What attracts you certain bands?

[The Minds Eye]

Hey all.

I noticed there isn't many new topics being posted here so I was thinking this would make an interesting topic.

The subject is: What qualities or whatever attract you to the bands you listen to?

Example: The thing that attracts me to bands such as Novembre is how it feels like your being taken on a journey, I can lie on my bed and listen to it with my eyes closed as the music is very atmospheric so it's like I can visualize whilst I listen, also the mixture of emotions rather than just anger/hate like some generic metal bands I find I like bands which mix many emotions so the band isn't stale sounding or samey after a while. Also I like a bit of difference rather than just heavy I like a bit of prog or atmoshephic sounds mixed in, probally why I can't really listen to Grindcore at all.

You guys? (I think I explained the question ok?)

 

[biscottina]

If the music triggers my emotions, any emotion or combination thereof, I'm whipped.

 

[Nostalgiaplatz]

I dunno, but I guess it comes from early on, when I was about 13/14 and got into doom metal and became a huge fan of My Dying Bride, Anathema, Moonspell, Desire(a portuguese band) and a few others which aren't relevant. I guess the thing was the emotion that was characterized by the guitar melodies and also the power of it. Later on, I got into the style of Lacuna Coil, whatever that is, I was into every band that had a female and male singing in mixed goes. I've been like that for like, 3-4 years (this was in the time I sold my guitar and became a complete computer geek, for professional reasons!) and so I'd listen to pretty much anything, heavy, power, anything metal and non metal. Later on, I don't know why, but I had the urge to buy a classical guitar and that was when I got into Opeth and then Novembre...and I think my reason is pretty much the same as The Minds Eye. I found Novembre through a friend who recommended it to me and I was just getting into Opeth at the same time. When I first heard Novembre My Starving Bambina and Flower songs, It didn't have an immediate effect on me, but I kept the mp3s on disk and later on I got to listen to them again and I started appreciating the clean vocals, the growls seemed pretty standard, so they didn't have an ecstatic effect as well, but the clean vocals were pretty. Althou the mp3 quality was shitty and so I was a little huh wondering wether I liked it or not...so I decided to d/l all the albums and when I heard Wish... I was like... "Wow" the clean vocal melodies, the guitar sound, were breath taking...I could picture a blueish dreamsy landscape! It was like...a journey, although I listened to it so much that today... I only appreciate it as music without having such images in my mind as much, I guess it's due to listening to it a whole lot.... Argh, wish It Was April

 

[The Minds Eye]

Oh yeah I forgot! Usually I like a singer with a little bit of charisma or something that makes him slightly different than others, this is why I cannot listen to the one million death gore bands or the one million rhapsody/gamma ray/etc etc bands.

 

[erishkigal]

I like music that destroys my soul.

yay for silencer.

 

[Magrathean]

The quality of the music (i.e. i hate bands who repeat two or three simple riffs for three minutes and call that "good music"), nice melodies (of course), brilliant lyrics (if they're not too direct and obvious, so much the better, unless they go to the extreme and become incomprehensible), that unnamed element some bands have that takes you away into another world as if in a beautiful dream (even if it's sorrowful.. in fact, the greater the sorrow the better the song), and being able to identify with their songs.

And if there's a female singer then the beauty of her voice is also a factor. Especially if it's haunting (i love "Strange inside" by Untoten, for example, because of the voice of the girl).

 

[erishkigal]

The quality of the music (i.e. i hate bands who repeat two or three simple riffs for three minutes and call that "good music"), nice melodies (of course), brilliant lyrics (if they're not too direct and obvious, so much the better, unless they go to the extreme and become incomprehensible), that unnamed element some bands have that takes you away into another world as if in a beautiful dream (even if it's sorrowful.. in fact, the greater the sorrow the better the song), and being able to identify with their songs.

This post slightly annoyed me, I guess the "call that "good music" part. meh, I guess it is a subjective topic,,, but for me a band like Drudkh or Darkthrone that repeats the same or several similar rythymic ideas or chords or whatever for 4-7-15 minutes are able to "take me into another world" of sorrow,, more so than any technical music,,, and by technical I mean using more than three chords a song =P

So for me repetition in this sense is in fact good music,
maybe you could give me an example of what kind of song takes you to this kind of place?

If you haven't heard, try listening to Forests In Fire And Cold by Drudkh, its a song that was first recomended to me as a band that "will take you places",,, so maybe this could give you some kind of appreciation for music that is repetitive and simple? Even if you dont like it maybe can understand why some people can like it?

 

[Nostalgiaplatz]

^ the other day when I went to my went to my guitar technician's place he was listening to Robert Fripp and I asked what it was and he said "Repetitive Minimalist Music", it's not metal or anything, but I fell in love instantly (and I haven't heard it since, but as soon as I put internet at home again, I will look it up). Cyclic music is a good thing, but it requires some exceptionally good taste and a fitting production for it to sync in.

 

[Magrathean]

erishkigal: Examples of songs that "take me to another place/world" are most of Lacuna Coil's "Comalies" and a couple of songs by Sirenia and Within Temptation. Look, i'm not really into extremely technical and complicated songs that last 10 minutes and nobody can play, but i do like it very much when they use more than three simple riffs. Most rock, for example, as well as a lot of metal (though a lower percentage of metal than rock), uses this repeat-three-riffs-for-five-minutes technique. I respect (and in some cases even understand) that you might like that, but it just doesn't do the magic for me. I'd rather listen to something in which a bit more thinking/effort/time was put into structure-building and riff-writing. Oh, and thanks for the reccommendation.

 

[**Jester**]

Robert Fripp is amazing, I saw him live producing a string orchestra movement on his guitar synth from playing parts sampling them and layering to create full orchestra.

He is King Crimson guitarist and mastermind if you didnt know, and king crimson are equally excellent...get the album power to believe.

 

[Nostalgiaplatz]

I know King Crimson, but I only got to know he was 'the king' after I posted that above. The guy is genious, indeed