Explicit lyrics!

[vic was 'ere]

I've seen a lot of Metallica bashing as of late, and the reasons are usually the same (drumming sounds like pots and pans, vocals are bad etc). But one interesting, different viewpoint that I've seen is that Metallica are deliberately trying to win over the nu-metal crowd by coming up with less articulate, more straight-to-the-point angry lyrics with increased swearing.

I'm sure you know that many nu-metal bands such as Slipknot and Limp Bizkit swear big time, and their lyrics tend to be about relentless hate. The lyrics on Metallica's new album can also be said to be about intense hatred. I've read some reviews on the album and apparently in one song James screams 'Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!' which perfectly captures the essence of, say, Slipknot going 'Fuck it all, fuck this world, fuck everything that you stand for!'

It's pretty obvious that Metallica used a different approach to writing lyrics for the new album, but is it just a publicity stunt to appeal to the young people metal fans by being more 'badass' and sell more records?

What do you think? Does the use of explicit language in a cd affect your opinion of the music? It is an essential element of metal?

 

[None_So_Vile]

Yeah i think metallica have used a lot more swearing just to appeal to the nu-metal crowd and lars probably thinks it makes them more "badass" if they sing about hate etc... Im not really bothered by swearing, as long as its not over the top, its not an essential element of metal

 

[Weapon X]

I'm gonna stick to the swearing topic as Metallica has been talked to death :Smug:

General swearing in music doesn't bother me. But excessive swearing does. It's pretty emarassing driving down the road and all you can hear is fuck this fuck that fuck you fuck me blah blah blah coming outta my car. A well put swear word can do wonders for a song, when it's used right. But when the song is bomb basted by swear words, it shows a lack of maturity and creativity. It sounds like the group are a bunch of 15yr olds.

 

[Neurotic]

I'm gonna stick to the swearing topic as Metallica has been talked to death :Smug:

General swearing in music doesn't bother me. But excessive swearing does. It's pretty emarassing driving down the road and all you can hear is fuck this fuck that fuck you fuck me blah blah blah coming outta my car. A well put swear word can do wonders for a song, when it's used right. But when the song is bomb basted by swear words, it shows a lack of maturity and creativity. It sounds like the group are a bunch of 15yr olds.

yeah i agree, i hate swearing but it can be uses well, i remember a acertain My dying bride song, when he fucking in some part i can't really remember but i have never heard the guy swear and that give a lot of power to the song...but usually the better lyrics don't have swear words.

 

[no country for old wainds]

Well the lyrics were the obvious clue, that St Anger wasn't going to have the same intelligent song-writing which made Metallica's old stuff such a joy to listen to. (If you read them a while back like I did, that is.)

 

[Bryant]

I think the use of exclamations is like anything else. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, unless it is used as a crutch because the songwriter can't think of anything better to do in that part of a song.
I'm not a huge "lyrics" person anyway. I tend to listen to music as a whole. Production is big to me. I love great vocalists but great lyricists aren't a necessity anyway. I would rather hear a song about how good vanilla ice cream is that is performed extremely well, as opposed to some of the most intelligent and emotic lyrics that can't be performed in the way that engulfs my mind.

Bryant

 

[Lycanthrope]

Expletives, like anything else, can be used either artistically or gratuitously. Also, like everything else, balance and moderation is the key. They can be a creative punctuation mark or, as Bryant put it, a crutch. The occasional 'fuck' to get a point across is fine, it's when profanity is used to compensate for a lack of vocabulary that it gets annoying. This is not true only in music. Most comedians will tell you that the easiest way to get a cheap laugh is to drop the 'F' bomb. It's a way to circumvent the need for creativity. You may gain favor with it, but only from the lowest common denominator.

 

[JonnyD]

I think the use of exclamations is like anything else. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, unless it is used as a crutch because the songwriter can't think of anything better to do in that part of a song.
I'm not a huge "lyrics" person anyway. I tend to listen to music as a whole. Production is big to me. I love great vocalists but great lyricists aren't a necessity anyway. I would rather hear a song about how good vanilla ice cream is that is performed extremely well, as opposed to some of the most intelligent and emotic lyrics that can't be performed in the way that engulfs my mind.

Bryant

Exzactly Could not say it better if I tried

 

[Weapon X]

Currently listen the ST.Anger album and there isn't much in the way of swear words at least in 3-4 songs.

 

[C-Taylor]

Comparing Slipknot to Limp Bizkit cant be done, Slipknot try and put at least a bit of meaning into their songs, Limp bizkit do it for the sake of selling records, Slipknot have songs with no swearing but the anger is still there and whatever...
As far as Metallica, they never did have brilliant lyrics apart from a few songs that can hit the spot alright I guess.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Another fuckin' Metallica thread? oh boy!

 

[vic was 'ere]

Another fuckin' Metallica thread? oh boy!

Since you're so quick to jump to conclusions, it's obvious you didn't realize that this is a thread about swearing and its place in metal, not specifically a Metallica thread. Metallica were just used as an example.

 

[Soilent Goat]

I'm gonna stick to the swearing topic as Metallica has been talked to death :Smug:

General swearing in music doesn't bother me. But excessive swearing does. It's pretty emarassing driving down the road and all you can hear is fuck this fuck that fuck you fuck me blah blah blah coming outta my car. A well put swear word can do wonders for a song, when it's used right. But when the song is bomb basted by swear words, it shows a lack of maturity and creativity. It sounds like the group are a bunch of 15yr olds.

A fine example of a swear word used correctly can be clearly shown in Children of Bodom's "Hate me" as Alexi screams at the end "I don't give a FUCK if you hate me!!!" (note: this is sarcasm..I'm no COB fan)

 

[Sonnenritter]

I think the perfect use of profanity is in Emperor's song The Loss and Curse of Reverence. That last line just wouldn't have had the emotion it does without it. Here's the line for those unfortunate ones that don't know the lyrics. "You and this world ripped my fucking heart out."

As for using profanity every other word, I think it's rather ignorant. I've yet to see a well known poet resort to using fuck five times every stanza. The lyricists of these bands have no grip on their own language. I avoid listening to these such bands, generally because the music is sub-par, but also because there is no substance.

As for Metallica using more profanity, I could care less. Their new album is a disappointment. As for whoever mentioned Hetfield saying kill over and over, why not bring up when he screamed die, die, die, die on Creeping Death?

 

[food tastes good]

different lyricists have different ways of expressing themselves in songs. for some, their point is better made with swears. for others, swears aren't necessary to get the point across.

 

[vic was 'ere]

Explicit language used in moderation is ok, but excessive swearing really makes a band sound immature and uncreative in their song writing. If a song sounds REALLY good then I often disregard bad lyrics, but most of the time I think that good lyrics can make a song so much better.

Expletives can enhance a song for the better if used in an appropriate context, but usually the better lyricists don't need to resort to swear words. Bands that swear in every second word are for the most part nu metal bands whose music lacks substance anyway.