First - Yes, every genre under the sun isn't listed. I picked the most popular 8 and left the 9th option open as Other in an attempt to make everyone as happy as possible.

So yea, which genre has, in your mind, put out the most consistent quality of music overall? Each genre has it's great albums and the ones we'd all rather forget so now it's up to you to decide.

One final note, Consistent doesn't mean "constantly good". A genre can just as easily put out consistently sub-par albums. I'm interested to see how everyone interprets this poll because of that...

Its noit from ghenre its from band playing skills, quality, record co, studio, mixing so band X live will suck, but band Opeth live is not studio but will do prof show, same Iron maiden, dark tranqility, arch enemy etc , all depends of band playing skills, how much money thay can pay for studio, what experts mix sound etc, all costs so ....

Agreed, but try to not look at it from the point of an individual band. Of all the genres you listen to which of them has ,in your opinion, had the most consistent level of quality? Whether that level of quality is high or low it does not matter.

For example, someone may say that Thrash has always been very consistent in quality while another may think that Thrash is either brilliant or mind numbing.

I'd say Prog personally. I'm a fan of most of the genres mentioned, but most of them have either incredibly brilliant albums, incredibly average albums and incredibly shit albums. Prog is the same, to a lesser extent, with the majority of prog bands out there being dream theater or pain of salvation clones.

Good ole' heavy metal is the most consistent in quality. All the other genres tend to have their share of boring/noisy/trendy bands, but most traditional heavy metal bands are pretty good in my opinion. Not to say it's always perfect, but more-so than other genres.

Probably doom, purely because it often seems as though it's exempt from the judgement of originality. Whereas other non-doom bands are often chastised for sounding like others, doom seems to consistently bring out the same types of band and music without being penalised for it. Particularly funeral doom come to think of it, in the many years it's been around there doesn't seem to have been much evolution (I'm sure this is where the doom enthusiasts will jump right in to "correct" me) but as long as they keep churning out the slow, mournful riffs, perhaps with the odd atmospheric keyboard subtext for variety people are happy to praise them. Maybe because doom has never been a particularly cool genre, seems the style and its fans are happy to stick with what they know.

I'm not saying there aren't doom bands that show ingenuity, just there's little precedent to mark down doom bands that are more or less doing the same thing over and over; they seem to fall under a different criterion unlike "cool" genres like black and thrash where people tend to jump on them if sound vaguely like anything else.

For that reason doom, or at least the more extreme end, is one of the most consistent.

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:01

Probably doom, purely because it often seems as though it's exempt from the judgement of originality. Whereas other non-doom bands are often chastised for sounding like others, doom seems to consistently bring out the same types of band and music without being penalised for it. Particularly funeral doom come to think of it, in the many years it's been around there doesn't seem to have been much evolution (I'm sure this is where the doom enthusiasts will jump right in to "correct" me) but as long as they keep churning out the slow, mournful riffs, perhaps with the odd atmospheric keyboard subtext for variety people are happy to praise them. Maybe because doom has never been a particularly cool genre, seems the style and its fans are happy to stick with what they know.

I am a doom enthusiast, but I am not going to "correct" you there. Only some very slight evolution can be seen from time to time. But that is usually within the death/doom genre where bands either become more gothicy (MDB springs to mind) or more progressive (Poema Arcanus, Mar De Grises) But that is just a minor evolution. Because when major evolution occurs there, Anathema, Paradise Lost, The Gathering, Katatonia, they usually turn ieth pop or become boring.

Btw doom tendency not to try to evolve is what appeals to me about it.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:06

Btw doom tendency not to try to evolve is what appeals to me about it.

Oh definitely, I prefer it that way too, doom is different from other genres in that people tend to listen to it for a pretty specific reason. The idea of prog, avant garde etc. doom, ones that mess too much with it would put me off tbh.

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:11

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:06

Btw doom tendency not to try to evolve is what appeals to me about it.

Oh definitely, I prefer it that way too, doom is different from other genres in that people tend to listen to it for a pretty specific reason. The idea of prog, avant garde etc. doom, ones that mess too much with it would put me off tbh.

Same here.
And the tendency no to want to evolve makes it a consistent genre imo as well. Okay if you're looking for originality then doom is not your thing, but then again neither should prog be your thing then.
Maybe that is the reason prog is also consistent because they don't evolve either.

Doom has the advantage of never becoming a 'trend' as well. Black, Death, and Thrash have all gone through stages of huge popularity within metal that has caused many a new band to jump on the Bandwagon so to speak. For whatever reason Doom has avoided this and therefore has avoided a major drop in quality as well.

Written by Got Mayhem? on 26.06.2010 at 23:18

Doom has the advantage of never becoming a 'trend' as well. Black, Death, and Thrash have all gone through stages of huge popularity within metal that has caused many a new band to jump on the Bandwagon so to speak. For whatever reason Doom has avoided this and therefore has avoided a major drop in quality as well.

That probably helps as well.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:13

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:11

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:06

Btw doom tendency not to try to evolve is what appeals to me about it.

Oh definitely, I prefer it that way too, doom is different from other genres in that people tend to listen to it for a pretty specific reason. The idea of prog, avant garde etc. doom, ones that mess too much with it would put me off tbh.

Same here.
And the tendency no to want to evolve makes it a consistent genre imo as well. Okay if you're looking for originality then doom is not your thing, but then again neither should prog be your thing then.
Maybe that is the reason prog is also consistent because they don't evolve either.

indeed, and perhaps it's because I don't listen to it but progressive music has always confused me; how can it be progressive if it doesn't evolve and all the bands end up sounding the same? Kinda defeats the idea of the idea of progressive. Like Opeth have barely changed their sound in 15+ years but they're still considered progressive. It's all pretty off topic really anyhow.

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:20

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:13

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:11

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:06

indeed, and perhaps it's because I don't listen to it but progressive music has always confused me; how can it be progressive if it doesn't evolve and all the bands end up sounding the same? Kinda defeats the idea of the idea of progressive. Like Opeth have barely changed their sound in 15+ years but they're still considered progressive. It's all pretty off topic really anyhow.

Agreed about the Prog... I basically came to the same conclusion on my OP here: http://www.metalstorm.net/forum/topic.php?topic_id=21828&board_page=2

Written by Got Mayhem? on 26.06.2010 at 23:27

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:20

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:13

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:11

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:06

indeed, and perhaps it's because I don't listen to it but progressive music has always confused me; how can it be progressive if it doesn't evolve and all the bands end up sounding the same? Kinda defeats the idea of the idea of progressive. Like Opeth have barely changed their sound in 15+ years but they're still considered progressive. It's all pretty off topic really anyhow.

Agreed about the Prog... I basically came to the same conclusion on my OP here: http://www.metalstorm.net/forum/topic.php?topic_id=21828&board_page=2

Yeah, I guess prog and progressive in the contexts we know are simply neologisms that don't actually mean what they say do. Like "industrial" black metal, melodic "death" metal etc.

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:32

Written by Got Mayhem? on 26.06.2010 at 23:27

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:20

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:13

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:11

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:06

indeed, and perhaps it's because I don't listen to it but progressive music has always confused me; how can it be progressive if it doesn't evolve and all the bands end up sounding the same? Kinda defeats the idea of the idea of progressive. Like Opeth have barely changed their sound in 15+ years but they're still considered progressive. It's all pretty off topic really anyhow.

Agreed about the Prog... I basically came to the same conclusion on my OP here: http://www.metalstorm.net/forum/topic.php?topic_id=21828&board_page=2

Yeah, I guess prog and progressive in the contexts we know are simply neologisms that don't actually mean what they say do. Like "industrial" black metal, melodic "death" metal etc.

By their very nature, genres contain music that sounds similar. Having a progressive (or avantgarde or alternative) genre is at worst an oxymoron and at best means "these bands all sound different from other bands in the same way."

Written by Hrothdane on 27.06.2010 at 05:54

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:32

Written by Got Mayhem? on 26.06.2010 at 23:27

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:20

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:13

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.06.2010 at 23:11

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:06

indeed, and perhaps it's because I don't listen to it but progressive music has always confused me; how can it be progressive if it doesn't evolve and all the bands end up sounding the same? Kinda defeats the idea of the idea of progressive. Like Opeth have barely changed their sound in 15+ years but they're still considered progressive. It's all pretty off topic really anyhow.

Agreed about the Prog... I basically came to the same conclusion on my OP here: http://www.metalstorm.net/forum/topic.php?topic_id=21828&board_page=2

Yeah, I guess prog and progressive in the contexts we know are simply neologisms that don't actually mean what they say do. Like "industrial" black metal, melodic "death" metal etc.

By their very nature, genres contain music that sounds similar. Having a progressive (or avantgarde or alternative) genre is at worst an oxymoron and at best means "these bands all sound different from other bands in the same way."

I always thought progressive metal referred to bands attempting to combine the sound of classic progressive rock and heavy metal, so really that genre has always tried to sound like music already in existence. The truly progressive aka experimental bands can be found in multiple genres (if they can even fit in one)...

The poster child of progressive metal, Dream Theater, show this stagnance more than anyone...
with members in Liquid Tension Experiment (who actually experiment with music sometimes) I don't understand how they continue to be satisfied copying themselves under the DT name.

Although the constant pursuit of uniqueness for uniqueness's sake can turn a lot of people off, as I read in Marcel's and J.O.O.E.'s posts, I too, can also appreciate solid, consistent quality music that stays within it's own disciplined boundaries. Sometimes I just get musical ADHD and like to hear bands that hold my interest and present the unexpecTed.

My Personal opinion is power (And extreme power), i pretty much think that power is made out of the best qualitys of every other genre, and unlike death, black, thrash and others it doesent have a usually all put together sound, it stands out the most i think all so, every genre has a pretty much same guitar and drum sound (aside from doom and black witch don't have big differences, but thier there) listien to a song from every genre in a sitting then develope a compairison you'll know what i am talking about
and i love the fact that it usually has a sinister sound that sends a chill up your spin and is so beutiful, and has such grace that it simotamuosly calms your nerves
but that is just me

sorry for all the spelling mistakes

To me it's prog. I feel that my favourite bands from that genre are pretty consistent and I haven't yet come across a really horrible prog band.

Written by Autius on 27.06.2010 at 12:02

My Personal opinion is power (And extreme power), i pretty much think that power is made out of the best qualitys of every other genre, and unlike death, black, thrash and others it doesent have a usually all put together sound, it stands out the most i think all so, every genre has a pretty much same guitar and drum sound (aside from doom and black witch don't have big differences, but thier there) listien to a song from every genre in a sitting then develope a compairison you'll know what i am talking about
and i love the fact that it usually has a sinister sound that sends a chill up your spin and is so beutiful, and has such grace that it simotamuosly calms your nerves

Let's say I totally disagree. Powermetal sucks and gathers the worst of everything you can find in metal. It's lacking in every department.

As for sound and bands sounding all the same, no metal genre is more plagued by genericness and mediocrity than Euroflowermetal.
If you want to speak about 'consistent in quality', there's only one way I consider PM as consistent: you can count on this genre to suck as bad from band to band, album to album.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.06.2010 at 23:13

And the tendency no to want to evolve makes it a consistent genre imo as well. Okay if you're looking for originality then doom is not your thing, but then again neither should prog be your thing then.
Maybe that is the reason prog is also consistent because they don't evolve either.

Like I said a few times, better a certain level of stagnation than devolution. At least it ensures a level of quality, instead of turning into pure suckage. An old fornulae well done and executed is much more enjoying than experimentation for the sake of it that leads only to a fucking mess. Lots of people complain all the time that metal is too stagnant or doesn't evolve enough but I think they are asking way too much. Pretty much everything has been done already so it's unrealistic to expect new stuff entirely original all the time.
Trying to reinvent the wheel by giving it the shape of a hexagon only makes it roll less smoothly.

It's also a reason why I like Black Metal so much. Because, in general, it remains faithful to the old metal spirit and keeps a classic metal sound, instead of trying to 'modernize' itself - like Death Metal did and ended as a genre plagued by soulless and fake sounding music or Powermetal changed its sound so much it doesn't even sound as metal anymore but like pop music. (though you can find many examples of BM bands that changed completely or try to appeal to teenagers who listen more to -core bands)
I don't know how to explain it but Black Metal is the only genre in which I still can feel the old 'metal' feeling today. In other genres, I sometimes like the old stuff but I almost never get into new stuff. For some reason, it usually leaves me indifferent, failing to give me any feeling.

Written by Lord_Regnier on 27.06.2010 at 19:36

It's also a reason why I like Black Metal so much. Because, in general, it remains faithful to the old metal spirit and keeps a classic metal sound, instead of trying to 'modernize' itself

I think bands such as Shining and Lifelover are modern forms of Black Metal.

Written by Warman on 27.06.2010 at 19:43

Written by Lord_Regnier on 27.06.2010 at 19:36

It's also a reason why I like Black Metal so much. Because, in general, it remains faithful to the old metal spirit and keeps a classic metal sound, instead of trying to 'modernize' itself

I think bands such as Shining and Lifelover are modern forms of Black Metal.

I don't listen to suicidal or depressive Black Metal.

Written by Warman on 27.06.2010 at 19:43

Written by Lord_Regnier on 27.06.2010 at 19:36

It's also a reason why I like Black Metal so much. Because, in general, it remains faithful to the old metal spirit and keeps a classic metal sound, instead of trying to 'modernize' itself

I think bands such as Shining and Lifelover are modern forms of Black Metal.

Shining? Nothing modern about their sound. As for Lifelover, sorry, but call they are the epitome of what goes wrong when bands try to experiment just to experiment. A black metal version of Coldplay and even a crappy one at that

Written by Lord_Regnier on 27.06.2010 at 18:48

Written by Autius on 27.06.2010 at 12:02

My Personal opinion is power (And extreme power), i pretty much think that power is made out of the best qualitys of every other genre, and unlike death, black, thrash and others it doesent have a usually all put together sound, it stands out the most i think all so, every genre has a pretty much same guitar and drum sound (aside from doom and black witch don't have big differences, but thier there) listien to a song from every genre in a sitting then develope a compairison you'll know what i am talking about
and i love the fact that it usually has a sinister sound that sends a chill up your spin and is so beutiful, and has such grace that it simotamuosly calms your nerves

Let's say I totally disagree. Powermetal sucks and gathers the worst of everything you can find in metal. It's lacking in every department.

As for sound and bands sounding all the same, no metal genre is more plagued by genericness and mediocrity than Euroflowermetal.
If you want to speak about 'consistent in quality', there's only one way I consider PM as consistent: you can count on this genre to suck as bad from band to band, album to album.

*yawn* Oh look. Someone says something praising power metal and on metalstorm and one of the extreme metal geezers decides to respond with a generic and pedantic rant about power metal. I've NEVER seen that before. Its Lord_Regnier too. I seem to remember him saying he used to like power metal when he was young, so now he's ranting at a 14 year old that likes power metal. Hm.... Too bad really. Lord_Regnier used make critical observations on power metal bands that had substance and credibility (Jon Schaffer is out of ideas, Tobias Sammet has become a big-headed asshole, Rhapsody reached their peak years ago, etc...) rather than just throwing around generic platitudes.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 27.06.2010 at 19:55

Shining? Nothing modern about their sound.

I think they sound pretty modern, at least their music stands out.

Written by Warman on 27.06.2010 at 21:07

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 27.06.2010 at 19:55

Shining? Nothing modern about their sound.

I think they sound pretty modern, at least their music stands out.

Yes their music does stand out, but so does Watain's and I wouldn't call them modern either.

Gotta say doom metal, because it's pretty hard to screw up. Hell when I first started playing guitar I came up with some pretty badass doom metal riffs just by messing around. And Doom Over The World by Reverend Bizarre was the first metal song I taught myself how to play on guitar. Doom is simple, yet catchy.

I'd go with thrash. Most thrash bands know how to play their instruments, and as long as they write decent headbangable riffs, it's good to me. Being one who doesn't care too much about orininality, thrash would be most consistent. Old school death would be on par with thrash, but brutal death and slam death are seldom done properly, coming off as brutally boring generally rather than bruatally heavy. Originality isn't that important for me, but in slam death, where just about every band uses the exact same slams mutliple times in an album, it gets old fast.

Written by [user id=111774] on 23.04.2011 at 03:56

I'd go with thrash. Most thrash bands know how to play their instruments, and as long as they write decent headbangable riffs, it's good to me. Being one who doesn't care too much about orininality, thrash would be most consistent.

I hope you don't include the 90s, when you speak about consistency. Because Thrash was almost dead in the 90s and the little amount of stuff released pretty much sucked. Forget the 90s, when talking about Thrash.

My opinion is Thrash can be a consistent genre musically but vocals are very often a problem for me. Many, many times I like the music but hate vocals. I think most of the time vocals suck in Thrash. So bad, it spoils everything.

Written by RavenKing on 23.04.2011 at 04:28

Written by [user id=111774] on 23.04.2011 at 03:56

I'd go with thrash. Most thrash bands know how to play their instruments, and as long as they write decent headbangable riffs, it's good to me. Being one who doesn't care too much about orininality, thrash would be most consistent.

I hope you don't include the 90s, when you speak about consistency. Because Thrash was almost dead in the 90s and the little amount of stuff released pretty much sucked. Forget the 90s, when talking about Thrash.

My opinion is Thrash can be a consistent genre musically but vocals are very often a problem for me. Many, many times I like the music but hate vocals. I think most of the time vocals suck in Thrash. So bad, it spoils everything.

Well, to my knowledge, most thrash bands in the 90's didn't even release thrash metal; they released groove/nu/thrash/shit hybrid albums or commercial hard rock(or in Megadeth's case, commercial pop). The small amount of thrash I do know from the 90's isn't bad, and some is pretty good-Dekapitator's debut and Sindrome's second demo for example. But yes, you are right, I wasn't thinking about the 90's when I voted for thrash.

As for the vocals, vocals aren't all that important to me, so bad thrash vocalists don't bug me. It makes sense that some people can be turned off by them of course-Many thrash vocalists really do just shout.