Why are keyboards in metal so hated?

[Vossyrus]

I love keyboards and synth in metal and music in general.

 

[mutantllama]

I find keyboards to be best used at a back round instrument.

 

[Vitor]

I find that its pretty like 80% of metalheads who hate keyboards in metal, 10% dont care and only like 10% actually enjoy them. Why is this? Other than saying they are "gay". Can we have an actual reason? They are the most versitile instrument in terms of the tones you can get and work in pretty much every style of music. I find they can always bring an extra element to the music and make it more interesting. It makes everything sound more powerful and full, and takes the music places you cant with the basics. true sometimes they are done wrong and sound cheesy, but that is the same with every instrument. People say it sounds like videogame music.... is that a bad thing? videogames have sweet, evil music usually. Like fucking most boss battles. To me keyboards breathe new life to a music form that otherwise gets quite repetetive at times. I would really like to see metal start using keyboards more. it helps keep the music less stagnant imo

Be specific with what you say, not something that can be said about instrument. We are talking about keyboards done by skilled musicians

So if you hate keyboards, tell us in a non-retarded way why?

keyboards works fine with doom metal, prog metal or rock and symphonic black metal. the others genres don't need that instrument.

 

[mutantllama]

You forgot power metal tbh.

 

[Vitor]

not necessarily

on some bands keyboards fits very well, like nocturnal rites, but i woudn't miss.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Metal without keyboards is usually boring.

Could also be said in the "Controversial opinions..." thread. Also, nice bump.

 

[optionthree]

I generally find keyboards help to add emotion, or to really flesh out the sound of a record. I was listening to Ihsahn's angL today and thinking how the keys/piano on that album really take it to the next level. Sometimes they're less than effective, true, but you can say that about any poorly played instrument.

 

[Omni]

Metal without keyboards is usually boring.

This made me laugh.

Also, Black Sabbath used keyboards on some albums (even during the Ozzy era), so anyone who claims that keyboards can't be a part of real metal is objectively wrong.

 

[The Butt]

^ Pretty much. They were using keys as early as Vol 4.

 

[UltraMetalFan]

Piano? Fucking Awesome.

Keyboard? MIDI faggotry.

 

[Episteme]

Nothing wrong with using keyboards without overdoing it. Example of a death metal band that didn't overdo keyboards is Nocturnus. The Key has brilliant use of keyboards that add to the atmosphere that they were conveying instead of masking the music and making it sound like it was dripping with cheesiness.

Oh and some Black Metal bands have good use of keyboards.

 

[tagradh]

I find keyboards to be best used at a back round instrument.

"back round".

Seriously?

 

[mutantllama]

Yeah, fuck you. background

 

[Petra Mickey]

Most keyboards sound too artificial. It's acceptable when used for intros and interludes, but when you have synthesized strings screeching throughout your entire album it gets annoying (COF, Dimmu, Emperor). I do enjoy "primitive" keyboard instruments such as piano, organ (especially the godly Hammond B3), mellotron, harpsichord, and even old Moog synths, as they all have a unique sound as a real instrument should. Playing a sample of an orchestra and manipulating the tone and pitch sounds like shit.

You said you dislike orchestral samples but mellotron (orchestral samples on tape recordings) is fine? Also what about artists that use the orchestral sounds properly (I.e. play a professional MIDI orchestral library and play it like an actual orchestra (in the range etc.) are they bad)? The thing I find is that orchestral sounds have loads of weight to them, so bands will use them to create a dark atmosphere (at least bands that do that sort of stuff well), like Septicflesh, who use an actual or hestra now .
unfortunately, most bands seem to not understand the nature of the sound and it's possibilities and just dabble with things they have no clue about, resulting in shitty orchestrations and only "epic" and "glorious" being the motive, as if they don't realise the potential to evoke so many other emotions exists.
The annoying part is the crappy synth leads that are then thrown all over the place, instead of a guitar, essentially replacing a lead guitar with an overused lead sound that pretty much every band seems to have on their keys. It's like people forget that metal is meant to be guitar centric and not drenched in synths.
When using keyboard sounds whether it's synths or samples, bands should try and let the guitars do the work and then add to that with the keys. And if using samples of real instruments, they should be ensured to sound either as real as possible or as authentic as possible. A bitcrushed orchestral brass section sample can sound freaking brutal at times.

 

[CiG]

Metal without keyboards is usually boring.

lmfao.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

That sinking feeling when I get an alert that I've been quoted in a thread I don't recall posting in for the last 10 years.