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

[Zephyrus]

What exactly is "extreme metal"?

When I think of "extreme metal" I think any metal that uses growls, grunts or shrieks a la black or death metal. Now black and death metal aren't the only extreme metal genres. Doom and progressive bands that use such vox can be labeled as extreme metal. Take Opeth for example.

 

[Neurotic]

well to me listening to kreator's pleasure to kill or extreme agression sounds much more extreme than listening to opeth.
i don't think vocals are the only factor to make a band sound extreme.

 

[Zephyrus]

Well vocals are a huge factor in terms of accessibility, which is perhaps why people label it "extreme".

 

[Life Sucks]

You have to be fucking kidding. If not you're about to get fucked.

It depends. For instance, Pleasure to Kill is clearly an extreme metal album, whereas So Far, So Good, So What is clearly not.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

To me, it's all a matter of what you would call "mainstream". It could mean differnt things to different people. Look at all the bands that have had quite a bit of popularity from their videos being shown on the new Headbanger's Ball. True, a lot of what they play is not "metal" to some ears (thats an entire differnt issue I'm not going to get into) but more "aggressive" styles of music have found much more exposure because of it. Then again, that's MTV2. If you consider mainstream to be MTV, then no, I don't ever see extreame metal being played on there. I call that channel mainstream, and when I think of it in that sense, I think of domination by other forms of music, such as rap and pop. Of course, there are types of music that have exposure outside of MTV. Hell, I know of 4 channels that are dedicated to country music. Such is the case with extreme metal in ways. It has internet radio stations decicated to it, various 'zines, ect... But to me, in the end, it dosent really matter, because no matter how popular certin bands get, or no matter how much exposure the music has, it's here to stay, and I will always be a listener.

 

[cookiecutter]

I think of extreme metal as being death and black metal, as well as any minor subsidaries of those genres.

 

[Valerie]

Kreator is thrash and I guess I'd consider them extreme. Also some Exodus. However, pretty much the entire Big 4 of thrash I wouldn't consider extreme. Maybe some Slayer. But Definitely not Metallica, Megadeth, or Anthrax.

I'd like to know what people think about gothic metal being extreme. Tristania has some very gritty riffs and guitar tones, as well as harsh vocals.

 

[Life Sucks]

A lot of earlier Slayer is extreme metal. But you're right, there is nothing extreme about Metallica, Anthrax, and especially Megadeth. And Justice for all is the closest any of those three bands come to extreme metal.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

AJFA is a really underrated progressive thrash masterpiece IMO but yea not extreme at all

far beyond driven (pantera) is really heavy often-times - I would say that's teh closest any "extreme" metal band has gotten close to breaking in the mainstream

songs like "slaughter" have some DM elements

 

[Hatebreeder]

I would say that's teh closest any "extreme" metal band has gotten close to breaking in the mainstream

What about Cannibal Corpse getting into the Billboard 200?

EDIT: also, I believe that there can be extreme metal bands that do not use harsh vocals. I usually attribute the term to any band that has an overall heavier musical quality, growls/screams or not.

 

[Mercy/Severity]

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

ever heard of nu-metal ?

 

[Seance]

uhmm slipknot is not metal, nor are they extreme

what the hell is wrong with you??

they obviously are... not very good, but metal

nu-metal = metal

 

[Andreas Franchesko]

To sum it up, if Opeth will "break", it won't be their extreme style that will be the reason. Their last CD was not even metal IMO... (I actually quite like that one, but as I said...)

 

[Killbot]

ever heard of nu-metal ?

Yes, the clue of what genre of music nu-metal falls under is in the name.

 

[Seance]

Their last CD was not even metal IMO

yes... it was... blatantly metal... all over... i don't even understand how you get past the first 10 seconds of the first track without realizing that

 

[Life Sucks]

Yes, the clue of what genre of music nu-metal falls under is in the name.

I can see how someone can call Slipknot metal, but not Disturbed, Korn, etc., since Slipknot is much heavier. Slipknot is far heavier than bands like WASP, Dokken, early Def Leppard, etc., which people generally aggree are metal (for the record, I don't consider those bands metal). But then again, a lot of hardcore is generally heavier than most non-extreme metal. For instance, Hatebreed is far heavier than any power metal band (and you could probably say the same thing about Slipknot). So I guess how heavy something is does not determine if it is metal or not.

I think that a lot of melodeath can get popular. And I'm not talking about shit like Flames and Soilwork. But good melodeath, too, such as Holymarsh, Intestine Baalism, Fragments of Unbecoming, etc. It can get at least as popular as the most popular metalcore, if not more.

 

[Impudent]

^
Indeed. Heaviness does not equal metal.

 

[CF87]

Heaviness to someone could be metal or the most extreme just like speed to someone could. I guess it just depends on the person.

I find some melodic metal just as extreme as doom metal or death metal. I guess it's more of looking at a band approach to music. Extreme or metal is just not one thing.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I think of extreme metal as being death and black metal, as well as any minor subsidaries of those genres.

Same, or any unclassifiable metal that shares some characteristics of those genres. For instance, Scarve, Strapping Young Lad, etc.

 

[Life Sucks]

I think that there can be non-extreme bands with harsh vocals, just like there are supposedly extreme bands with clean vocals. For instance, my favorite band, Mourning Beloveth, really aren't extreme musically, with slow super melodic guitar lines. All clean vocals would actually fit their music, but I like them better the way they are. The super catchy riff towards the end of Angers Streaming Arrows, for instance, definitely has the potential to appeal to a wider (ie non-metalhead) audience.