Bumping this forHella. Awesome band with The Advantage's drummer. If you like Machinae Supremacy, The Fall of Troy, or Tool, I strongly suggest you pick up Hella's latest album,There's No 666 in Outer Space.
Hm. Not my cup of tea, really. Sounds a lot like The Fall of Troy, and for whatever reason, I have a really hard time getting into that band as well.
I think it's the aesthetic of the music that's getting in the way - mostly the vocals. The instrumentation is great, though, so I want to like them.
Hm. Not my cup of tea, really. Sounds a lot like The Fall of Troy, and for whatever reason, I have a really hard time getting into that band as well.
I think it's the aesthetic of the music that's getting in the way - mostly the vocals. The instrumentation is great, though, so I want to like them.
What do you mean exactly?
Sounds too upbeat, I guess. Fall of Troy, especially, sounds very poppy and/or emo-esque.
I prefer something either rougher and grittier, or more epic. Also, I generally prefer music that's a bit more...intense, I suppose. That's the best way to put it. Something that has more presence.
I'm pretty finicky with my music. For example, I like Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, and (most older) In Flames; however, I'm not really a fan of (most newer) Soilwork or Scar Symmetry. Bands can be very closely related, but the differences wind up being enough to make me like one and dislike the other.
Eh, I actually really like falsetto singing over heavy instrumentation. That's why I really like Hella, the Fall of Troy, and Protest the Hero. Ever heard of the Mars Volta? They aren't metal, but they pull that sorta thing off extremely well.
Whining in a high-pitched voice != singing. Bruce Dickinson can fucking sing.
EDIT: Besides, there's a decided lack of hair-twirling. Can't have metal without hair-twirling.
I would have to say that this is probably one of the biggest reasons I can't get into most metal. There seems to be this idea that your hair must be at least five feet long, you must do this retarded twirling of it in a circle the whole time and you must have at least some sort of studded jewelry on your person at all times. Songs must be about either high fantasy, vikings, or low-brow lyrics about death/blackness/how awesome metal is.
When I listen to a song like this, I really dig the technical instrumentation, but when I listen to the vocals, it's like someone took a giant shit all over the song. I don't know what it is, because I don't mind screams in a song. Perhaps it's mostly the growling due to the fact that it never seems to fit within the music and seems more like a monotone note that just speaks words.
Metal is largely defined by its aesthetics; I mean, really, at some point, it's all just really really really really hard rock. Most metal is riff-based 4/4 rock-based rhythms, no questions asked. It might have a certain intensity about it, deriving from song construction and lyrics, but that's all aesthetics as well. The death growl in any good death metal band is part of the overall aesthetic; a good band like Necrophagist takes you on a musical rollercoaster, highlighted by growling that emphasizes the intensity of the experience.
That's the reason for the growling, in its best cases. There's a lot of bad metal out there, and a lot of misuse of the growl. That's my biggest beef with metalcore bands like Killswitch or Avenged Sevenfold; they've take all the TRAPPINGS of a metal band, but they've missed the bits about how to actually make music. It's an aesthetic process, and largely an auditory one at that. If your shit isn't interesting to listen to, you have no business making metal.
If you want an example of a good use of death growl, listen to Amon Amarth. Yeah, it's about Vikings (WHICH MAKES IT AWESOME), but the vocal style plus the melodic constructs weaves a very potent aesthetic. It's usually a bleak and depressing one, but fuck it, it sounds good.
So, a lot of bands wear the trappings of metal because, well, it's at least part of the whole scene. The bad bands emphasize it too much; the good bands will weave the music together with the visual aesthetic to create a fucking awesome performance. Seeing some shit hardcore band on stage jump around and pretend to play music is aggravating; watching Finntroll take the stage and devastate the audience with some punishing metal, while unapologetically wearing man-kilts and body paint, is totally awesome.
Good metal bands will just be what they are, and focus on the music first. Bad bands try to LOOK like metal bands while making shit music. It's important to weed out the shit bands and hold on to the good ones. The extra-musical aesthetic can be very important to the actual music (look up Nile some time) but it should never come before the actual music.
Also, there's no excuse for hair-twirling. At all. It's lame and corny, and way too many people do it. However, it's totally metal, so fuck all you haters.
Then why don't you like bands like The Fall of Troy or Hella? They are extremely talented musicians, and they don't overuse the "metal aesthetic." They just happen to have falsetto singers. They still have growls and dope riffs.
Then why don't you like bands like The Fall of Troy or Hella? They are extremely talented musicians, and they don't overuse the "metal aesthetic." They just happen to have falsetto singers. They still have growls and dope riffs.
I just don't think you need to have the "Metal" aesthetic to be heavy and interesting. In fact, the only real reason I can't get into metal is because of the very culture. I don't know why, but it's just not something I can do. Maybe it was all those years in high school seeing those metal kids and thinking they were fucking retarded. The more "metal" something is, more I'm put off by it. Except for Dethklok, which is awesome because they take the whole metal aesthetic to a comedic but awesome level.
Here, case in point. You don't have to be "metal" to be fucking brutal.
Also, if you don't like falsetto singers, blame Geddy Lee.
Personally, I'm a fan of metal largely because it's substantial-sounding music. My problem with Fall of Troy (and Hella) is that the music is a bit too clean. It's sort of a distilled version of technical metal, but in the distillation, you removed the impurities that makes metal interesting to me.
It's sort of like how I like ales but not lagers. Ales have a lot going on; lagers are too clean. I like to discover interesting things in my music, rather than have the interesting things just thrust at me.
You also don't really need the metal aesthetic to be heavy. I like the metal aesthetic, and for me, the best metal bands are the ones that use the aesthetic to enhance the music. Most bad bands are more inclined to just look the part. You don't need long hair to be metal; it just often happens that way. Bruce Dickinson has short hair these days, but nobody's going to tell The Bruce that he's not metal.
EDIT: One of the big reasons I don't like black metal, by the way, is because it takes itself far too seriously, to the point of pretentiousness. This blog really sums up black metal perfectly.
What the fuck was that? Amazing drummer, but it's all just noise. It's like what people who hate metal think metal is; random noise. Except this really is just noise.
Not metal, but if you want to see a bass/drums band done right see Clatter.
Comments
To each his own, though.
Also, this is the best metal shirt there is. That one is a close second, though.
I think it's the aesthetic of the music that's getting in the way - mostly the vocals. The instrumentation is great, though, so I want to like them.
I prefer something either rougher and grittier, or more epic. Also, I generally prefer music that's a bit more...intense, I suppose. That's the best way to put it. Something that has more presence.
I'm pretty finicky with my music. For example, I like Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, and (most older) In Flames; however, I'm not really a fan of (most newer) Soilwork or Scar Symmetry. Bands can be very closely related, but the differences wind up being enough to make me like one and dislike the other.
Whining in a high-pitched voice != singing. Bruce Dickinson can fucking sing.
EDIT: Besides, there's a decided lack of hair-twirling. Can't have metal without hair-twirling.
EDIT: Which is not to say that Meat Loaf and Lou Gramm aren't awesome.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2064416385231360707
That's them performing their album De-Loused in the Comatorium live. Just listen to the first song they play (the video is over 45 minutes long).
It's all just seems so clichéd to me.
When I listen to a song like this, I really dig the technical instrumentation, but when I listen to the vocals, it's like someone took a giant shit all over the song. I don't know what it is, because I don't mind screams in a song. Perhaps it's mostly the growling due to the fact that it never seems to fit within the music and seems more like a monotone note that just speaks words.
Also, you guys forgot about Freddy Mercury.
Metal is largely defined by its aesthetics; I mean, really, at some point, it's all just really really really really hard rock. Most metal is riff-based 4/4 rock-based rhythms, no questions asked. It might have a certain intensity about it, deriving from song construction and lyrics, but that's all aesthetics as well. The death growl in any good death metal band is part of the overall aesthetic; a good band like Necrophagist takes you on a musical rollercoaster, highlighted by growling that emphasizes the intensity of the experience.
That's the reason for the growling, in its best cases. There's a lot of bad metal out there, and a lot of misuse of the growl. That's my biggest beef with metalcore bands like Killswitch or Avenged Sevenfold; they've take all the TRAPPINGS of a metal band, but they've missed the bits about how to actually make music. It's an aesthetic process, and largely an auditory one at that. If your shit isn't interesting to listen to, you have no business making metal.
If you want an example of a good use of death growl, listen to Amon Amarth. Yeah, it's about Vikings (WHICH MAKES IT AWESOME), but the vocal style plus the melodic constructs weaves a very potent aesthetic. It's usually a bleak and depressing one, but fuck it, it sounds good.
So, a lot of bands wear the trappings of metal because, well, it's at least part of the whole scene. The bad bands emphasize it too much; the good bands will weave the music together with the visual aesthetic to create a fucking awesome performance. Seeing some shit hardcore band on stage jump around and pretend to play music is aggravating; watching Finntroll take the stage and devastate the audience with some punishing metal, while unapologetically wearing man-kilts and body paint, is totally awesome.
Good metal bands will just be what they are, and focus on the music first. Bad bands try to LOOK like metal bands while making shit music. It's important to weed out the shit bands and hold on to the good ones. The extra-musical aesthetic can be very important to the actual music (look up Nile some time) but it should never come before the actual music.
Also, there's no excuse for hair-twirling. At all. It's lame and corny, and way too many people do it. However, it's totally metal, so fuck all you haters.
Here, case in point. You don't have to be "metal" to be fucking brutal.
Also, if you don't like falsetto singers, blame Geddy Lee.
It's sort of like how I like ales but not lagers. Ales have a lot going on; lagers are too clean. I like to discover interesting things in my music, rather than have the interesting things just thrust at me.
You also don't really need the metal aesthetic to be heavy. I like the metal aesthetic, and for me, the best metal bands are the ones that use the aesthetic to enhance the music. Most bad bands are more inclined to just look the part. You don't need long hair to be metal; it just often happens that way. Bruce Dickinson has short hair these days, but nobody's going to tell The Bruce that he's not metal.
EDIT: One of the big reasons I don't like black metal, by the way, is because it takes itself far too seriously, to the point of pretentiousness. This blog really sums up black metal perfectly.
The icy tendrils of despair damn those trapped beneath the surface to an eternity of sorrows and woe.
Also, they're really fucking tasty.
The guy is a genius.
They perform their shows on the floor instead of on stages, with the audience surrounding them.
Not metal, but if you want to see a bass/drums band done right see Clatter.