no solos in songs = non metal?

[burrncrisis]

hey this is my first post but i was talking with a dude on soulseek and we're into japanese music and japanese metal. he has a weird opinion. he thinks if a "metal" band doesnt have a solo in it, then it isnt metal. by that token one would think that to him his definition of a metal band is one with solos in it. therefore lets say X band was a metal band. however if they didnt have solos in their songs, they would be "shitty solo-less headbanging" music according to what he said. however he tried to clarify his opinion by saying "i didnt say that something which has solos is metal, but something without solos isnt metal." i find his opinion contradicting cuz he tried to say punk rock songs have solos. i told him yeah but they arent fuckin metal bands. thats a dumb example on his part.

but ANYWAY my real question now that ive elaborated on the background, do you think metal bands are metal even without solos? i sure as hell do. i mean what would you classify death metal bands then? he puts all rock/death bands without solos into "visual kei" which in japan is like hard rock. but vkei is gay becuz all the band members dress like straight up girls, have shitty sounding rock that are no more rock than system of a down (theyre not death of any kind) and the singer is horrible and doesnt sound metal at all. so do you think metal is metal without solos? i say again i do. another band in japan that has no solos is a death metal band called hellchild. the closest i could compare em to american bands would be... cannibal corpse if they had slow slongs, a much heavier singer, and heavy bass kick drums. they do do some fast songs on their album but the emphasis is on the singer and the heavy sound. i would classify them as death metal, but according this dude, theyre "visual kei" which i totally disagree cuz theyre death, and visual kei is really shitty rock with guys who look like fags in japan.

sorry for this long post, what do you guys think?

 

[MetalHeadMarc]

Of course metal doesn't need solos, but one can't deny the the heavy amount of soloing in metal. I would say that most good metal has some kind of lead guitar but once again solos aren't the must but they do help make a song more memberable, especially for me 'cause i play guitar. I guess the reason for so much metal solos would steam from the fact that metal requires a certain apptitude for music and usually, people with such musicianship are capable and fond of soloing. I personally think every hard rock song should have a solo. Solos don't always have to be blistering, but they always add more depth to a song.

 

[burrncrisis]

yeah thats a good point. solos certainly cant hurt a song, but even though they are prominent in a lot of bands and songs, obviously metal bands, i do not think they are necessary. what i meant though was not just metal, but death metal as well. bands like cannibal corpse, and the japanese band hellchild, dont have solos, but that doesnt they arent metal bands. according to the guy theyre just solo-less headbanging bands, which technically is true, but they are metal, not just bands who happen to play that kind of music.

 

[5thSeason]

solo's are a huge part of metal, but they arent required.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

solos certainly cant hurt a song...

Oh yeah you can...

 

[[0hr]Sunlapse]

anyone who thinks metal needs solos to be metal is a moron. 'nuff said.

 

[Oceanic Motion]

Since when does Death Metal not have solo's? Ever heard of Morbid Angel?

 

[Caelum Adustum]

Dawn - Slaughtersun has no solos....I DARE someone to call that album hardrock.

 

[MightyDrynwhyl]

saying metal isnt metal if it doesnt have solos, thats just ignorance. if anything solos are trendy in metal, as these days ive been hearing the shittiest solos. if you cant solo dont fucking do it!

 

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

Oh yeah you can...

Listen to Baked Bomb - Abandonment Of A Body from their site and tell me that.

As for solos in metal, I think it is utterly retarded to ask the question "If a song does not have solos, does that make it non-metal?" Of course it doesn't. While they are included in most of the songs and add a distinct flavor most of the time (be it good or bad), they are certainly not "necessary." Most grind and brutal death has no solos (the better ones do have some solos, though, I must admit), but does that make it automatically "non-metal"? Of course not.