough to stand out, but at the same time you are playing music that is near and dear to something that truly inspired and enriched your life in some way. This makes for true heartfelt music, and people can tell when a band is doing something they really care about and when it's bullshit. Often times when bands try to be original, since originality is being pushed so far these days it just ends up as a clusterfuck. At some point, there is good in having a strong sound from a certain style.

Really, it comes down to good songwriting. I've shown people at work a few skelator vids and they say "Wow! I feel like I'm listening to Iron Maiden" and there's nothing that is a higher compliment in my eyes for what we do. So originality be damned, just write a fuckin' song i want to listen to and bang my head to. More bands need to learn how the fuck to do that.
 
Yngvai X said:
the more I write the more I value originality. I've thrown out perfectly good riffs before if I find they sound too similar to another band. When I'm in writing mode now, I try to listen to as little metal as possible, or none at all. I mean, really, when was the last time a clone band did anything artistically significant?

I mean yeah, everyone has their influences but the idea is to make it sound like you. Theres only 12 notes to use and only so many ways to arrange guitar/bass/drums/vocals in a metal context, so yeah at this point you're not going to reinvent the wheel the way Iron Maiden and Metallica did for so many metal fans, but I certainly think its possible to put your stamp on it. Look at bands like Nevermore and Opeth. You hear two seconds of music by those bands and you know its them, regardless of if you like them or not. That says something.
Click to expand...

This is something I wanted to hear, and from someone stuck right in the middle of it all. Well written and it appears you know where I was coming from with "the question".... and the answer
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Zach - you have good points as well and its the dilema we creative types are up against, kind of like Yngvai implied.... you look at the piece, it kicks ass but you can identify bits and pieces here and there and you just know where they came from.... so you ponder... chuck it or keep it, chuck it or keep it.... myself if its got the feel that gives me the rush Im after I say "no way". I just wish it would stop happening... lol... and I have learned very few actual heavy metal songs in my life. My past cover bands played more commercially oriented stuff but some of that rubbed off too. I have a wicked pile of ZZ Top in my bones as well as "pop metal"

I've chucked plenty of basic riffs or rather forgot them within minutes and moved on.
-----------------------------------------------------
Noble - The Hammond thing always gives me wood (mentally), that sound is so deeply imbedded in my soul, if I did play with a keyboardist I would be pushing for that Hammond tone ALOT!

I would totally get a rush playing in a band with a horn section along the lines of early Chicago, not sure I could put a metal twist in it though.... but 25 or 6 to 4 had a touch of headbang
 
I read Ynqwie Malmsteen believes there are still ways to unlock new secrets on the guitar, but really the only music that doesn't reapeat itself is the music played by the gods themselves.

There are only 12 notes, only so many combinations can be used before you run out of formulas.
 
He's unlocked the secret of Burger King.. Honestly I always have liked Yngwie but your right.. of anyone he shouldnt be talking about unlocking new secrets since his stuff is rehashed so much.
 
when i think originality in modern guitar, i think matt bellamy, and tom morello, but both heavily use effects, tom morello more than matt bellamy, who is more of singer song writer. But they both did, and still do something different from your average player, i havent found anyone who sounds exactly like matt bellamy, his style is very unique.

but yeah, although i value originality, i don't value it to the extent it could comprimise the music and melody itself, this comes first, as Zach says, good songwriting. I think its important to just be honest with yourself when making music, not to live up to a certain image, and just play for the fun of it, and have a good time.
 
Tom morello is from rage against the machine, a sort of new-age hard rock band that mix sort of zeppelin riffing with hip hop, its pretty good, although alot of the lyrics are very political. Matt Bellamy is from a band called muse, its hard to define them to a genre, space rock is a good way to describe them :p, you might want to check then out on youtube they got a new live dvd out, the song stockholm syndrome is espiecally good.
 
I thought Morello was the guy from Rage, Im only a bit fimiliar with them but not really my cup of tea musically, Im all about the political stuff though

Just recently checked out Muse, only a bit and they are interesting. I will be lookng into them more at some point
 
Originality has it's place, but i find it incredibly aggrivating that originality is equated with "good" and something that is in another style or sounds like another band could have written it is automatically "bad" because it's not a new idea. I mean, how many great bands have taken their influences and just made badass stuff out of them? The one that immediately comes to mind is Slough Feg, one of the best bands out there right now. A lot of their guitar stuff sounds like Thin Lizzy could have (and should have) written it, and it's amazing. It's just fucking awesome.

Again, I'll restate the fact that if something inspires you to write music that happens to be very similar to that thing, fuckin' go for it. I love that. Some of the best stuff i've heard is directly influenced by another band (Swallow the sun = early My Dying Bride for another example). So as long as the person is truly inspired when they write a riff or just let it flow instead of overanalyzing something and making it mechanical, i could give a shit what it sounds like. I like Maiden, so I'm going to like bands that sound like Maiden. I like Helloween, so I'm going to enjoy bands that have the Helloween sound. Priest is amazing, so a band that has a heavy Priest influence is going to rock.

Shit, Dio's solo work is nothing even remotely original but it's amazing. The end.
 
DoomsdayZach said:
Originality has it's place, but i find it incredibly aggrivating that originality is equated with "good" and something that is in another style or sounds like another band could have written it is automatically "bad" because it's not a new idea. I mean, how many great bands have taken their influences and just made badass stuff out of them? The one that immediately comes to mind is Slough Feg, one of the best bands out there right now. A lot of their guitar stuff sounds like Thin Lizzy could have (and should have) written it, and it's amazing. It's just fucking awesome.

Again, I'll restate the fact that if something inspires you to write music that happens to be very similar to that thing, fuckin' go for it. I love that. Some of the best stuff i've heard is directly influenced by another band (Swallow the sun = early My Dying Bride for another example). So as long as the person is truly inspired when they write a riff or just let it flow instead of overanalyzing something and making it mechanical, i could give a shit what it sounds like. I like Maiden, so I'm going to like bands that sound like Maiden. I like Helloween, so I'm going to enjoy bands that have the Helloween sound. Priest is amazing, so a band that has a heavy Priest influence is going to rock.

Shit, Dio's solo work is nothing even remotely original but it's amazing. The end.
Click to expand...

Well said!

Like I said before, I listen to a lot of music (In all seriousness, I may have a psychological dependence on it..) When I get a creative, writing streak going (Doesn't happen often, maybe twice in the last 5 years.) I'm completely focused on creating stuff I, and not anyone else, would want to hear. Music is all about expression and I wouldn't want to sacrifice that huge aspect of it because it shares some parallels to stuff already written. Now of course I don't ever intend to rip off others music, but the influences are clearly there.
 
The only time i ever throw anything out is when it is straight up another riff. One time i was working on a song and started to play Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It took a second of me going "this riff rocks way too much for me to have come up with it............ oh. Damn. That was a sweet riff. People would probably notice..."

:lol:
 
DoomsdayZach said:
The only time i ever throw anything out is when it is straight up another riff. One time i was working on a song and started to play Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It took a second of me going "this riff rocks way too much for me to have come up with it............ oh. Damn. That was a sweet riff. People would probably notice..."

:lol:
Click to expand...

Well, I just noticed today that I inadvertently wrote a HUGE rip off in the new Dark Empire album, although I didn't even wind up ripping off a metal song... in the ballad on the album I completely ripped off music from the Silent Hill 2 video game :lol: ...I knew it when I wrote it that I wanted to evoke a similar feel, but I didn't realize until just now that its almost a blatant rip haha... ah well I guess its ok since its a non metal influence used in a metal context.
 
Okay, this may sound weird to some people but make sense to others.

Sometimes when I want to write a song, I try to hear another one of my favorite songs in my head that has the same feeling or context, and then I try to write a couple riffs and I end up with these riffs that sound nothing like the song I was trying to play in the same way, of which I create something new.

You can only be so original.. one example I could think of is Family Guy. It's the most unoriginal show on T.V. because the main plot during the show is just re-hashed 80s plots with cut aways that are taken from all kinds of shows/songs. But they are doing something new..

You can only be so original, but you can't avoid the copying lol.
 
Family Guy is the case where something "new" doesn't mean something is good. I know most will disagree, but damn I despise that show...:ill::puke:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Inspiring videos
Replies
3
Views
323
Bar
Jackal_Strain
J
6
Help to find polish bands
Replies
2
Views
5K
Poland Metal Scene
Bullion
Bullion
LifeDepraved
Jeff Buckley Love.
Replies
84
Views
3K
Katatonia
Vincent J.
V
Uros
Any Hamer guitar owner 'round here?
Replies
1
Views
564
Backline
StefTD
S
†Russel Allen†®
Any songs being played from the new album?!?!
Replies
2
Views
482
Musicians Corner
Ultimate_Symphony
U
Top Bottom
Back