What if metal bands stopped using power chords?

[Zealotry]

What if bands in the metal genre figured out that the perfect fifth chord had been used and abused to the point of losing all meaning? What if, upon coming to this realization, the power chord was relegated to having bit roles in metal songs, while jazz chords took over? Would metal then lose its identity, or would the new sounds simply be co-opted into its existing identity?

 

[Occam's Razor]

Listen to Ephel Duath to see what happens then...

 

[Zealotry]

Ephel Duath uses jazz chords and jazz structures. What I have in mind is songs with patently metal structures that use primarily chords that aren't generally found in metal, like Voivod, but with every band doing it.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Well, what are metal structures?...actually not unlike conventional pop structures - namely verse-chorus-verse-bridge as well as a handful of chords at best, if you refer to the most basic metal out there.

 

[Cheiron]

Eh? They'd have to reduce the distortion a hell of a lot. And probably play quieter.

 

[Occam's Razor]

indeed - the more comlplex the chords, the more important the sound.

 

[Zealotry]

Eh? They'd have to reduce the distortion a hell of a lot. And probably play quieter.

Not necessarily true. There are ways now to beef up distortion without sacrificing clarity. Just listen to those middle Voivod albums, or the last few Opeth albums. Opeth in particular use some very elaborate chord forms and there's certainly no lack of clarity there. But of course, Opeth and Voivod are considered the creative fringe in metal - the exception rather than the rule. And they're thought of by many as being more prog rock than any known metal subgenre, and their composition style is certainly well removed from that of traditional metal [though Voivod less so].

But I'm asking if metal would still be metal if the majority of bands in the genre started using the kind of sounds that these two do, but retained metal's compositional style, which is primarily some derivative of verse-chorus-verse structure, with a lot of thematic repetition. Would it mean taking the 'heavy' out of 'heavy metal'?

 

[JayKeeley]

There's something quite 'primal' about the power chord. You can get as jazzy and technical as you like, but at the end of the day, the music is best when it's a wall of sound.

Ever hear Metallica play "For Whom the Bell Tolls" on the Justice tour? Or Amon Amarth play "Victorious March"? There's something quite epic about that pummeling crunch and reverb.

That said, reverse power chords work well too. Look at both Primordial or Testament. Perhaps even Destroyer 666. None are stuck in a power chord swamp, and yet none are resorting to jazz wankery either.

Each case is unique, but honestly, for live environments, power chords and mid-tempos always tend to work the best.

By the way, an excellent song to come out in the last couple of years (highlighting what I'm saying here) is "Songen et Fangen" by Vreid. Simple yet mind blowing.

 

[Occam's Razor]

I have to say that I find Vreid really shitty - I know only their new album though...Windir were not good either and would never have received the attention they got posthumously if Valfar had not died...hard but true.

 

[JayKeeley]

I have to say that I find Vreid really shitty - I know only their new album though...

The debut Vreid album ("Kraft") is VERY good (provided you're ok with old-school black metal -- lots of punk and NWOBHM influences all over the place, with the occasional grand use of mellotron).

For one of those defining metal moments, download "Songen et Fangen", you'll be like . Seriously, even as a one-off song, it is outstanding. A total anthem.

Re: Windir -- I agree, they were never a tier 1 viking band, BUT their last album, "Likferd", is actually very good. Lots more folk influence and stunning guitar harmonies.

Windir ... would never have received the attention they got posthumously if Valfar had not died...hard but true.

Sorry, that's totally false. Windir got lots of attention by the time they released 1184.

 

[Occam's Razor]

I was referring to the bigger media who only started to feature Windir once the guy was dead, at least here in Germany.

 

[Zealotry]

I think I might pose this question to Snake and Away of Voivod...

 

[Occam's Razor]

It's ironic that they are on a big label like Nuke Blast now. The first album with Newsted had to be released on their own label, and now that D'Amour is dead, it seems that people realize Voivod used to be not bad at all - even though that was long ago. The only two stupid things are that it needed a death to give the band back some of their recognition, and that this recognition is for bygone glories, as Voivod are rather bland since the return of Snake - at least to me, there's not much of the extraordinary anymore on the last two albums.

 

[Zealotry]

The new albums are all good fun, IMO. Certainly not mindblowing like Hatross and Nothingface were, but still quite enjoyable.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Sure, but now that they are on Blast, all of a sudden the innovative aspect of the band is stressed, even though it has lost its impact.

 

[Zealotry]

As far as I'm concerned, the impact is still there. The percentage of metal bands willing to experiment with unconventional chords the way they do is still miniscule.

 

[Jim LotFP]

Sure, but now that they are on Blast

... in Europe only. In the States they are on The End...

 

[Occam's Razor]

It's only hypocritical that they have been neglected by the press for years, especially during the time without Snake. After his return, they seemed to be at least aware of the band again, and now that their guitarist has died, they even get space on magazine samplers and are said to be stronger than ever. As for me, they have never been as weak as with the last two albums. They sound like a punk band, sorry.

 

[Zealotry]

Punk bands don't use the sounds Voivod do.

Voivod sounded more like a punk band on RRROOOAAARRR!!! than on either of the last two albums.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Anyway, it sound punk to me...