Why Metal?

Travis said:
A number of obvious reasons.

It's creative. You don't always hear the same predictable song structures and chord progressions as you might in other genres. Metal also tends to have a lot of room for melding with other genres, as we often hear.

It's aggressive; it holds conflict. I thought up a pretty good way to explain this to non-metal people who think metal is just a lot of noise and anger - If a book had no conflict, it would be entirely resolution, would that be worth reading?

It's more often than not a musician's music. We generally see and hear more instrument proficiency in metal than you would in commercial rock, 12-bar blues, etc.

I think the rest is just a matter of taste, I guess
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Definitely right. Most of it is aggressive but not all, and most of the good stuff is extremely intense in the delivery of its musicality.
 
i aint play this said:
Take the 80's goth/post punk bands as an example, countless bands from that era were mostly high quality with their own musical personality, i mean...Joy Division, The Cure, Bauhaus, The Smiths, Fields of the Nephilim, etc...you could actually TELL the difference between them. The same can be said about seminal prog rock bands like Yes, Genesis, Crimson, Camel, Rush, Floyd, etc...once again, they all belonged to the ''same'' genre but they all developed their own style and are highly respected for being huge innovators. But metal? there is always like, 4 or 5 really original bands in each subgenre and 373737237 copycats, fucking ridiculous.
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Taking a smaller genre and saying they have less copycats doesn't really prove anything. The percentage of copycats and 'lame' bands is probably very close. If you are going to take the best from 2 other genres and compare them to a third, you might want to use the best of that third genre for the comparison, not the copycats.
 
RedinTheSky said:
Taking a smaller genre and saying they have less copycats doesn't really prove anything. The percentage of copycats and 'lame' bands is probably very close. If you are going to take the best from 2 other genres and compare them to a third, you might want to use the best of that third genre for the comparison, not the copycats.
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Smaller genre? lol what the hell is that man? i was merely proving my point which was: quantity over quality is more common in metal than most genres, re-read fmy irst post: ''it is plagued with FAR TOO many shit bands and copycats''...in terms of proportion, it is quite true imo. Since it is my point of view i wasn't really trying to prove anything fyi.
 
What attracts me to metal are the following: darkness, eccentricity, drive to write unique songs, extremely emotive music, etc.

Naturally, the majority of metal does not display many or indeed any of these qualities. But I'd like to think the shit I listen to does contain many of them.
 
i find all this stuff about passion, creativity, and especially emotion in metal to be absolute rubbish... those bands (Opeth, Enslaved, etc.) are generally the exception, not the rule

it's consistently more aggressive/energetic/intense than other genres. (a huge appeal to the male ego.) minus a couple subgenres it's very immediate and instantly gratifying. it's very basic in terms of instrumentation - guitar(s), bass guitar, drums - and very active music which can be entertaining for guitarists/drummers to play with immediate payoff

(p.s. metal solos are usually terrible)
 
all_sins_undone said:
passion + intensity + dynamics
sounds good to me
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I agree that metal has its all 3 of these things, but I also think that other music can equally share the same elements. I was at a "electronic rock" show (i guess you can call it that) a few months ago in which i witnessed the craziest most energetic crowd i have ever seen. Here i was thinking that metal had all the extreme energy and intensity, and this one show proved how other music can share these same elements at similar and even higher levels.

why i love metal is partially because of the dark, brutal aggressiveness, that tells the story that metal doesn't give a fuck about you or me, but what matters is how much noise can be made. The bonus is, is that alot of good metal bands are amazing musicians and achieve the three things you said as well as scare the shit out of the listener. If you are left with these feelings when you come out of a good metal show, then you know you've just been exposed to some of the best music out there
 
I've always liked the plain sound of a heavy guitar riff. I think that's the _basic_ reason I am/got into metal. then I discovered so many great inventive bands and so many albums that became really precious to me.
but the love for that "riff" thing is kind of unexplainable, I guess. the other characteristics of the bands that I like are probably not so different from many non-heavy bands. great riffs and solos just give that extra kick that makes me really get into something
 
as a 8-year old kid I started to love hardrock for 2 reasons: the bombasticy (think Kiss, Mud and Iron Maiden) and the raw agressiveness (think Lemmy of Motorhead) and rebellion. I agree with AFairJudgement: other music do share the same qualities. It's very hard to explain something to someone when it is all about emotions and feelings.
Just enjoy what you like!
 
I have no idea. I try to listen to all types of music, and I end up liking certain ones, and disliking others. Out of all the bands I listen to, it seems like more belong to the metal genre than any other. I don't know why that is. Just like I don't know why, despite liking different kinds of music, a single distorted power chord can still sound so good.
I just like my music to be genuine and heartfelt. And, say what you want about metal, people play it because they like it and feel a connection. Not for profit. Maybe that's the reason it feels "real". Obviously, this is not the only genre that doesn't have commercial profit as much as other genres, but it's just a thought. If you do something that doesn't have financial gain, then you're probably doing it because you like it and it feels good. Which is maybe why the music sounds genuine.

But, just like there is meaningful pop, there is shitty metal. Usually, I dislike metal (or any music for that matter) that I can't relate to, or can't connect with. If it feels false, then it sounds bad to me.


To summarize, I'll go back to my first point: I don't know.
 
Demilich said:
What attracts me to metal are the following: darkness, eccentricity, drive to write unique songs, extremely emotive music, etc.

Naturally, the majority of metal does not display many or indeed any of these qualities. But I'd like to think the shit I listen to does contain many of them.
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^^^^

Couldn't have said it better!
 
Well, bought an Iron Maiden album 'by accident' (Somewhere in Time and Live after Death) and the moment I listened to it (I bought it cause I was in a rush and knew Wasted Years), I was sold !!!
Since then, it got gradually worse.........hahahahaha
 
Metal is ONE OF the only genres that doesn't talk about chics sex money i cheated on my girlfriend i want her back omg this really hurts etc. i know this is really stupid of me to say, but hip hop and rap artists are nowhere hear as talented as metal artists, because all they do is write down a few words and read them out loud, whereas in the metal genre, playing an instrument is nowhere near as easy as writing down a few words about guns gangs sex drugs etc. nor are the lyrics that some metal artists write, i am not saying ALL metal is like this, but a vast majority. I don't know, something about this genre that really hits home for me.
 
in_absentia said:
Metal is ONE OF the only genres that doesn't talk about chics sex money i cheated on my girlfriend i want her back omg this really hurts etc. i know this is really stupid of me to say, but hip hop and rap artists are nowhere hear as talented as metal artists, because all they do is write down a few words and read them out loud, whereas in the metal genre, playing an instrument is nowhere near as easy as writing down a few words about guns gangs sex drugs etc. nor are the lyrics that some metal artists write, i am not saying ALL metal is like this, but a vast majority. I don't know, something about this genre that really hits home for me.
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Great point.

For me, there are few things that get my blood pumping like a really great riff. I absolutely listen to metal as a musician. I want to be impressed by the musicianship.

I also feel a bit ruined by metal... I sometimes find it hard to listen to anything else because, unless it's creating an atmosphere or is funny or something, I get bored. A lot of music is stupid, metal included, but at least metal typically holds my interest. I don't know how to say it any better. I'm pretty fucking exhausted what with a new baby and all, so forgive me if I'm not making sense!:loco:
 
i listen to everything, but "hard rock" caught my ear the most. even though no one i knew was praising it around me. but at the time, i guess, i was going through an "emotional" stage, so this genre of music helped me get through difficult problems (internal.. external, you know) that nothing else could.. as clich&#233; as that sounds hah. i then discovered the more obvious reasons aforesaid, as to why i became so attached to this genre and thus the exploration BEGAN. <3
 
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