Best Lyrical Content for a Metal band

Best:Opeth, Dark Tranquillity, Arcturus
Worst:Cheesy power metal

I like fantasy and that jazz, but I don't want to hear a band sing about it. I'll go read Lord of the Rings again if I do.
 
Anal Cunt and 6 Feet Under have the best lyrics ever

hahaha



Seriously though, I feel that most of the time lyrics are as important as the music itself. Depending on the style of metal of course, but they should always have at least some formof intelligent background to them, different things suit different situations, no one wants to hear the same old shit re-hashed a million times.
 
Chuck Schuldiner's lyrics from "Human" to "The Fragile Art of Existence." I'm also impressed with Orphaned Land's lyrics (at least on "Mabool"). Dream Theater has some good lyrics, particularly on "Awake."
 
The most important thing for me is that the lyrics fit the feeling of the album or the song... the right words for the right music and the right band, you know? I like lyrics that refer to Nordic mythology, but that would be ridiculous if the band didn't sound like a bunch of berzerkers thrashing away. Hell, I like some lyrics just because the syllables sound good, even if it's not even in English.

Some of my favourite lyrics:
Bloodbath - Eaten
Borknagar - Colossus, Dawn Of The End, Rivalry Of Phantoms
Arcturus - Alone, Painting My Horror
Emperor - Curse You All Men!, Thorns On My Grave, With Strength I Burn
Zyklon - Hammer Revelation, Chaos Deathcult
 
best: opeth, dreamtheater, symphony x, bal-sagoth, mastodon.

worst: anal cunt, anything that is just completely rediculous.
 
that's a matter of opinoin, your's really screwed considering you can even compare opeth's lyrics to anal cunt's.
 
I think power metal lyrics are excellent. Although they might not always make sense, the fact they were written purely to fit with the music and rhyme with each other makes them the catchiest lyrics out there. My favourite lyrics are Power Quest's. They combine fantasy and emotion/sentiment reall well. They write the most uplifting and inspiring lyrics I have ever heard.

But I'm a power metal fan, so maybe I'm biased...:lol:
 
It is nothing against anyone here personally, but I think too many people make too many unfair assumptions about "powermetal." While there certainly are more than a fair share of high pitched vocals, constant double bass drumming and lyrics about slaying dragons in the sub-genre of powermetal, there are also some great bands out there that get lumped into that category because there is no other sub-genre where they can be easily "classified." I don't pretend to be any kind of guru, just a seasoned metal-head, but do yourselves a favor and don't overlook a band simply because they have been categorized into a sub-genre you don't like due simply to some other bands within that sub-genre.


Bryant
 
I think powermetal lyrics are great, especially the bands that say 'fire' a lot. Like Dragonforce. I also think that Children of Bodom have a big mix of really good lyrics and bad ones