Metal Thread V - Defenders of the Faith

[Keld Denar]

Omg omg omg omg, I missed the Blind Guardian discussion...

I'd say "A Night at the Opera", simply because The Soulforged is FREAKING AMAZING. The rest of the album could be complete drek (which its not), and that one song would carry it all by itself.

[AlhazTheRed]

I find it truly bizarre that fans of the longest-surviving genre of rock actually have to defend them(our)selves for being fans...

[Moff Chumley]

@^: Rockabilly? Surf Rock? Gonna have to be more specific.

Mogwai also comes off as much heavier when seen live. Possibly just because they play so damn loud - after having finished the first song, Stuart Braithwaite immediately complained that Danish law prohibited them from playing any louder, and suggested that we "stopped voting for such idiots". It was by far the loudest concert I've ever been to.

Sunn O))) said it best: "Maximum volume yields maximum results."

I wanna see Sunn O))), Boris, Mogwai, and MBV on the same billing, just to see who plays loudest.

[toasty]

Yeah, concerts are always better because they're louder, and its really, really awesome that way.

[PsychedelicBard]

I find it truly bizarre that fans of the longest-surviving genre of rock actually have to defend them(our)selves for being fans...

What do you mean with "defend themselves"?

[grimbold]

i just discovered doubleDrive they're a mix of metal and southern rock
the drummer is going to start working with Black Label Society

[Marillion]

Speaking of Red Sparowes, one of their former members was in this band Battle of Mice (note: listen to it *loud*). It's one of those rare post-metal bands with a female vocalist. And they couldn't have found a better fit; Julie Christmas is bats**t insane. She doesn't do guttural vocals or anything like that, but her intensity puts the likes of Angela Gossow to shame.

I fell asleep listening to Sleep and Dream. On repeat.

I don't know that I'll ever sleep again.

[grimbold]

I fell asleep listening to Sleep and Dream. On repeat.

I don't know that I'll ever sleep again.

once i fell asleep listening to alestorm
that was the most piratey night of my life

[Faulty]

If you like Axis of Perdition, Deathspell Omega is right up your alley. I've seen the two get compared a lot, most often because of their similar dedication to atmosphere and dissonance.

Can I just say that I love you for linking me to that song? Because Paracletus is one of the best Black Metal albums I've ever heard.

[eyeofsaulot]

I fell asleep listening to Sleep and Dream. On repeat.

I don't know that I'll ever sleep again.

Check out "At the Base of the Giant's Throat". I hope I’m not hyping it up to the point that it doesn’t achieve the desired effect, but when I first heard it, I was horrified by what happens at the end of the song. To be honest, I still have trouble listening to it.

Can I just say that I love you for linking me to that song? Because Paracletus is one of the best Black Metal albums I've ever heard.

I don't mind the love.

[Marillion]

Check out "At the Base of the Giant's Throat". I hope I’m not hyping it up to the point that it doesn’t achieve the desired effect, but when I first heard it, I was horrified by what happens at the end of the song. To be honest, I still have trouble listening to it.

No no, you're...yeah. I found that on my own, and...yeah.

Yeah.


Worst part is that the band will not talk about that song.

Yeah.

IMO, it should have been the last song of the album. Cave of Spleen is a great song, but as an ending, it's a little lackluster, whereas AtBotGT would end the story perfectly. But, that's post-metal for you.

[RedDeerJebediah]

Battle of Mice's "A Day of Nights" is one of the greatest things I've heard in a long while. Like... whoa

[grimbold]

Battle of Mice's "A Day of Nights" is one of the greatest things I've heard in a long while. Like... whoa

just checked it out
thats pretty cool

[Fireball.Man.Guy.]

Check out "At the Base of the Giant's Throat". I hope I’m not hyping it up to the point that it doesn’t achieve the desired effect, but when I first heard it, I was horrified by what happens at the end of the song. To be honest, I still have trouble listening to it.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT DO YOU WANT!!!"

i doubt I will ever sleep again.

[grimbold]

new BLS album tomorrow
i think ima explode

[Nameless]

Well, this is awesome.

[shiram]

Well, this is awesome.

I am quite sure that is is awesome, but....

"The Devin T...asturbator"
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Inside Out Music.

I will wait untill the albums are released to listen to them though, as I prefer to get the whole album feel, instead of just a single track. Plus gotta support Devin, who is selling spatulas to continue to make music.

[eyeofsaulot]

Well, this is awesome.

I'm even more excited for Ghost. I imagine it'll be like the mellower parts of Ki plus New Age.

[grimbold]

The new BLS album is amazing

[zeratul]

Hey so I just started a metal blog if anyone's interested. Reveiws, general thoughts on the metal scene, possibly some talk about stuff from other genres, ya know the classics. And my first post is basically all trashing screamo/metalcore, so I'm sure you'll all be happy .

http://zeratul-reviews.tumblr.com/

[Makensha]

Hey so I just started a metal blog if anyone's interested. Reveiws, general thoughts on the metal scene, possibly some talk about stuff from other genres, ya know the classics. And my first post is basically all trashing screamo/metalcore, so I'm sure you'll all be happy .

http://zeratul-reviews.tumblr.com/

So basically your complaint with the American metal scene is that it has nothing to do with metal? I would ask this on your blog, but I don't know how (or if its even possible).

But yeah, screamo doesn't really have much to do with metal, and metalcore is such a difficult genre to be innovative in (plus it attracts the same type of people) without, you know, losing what makes it metalcore. So it is rather natural for a metalhead to detest both.

And yeah, most lyrical content in that category are pretty much the same couple topics and vocabulary.

In other words: There isn't a problem with the NA metal scene. There barely IS a scene.

[ex cathedra]

zeratul: I disagree with several of your points for various reasons.

Firstly, Power Metal and Metalcore seem equally teenagery to me. I get that you might only like one of them, but that doesn't actually make one of them more mature than the other. Singing about witches and Thor and Tolkein is just for a different sort of teenager. There's nothing "slightly nerdy" about that Ensiferum photo. They're LARPing for a photo-op. Regardless of how much you like vikings, a group of adults doing that are a good deal more than slightly nerdy.

Secondly, it's Agalloch. Also, way to undersell NA metal. Acid Bath, Agalloch, Baroness, Converge, Fantomas, Isis, Kylesa, maudlin of the Well, Pelican, Russian Cirles, and Wolves in the Throne Room are all American.

There's not a problem with the American metal scene, per se. It's far better than any other modern metal scene (in terms of quality, though perhaps not popularity).

In my opinion, at least.

[zeratul]

zeratul: I disagree with several of your points for various reasons.

Firstly, Power Metal and Metalcore seem equally teenagery to me. I get that you might only like one of them, but that doesn't actually make one of them more mature than the other. Singing about witches and Thor and Tolkein is just for a different sort of teenager. There's nothing "slightly nerdy" about that Ensiferum photo. They're LARPing for a photo-op. Regardless of how much you like vikings, a group of adults doing that are a good deal more than slightly nerdy.

Secondly, it's Agalloch. Also, way to undersell NA metal. Acid Bath, Agalloch, Baroness, Converge, Fantomas, Isis, Kylesa, maudlin of the Well, Pelican, Russian Cirles, and Wolves in the Throne Room are all American.

There's not a problem with the American metal scene, per se. It's far better than any other modern metal scene (in terms of quality, though perhaps not popularity).

In my opinion, at least.

I guess it's just a difference in tastes. As I said at the beginning of the posts, the genres I vastly prefer are folk and power metal. With the screamo and metalcore comments I was focusing primarily on the metal thats well known within the US. If you ask most high schoolers about metal bands those are the sorts they're going to know about.

I'm aware of the american sludge metal scene but as it's fairly outside of my realm of interest (although I don't dislike it) and is rather underground, I forgot to mention it. Also I would argue that while folk and power metal are definitely nerdy that's part of what makes it so great, and I don't think it diminishes it in anyway. A lot of their lyrics are in my opinion more interesting due to the fantasy/historic tilt to them. Also the quality of the music in those genres is far superior to american metalcore and screamo. As for the last comment I simply disagree, since the only American metal bands I listen to with any regularity started in the 80s aside from Type O Negative.

EDIT: also yeah I haven't figured out how to enable comments on tumblr. If anyone could advise me in that area it would be much appreciated.

EDITEDIT: actually i just figured it out, comments can be made now

[Tazar]

In other words: There isn't a problem with the NA metal scene. There barely IS a scene.

Amen to that.

I go to a college with a couple thousand people and the only other metal fan I've been able to find so far is Swedish.

It's just not that popular over here.

[Moff Chumley]

Anything looks great compared to metalcore. Comparing the best Scandanavian metal to the worst American metal is a rather immature argument.

Firstly, Power Metal and Metalcore seem equally teenagery to me. I get that you might only like one of them, but that doesn't actually make one of them more mature than the other. Singing about witches and Thor and Tolkein is just for a different sort of teenager. There's nothing "slightly nerdy" about that Ensiferum photo. They're LARPing for a photo-op. Regardless of how much you like vikings, a group of adults doing that are a good deal more than slightly nerdy.

Wholehearted agreement from this corner. Just because you like something, doesn't make it inherently good. It just means you like it.

Secondly, it's Agalloch. Also, way to undersell NA metal. Acid Bath, Agalloch, Baroness, Converge, Fantomas, Isis, Kylesa, maudlin of the Well, Pelican, Russian Cirles, and Wolves in the Throne Room are all American.

There's not a problem with the American metal scene, per se. It's far better than any other modern metal scene (in terms of quality, though perhaps not popularity).

Further agreement. By the same token, not listening to something doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and not having mainstream popularity doesn't mean it shouldn't be ignored.

[grimbold]

Amen to that.

I go to a college with a couple thousand people and the only other metal fan I've been able to find so far is Swedish.

It's just not that popular over here.

i feel the same way
at my old school of about 800 there were about 3 metalheads none of whom were french
in paris i am lucky to see one person a day my age with hair as long as mine
and my hair is not actually that long

[zeratul]

Wholehearted agreement from this corner. Just because you like something, doesn't make it inherently good. It just means you like it.

While that's true and i do have some guilty pleasure music I listen to now and then, just because someone likes something also doesnt mean that it's bad or their judgement is necessarily skewed. I would argue that the music to which I was referring is in fact inherently better to what i was comparing it to on various levels. Yeah apologies about the sludge metal thing, basically just slipped my mind as It's something I don't listen to.

Anything looks great compared to metalcore. Comparing the best Scandanavian metal to the worst American metal is a rather immature argument.

It's also by far the most popular American metal music. If you walked up to someone on the street and asked them to name metal bands you'd get bullet for my valentine or underoath ages before someone mentioned High on Fire or Jucifer. I would agree with your comment where this not the case, however in this instance I was simply comparing the most popular form here to a popular form there.

[Leon]

Discovered today that Stratovarius have a new album out and i saw it in a Sanity of all places.

Listened to some of its tracks once i got home and i must have it but alas for the dire lack of money i am under.

Got the New Within Temptation album (Special Edition) last week for $2 so at least i have something new to listen to (Since the last CD i bought - Apocalyptica's new album turned out to be not that good)

Also on my Must Buy ASAP is Coat of Arms and the New Hammerfall

[ex cathedra]

It's also by far the most popular American metal music. If you walked up to someone on the street and asked them to name metal bands you'd get bullet for my valentine or underoath ages before someone mentioned High on Fire or Jucifer. I would agree with your comment where this not the case, however in this instance I was simply comparing the most popular form here to a popular form there.

Have you considered that high-schoolers might not be the best people to ask when looking for good music? Most people I know who listen to metal are more likely to name Cloudkicker, Dream Theater, Meshuggah, Mr. Bungle, Opeth, Periphery, and Rwake than Bullet For My Valentine.

[Faulty]

It's not why I popped by the thread, but before I get to my purpose I'd like to comment on this whole American Metal and etc. debate thingy.

First of all, Screamo has zip to do with Metal. Screamo is a type of Hardcore Punk. Emo(tive Hardcore Punk) grew out of Hardcore Punk, and Screamo took Emo and more or less made it loopier. This is Screamo.

As far as Metalcore goes, I think in most cases it's unfair to call a genre as a whole crap. I think Metalcore definitely has its problems, less related to its musical style and more simply due to its general cultural facticity (in the Satrean sense of the word). I think it's simply that it just became the genre of extreme Rock music that got latched on to and marketed to the Hot Topic set. Basically any genre of Metal, or music, however, has its artistic nadirs.

Also, as Aether said... no US scene wat? If your average Joe can afford and aquire a guitar in a country, it probably has a Metal scene, and as a large, developed nation, the US sure as hay has one. I took a break from Metal and only recently have come back to listening to it, and BM in particular, so I can't throw out any names from memory, but in the past I listened to more than my fair share of good Death and Black Metal from the US. And honestly I'd take that over the watered down pseudo-Death stuff that gets hawked out of Gothenburg.


Anyway, a number of pages back I asked for Black Metal recommendations. Since then I've been listening to a bunch of Black Metal, both new stuff and stuff I had but hadn't touched in ages. If anyone is interested in hearing about some of the stuff I've found, I'd be happy to share.

EDIT: Also any genre of music where grown people scowl and have lyrics about murder/Satan/dragons/being vikings or any mix there of is not a genre to be taken 100% seriously. I think the critique of scene tweens wearing "girl's" pants also has a homophobic/transphobic undercurrent that's uncomfortable. I don't think critiquing people's looks while defending the genre that popularized corpse paint is a valid argument anyway.