I think that I am reaching an age...

[VenomGA]

I disagree. I am always finding new and interesting bands thanks to the PP and Metallus Maximus forums. What happens to me is I start getting bored with my older band's NEWER material. I prefer their older 80's and early 90's material compared to what they have been putting out for the last 10-15 years for the most part.

 

[TribunalRecords]

i am turning 38 this year and i still write music that people call "ultimately evil" and "mean and ugly" so it's just how you channel your energies at this age. i guess it may also come from the fact that i was not only raised a metal head but at the same time i was going to hardcore shows and getting into the more DIY ethic of music and that remains with me to this day and i have tried to pass it along to our fans.

 

[longshot9]

Toss me in with the newer bands crowd. I love hearing new stuff, it doesn't mean I like a lot of it, but there's nothing more exciting for me than to find a new band with a great cd. I still listen to all the 80's and 90's bands I like, but spend more time listening to stuff from the last 10 years or so.

 

[J. Golden]

To clear things up I don't only listen to 70s and 80s bands. I get some many CDs in monthly and many are newer releases and stuff from the past decade. Some of it is good but not much is memorable. And if I ever had to cut my collection down I would start with bands from the past decade.

 

[AMBR]

Another middle-aged metaler who prefers the new and fresh to tried (tired) and true. I pretty much can't make myself listen to anything pre-2000 any more, which is hard since all the young metal fans are discovering and digging all that stuff, and I have lots of them around.

What's worse is friends my age who only want to hear stuff from the 80's and continuously sit around playing that sh*t and talking about the old days. Sheesh, we ain't that old! How dull!

I'm always on the hunt for anything new and the more I look, the more my horizons expand. I used to be strictly a power metal fan, no growls please, but in the last few years my favorite bands and albums have come from out side of that niche. I find life itself more exciting when approached this way, and music is the energy that keeps it (me) going.

Just personal thoughts on the matter.

 

[skyrefuge]

One reason I continue to seek out new bands is to counteract the very problem I had with last week's Maiden show: going to concerts from popular bands sucks, and old bands tend to be more popular than new ones. Too many people, too much money, and often, less exciting, going-through-the-motions performances.

Several nights before I saw a funk/afrobeat band (formed 2005) and four heavy psychedelic rock bands (don't think any of them have albums yet) for $5, and they were all awesome.

I guess most of the new bands I listen to aren't "metal"; that could just be coincidence, but I'd guess it's also because new bands in other genres are fresher to my ears than "new" metal bands.

Neil

 

[J. Golden]

Seventh Calling is very good...

Glad to hear you dug it. It is working pretty good. Word is some big things are on the horizon for them too. Well actually I know there is

 

[J. Golden]

Just off the top of my head I can think of some really great bands that have come out in recent years. Voyager, Free Spirit, Leprous, Benedictum and the Poodles come to mind. There's also that band Seventh Calling...

Nice, thanks for the plug there.
Free Spirit is really good, it was the best hard rock / AOR release I heard since the first Line of Fire. (that is not plugging LOF, I have made my thoughts clear on that album in the past)

 

[mad_taffer]

Well, when I like metal back in the 80's, we didn't like "wuss" bands. Any band that included keyboards automatically was included in this.
After all the grunge and I didn't listen to any metal except alternative metal bands, when I bought Maiden's Brave New World in 2000, I found that my taste had changed completely towards keyboards, then I think I heard Dragonforce and from there bands like Sonata Arctica. Honestly, all this new metal was like my eyes got opened to music again after years of darkness and blandness. So, I seek out new bands with fervor, because to me it was an awakening into a well...Brave New World of metal that I did not know existed. I am sorry to see bands like Sonata and Edguy go bland though...the speedy stuff was new and now they are reverting back to what now sounds like rock more than metal...been there and done that...

 

[J. Golden]

One reason I continue to seek out new bands is to counteract the very problem I had with last week's Maiden show: going to concerts from popular bands sucks, and old bands tend to be more popular than new ones. Too many people, too much money, and often, less exciting, going-through-the-motions performances.

Several nights before I saw a funk/afrobeat band (formed 2005) and four heavy psychedelic rock bands (don't think any of them have albums yet) for $5, and they were all awesome.

I guess most of the new bands I listen to aren't "metal"; that could just be coincidence, but I'd guess it's also because new bands in other genres are fresher to my ears than "new" metal bands.

Neil

I could go with that. I have yet to ever see Maiden and I can never bring myself to spend that much money for what I see to be a terrible time.
In my teens when I went to see a lot of punk shows and hardcore ands it seems I took in more; funk, ska, reggae, jazz, etc. Now I just seem to go to metal shows. Although it is a more comfortable environment it does seem a little predictable.
I think about this every time I'm about to go to the metal show and I start to wonder why should I bother sometimes. Maybe it is because I have seen so many.

 

[Pelata]

As you said earlier, we're all just throwing our opinions out here. However, when a band like Ratt comes back, they're simply not in the same head space they were when they were all 23. To try and recreate that sound, is almost like any other four or five musicians trying to recreate that music. To my ear, it just comes across as inferior replica.

No, they're not in the same headspace, and neither am I...that's only natural. But I'd rather them try to sound like themselves than try to be something they're not. Whether I like it or not is another issue.

I don't always like new stuff by old bands. And I don't mind hearing new music. I hear new stuff all the time because of reviewing for TeethOfTheDivine. Even when I give something a good review it doesn't mean I become a fan and/or buy the CD. I listen, I think it's good, I state as much and move on. I just think that, at this stage, even if I like something new it's never going to sink in and leave as much of an impression as those artists who are already "established" in my psyche.

In the last several years though, older bands have put out some (IMO) pretty kick ass stuff...Helstar, Megadeth, Dream Theater, Testament, Pretty Maids, Jorn Lande, Scorpions, Harem Scarem, Ratt, Iron Maiden, Armored Saint, Judas Priest, Katatonia, Amorphis, Overkill, Candlemass, Paradise Lost, Tarot...this is plenty to keep me happy. When I hear new bands that are good, Bible Of The Devil, Enforcer, Circus Maximus, etc I'm glad they're there and that they have fans...but a passing listen is enough for me.

Major exceptions have been Redemption, Heaven And Hell and Halford (who I forgot to mention earlier)...but there again, "old school" guys are involved...then there is Bigelf (who I freakin' love)...and Firewind (who I forgot debuted in 2002)...

 

[The Fiddler]

We're going to talk songwriters? Generally this is not in heavy metal. Granted there are some but most metal is basically the same stuff over and over again. How many different ways can one rock you, rock me, get rocked, and tell me how metal they are? Um, wonder what the emotion was behind writing such a grand opus.
And if the song is not about rock or metal up an ass then you have dragons, spooky stuff, of course let's not forget the night. Just does not strike me as very deep. But it is fun, I have plenty of it.
Am I going a completely different direction here?

I'm not thinking of bands like Crue, KISS, Poison, Manowar, etc., Agreed...not much emotion and singing about the same shallow things over and over with those kind of bands

Music and the emotion part of it for me personally is created from the tones, tempos, textures, and vocal quality, of which there are infinite combinations. Lyrics are always secondary to me, and frankly I barely read them. Yes, the subject matter can get redundant, but again, the lyrics are not my focus, and songwriting goes way beyond writing lyrics. As a fan of metal (prog and power), it's all about the band/songwriter/musician creating within me a state of mind/atmosphere filled with a range of emotions... inspiring, motivating, depressing. Some of my favorite metal bands/releases with pure emotional magic...

Queensryche - Rage for Order, Operation Mindcrime
Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Disconnected
Dream Theater - Images and Words, Awake
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Nevermore - Dreaming Neon Black
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga
Vauxdvihl - To Dimension Logic
Vanden Plas - The God Thing
Evergrey - Solitude, Dominance, and Tragedy
Crimson Glory - Transcendence
Conception - In Your Multitude
Rainbow - Rainbow Rising
Stratovarious - The Fourth Dimension
Savatage - Streets, Edge of Thorns
Angel Dust - Border of Reality
Zero Hour - The Towers of Avarice
Lethal - Poison Seed
Trivial Act - Mindscape
Lord Bane - Age of Elegance

 

[mad_taffer]

Also, I was one that always loved the "melodic" tracks on the CD. The straight ahead rockers never really did much for me...they all just kind of blended together.
That being said, the power metal of today IMO is a lot more melodic than it was in the 80's...or rather there is a greater abundance of it. I used to have to sift through CD's to find those tracks, and today you have a band like Pagan's Mind or Circus Maximus...I mean i've been waiting my whole life for a CD with EVERY track being melodic. So, i'm in heaven with all the new stuff literally. One thing I do though is to keep my music on shuffle, so i'm not listening to the same band track after track. I get bored easily with CD's that way, but if I mix it all up, then it keeps everything fresh for a lot longer. I find it hard to listen to a CD straight through by the same band anymore...

 

[Jasonic]

Give me true any day of the week.
That's not to say that I don't love discovering new bands of many different genres, but when all is said and done, the classics NEVER fail to disappoint.

I mean how often does someone say, "You know what man, I just can't get into IRON MAIDEN anymore...."

Now how often does someone say, "You know what man, OPETH, IN FLAMES, CHILDREN OF BODOM, etc, etc just don't do it for me anymore"

Ok - maybe those are extreme examples of newer bands whose quality of music has declined since formation, but still.

There is always something about the original players of the game that never fails to disappoint.

 

[TribunalRecords]

that is funny because i have really fallen of the CoB bandwagon recently, but if i put on Hatebreeder i can immediately rock the f*ck out because that was a trend setter right there.

 

[Creeps]

This

(borrowing a line from Zod himself)

No man, that's "covering" Zod.

 

[nomisofsiman]

We're going to talk songwriters? Generally this is not in heavy metal. Granted there are some but most metal is basically the same stuff over and over again. How many different ways can one rock you, rock me, get rocked, and tell me how metal they are? Um, wonder what the emotion was behind writing such a grand opus.
And if the song is not about rock or metal up an ass then you have dragons, spooky stuff, of course let's not forget the night. Just does not strike me as very deep. But it is fun, I have plenty of it.
Am I going a completely different direction here?

I'd have to disagree with you here mostly. While certain bands definitely write about stuff you say, I find metal songs to be much more diverse in topics than most other genres, especially prog metal. Let's be honest most rock/pop tends to be about love and sex. I don't even find that many bands that write about how metal they are. Sure, the occasional song but usually not. That's more classic rock territory, though about being a rocker.

 

[nomisofsiman]

I would say I'm a bit of a mix. I probably listen to the older stuff about as much as the newer. I'll agree that for the most part, no one does it as good as the classic bands, but there are a number of newer bands that seem so fresh to me. Another thing is that it's only been in the last couple of years I've gotten into the more underground scene. Before that it was all mainstream metal (?) I suppose and nowadays I hardly like any of that. If anything what's drastically changed for me is going from enjoying more widely known bands and classic rock to the underground metal scene.

 

[ConnieOH]

Newer stuff for me too, though I do listen to a small percentage of my older favorites from time to time. It's great discovering new bands that you can really get into.

I have smart playlists in iTunes, and here's how it breaks down:

1970's - .7%
1980's - 13%
1990's - 26%
2000+ - 60%

I continue to be amazed at the great, undiscovered-by-the-majority-of-the-world music that is being created each year, it's awesome.

 

[J. Golden]

When I was a kid I could not stand songs that had the word "metal" in the lyrics. I was kind of embarrassed to even be listening to such rubbish. After the 90s I began to crave songs about "heavy metal" HAHA
When I think of songwriters it usually isn't metal that comes to mind. Normally it is Elvis Costello, Lenard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and Ricky Lee Jones. Heavy metal would never be the first place I would look for deep poetic writers. I just don't see a Lennon in a power metal band.
This is not to say there are not good writers in metal.