Puzzling me.

[Xorv]

Whats with all these metal foreign bands writing songs in english? There are some exceptions, of course. But the majority of them just do it in english. I don't understand it. It just brings up more questions than answers.

foriegn? foreign? aRGH!

 

[IOfTheStorm]

Welcome to the world of metal!!!!!

 

[Xorv]

Ya, thanks! That answers my question(s) :/

 

[skeptik]

English is the language of choice for communicating one's message in general, because most civilized cultures widely teach English as a second language, so a lot of people can understand English in the major markets more than any other language. I guess Spanish isn't too far behind though.

 

[rob0tik pandA]

Globalization. I agree with what ^ said. It is the language of choice when it comes to business and what not. I know for a fact that Germans have to learn English in school

 

[Vacant_Planets]

Even though it's only the 4th largest language? Lets do metal in chinese.

 

[skeptik]

That's why I mentioned the idea of markets. Of course English is not the most commonly spoken language in the world, but it is the most understood language within the major market sectors, particularly the US market, where people won't buy anything not in English (or "American," as some think).

 

[~Derek~]

Yeah, I'm guessing all those Norwegians learned English early on since so many of thier black metal bands have songs in English.
And also people I talk to on MSN come from Scandinavia and they have good English themselves.

 

[skeptik]

I know a few Scandinavians whose English is far superior to a lot of people that I know around here.

 

[Belligerent]

I know a few Scandinavians whose English is far superior to a lot of people that I know around here.

Nothin' but "Chicaaaago"(in Chicago dialect) round these parts. Yeah, I believe it. Most of the people I know talk like imbusuls *spelled wrong on purpose*

 

[Seditious]

the majority? really? *Shrug* the majority of what I listen to seems not to be in english

 

[~Derek~]

Vocabulary-wise too? Because if you're just referring to slang, well, we've turned English into Americanglish.

 

[Zephyrus]

I agree with what was said about the marketing factor, but I wish that more bands would write more lyrics in their native language. I'd love to hear Behemoth writing in Polish again, or Deathspell Omega singing in French (or Latin/Greek, since it's appropriate).

That was what made Rammstein so appealing to me when I was first getting into metal; the fact that they sung in German almost exclusively made the band unique in the mainstream.

And singing in a native language, to me, makes the message/delivery seem more meaningful and emotional, such as Hellveto singing Polish or Taake in Norwegian. If I may quote Rammstein's lead singer, they sing in German because "German is the language of anger."

 

[skeptik]

I agree that it can be a highly effective tool in the right context, but at the same time I almost feel like it would be useless if there wasn't an English translation also provided, again going to the market factor where the likelihood is that the majority of the people that will be interested in a given piece of music will understand English more than any other language, and while the language itself may be an effective artistic tool aesthetically and culturally, the fact that a good portion of the audience cannot retrieve the message through the lyrics is not exactly ideal in most cases, or so I would imagine.

 

[panzerfaust666]

yeah i always wondered why Dimmu changed to English after Stormblast. I thought the n=Norwegian Lyrics were soo cool. And when tehy relaeased the song from Death cult Armeggedon titles Allhelgens Dod Helved Rike( hopefully spelt right), it is so cool!!!. the language fits so much better to what they are. I think.

 

[Zephyrus]

One of Dimmu's most popular songs (from DCA) "Vredesbyrd" is in Norwegian, so I don't see how native tongues are too much bad for marketing.

 

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

That is one song.

 

[Zephyrus]

Well the new Stormblast must have sold well, and that's completely Norwegian.

"Vredesbyrd" may be one song, but it is proof that bands can still get a good response by sticking to their native tongues, even if it's occasional.

 

[skeptik]

Well there's also the fact that Simen did vocals on that fact, which people will praise no matter what, so I wouldn't put it solely on the fact that it's in Norwegian.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Ive said to my friends that a well schooled Scandanavian or German can and will speak english better than they do, but they don't believe me. The reason is that theyre schooled in english at a very early age, and it's mandatory all through the rest of their schooling - so they really understand actual grammar and syntax better than most Americans do. There are few Americans that really know how to spot clauses, dangling modifiers, adverbs, etc etc in a sentence, but they (Scandies) usually know...