Orchestral metal

[Nefilim]

do you have any song from moontower to advice? i dont understand how you can growl on a lovesong. i mean, when youre in that romantic restaurant where you take your girl every once in a while, you get your man playing jazz on piano, hes not growling like. when you take your wan for a kebab too at night, you dont growl to her 'lets go for a kebab love grrrr!' do you? and youre right about your man from children of bodom, theyre a bit shit and useless imo. what i meant with my exemples is that when your mum shouts at you because shes angry, she sounds like tom araya or james hetfield 86', not like chris barnes. and when you go to funerals, you sound like tori amos on 'me and a gun', not like the growling bits on opeth you know or like skepticism or cathedral.

Well, I think most of us can agree on that we don't listen to music to be reminded what our mums sound like when shouting. But hey, if that works for you, go ahead. Personally, I love growling. It's just another way of singing that hasn't been accepted by the great masses yet. It probably never will be, but I honestly don't care because I listen to it for my own pleasure, not because other people do (or don't in this case...).

 

[Nefilim]

Oh, and on-topic, orchestral stuff can be cool if it's dark and fills a purpose. All those power-metal puffs who think it's sooo cool to use every instrument ever created on their albums just don't cut it... Having pompous synth-orchestra blasts throughout entire albums filled with lyrics about dragons, maidens, swords and magic is mostly annoying.

 

[Timmeth]

I've got no problem with Therion

 

[mehdi.i.e.e.e]

Well, I think most of us can agree on that we don't listen to music to be reminded what our mums sound like when shouting. But hey, if that works for you, go ahead. Personally, I love growling. It's just another way of singing that hasn't been accepted by the great masses yet. It probably never will be, but I honestly don't care because I listen to it for my own pleasure, not because other people do (or don't in this case...).

i dont exactly want to be reminded of me mum shouting haha, what i meant is that, when i want to listen to angry music, id rather listen to someone sounding angry than to someone trying to sound like a monster from hell. and if growling hasnt been accepted by the great masses yet, its maybe because its....err....ridiculous.

 

[shadowman ghost]

i think an orchestra can add a lot to a metal album. some of my favorite cds use string sections and horns to add dynamics to their sound.

as for growling vox, i haven't gotten into that (yet)?. it just doesn't seem as musical as clear singing

 

[Nefilim]

i dont exactly want to be reminded of me mum shouting haha, what i meant is that, when i want to listen to angry music, id rather listen to someone sounding angry than to someone trying to sound like a monster from hell. and if growling hasnt been accepted by the great masses yet, its maybe because its....err....ridiculous.

But you're missing the point. Growling isn't about being angry. It's a way of singing. Screaming is about being angry. Thus is has less place in music than growling IMO. Growling can express so much if you know how to listen to it. It's a bit of work on the listeners side, but death metal has never aimed to please the casual listener. Screaming on the other hand, will always convey but one emotion: anger. And anger becomes sooo boring and repetitive after a while that you just wish the guy would go kill someone already so he can get the death-sentence and shut up forever.

Think of it like this: everyone can scream. Not everyone can sing. Not everyone can growl. It's more of an artform than screaming IMO. And in case you hadn't noticed; screaming isn't exactly the vocal-style-of-choice among the regular joes out there, either....

 

[mehdi.i.e.e.e]

right so tell me what growling can express then.

 

[cenzu]

Therion is one of the greatest Orchestral metal bands...

Maybe the album Theli is best...

I think they've been since that a bit too much cought in their pattern, if you guys know what I mean..

not too much variation anymore.

 

[Mariner]

no-one seems to care anymore

 

[mehdi.i.e.e.e]

yeah, i e-wander through this night all alone.

 

[PrinnyD00d]

I like "growling" (I'm always looking for a better way to refer to it...it almost sounds demeaning when you call it that) but I don't really know how to say why. It almost seems to make the music work in some sense...as if it wouldn't work any other way. It's definitely an acquired taste. I know that makes it sound like you have to put too much work into liking it or something like that, but in the end I feel like I get more out of the music, and that's all that matters to me.

 

[Akronaes]

Growling is just a part of Black/Death/Whatever Metal... just as a saxophone is a part of Jazz.

Of course, there are Jazz bands without Saxists, just as there are Metal bands without growing, but generally speaking, it just comes with the territory.. and, as many have said before me, it just fits.