non-metalheads around here?

[JeffTD]

So the point of all this is that I have a great predisposition to bitterness when it comes to people of intellect saying they genuinely enjoy pop music; I'm a fan of catchiness as much as the next guy, but to a point, christ. So I have to ask, DSS3: do you really enjoy the music? If so, that's cool, and more power to you, and the same for Casey if that's his case as well - but if you're starting to become like my friend Dorian (and you're about the age where he started to douche-ify), then, well, perhaps you could reconsider.

I can, in all honesty, say that I enjoy (some) pop music. It's catchy, I can identify on a certain level with the lyrics, and I generally feel that there's a level of talent in the musicianship and writing of the groups that trumps a lot of metal bands.

You can't be a loose, lazy, undisciplined player for that kind of stuff, regardless of how much PT editing can be done. With the amount of money put into the genre, it's more competitive to get the jobs, even for a studio guitarist or bassist. There's no way you could go into an audition not being able to play to a click or having to take breaks between every single lick and still get hired.

And yeah, auto-tune is used a lot, but the singers that are actually good do shine through. Christina Aguilera's 'Back to Basics' album is the best vocal performance I've heard in god knows how long, whereas I'm not going to listen to Ashlee Simpson because I don't think she's really all that good.

The overall structure of songs is what gets it for me, though. I honestly can't say I've heard a lot of, if any, metal songs with structure and composition as cohesive as in pop music. Sure, a lot of it has to do with marketability, getting hooks stuck in peoples head as soon as possible, not going over a certain time duration, etc... but man, those things work! It's the catchy shit that pops into your head in while you're riding the subway on the way to work or taking a piss or whatever, not the super brutal, overly technical kind of stuff. What parts of Soilwork songs pop into your head first? The verses or the choruses?

That's not to say there's not a ton of talent in the metal genre, in any of it's sublevels. There's no doubt in my mind that some of the best musicians on the planet play metal. That said, I can't get into 90% of the bands that would be classified as 'metal.'

I think a lot of my love for pop-ish music comes from be growing out of that violent-prone, aggressive adolescent stage. I got into metal at a time in my life where I was always pissed off and hated everything, and it was a nice release. As time goes by, I identify less and less with the emotions associated with and evoked by (most) metal music, and more with those those that are with/by pop and it's related styles.

I might come back to this later, but for now that pretty much sums up how I feel about this. I know I'll get shit for bashing metal on this forum... but whatever. There are more important things to worry about than what some dude halfway across the world thinks about my tastes in music.

 

[Metal Overload]

oh oh... i think we are loosing you, Dude.

However i don´t agree with that statement that Metal isn´t musical... but as i said before, every head is a world.

I think music produce emotions, and metal isn´t the exception, i mean i dare you to hear Ayreon´s "The Human Equation", read the lyrics, and not get into it emotionally, i find that too difficult, it´s just more than just music, is a ride, up and down of different feelings, i dare you to hear some Testamet or Metallica and not want to bang your head or run and push someone with your shoulder, or do air guitar, or play the beat with your foot. you don´t need to be an aggresive person to enjoy and feel the agressiveness of must metal music, i just sometimes need that to pull negative feelings out of me, and not in a different way.

what kind of emotions can Christina Aguilera give to you?? yeah she is an extraordinary singer (i get bashed in the past for saying this in public) but we are talking of music as a whole, the only feelling she produces in me is a boner while i watch her videos. (hehe just kiding).

Seriously, metal has everything to offer to me, extraordinary musicianship, feelings and emotions, that aggresive touch, or enjoyable simplicity (come on, everyone in the world can enjoy the simplicity of songs like Orgasmatron etc.)
sometimes people get out of metal music because they dont know how to look deeper than the outside look of things that look that give metal a bad reputation with the society, and then metal just keep in their memories.

 

[SocialNumb]

"what kind of emotions can Christina Aguilera give to you?"

I agree she can sing very well(I think she's hot as well), I don't really like the general style. I also have not heard everything she has to offer. From a few songs I've heard the emotions she gives me is those dealing with "Love" The ups and down's. Cliché yes but universal.

 

[TomiR]

some of my favorite music:

Comus

Oh yeah! First Utterance is a masterpiece!

To be honest, that album is more brutal and evil than 99% of the black metal scene! It just has this wicked, almost ritualistic atmosphere.

I personally love metal, and I have been listening to metal for a loooong time, but I listen to a lot of different stuff as well, such as:

70's prog:
-Camel
-Eloy
-Van Der Graaf Generator
-Wigwam (the finnish prog band)
-Focus (yes, the Hocus pocus band )
-Gentle Giant
-Gabriel era Genesis
etc.
old rock:
-Santana
-Uriah Heep
-old Queen (*with a redneck voice* before all 'em Radio GaGa songs...)

as well as tons of classical music and even some folk. Classical has been a huge influence on the way I write music. I love composers like Vivaldi, Bach, Albinoni and Sibelius. Danny Elfman's work on Tim Burton's movies have influenced me a lot as well!

Popular music has never really appealed to me, but for me, good music and good melodies are good no matter what genre the bands represents. Maybe the fact that I rarely find anything listenable from the mainstream, is that I love songs that have atmosphere. The importance of atmosphere is something I learned from listening to norwegian black metal for a decade, I still love the stuff!

I just love the adrenaline rush a good brutal metal album gives me. I am now 24, and I have listened to metal since I was 12, so it's not a rebellious phase that I am going through And for me it never was, since my parents were always very supportive no matter what music I listenend to, thus removing the whole rebellion element. That enabled me to really focus on the music. My mother was a Black Sabbath fan when she was growing up in the 70's, so she didn't have anything bad to say about metal.

 

[Metaltastic]

DSS3, you make some good points, and I'm glad that you genuinely enjoy it. I do feel that perhaps in your maturation you're abandoning metal a bit too quickly, cuz I personally have always felt that hardcore is the raw angry teenager music, whereas metal is more aggressive but in a more subtle and multidimensional way (I generally hate lyrics that are too literal about life, for example, such as beating down your enemies or staying true and loyal to your hawdcoaw brothas uke:, instead preferring lyrics and music that are more theatrical or just out there, something that transports me and elevates me). Metal Overload summed it up well:

you don´t need to be an aggressive person to enjoy and feel the aggressiveness of most metal music

I often don't feel angry as much as energized and, for lack of a better way of expressing this, "FUCK YEAH!!!! ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!" when I listen to heavy music, so it certainly isn't for misanthropes-only.

Also, I've never liked overly technical music (Dillenger, Necrophagist, BtBaM, etc.), because I generally find it too spastic and thus agree with you that it's not very catchy, but that's only a small section of metal, one I have no trouble avoiding and still calling myself a metalhead. And while I agree that there is a lot to be appreciated in pop music, it still as a whole really is far too blunt and simplistic in its emotions to get much of a reaction out of me, the worst offender being "You had a bad day," which has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer It always reminded me of the scene in Baseketball (specifically when he's driving)

 

[Metaltastic]

I just love the adrenaline rush a good brutal metal album gives me. I am now 24, and I have listened to metal since I was 12, so it's not a rebellious phase that I am going through And for me it never was, since my parents were always very supportive no matter what music I listenend to, thus removing the whole rebellion element. That enabled me to really focus on the music.

True that dude, same situation here! My parents don't really dig anything with "the voice of Satan" as they call it, but they dig A LOT of what I play them (my Dad bought me the Kamelot DVD the Christmas before last and I didn't even know it existed then, and my Mom had me burn her a CD a little while ago called "Mom's Metal" )

 

[_Brutalism_]

I think the MOOD the individual is in also may affect what he listens to. Call me a prick but in the car I love to pop in killer tracks like Inner Self and Desecrator while cruising down the non-metal streets of my country. Not to show off any sound system or anything but just because metal gives me that boost in certain situations. When you're surrounded by things that you find repulsive, you'd want an atmosphere which gives you a mental boost. However, this isn't always the case. If I am doing something like reading or studying, I prefer classical music because I find that it stimulates and calms me at the same time. I'm not saying anything prophetic but we all know that music is an artform. Just like movies, sometimes I want to watch a horror film over a psychological thriller, and sometimes a moving film would suit my mood more to a war film. I think its the same with music and also one can break it down into the genre itself. Sometimes, I prefer the balls-out thrash of bands like Slayer and Exhorder to Technical Death metal. Not that I like it more, but because that it was my mind is telling me.

Also , the lyrical and thematic appeal has something to do with it too.
At times, I feel that some Waking the Cadaver fits the bill nicely but when I want to really absorb what I'm listening to: instruments, song structure, lyrics, artwork, etc., I'd go for bands like Death and Cynic which in my opinion possessed some of the most influential musicians and lyricists in the metal world.

So I ask myself, if metal isn't all I listen to, then am I a metalhead?
But it boils down to: What is a metalhead? And I think Metal Overload said it all. Metal is the music I feel on a wider scale than anything else, because its not only appreciating the musicianship (like when I listen to other genres like Jazz and Classical - although the feeling the music is vital here too), its in metal that I can truly immerse myself on a grander scale than any other genre. My favourite musical pieces are from the Classical genre because they truly excite and evoke emotions that are unique to me, but since metal is the music which I truly understand the most, as a musician and a band member, I can relate to it more than anything else. So in order not to pidgeonhole myself, I would say that I appreciate all forms of music which combine musicianship, creativity, the evoking of emotions and mainly an artistic appeal, but metal has become a part of my life and has inculcated itself into my personality, and I'm damn proud.

 

[Vuashke]

im a big fan of jazz music also, and i agree that unless you are really devoted you wont ever be a fan of jazz, at least compared to metal anyway. i play alot of classical lute compositions and shit, any sheet music i can find off the internet, but i love listening to jazz and old blues / blues-rockers. i had a metal period a while ago but i like jazz more and for me, playing jazz is much more fun, as well as immersing myself in such complex things like jazz harmony.

not only the music but in jazz there is also a wide variety of instruments (i know this can apply to any genre, but you barely see any of these in metal) like the sax, trumpet, vibes, piano (give or take, much more popular in jazz as a harmony instrument), old school double bass, clarinets and all sorts of brass / winds.

id have to say that the vast majority of my favourite players are jazz/fusion artists, especially guitarists like scott henderson, pat metheny, joe pass and sax players like coltrane, sonny, ornette etc. miles davis is also a champion, before he did all his fusion records. also, fusion players like al di meola, allan holdsworth, chick corea, stan clarke and jaco have all been great and im a big fan.

paco de lucia is another great flamenco player that i respect, but unfortunately i havent given him a listen very much yet, something i will definetely look into in the future.

i also have a penchant for funk, and if not funk just really funky, downbeat sorta stuff. i especially liked stan clarkes funky bass style on Return to Forever's 'no mystery', as well as all the cool disco-ish moog and synths by chick.

i encourage everyone to have a listen to some quality jazz artists or try playing some jazz, i suggest starting with some sax players because i think that the sax totally fuckin rips the sound of a guitar to pieces (im a guitarist)

 

[AudioPhile777]

My musical taste is pretty similar to DSS3...

Though, I do REALLy like Evergrey...

I listen to everything... shit i even write country-type rock songs for my dad on occasion (cause he likes that crap) and a lot of it is catchy as hell and not bad either...

meh...

 

[JBroll]

It's the catchy shit that pops into your head in while you're riding the subway on the way to work or taking a piss or whatever, not the super brutal, overly technical kind of stuff. What parts of Soilwork songs pop into your head first? The verses or the choruses?

I guess this is why I'm so odd with music sometimes... I get the chaotic, dissonant, completely psychotic noise popping in my head. Someday I'm going to make some shrink very, very unhappy with his career choice...

Jeff

 

[Chryst Krispies]

I just wanna say I agree with DSS3 all the way. Plus I fuckin love Sara Bareilles. Ha

 

[LydonB]

Kaki King ftw!

 

[Deaf Ear]

There are plenty of us. I'd say metal is about 20% of my play list, if that. Sometimes I feel like everything I listen to is research. Like I can't just sit down and listen to music anymore. It was a little like that being a musician, but after years of doing studio work, I can't watch a band live or listen to a CD without being overly critical and analytical. I really wish I could turn it off sometimes. I will say one thing, recording more metal has made me start appreciating metal again like I used to when I was younger.

 

[zakky]

im not metal im really into the whole 80's hardrock sleaze glam call it what you want it scene i guess im old but i do like heavy sounds at times

 

[smy1]

There are plenty of us. I'd say metal is about 20% of my play list, if that. Sometimes I feel like everything I listen to is research. Like I can't just sit down and listen to music anymore. It was a little like that being a musician, but after years of doing studio work, I can't watch a band live or listen to a CD without being overly critical and analytical. I really wish I could turn it off sometimes. I will say one thing, recording more metal has made me start appreciating metal again like I used to when I was younger.

Drink a few shots of vodka and the analytical approach will go away

 

[Deaf Ear]

You know, that's not a bad idea. Not much of a vodka guy though, maybe Jägermeister? Making mental not now.

 

[-Noodles-]

I'll listen, and buy, anything bar indy.
Hate it.

 

[ahjteam]

I only listen to music that I find appealing, no matter what the genre is. If I look at my recordshelf, it consists 80% of bands that are either just metal or have this metallic basetone on their music, but have a lot of influences from other genres. At first they called it alternative metal, now they call it whatever people want. For example I have been listening to Mindless Self Indulgence, Karnivool, Major Label, Audrey Horne, Faith No More, Waltari, Turmion Kätilöt and Soulfly quite a lot lately.

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

I can, in all honesty, say that I enjoy (some) pop music. It's catchy, I can identify on a certain level with the lyrics, and I generally feel that there's a level of talent in the musicianship and writing of the groups that trumps a lot of metal bands.

You can't be a loose, lazy, undisciplined player for that kind of stuff, regardless of how much PT editing can be done. With the amount of money put into the genre, it's more competitive to get the jobs, even for a studio guitarist or bassist. There's no way you could go into an audition not being able to play to a click or having to take breaks between every single lick and still get hired.

And yeah, auto-tune is used a lot, but the singers that are actually good do shine through. Christina Aguilera's 'Back to Basics' album is the best vocal performance I've heard in god knows how long, whereas I'm not going to listen to Ashlee Simpson because I don't think she's really all that good.

The overall structure of songs is what gets it for me, though. I honestly can't say I've heard a lot of, if any, metal songs with structure and composition as cohesive as in pop music. Sure, a lot of it has to do with marketability, getting hooks stuck in peoples head as soon as possible, not going over a certain time duration, etc... but man, those things work! It's the catchy shit that pops into your head in while you're riding the subway on the way to work or taking a piss or whatever, not the super brutal, overly technical kind of stuff. What parts of Soilwork songs pop into your head first? The verses or the choruses?

That's not to say there's not a ton of talent in the metal genre, in any of it's sublevels. There's no doubt in my mind that some of the best musicians on the planet play metal. That said, I can't get into 90% of the bands that would be classified as 'metal.'

I think a lot of my love for pop-ish music comes from be growing out of that violent-prone, aggressive adolescent stage. I got into metal at a time in my life where I was always pissed off and hated everything, and it was a nice release. As time goes by, I identify less and less with the emotions associated with and evoked by (most) metal music, and more with those those that are with/by pop and it's related styles.

I might come back to this later, but for now that pretty much sums up how I feel about this. I know I'll get shit for bashing metal on this forum... but whatever. There are more important things to worry about than what some dude halfway across the world thinks about my tastes in music.

I'm with you on this one. A few years ago I used to be such an anti-pop snob (for whatever teenage angsty stupid reason), but then slowly I started liking more and more pop stuff. In fact, this very moment, I am listening to Hinder. Two years ago I would have talked mad shit about Hinder. I pretty much just like any piece of music that I can relate to, regardless of genre.

There are plenty of us. I'd say metal is about 20% of my play list, if that. Sometimes I feel like everything I listen to is research. Like I can't just sit down and listen to music anymore. It was a little like that being a musician, but after years of doing studio work, I can't watch a band live or listen to a CD without being overly critical and analytical. I really wish I could turn it off sometimes. I will say one thing, recording more metal has made me start appreciating metal again like I used to when I was younger.

Yeah I hear you man, I often wonder what it must have been like to just listen to music from a non-musician/producer point of view. I just don't remember.

 

[Habsburgs]

I like Crushcrushcrush