Here's the scenario:
You have a friend who wants to hear a song that you feel is representative of a certain type of metal. They've heard lots about the subgenre, but they want you to recommend just one song that, in your opinion, incorporates most of the essential elements of the aforementioned subgenre that they can listen to and make a reasonably informed decision about whether or not that particular style does it for them (i.e. if they like the song, you think there's a fair chance they'll find quite a few bands they like within that subgenre, and if they don't like the song, you feel they probably won't like the subgenre on the whole).

Here are my choices:
Heavy Metal - 22 Acacia Avenue (Iron Maiden).
Doom Metal - Solitude (Candlemass).
Speed Metal - Majesty (Blind Guardian).
Thrash Metal - Angel of Death (Slayer).
Death Metal - Leprosy (Death).
Black Metal - In the Mist by the Hills (Satyricon).
Folk Metal - Journey Man (Korpiklaani).
Viking Metal - Sweoland Conqueror (Thyrfing).
Power Metal - Eagle Fly Free (Helloween).

(N.B. This list only incorporates genres that I like. I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending a song from a genre I'm not a fan of myself, e.g. Progressive Metal. Furthermore, the bands and songs listed are not necessarily my favourites from each genre; I just feel they give a good feel for the genre as a whole.)

Thoughts?

Heeyy, this sounds fun! I only have one recommendation.

Heavy Metal - The Wickerman (Iron Maiden)

Other than that, I don't listen to enough of the other genres to suggest anything, but I would totally put that song down for Heavy Metal.

Heavy Metal: Holy Diver - by Dio (I would've put a song by Maiden but everyone's gonna do that so fuck it)
Sludge Metal: A Horse Called Golgotha - by Baroness
Death Metal: Blasphemy - by Morbid Angel
Technical Death Metal: On The Shores Of Ithaka - by Quo Vadis
Thrash Metal: Strike Of The Beast - by Exodus
Power Metal: Eagle Fly Free - by Helloween
Folk Metal: Trollhammaren - by Finntroll


Yeah I guess thats it.

I wouldn't say Baroness and Quo Vadis exemplify those genres myself. Baroness is Sludge-lite if anything and Quo have too much melo(suffix) in their music.

I'd certainly go for Solitude where doom is concerned though.

Why do people list tech death as a separate genre to death?

Heavy Metal: Painkiller - Judas Priest
Doom Metal: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Speed Metal: Fast As A Shark - Accept
Thrash Metal: Hell Awaits - Slayer
Progressive Metal: Pull Me Under - Dream Theater
Death Metal: Zombie Ritual - Death
Melodic Death Metal: Beast Of Man - Arch Enemy
Black Metal: Freezing Moon - Mayhem
Folk Metal: The Widdershins Jig - Skyclad
Euro Power Metal: Ride The Sky - Helloween
US Power Metal: Travel In Stygian - Iced Earth
Grind: Reek Of Putrefaction - Carcass

Written by Guib on 09.09.2011 at 18:57

Heavy Metal: Holy Diver - by Dio (I would've put a song by Maiden but everyone's gonna do that so fuck it)

Hahaha, very good call, Dio was a close runner up for me.

Heavy Metal: Saxon - Wheels of Steel
Speed Metal: Anvil - 666
Doom Metal: Candlemass - Solitude
Thrash Metal: Metallica - Seek and Destroy
Progressive Metal: Dream Theater - Pull Me Under
Glam Metal: Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
Black Metal: Bathory - Hades
Nu Metal: Slipknot - Wait and Bleed
Death Metal: Death - Scream Bloody Gore
Power Metal: Helloween - I Want Out
Metalcore: Killswitch Engage - The End of Heartache
Sludge Metal: Mastodon - Blood and Thunder
Industrial Metal: Ministry - Stigmata
Groove Metal: Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Alternative Metal: Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun

Doom Metal: Candlemass - Solitude.
Death Metal: Entombed - Left Hand Path.
Black Metal: Darkthrone - Paragon Belial.
Thrash Metal: Exodus - And Then There Were None.
Prog Metal: Dream Theater - Pull Me Under (I dont like Dream Theater but this song is a staple)
Folk Metal: Skyclad - The Widdershins Jig.
Grindcore: Napalm Death - Display to Me....

Atmospheric: Agalloch - In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion
Heavy: Iron Maiden - Number Of The Beast
Melodic Death: Amon Amarth - Valhall Awaits Me
Power: Gamma Ray - Valley Of The Kings
Progressive: Dream Theater - Pull Me Under
Symphonic: Epica - Mother Of Light

That's for the genres I listen to usually. I'm unsure about Melodic Death though, a bit, since it's kind of folky, which not all MD songs are of course.

Viking Metal : Bathory - One Rode To Asa Bay.
Symphonic Metal : Therion - Adulruna Rediviva.
Gothic Metal : Virgin Black - Museum Of Iscariot.
Doom Metal : Candlemass - Demons Gate.
Black Metal : Immortal - Blashyrkh(Mighty Ravendark).
Progressive Metal(?) : Opeth - The Moor.
Can't pick just one for heavy, power or thrash.

I'd say that Toxik's Heart Attack is the definitive technical thrash song. As for black metal, Under a Funeral Moon of course. Can't think of a song for any of the others.

EDIT: After an extensive period of deep contemplation, I must say that Marduk's The Sun Has Failed may very well bethe song that best defines black metal.

Epic Doom - Solitude by Candlemass (nothing to explain)

Extreme Doom - Circle by Esoteric (taken from, if not the best, than one of the top 5 best extreme doom albums, shows a great genre fusion and is just amazing as fuck)

Gothic - Days of Nothing by The Foreshadowing (while it may not be the best gothic metal song I've heard, it's 100% pure, non-conformist gothic done exceptionally well, perfectly suited to show someone what this genre is)

Death - I am Morbid by Morbid Angel (trololololol) Seriously though, I have to go with Cannibal Corpse's Fucked with A Knife. Primitive and ultra brutal.

Melodic Death - With Oden on Our Side by Amon Amarth (catchy and epic as hell)

Black - (Under) The Pagan Megalith by Gorgoroth (primitive, raw, chaotic with evil oozing out of every pore. The prime example of classic black)

(non-extreme) Industrial - Weisses Fleisch by Rammstein (not much to explain)

Power - Center of the Universe by Kamelot (power doesn't get any more... power-y than this. Unless we're talking ultra-cheesy power, then Emerald Sword)

If I think of something else, I'll EDIT the post.

Written by Guest on 09.09.2011 at 19:06

I wouldn't say Baroness and Quo Vadis exemplify those genres myself. Baroness is Sludge-lite if anything and Quo have too much melo(suffix) in their music.

I'd certainly go for Solitude where doom is concerned though.

Kinda agree with that. When I started listening to sludge, or the bands listed as sludge, Baroness was definitely a different type of offering. Kinda stood out as different in whatever else is dubbed as sludge.

Written by Guest on 09.09.2011 at 19:06

I wouldn't say Baroness and Quo Vadis exemplify those genres myself. Baroness is Sludge-lite if anything and Quo have too much melo(suffix) in their music.

I'd certainly go for Solitude where doom is concerned though.

Baroness IS sludge metal even if they have a different approach and its exactly why I picked them, Im not gonna pick a generic as fuck band like most of the sludge . and for Quo Vadis, its pure TDM doesn't matter if its melodic or not I mean Arsis is melodic and its still tdm -_-

Written by Guib on 10.09.2011 at 19:20


Baroness IS sludge metal even if they have a different approach and its exactly why I picked them, Im not gonna pick a generic as fuck band like most of the sludge . and for Quo Vadis, its pure TDM doesn't matter if its melodic or not I mean Arsis is melodic and its still tdm -_-

Yet Baroness, Quo Vadis and Arsis are not representative of the genre and don't incorporate common elements (what this thread is exactly about). You'd be like "Hey dude, wanna listen to some sludge? Listen to Baroness, they sound nothing like the vast majority of sludge metal but... err... yeah just listen to them"

Written by Guest on 10.09.2011 at 19:26

Written by Guib on 10.09.2011 at 19:20


Baroness IS sludge metal even if they have a different approach and its exactly why I picked them, Im not gonna pick a generic as fuck band like most of the sludge . and for Quo Vadis, its pure TDM doesn't matter if its melodic or not I mean Arsis is melodic and its still tdm -_-

Yet Baroness, Quo Vadis and Arsis are not representative of the genre and don't incorporate common elements (what this thread is exactly about). You'd be like "Hey dude, wanna listen to some sludge? Listen to Baroness, they sound nothing like the vast majority of sludge metal but... err... yeah just listen to them"

you know you don't have to SOUND like the vast majority to be it -_- its exactly why I love em more than any other sludge band cos they don't sound like THE VAST MAJORITY. I love Kylesa also for that. and for Quo, one of the few TDM band who learned not to get lost in a big blurr of useless sound and create actual melodies out of complexity, im sorry my friend but that quite represent it at least for QUO. maybe some people don't agree with baroness but its my opinion and its still a sludge metal band. We're not here to discuss if this bands part of that genre or not, in fact both bands that I mentioned are part of the genre I listed.

Written by Guib on 10.09.2011 at 19:32



you know you don't have to SOUND like the vast majority to be it -_- its exactly why I love em more than any other sludge band cos they don't sound like THE VAST MAJORITY. I love Kylesa also for that. and for Quo, one of the few TDM band who learned not to get lost in a big blurr of useless sound and create actual melodies out of complexity, im sorry my friend but that quite represent it at least for QUO. maybe some people don't agree with baroness but its my opinion and its still a sludge metal band. We're not here to discuss if this bands part of that genre or not, in fact both bands that I mentioned are part of the genre I listed.

Still totally not what the thread is about. You seemed to have confused it with this one: http://metalstorm.net/forum/topic.php?topic_id=24957

Written by Guest on 10.09.2011 at 19:39

Written by Guib on 10.09.2011 at 19:32



you know you don't have to SOUND like the vast majority to be it -_- its exactly why I love em more than any other sludge band cos they don't sound like THE VAST MAJORITY. I love Kylesa also for that. and for Quo, one of the few TDM band who learned not to get lost in a big blurr of useless sound and create actual melodies out of complexity, im sorry my friend but that quite represent it at least for QUO. maybe some people don't agree with baroness but its my opinion and its still a sludge metal band. We're not here to discuss if this bands part of that genre or not, in fact both bands that I mentioned are part of the genre I listed.

Still totally not what the thread is about. You seemed to have confused it with this one: http://metalstorm.net/forum/topic.php?topic_id=24957

No man I totally understood it -_- totally.

The evidence against you is overwhelming, unfortunately.

Written by @gent_-_orange on 09.09.2011 at 22:56
Death Metal: Entombed - Left Hand Path

Great pick. They can from this know both the extended, almost proggers, and the more basic grinders. Perhaps hypocritically, I disagreed with Leprosy... I'd select a slightly more basic song from that album, like Plug, Left or Casket.

Someone put both Pantera - Cowboys and Metallica - Seek for different sub-styles... that's right, but, I feel a fair chunk of early Met is quite close to groove itself. I'd shy away from Slayer considering their extreme emphasis on non-diatonic music ('86 onwards, anyway). Kill 'em All is a good album for thrash, though... I'd probably go with Metal Militia, though the lyrical themes aren't entirely representative. Phantom Lord, maybe. Production of this album, quite decent for its time, is also an important factor.

Groove is a weird one, aside from Pantera I don't really like the style, yet I love their song Slaughtered and that's probably the one I would use as an archetype.

As usual I have qualms and I'm sure I'll have many more with the "melodic death" issue but I'll hold my tongue for now.

Doom... Sabbath and Candle may be the best... Cathedral also had some great examples in the early '90s. Their Phantasmagoria is unbeatable for stoner/doom. Or prog... no, probably not.

Kind of surprised re: Ange's picks for speed v heavy... ...I expect this will be a fairly controversial topic. Where does one style end, and the other begin?

Written by Guib on 10.09.2011 at 19:20

Baroness IS sludge metal even if they have a different approach and its exactly why I picked them, Im not gonna pick a generic as fuck band like most of the sludge . and for Quo Vadis, its pure TDM doesn't matter if its melodic or not I mean Arsis is melodic and its still tdm -_-

Written by Guest on 10.09.2011 at 19:26

Yet Baroness, Quo Vadis and Arsis are not representative of the genre and don't incorporate common elements (what this thread is exactly about). You'd be like "Hey dude, wanna listen to some sludge? Listen to Baroness, they sound nothing like the vast majority of sludge metal but... err... yeah just listen to them"

By that logic I'm totally writing this:
Opeth - The Leper Affinity (Death)
Alcest - Percées De Lumière (Black)

Yeah, just as valid as Baroness tbh. I mean sure, Alcest has some black metal in it, who cares abouthow tiny the black part is, it defines the genre indeed!

In that case I'm putting !T.O.O.H.! down for grindcore too. Fuck the rules! Stick it to the man!

@Guib: what do you mean exactly by saying " not gonna pick a generic as fuck band like most of the sludge"
I'm interested to know what's "generic as fuck sludge" to you.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 10.09.2011 at 20:18

@Guib: what do you mean exactly by saying " not gonna pick a generic as fuck band like most of the sludge"
I'm interested to know what's "generic as fuck sludge" to you.

Me too, considering his fave genres seem to be thrash and tech-death. Nothing "generic" about the bands coming out of those genres these days. No sir

Written by Syk on 10.09.2011 at 19:47
Kind of surprised re: Ange's picks for speed v heavy... ...I expect this will be a fairly controversial topic. Where does one style end, and the other begin?

I take it you mean me? lol I know exactly what you mean, and I did wrestle with myself with that choice in particular. "Painkiller" definitely borders on being speed metal, and it's more intense than most standard heavy metal for sure. I guess I went with that, because when I think of "heavy metal", Priest, and especially that particular song always comes into my mind first!

As for my choice for speed... well, I think it's fairly obvious that "Fast As A Shark" is speed metal, although it is true that genre is not as rigidly defined as most others. Megadeth were once reffered to as speed metal, (others reffered to them as thrash) wheras some regard early Blind Guardian and Helloween as being speed metal. (although others regard that as power metal) So yeah, sometimes it's tough to decipher exactly what genre certain bands/songs fit into. hehe xD

Written by Angelic Storm on 10.09.2011 at 20:38

Ah, very understandable. I think I've said elsewhere, I much prefer Nostradamus as a song, despite it being an obvious rehash of Painkiller, to some degree at least... and thinking about it now, not being quite so intense, it may be a prime example of definitive heavy metal (alongside/aside from material from the '80s/late '70s). Plus with the intro including singing of another language, that could prove a further point of conversation... go further in discriminating what should or shouldn't be recommended/sought after.

Hmm... there's always the danger... if you recommend the very best of what a genre has to offer up first, the listener might just get more & more disappointed as they explore more from it

Suddenly into my mind, for doom, come bashing: Anathema - Restless Oblivion, Shroud of Frost and/or Dying Wish from The Silent Enigma. Think I've already mentioned that too, in a beginner's forum thread on the subject... I might just be naming my favourites now

(Still speaking of favourites, and of Halford...
Stoner? Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit of the Summer or probably any Kyuss...
Metalcore, somewhat favourite, no Halford: As I Lay Dying - Forever)

Written by Judas on 09.09.2011 at 06:40


Heavy Metal - 22 Acacia Avenue (Iron Maiden).

Love this one. It defines the period when Heavy Metal was strong, and is a solid Adrian Smith tune, who i hold high respects for. Such a catchy song.

Written by Slayer666 on 10.09.2011 at 09:52

Death - I am Morbid by Morbid Angel

+1

You don't like Too Extreme?

Written by Guest on 10.09.2011 at 07:05

As for black metal, Under a Funeral Moon of course.

Well, Immortal's "One by One" outdo "Under A Funeral Moon" completely.