sensitive metal?

[BigFakeSmile]

hey gang
maybe ive just been paying more attention to lyrics lately, but it seems to me like some of the most popular metal bands have some awfully sensitive lyrics. personally i like this. you know, like arch enemy with those break-up songs and in flames with all that regret and self-loathing? its all very accessible.

what do you all think? am i full of it? anyone else like this?

(i am writing a dumb paper that this relates to, your input will be valued!)

 

[LeonBlank]

Well, I personally think that every piece of lyrics that has some 'electricity' or 'intension' really works, and mainly lyricist tend to get better when they focus on their own life of that sort of thing.

To put it another way, it's always better than they sound a bit soft than Metal Maker 2's lyrics or the old good: 'i'm burning this pain inside of my darkness is burning and pain growing and...' bla bla bla.

 

[NAD]

but it seems to me like some of the most popular metal bands have some awfully sensitive lyrics.

I think you're gay.

Just kidding. I think you're right, but it isn't always the case. For example, listen to what groups like Tool and Opeth say. Those are two awesome groups with some very heart-felt lyrics. But then look at Carcass and Hypocrisy. Both awesome, both very emotional and powerful, but the lyrics are nothing to put in a book of poetry.

 

[BigFakeSmile]

im not gay, nad, im a chick! we're all about the sensitive.
damn, i need more people to talk about sensitive metal! even if it is just to call me gay.

 

[NAD]

What, chicks can't be gay!!?!

You ever listen to the Gathering? I would consider them sensitive metal, using your definition (more like prog-emo-metal, but I'll leave semantics alone). I'm trying to think of others but I can't right now... hit this thread up again tomorrow and I'll try to remember more bands.

I really like emotional bands, ones that use a lot of tension and release, like Tool, Opeth, Live, Radiohead, King Crimson, NIN, and even Hypocrisy does over the course of an album, less so over a song.

 

[iamunicron]

i am all for the emotional stuff but sensitive, well, however you perceive it realy, oh yah i came to say NIHILISM! now why dont you just all fucking die

 

[Noblastbeats]

A lot of gothic metal can be percieved as sensitive, a lot of people consider sensative things to be soft, and quiet. So bands like Lacuna Coil, My Dying Bride, etc other gothic bands, not exactly quiet but it's obvious they're very "sensative" bands.

 

[sigilofbaphomet]

, My Dying Bride, etc other gothic bands,

MDB..gothic????? since when???

 

[Nico16]

well, their style is called 'Gothic Doom' ...and the bandmembers agree with this label. (you're right when you say that 'Gothic' alone wouldn't fit MDB, cause that genre is more associated with darkwave/electro kind of music...)

 

[SlaughterofSoul]

As long as they aren't taking any cues from Emo, I could care less.

 

[porn_store_stiffi]

Kamelot......

 

[Krilons Resa]

My Dying Bride, Opeth, Tool, Lacuna Coil do indeed have some good heartfelt lyrics.

 

[manuelgv]

but it's a different kind of sensitivity,not like love rules all and that shit.It's like cruel and heartbreaking
that's why it's nice

 

[St. Vitus]

Originally posted by Nico16
well, their style is called 'Gothic Doom' .

I think they are more accurately known as 'doomdeath'. However, that's just a label, and as such is meaningless.

 

[Mr.Painkiller]

I'm a sucker for good lyrics, particularly the more sensitive sad pieces. My favorite bands for this is Opeth, Iced Earth, Nevermore (Particularly the Sorrowed Man, and Chances Three, but there are many more), a few Pantera songs, Several Ozzy songs that Randy Rhoads wrote, and some Sentenced, here ill make a short list:
Opeth: Benighted, Face of Melinda, Patterns in the Ivy, Credence
Iced Earth: Melancholy, Phantom Opera Ghost, Blessed are You
Nevermore: Sorrowed Man, CHances Three, Heart Collector, Sanity Assassin, No More Will
Pantera: Cemetary Gates
Ozzy: You Can't Kill Rock and Roll, Diary of a Madman, Goodbye to Romance, Revelation (Mother Earth)
Sentenced: The River
Dark Tranquility: Insanity's Crescendo, Lethe
Metallica: Fade to Black, Sanitarium, One, To Live is to Die, The Outlaw Torn, Bleeding Me

theres a lot more, but those are the ones i can think of right off that hit me in that sensitive metal spot... i generally try to write songs that bring out a lot of feeling.
Also, i have found that the better the band really is can be seen in their clean songs, if they can do clean right, the heavy comes easier and fuller with them than bands who dont have any clean material.
Take for instance, I'll compare my opinions of Soilwork vs In Flames. I feel that both of these bands are great, but in general i have found that I enjoy In Flames much more than i do soilwork... solely becasue of the large amount of clean parts In Flames will have throughout their albums. It gives more of a variety to the music and shows the taste of pretty and classical influence in a band, which I really like to hear.

hope this answered your question somewhat, if any of it didnt make sense feel free to ask me about it

Rock On

 

[speed]

I would stick with Anathema- although I wouldnt call them metal anymore- you know this is a damn good question - not many metal bands have sensitive lyrics, it seems to be a oxymoron doesnt it? And if they do have sensitive lyrics, they are to be found in that one ballad some bands still put on every album.

The last two Paradise Lost albums have somewhat sensitive lyrics, or are sensitive to listen to, the last two Amorphis albums maybe.

But I would stick to Anathema - seriously find Judgment or Alternative 4 buy or rip, as emotional as any band in any genre. Kamelot is also a good suggestion, although they do play power metal which is a questionable genre.

My Dying Bride- I love their stuff, but I dont think despair which permeates from everyone of their songs, and sensitivity go hand in hand.

 

[BigFakeSmile]

thanks for the input peoples... i particularly get a kick out of music thats aggressive and angry, but sensitive at the same time (as opposed to just the occasional ballad) -- a clever strategy for making feelings more palatable for metalheads.
but seriously -- i just think that when bands sing about real life issues instead of generic evil, i can connect with the music a lot more, and that can only be good. i like a bit of regular old evil hear and their, but it needs to be something special to stand out.
oh this is important!! i just got into this new band, who are metal and are sensitive -- Daylight Dies. They are young and american but sound very euro. im not very good with my subgenres, but they are pretty slow, so maybe that makes them doom-y. any other fans? or perhaps somebody can tell me exactly what subgenre i should describe them as!

 

[Mr.Painkiller]

the band 'Deride' has a good amount of songs, from what i've heard, that tend to reflect on their singer's apathy for himself, and his own self mutilation and other issues as such, and they pull it off in a really heavy, yet almost poetic fashion.

 

[Wyvern]

What's sensitive to me maybe it's not for the rest and viceversa. I do love some songs or bits of songs that hit me, why they hit me may depend on my mood, the timing, etc. There are several songs that I care dearly because of their lyrics, e.g.:

Skyclad - 'Little Miss Take'
Judas Priest - 'I'm A Rocker'
Alice Cooper - 'I'm Eighteen' (even if I duplicate that )
Beto Vazquez Ínfinity - Sadness In The Night'
Bruce Dickinson - 'Arc Of Space'
Blue Oyster Cult - 'Unknown Tongue'
Kreator - 'Golden Age'
Thin Lizzy - 'Renegade'

etc.