The fall of metal?

[USMC0341]

There is nothing wrong with being melodic or using harmonies - listen to fucking Bach and other classical masters. As stated many times above - there will ALWAYS be schlocky, lame and bandwagon-jumping posers and pretenders in every genre of music. Metal will NEVER die. Who cares if it stops being popular again? Have you forgotten the 90s already? When Nirvana came out and it was sacrilege to actually play a fucking guitar solo? Did that stop metal bands from continuing to play in the underground and the true fans from getting into their music?

The other thing you need to realize is that with technology today and the internet - even if Metal, or ANY genre of music for that matter - stops being in the mainstream - bands will still be able to reach their fans through websites and downloads.

It's not like the early 80s where you had the "Trans-American Cassette Railroad" as the only means to hear obscure bands and shit.

Did anyone actually think that Headbangers Ball would only play "real" Metal when it came back on? Now, you'll get a few heavy videos, and the rest is all fluff that the record companies are leaning on the producers to play so their albums sell. What's worse - is that now you get 1 video and then a commercial break so MTV can make more advertising money.

Regardless - none of that makes a damn bit of difference to the viability of quality Metal. It will always persist, whether it is in the underground or mainstream - and the true fans will always be there to support it any way they can.

And again - you just can't beat a kick-ass melody or some nice harmonies in Metal. They don't have to be cheezy. The good bands out there know how to do it and they do it VERY well. The pretenders hop on the bandwagon and do what's already been done over and over again is a cheap and insincere way. It's pretty obvious the real players are and who's just masquerading because it seems popular at the time.

JB

 

[Barking Pumpkin]

Yeah, that one video then go to commercial break always annoys me, so I never really watch Headbanger's Ball unless there's someone really, really cool on, like this weekend, with Devin Townsend.....yay!

 

[Dark Zaiats]

Ok i'm tired of people who make really tought metallists out of them. I just can't seem to understand what is the problem with you ppl who just ashamed to say they watched MTV in grade 6. or stuff. i just don't understand people who say "i like only metal. i hate pop and i hate everything else". Jazz is the mother of all. and even jazz got itself changed by creating a sub-genere called fusion. change is inevitable. it'll always happen to ALL the genres. except maybe classic music. I love metal. i live on metal. but i also play jazz and jam on jazz scales because afterall metal was based on jazz. I enjoy even more playing some bach on my electric guitar with some distortion and a full power reverb. it sounds great. And metal can't be melodic? BS. take In flames for example great band. metal. melodic. harmonic. beutiful. take Trivium. same thing. I love metal like i said. and i love hardocre metal and thrash and grunge and all those good old stuff. but i'm not closing myself to changes. you want to tell me that pop didn't change? that rap didn't change? for christ's sake even jazz changed so what do you want from metal? even people change...
It's your choice wheather to accept those changes or not but i think you should because the new sub-generes aren't that bad. yes take linkin park. people say they suck. especially people who pose tough metallists out of them. why? because to many people liked them. they don't have solos they don't have suffisticated music. they have a catchy beat. catchy lyrics and sounds that attract tons of people. are they deserved to be put on the same stage with britney spears. heck no. you should respect them. (not that i like them but i respect them as i do every metal band). they are simply nu metallish sort of thing. you can call them popmetal. but not pop.
To conclude i say that all of you that say that melodic metal sucks and stuff you just don't know anything about what metal is really all about... have a good day.

 

[TylerTheNuke]

Death and black metal? Most definitely in decline. They will shortly be absorbed by radio metal which is part grunge, part rap, part death metal and part punk.

Genres come and go. Death and black metal will be replaced by a new movement, probably with a heavier sound (but, who knows, mabye heaviness has been exhausted and people don't wan't heavier. Look at grindcore, which had potential to be heavier, but has definatly not replaced death or black). Same thing happened to speed and thrash, same thing happened to heavy metal. Nothing new there. I am thinking that the next wave will include ambiance and long tones, and lose blast beats. Thats just a theory though....

 

[Singerfinger]

Fuck dude, metal was king back then and still is today! Spirit of metal shall live forever! Metal´s alway been around and always will be. As long as there is at least one mean motherfucker, that pick´s up elecric guitar and starts to shred metal is alive and well! Metal is one of those things that can´t go away. No matter how hard some asshole tries to kill the spirit of metal. We´ve seen the rise and demise of grunge, and that happened very fucking fast. But how long has metal been around? Since the Black fucking Sabbath..
So, is the metal going to fall? No. As long as there is guitarists in the world, metal shall reign!

 

[xxSammaelxx]

Ok i'm tired of people who make really tought metallists out of them. I just can't seem to understand what is the problem with you ppl who just ashamed to say they watched MTV in grade 6. or stuff. i just don't understand people who say "i like only metal. i hate pop and i hate everything else". Jazz is the mother of all. and even jazz got itself changed by creating a sub-genere called fusion. change is inevitable. it'll always happen to ALL the genres. except maybe classic music. I love metal. i live on metal. but i also play jazz and jam on jazz scales because afterall metal was based on jazz. I enjoy even more playing some bach on my electric guitar with some distortion and a full power reverb. it sounds great. And metal can't be melodic? BS. take In flames for example great band. metal. melodic. harmonic. beutiful. take Trivium. same thing. I love metal like i said. and i love hardocre metal and thrash and grunge and all those good old stuff. but i'm not closing myself to changes. you want to tell me that pop didn't change? that rap didn't change? for christ's sake even jazz changed so what do you want from metal? even people change...
It's your choice wheather to accept those changes or not but i think you should because the new sub-generes aren't that bad. yes take linkin park. people say they suck. especially people who pose tough metallists out of them. why? because to many people liked them. they don't have solos they don't have suffisticated music. they have a catchy beat. catchy lyrics and sounds that attract tons of people. are they deserved to be put on the same stage with britney spears. heck no. you should respect them. (not that i like them but i respect them as i do every metal band). they are simply nu metallish sort of thing. you can call them popmetal. but not pop.
To conclude i say that all of you that say that melodic metal sucks and stuff you just don't know anything about what metal is really all about... have a good day.

Why should I respect Linkin Park and Britney Spears? Because OTHER people like them? Because those people are trendy fucks who follow the newest fashion pattern? I don't think so. It's not quantity, it's quality. Metal is true quality, (BM for example) in it for the music, not for the "image" or the "commerciality." I respect any bands that I like. I do not like Linkin Park because of their simple (albeit catchy) riffs, their music, and their "commerciality." They played live and made a cd with Jay Z...now that's pretty low and commercial. Sure...I liked MTV once upon a time, but nobody is having an argument about that...and what does it matter what you listened to in grade 6? And metal is a huge umbrella, it's possible for some people to satisfy their musical tastes in metal alone, with a combination of Death Metal, Black Metal, Power Metal, whatever you want. It IS possible for someone to like only metal music. And I don't think that anyone is disputing what different genres are called, by "putting Linkin Park with pop," or anything like that. And you said that anyone who says that melodic metal sucks doesn't know anything about metal...what a stupid thing to say. Metal is about what is in your heart, and what you are, so if someone doesn't like a genre of metal, that doesn't mean that they don't know "what metal is all about." It just means that they have a different opinion than you do...

 

[NGC 3370]

Why should I respect Linkin Park and Britney Spears? Because OTHER people like them? Because those people are trendy fucks who follow the newest fashion pattern? I don't think so. It's not quantity, it's quality. Metal is true quality, (BM for example) in it for the music, not for the "image" or the "commerciality." I respect any bands that I like. I do not like Linkin Park because of their simple (albeit catchy) riffs, their music, and their "commerciality." They played live and made a cd with Jay Z...now that's pretty low and commercial. Sure...I liked MTV once upon a time, but nobody is having an argument about that...and what does it matter what you listened to in grade 6? And metal is a huge umbrella, it's possible for some people to satisfy their musical tastes in metal alone, with a combination of Death Metal, Black Metal, Power Metal, whatever you want. It IS possible for someone to like only metal music. And I don't think that anyone is disputing what different genres are called, by "putting Linkin Park with pop," or anything like that. And you said that anyone who says that melodic metal sucks doesn't know anything about metal...what a stupid thing to say. Metal is about what is in your heart, and what you are, so if someone doesn't like a genre of metal, that doesn't mean that they don't know "what metal is all about." It just means that they have a different opinion than you do...

BM is definately very image driven just as the trendy pop bands but I will just say I like some black metal, I listen to ALL music for the content, not by what the artist tries to attract with their image.
As an aspiring guitarist I just want to add in here that you say that Linkin Park is simple and BM is "quality" meaning not simple then I will have to disagree. Most BM is very simple to play, the only hard part is how fast they play the riffs.
I agree with most of your post though so relax.
Metal will always be around, just that the followers may be small in number in the future compared to other genres.

 

[fps]

lack of melody can make things hard to bear, anyway, thrash as a pure form has been DONE, and done best like 15-20 years ago. Same with death metal, which is why you now have technical death metal, and all these new variations, it's just a striving towards freshness, and it's cool, metal will NOT die.

unlike other music, where there is also the problem of almost everything that COULD be written having been written, metal branches out, and the best bands refuse to recycle old riffs, or if they do they bring something new to the table with it ie. melody, breakdowns, synth, song length, whatever.

but whoever said metal is an attitude hit it. After all, metal has all the best ballads...

 

[Bryant]

Taste is in the ear of the beholder. Who says that thrash is dead ?

Metal an attitude ? I don't think so. Metal is more of a lifestyle.


Bryant

 

[fps]

hey man, well my point is NOT that thrash is dead, there are plenty of thrash bands out there. But as a form it's been exhausted- you're not gonna listen to the haunted and be stunned by their originality. So lots of people feel the need to create a new sound, or push the envelope by combining existing ones.

and i agree on lifestyle, although attitude clearly plays a big part in that idea

 

[USMC0341]

There's still plenty of shit within the genre of Thrash that HASN'T been done yet - it just takes some balls, creativity and dedication to do something new. That's just my opinion...


JB

PS - Bryant hit the nail right on the head - Metal in and of itself is a lifestyle - at least for me it is. Attitude is a small part of the overall lifestyle for me. All the bandwagon jumpers who wore the t-shirts in high school ask me to this day when I'm gonna grow out of Metal - and I tell them I never will because I identify with it for the right reasons...it's not a fad or a gimmick or a trendy decision for me (although it was and still is for some people). It's part of my life and that won't ever fucking change - whether it's popular or not. That's why I married my wife - she gets it and it's in her blood as well. That bond by itself is stronger than what some couples base their marriage on...

 

[arglebargle]

Oh come on, if anything there's 100x more metal today than in decades past. It's just not in the mainstream. If anything, there's TOO much metal.

 

[USMC0341]

There can never be too much metal.

You also have to remember that with the advent of the Internet (which we didn't have in the 80s) - people have access to so many more obscure bands that you would NEVER have heard of back in the day when all we had was snail mail and bootlegged casette tapes. There are definitely more metal bands out there - but everything seems so much more saturated because the internet, websites and the "Internet Community" allow anyone to search for music or to share their own, whether it's a huge-name band or some dude with a guitar and a cheap digital recorder.

JB

 

[Bryant]

There can never be too much metal.

You also have to remember that with the advent of the Internet (which we didn't have in the 80s) - people have access to so many more obscure bands that you would NEVER have heard of back in the day when all we had was snail mail and bootlegged casette tapes.

JB

Absolutely !! Marine (JB.) I couldn't agree more. If not for internet, I would have never been introduced to many bands. Tad Morose is a Swedish band that's not even huge in their own country, but I love them. Awesome vocalist and drummer.


Bryant

 

[USMC0341]

Absolutely !! Marine (JB.) I couldn't agree more. If not for internet, I would have never been introduced to many bands. Tad Morose is a Swedish band that's not even huge in their own country, but I love them. Awesome vocalist and drummer.


Bryant

You know what they say about great minds...or is it twisted, corrupted minds?



Metal Rules

JB

 

[Bryant]

You know what they say about great minds...or is it twisted, corrupted minds?



Metal Rules

JB

Oh I don't know JB, I'm just a simple redneck metal-head fucktard, but I do have excellent taste in music, guitars, beer and whiskey. Some of the important stuff anyway.


Bryant

 

[Subsonic6string]

for decades, now, real metal has remained an underground thing, never really experiencing true commercial success (with the rare exception of Slayer) Labels, being a business meant to make money, are constantly looking for ways to do just that. So...if the underground metal scene shows the tiniest deviation, and interest is growning in a particular new style, they jump all over it and come up with their own "brand" of it, a much watered-down, more "comercially acceptable" version. Hence, the (talentless) never ending stream of bands like Slipknot, etc.

The real metal bands will always be there, underground, constantly evolving. Metal is not falling away, but stronger than ever.

Cheers

 

[Kelly Sundown Carpenter]

I agree with most of what has been said in this thread...but I do have to comment on the idea that metal is only melodic to gain commercial viability....HUH? I personally feel the opposite is true right now....Century Media is signing nothing but cookie cutter death metal bands with the typical glorified roadies for singers....growling is the new fad, not melody....most of those bands wouldn't know a melody if it slapped them in the face. I am personally sick of this shit... it has no diversity and is very limited but all I have to do is wait and the huge corporate labels like CM will strip mine this genre until people are so bored that they turn away completley.
Then we start over again...don't be put off by the American market...it means nothing in the long run....Metal belongs under ground where it can be what it was meant to be...expression...not a fad.

KSC(Beyond Twilight-Outworld)

 

[fps]

agreed- melody's a good thing, a really good singing voice also will help set a band apart from the rest. as for metal being watered down by melody, couldn't disagree more, a great chorus hitting through all the viciousnless can send shivers down my spine

 

[hibernal_dream]

You'll be happy to learn that metal artists have only discover a fragment of 12 tones music harmony (in other words the opposite of traditionnal harmony)
and Schoenberg's music. Which means.....Metal can get more devastating then it is now.

Interesting opinion. What bands have used the 12-tone scale? I am only aware of Kayo Dot. But do you think that this will ever happen? I think that the only reason metal is based firmly in traditional harmonies is because the octave scale has been used for centuries. The actual music theory is not so much used - rather the scale has become natural-sounding to the ear. So for the 12-tone scale to be adopted, it would take either a very dedicated band or many decades of music being played which use this theory.