Do you think that an extreme metal band could ever "break"

[Life Sucks]

By break, I mean break into the mainstream. As we all know, a couple thrash bands have done it. Megadeath obviously did because they are softer, but I wonder what it is about Pantera and pre-black-album Metallica that caused them to gain popularity. Even though they are not metal, Slipknot managed to break into the mainstream whilst having harsh vocals and blastbeats. I wonder if any extreme metal bands have the qualities to make them quite popular. There are a few death metal bands that I think could attain the popularity that Pantera once enjoyed.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

pantera's tough guy image is what attracted all the high school kids and the college fratboys

the music is ok, though I think they underachieved quite a bit (dimebag could have done so much more with a better drummer and in a better group)

metallica exploded in 1990, which allowed people to find out about their earlier work as well

I don't think you're ever gonna see a true extreme metal band become popular (though I would love that) - people just simply can't handle the brutality of DM (no matter how great you make the production)

 

[Life Sucks]

Yeah, I think you have a point about Pantera's tough guy image attracting macho guys. I think that the same thing makes Hatebreed so popular.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

and I'm not sure how exactly you market the DM considering the lyrics

 

[Life Sucks]

and I'm not sure how exactly you market the DM considering the lyrics

DM lyrics can be about almost anything; the are not all about satanism, killing or gore. The vocals are much more of a problem than the lyrics. Most people can't get into growls, and want something that sounds more tame, and many people even need the vocalist to be singing an actual vocal melody. However, a couple bands with non-clean vocals have gotten quite popular.

 

[The Heartbreak Kid]

pantera's tough guy image is what attracted all the high school kids and the college fratboys

the music is ok, though I think they underachieved quite a bit (dimebag could have done so much more with a better drummer and in a better group)

metallica exploded in 1990, which allowed people to find out about their earlier work as well

I don't think you're ever gonna see a true extreme metal band become popular (though I would love that) - people just simply can't handle the brutality of DM (no matter how great you make the production)

Vinnie Paul's feet are flawless.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

you like vinnie paul??

he's not terrible, I suppose I'm more dissappointed with the bands' complete lack of direction

 

[Dazed and Brutal]

If by extreme you mean anything within the Death/Black sub-genres. I just don't think it's possible on a huge level. We just need to except that it sound is not accessible down to the roots, but some bands have made it more accessible (opeth, in flames, soilwork), but they'll never gain a mainstream acceptance like Metallica or Slipknot. Black metal will never be accepted (100% sure on this) because to a person who has never heard it before it's just a joke and they pass it off. People are to focused on being happy to connect with their darker side with extreme metal, but power metal will always find it's way to the mainstream (dragonforce). It's the vocals that throw the majority of people off from extreme metal.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

I hated absolutely HATED death metal vocals the first time I ever heard DM

it just sounded awful

people are too close-minded to accept something outside of the norm

 

[King Size]

By break, I mean break into the mainstream. As we all know, a couple thrash bands have done it. Megadeath obviously did because they are softer, but I wonder what it is about Pantera and pre-black-album Metallica that caused them to gain popularity. Even though they are not metal, Slipknot managed to break into the mainstream whilst having harsh vocals and blastbeats. I wonder if any extreme metal bands have the qualities to make them quite popular. There are a few death metal bands that I think could attain the popularity that Pantera once enjoyed.

At the risk of being labelled a "n00b", I think Slipknot fit the bill quite well. They may not be your favourite band but like it or not, they are Metal & they are extreme. Like what MetalNoob posted, I think it all comes down to the vocals. If the band starts using "cookie monster" growls they'll never be accepted into the mainstream. Simple as that.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

uhmm slipknot is not metal, nor are they extreme

what the hell is wrong with you??

 

[The Heartbreak Kid]

you like vinnie paul??

he's not terrible, I suppose I'm more dissappointed with the bands' complete lack of direction

I dont really like him, he just has very impressive feet. I used to have to learn to play some Pantera songs, pretty hard stuff.

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

metallica exploded in 1990, which allowed people to find out about their earlier work as well

Metallica actually exploded back in 1986 with Master of Puppets album which achieved Gold status without any airplay or video. It was probably due to them opening for Ozzy on his Ultimate Ozzy tour (for the Ultimate Sin album) and exposing a wider audience to MOP. Every album after MOP gained in sales in due part because of their exposure on the Ozzy tour.

 

[The Heartbreak Kid]

It is correct.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

so how many albums did AJFA sell??

 

[The Heartbreak Kid]

8 million ish. Which would have been 4 million if it came out before Master of Puppets.

 

[hibernal_dream]

I think the potential for extreme metal getting popular depends more on the ever changing societal trends than it does on the bands writing more music that is more popular. Right now it's the sheer form of the music that refuses to be accepted (structural and conceptual complexity and non-tonal melody, further obfuscated by unpleasant aesthetics), so being softer or catchier is not going to change much at all, not the least because the music will no longer be "extreme metal". At the moment we're still seeing trends in music which largely determine what people listen to. In the 1950s with the proliferation and commodification of the radio the trend moved from an increasingly complex, experimentation and often atonal music of the early 20th century towards a simplified style of rock that everyone could enjoy. I think popular music of the 2nd half of the 20th century is itself a trend, and will be looked back upon as a quaint relic of our time. I think today people once again want an individual musical identity - they want to move away from the crowd mentality, or at least appear that they are doing so. And I think this momentum will drive us away from classification based popularity -when people want something different, popularity will simply not be important to them anymore. Their music of choice will depend less on accessibility or popularity and more on tailoring to their individual personality and tastes. This is already happening, and you can see the same thing happening in the fashion circles - people no longer want to wear the same style or thing other people are wearing, which wasn't the case 20 years ago. It's a very commodified and optimistic view of music i'm taking here, but I think it'll happen.

 

[immo]

i'd sigg that

 

[cookiecutter]

they are Metal & they are extreme.

Whether this is true or not is debatable, but I believe in this case Life Sucks was using "extreme metal" to refer to death and black metal.

 

[Killbot]

uhmm slipknot is not metal

This is not true. I don't like them, but to deny outright that they are metal is just wrong.