Heavy Metal

The documentary movie True Norwegian Black Metal
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4U33U_UyzQ"](1/5)- True Norwegian Black Metal - YouTube[/ame]

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSUmKubFIUY&feature=relmfu"](2/5)- True Norwegian Black Metal - YouTube[/ame]

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNN-ZnYg1Vo&feature=relmfu"](3/5)- True Norwegian Black Metal - YouTube[/ame]

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRTHzR2Pxro&feature=fvwrel"](4/5)- True Norwegian Black Metal - YouTube[/ame]

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avnsgYvHPK8&feature=fvwrel"](5/5)- True Norwegian Black Metal - YouTube[/ame]

 

You may be right about KoRn and Slipknot being accepted as part of "mainstream metal", but that's not an indictment on what I would consider "real metal". KoRn and Slipknot are not accepted by fans of real metal. None that I have ever encountered, at least. Bands like these are always referred to as nu-metal, metalcore, or some other qualifying genre, and for very good reason. The quality of their music simply doesn't stand up against genuine metal bands. This is my opinion, of course, but it is one that is shared by many in the metal genre.

I don't think I'm old, and I have a denim jacket too with vintage patches all over it. Acid washed with torn off sleeves, too. Super old school!

The emo fashion scene is a bane on the scene. It's this generation's "teased hair and makeup" metal fans and I can't wait until it goes away.

I disagree. I think metal should be pure and as free from posers as possible. Although it's true that every new genre is initially met with resistance, the good genres will survive it and will become respected in time. The knockoff genres usually rise quickly on a bubble, then pop and fade away almost as quickly. I believe metalcore falls into the latter category, just like nu-metal and hair metal. Death and black metal, by contrast, fall into the former category.

Yep, you're more open minded with metal than I am. Then again, you're a liberal. It makes sense. I think borders and boundaries are a good thing, and too much cluster(*)(*)(*)(*)ing will water down the genre to the point where the whole pool is polluted.

There's already plenty of variation in metal, and it's been that way for a long time. Doom metal sounds nothing like black metal. Death metal sounds nothing like power metal, yet all are accepted genres. Here's a good page showing all of the different genres (some are not really metal in my opinion, but it's still a good resource).

I guess what separates you and me is that I recognize that the attempt to commercialize metal and make it more pallatable by the mainstream masses is inherently a bad thing. No real good can come of it. That isn't to say that metal can never be popular. Metallica and Megadeth were very popular in the 80's, but were not "mainstream" popular until the early 90's. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

When I saw part 5 the first time I was legitimately freaked out. I thought the video was frozen for a long time, until I noticed the flame flickering. Then he suddenly stared at the guy with crazy wild eyes and took a drink of wine. That's the face of someone who would kill you.

 

I absolutely agree that the various attempts at commercialisation metal are bad idea. Every now and then someone in the industry comes along and tries to do it, and a number of 'artificial' bands jump on the image bandwagon. However, I think most of the 'trendy' new trends start with one or two genuine bands trying to experiment with different things - it's only when those few start to gain recognition that the whole commercial marketing fraternity take notice and start pushing it far beyond what it is actually worth in order to make a quick buck.

In any of those sub-genres there's alot of bands that are mediocre at best, but there's also that small number of often great bands who started doing the different things and experimenting for themselves. It as true of thrash as it is of nu metal - there were those who started it, those who jumped on the bandwagon, and perhaps a few others who took what those first bands did and took it somewhere new too. With the passing of time, the mediocre gets largely forgotten by all but a few hardened devotees (often those bands that are 'trendiest' for a short time), and only the best bands (usually including the originators of that style) survive and become part of 'metal' in general, rather than part of a particular 'trend'.

To be perfectly honest, I HATED Nu-Metal when it came out. Mostly what I found 'new' about alot of it was that it was people who looked like they were in metal bands playing something that wasn't metal at all! I still hate alot of it, including some of the big names (Red Hot Chili Peppers are, in my opinion, just dire!). After some of the real rubbish began to filter away, though, I realised that some of it was actually not only quite good, but very interesting, and very much metal (even if it was a slightly new take on metal - I don't have a problem with new ideas to refresh the genre - as I said, without that I think it would just get stale). What got me into Korn, for example, was this song:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCIcyKmJj5I"]Korn - Here to Stay[/ame]

That song is heavy as hell, and pretty brutal (especially live, obviously), and then I started to here a few other supposedly 'nu metal' bands that were actually rising above the crowd of mediocrity to do interesting things with what is still essentially metal music, taking old ideas and mixing them with new ones:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVaPFtVx8PA"]System of a Down - Revenga[/ame]

Most hair metal and new metal that was produced was pretty average musically, but the same is true of thrash, NWOBHM, Death, Doom or anything else (and the same is true for non-metal 'trends' or 'movements' - for every Beethoven there were a thousand other composers we'll never hear of, because they weren't actually very good, even if they were popular at some point among certain groups of their contemporaries!). The bands that survive from these trends and get remembered (and become festival headliners and so on) do so because they weren't just artificial commercial creations built to make money, but genuine bands experimenting and finding something new that they liked.

Some of them continue to do so as their careers continue, of course. Korn, for example, have tried something different again on their new album. I've got a feeling that there are some around here that will hate it, which is fair enough, but they are doing it not because of some 'commerciality' pressure or attempt, but because they are a telented group of musicians who love different types of music and want to play around with mixing them together. As much as I generally dislike electronic 'dubstep' type music, I really like this, and still regard it as essentially just a different take on 'metal':

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUOlc_j4rMA"]Korn - Narcissistic Cannibal[/ame]

I'm prepared to give anything a go with an open mind, judge it musically on its own merits rather than on hype or image or reputation or 'trend', and decide for myself whether it works for me or not. If I dismissed everything from any new trend because it comes from a new trend, to me I'd just be cutting off my nose to spite my face, so to speak - the trend will continue regardless of what I think about it anyway, and there might just be some bands in there (amongst the inevitable mediocre rubbish) that I'd actually enjoy listening to (or watching on stage).

 

I stopped paying attention a long time ago to what sub genre a band is. If I like it, I like it. End of story. LOL I got into heavy music the summer before 5th grade, thanks to Weird Al Yankovich. LOL He made fun of Motley Crue and Metallica in one of his songs, then I heard Dr. Feelgood and Enter Sandman on the radio and liked them both. That's when I started paying attention to heavy music, watching Headbanger's Ball with Ricky Rachtman, and buying as many cassettes and CD's as I could with my allowance. I started out with Metallica, Guns n Roses, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Black Sabbath/Ozzy, Megadeth, Pantera, etc, and by high school I was listening to Death, Black, Speed, Thrash, Power, Melodic, etc., and just kept going. Nowadays I still listen to everything I always have, but I like Killswitch Engage's stuff too. I know a lot of people criticize the screaming verses coupled with clean vocals in the choruses, but bands like Fear Factory have been doing that since the late 80's/early 90's, so it's not like it's something new...

I do despise emo though... LOL They hijacked the metal image and turned it all wimpy and crybaby-like. Emo is like "metal" for 12 year old girls. LOL And those Luke Skywalker haircuts with the little flippy thing going on look really stupid IMO...

(I tried just posting the link to this because it's a little vulgar, but it keeps embedding the video in this post... Hey, I tried...)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEJDGLF-e18"]i must be emo - YouTube[/ame]

 

As a parent (of 2 teenagers), I actually see that as a good thing, and also the occasional 'pop rock' trend thing that happens. It all helps get kids started on a road into decent music - alot of kids who started off on My Chemical Romance, for example, (or Green Day, or Blink 182, or Lostprophets) then started going to gigs and festivals and discovering other heavier stuff. Everyone's got to start somewhere - for me it was Status Quo that started me on the path. It's a bit much to expect sensitive young ears to atune directly to the more 'extreme' stuff, so some 'lighter' stuff that allows them to develop into it is great. The film 'School of Rock' is also good - possibly the most useful parenting tool created over the last few decades! It all helped to avoid my kids going down the road of the pop rubbish that most of their friends were listening to, and realising that dad's record collection was something to explore and appreciate, not rebel against!

Back to festivals for a moment, though - just been an announcement of 22 more bands for the Download rock festival in the UK this summer - the line up is looking pretty good! Plenty of variety, and plenty of good stuff to see (there will be some horrible clashes of stuff I want to see on different stages this year, though!)

 

You ain't kidding. That was bizarre.

 

Ah, the good ole' days!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdbaGJWyM6Q"]Best Of Headbangers Ball Part 1 of 10 - YouTube[/ame]

 

He is actually gay, too. A lot of black metal fans weren't too accepting of that. He put someone in the hospital for making some remarks about it.

 

Is that what they were talking about in the video?

 

I think that happened long after this documentary was released. The attack they describe in the video involves a trespasser on Gaahl's land, I believe. He tied the guy up to a chair, beat and tortured him for about 6 hours, and collected his blood in a cup and threatened to make him drink it. Pretty sadistic stuff. It's also not what you would expect from someone who would later go on to design women's clothing and come out of the closet.

 

Listening to these guys lately. Blackened doom metal from Canada. The frontman died a few months ago in a car accident.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR9DbLNz0XY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR9DbLNz0XY[/ame]

 

Good stuff. I've been meaning to check them out after their album was reviewed in Metal Hammer - it sounded as if it should be good, and on the evidence of the video you posted, it is!

 

Yeah, they have a good sound. They are in the same vein as other bands I listen to, like Agalloch, Wolves in the Throne Room, and others. They basically take black metal and add in a touch of post-rock and combine it with some other genre. Woods of Ypres brought in Doom metal, which was unique. The only thing with Woods of Ypres is that they aren't the most consistent band in the world. Quite a few skippable songs in their lineup, in my opinion. Still, a band worth checking out, and this song is a good example of why.

 

Sorry if any of this was posted earlier...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyu5ckar5mQ"]Hellyeah - Hellyeah - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVG_KSVIx9k"]Hellyeah - Matter Of Time (Audio Only) - YouTube[/ame]

 

Sepultura - Ratamahatta
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiwqRSCWw2g&ob=av2e"]Sepultura - Ratamahatta - YouTube[/ame]

 

Sepultura - Straighthate
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLrWBT_urQQ"]Sepultura - Straighthate - YouTube[/ame]

 

Rock on with a new thread folks!!