I've been a fan of metal for quite a few years now. Ever since I was younger I have simply found it to be the best sounding music because of the talent required and how it typically is filled with deep and insightful meanings within each song. I'm young at the age of 17 so I cant really call myself an experienced metal listener even though I do know a fair amount about it. I mean hell...Until the age of I think 9 or 10 I remember those days I thought Simple Plan and Blink 182 were the most heavy stuff I'd ever hear but then I ran into Lamb Of God and All That Remains and was then propelled into metal and I cant say I'd ever look back.

Nowadays I'll listen to almost any subgenre of metal with my favorite's being Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, and Djent if you consider it a subgenre ^^ and then my earlier years favorite of Metalcore now sitting along the bottom because it has been 'mainstreamed' through the overabundance of scene bands nowadays. Either way I'll listen and appreciate prettymuch every subgenre of metal (even though subgenres are kinda silly...it helps you find what you want in the very expansive styles of Metal ^^)


I try and keep myself as open minded as possible and I try and consider many different facts about various things in life. Dont get me started on religion, space, history, psychology, or any other in depth topic that has many explanations of points of view... I love those. Anyways, I have tried to get myself to like so much music over the years from many different genres (Prettymuch heard it all) but I just cant seem to find the reasons that anyone would like 99% of music outside of metal even when I try my hardest to appreciate the talent and work behind it. I know I just stated I like to stay open minded but with music I find this impossible. Every time I hear a song on the radio (Gotta love mom's and sisters who eat that garbage up) I cringe at how awful it is because every single song is about love/drugs/money/girls/cheating/etc and nothing ever changes. It's always the same typical lyrics and style with a CHART TOPPING HIT that lasts about a week before the next big thing rolls in. I mean do NONE of the listeners of mainstream music ever think for themselves and realize "Wow, this sounds like the chart topper last week. I swear they have the same everything" ... *NEW HIT SINGLE FEAT. INSERT GENERIC RAP ARTIST HERE*. Ugh. I hate mainstream the most because it hasnt been original since 20+ years ago (Huge thanks to MTV and the likes for putting it in the state it is in) because music has degenerated from Musical Talent > to > Stage Presence And Appeal. Do you look good and have zero original talent? Get rich with making another autotuned single.

It's the same story with Rap. Or Indie music (Alternative as they like to call their awful hipster crud). Country. Electronic. Whatever other genres really...

None of them work towards coming up with something new and original. Filled with hollow and dry lyrics. Metal isnt entirely free of songs that are pointless...some of those are the best, but I think that when your entire 'genre' is composed of emptiness there is something wrong. It loses the thing that makes it music. Music is hard to define really but I feel some of the agreed definitions are about how it is an expression (Of the soul even) and a representation of a persons talent with their voice or instruments. I find 99% of music past Metal to require next to nothing in terms of these skills. While there are many people in other genres who are talented at either or both it doesnt compare anywhere close to Metal.

Anyways...I figure because music is such a personal thing that it is the reason behind me feeling Metal>All but I cannot find any reasons why other music could be considered better in any way. The only exception to this is various ambient music (Sort of like http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2011/08/11/in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-scream-but-they-sure-as-hell-can-hear-you-rock/) that I see pop up from time to time on metal websites. Metal just has the largest variety of sounds and individual talent than any of the other genres combined. The only 100% of the time true exception to this would be true Classical music.

As much as I hate to be ignorant and beat my chest yelling "MY MUSIC IS THE BEST" can you really disagree with me that Metal....is?

It's not elitist to listen to music aside from metal and dislike it. I listen to almost only metal, because it sounds better to me than any other style of music. Most non metal I listen to is old school hardcore borderlining on crossover thrash.

Honestly if you think that it doesn't take talent and skill to create music apart from metal, you are quite daft. Sorry I know its blunt, but that's what the problem is with most listeners (metal or non metal) they all think their favourite genre takes the most talent and skill to make. It takes skill to play an instrument period! Doesn't matter if your instrument is a guitar or a laptop.

Written by Zealot644 on 25.08.2011 at 02:22

I cringe at how awful it is because every single song is about love/drugs/money/girls/cheating/etc and nothing ever changes. It's always the same typical lyrics and style with a CHART TOPPING HIT that lasts about a week before the next big thing rolls in. I mean do NONE of the listeners of mainstream music ever think for themselves and realize "Wow, this sounds like the chart topper last week. I swear they have the same everything"

Have you noticed how 50% of the metal bands today sound the same? Death, hatred, rebellion, satanism... all pretty much stick with the same themes when it comes to lyrics.

Written by Zealot644 on 25.08.2011 at 02:22

I find 99% of music past Metal to require next to nothing in terms of these skills. While there are many people in other genres who are talented at either or both it doesnt compare anywhere close to Metal.

Considering you are 17, I doubt you have really listened to a lot of music. I find it really funny when kids say that metal takes the most talent to play.

Written by Zealot644 on 25.08.2011 at 02:22

As much as I hate to be ignorant and beat my chest yelling "MY MUSIC IS THE BEST" can you really disagree with me that Metal....is?

As obama said... yes we can!

No one expects people to like all genres of music, its quite obvious that humans can't like everything in life.
So what, you can't listen to electronic, pop and rap, no one is asking you too. There are a thousand other people out there willing too. But saying that the music I listen to is the "best", "takes the most skill to play" etc is downright immature.
Listen and let listen (lame )

It seems you misunderstand the meaning of the word open-minded. That word does not you have to like music outside of metal or any metal subgenre. Open-minded means you have to give everything a fair chance.

Written by Zealot644 on 25.08.2011 at 02:22

Metal just has the largest variety of sounds and individual talent than any of the other genres combined. The only 100% of the time true exception to this would be true Classical music.

I used to think like that when I was your age. Now, after developing my taste in music, I feel we actually give too much credit to the individual talent of metal musicians. Don't get me wrong some of metal musicians are world-class players and compositors, but that applies to a VERY small group of musicians ( maybe 50-100 in the whole genre of metal ).
Same goes for vocalists and lyricists.

If you go (far) beyond the mainstream music industry, you'll find plenty of variety and technical proficiency in tons of other genres, as well es strong emotions. Even in rap, country, bluegrass, intelligent dance music, national folk etc...

Honestly, save this little rant of yours, 3, 4 years from now you're going to look back on it with a view based less on competitive relativity between genres of music.

Either I've matured, or I'm just too jaded at this point to give a fuck. Over the past couple years I learned to stop looking at it as an "us vs them" type thing in regards to music. Yes, I do consider myself a metalhead, but that's more of a term to express the fact that metal is my primary choice of music by a large margin, but I don't use it to strictly define my taste in music entirely.

Written by Zealot644 on 25.08.2011 at 02:22

As much as I hate to be ignorant and beat my chest yelling "MY MUSIC IS THE BEST" can you really disagree with me that Metal....is?

Yes, I can. Metal just moves me more than any other type of music, as it does yourself. Your only real solid back up for this viewpoint is technical proficiency. Admittedly, you might be right, few forms of music (maybe aside from jazz and classical) that place such a high value on it. I really don't see the point though. Music isn't sports. I don't care if the artist started playing yesterday, just as long as they can put a good song across. I really wish people would stop the wank-worship. Simple, stripped-down music can just be as powerful as multi-layered symphonies.

Lyrical content being deeper and more varied? Uhhh...Yeah, if you say so. Instead of repeating other people:

Written by Spirit Molecule on 25.08.2011 at 07:22

Have you noticed how 50% of the metal bands today sound the same? Death, hatred, rebellion, satanism... all pretty much stick with the same themes when it comes to lyrics.

So basically, your point falls flat, as by the sounds of it, you really lack any knowledge of the other genres you say metal is better than.

Quote:
It's the same story with Rap.

No, actually, it isn't. You seem to be judging solely from whats on the radio, there's plenty of thought put into more underground hip-hop. Even old school gangsta rap; yes, at this point it's become an overly packaged product, but at a time it actually held some truth. There was a time when the leading artists in this genre actually spoke of real life experiences, racial prejudice as well as life in the slums was something that actually connected to a lot of people. It's difficult for a lot of middle-class white kids to truly realize the societal significance some of this music had, hence why a lot of metal fans (lets be honest, a group consisting primarily of middle-class white kids) are so quick to dismiss it.

Quote:
Country.

You're thinking of shite pop-country like Garth Brookes and Shania Twain, aren't you? Check out some outlaw country. Even if you want to get back into the whole technical skill thing, check out Hank III, who is actually a pretty nuts guitarist. Outside of punk & metal, outlaw country is becoming a genre I'm getting really interested in.

What you're doing here is the equivalent of someone hearing an Iron Maiden song on the radio, then dismissing metal as a whole because a lot of it is focused on fantasy and over emphasis on technical proficiency rather than something based off of raw emotion and personal feelings & experience.

I was probably on a similar line of thinking when I was your age (you'll be amazed how much one can reshuffle their thinking in 5 years), but I stopped using metal and it's subgenres as an identity, and more of descriptor. Now I usually judge first, then categorize afterward.

Written by Spirit Molecule on 25.08.2011 at 07:22

Have you noticed how 50% of the metal bands today sound the same? Death, hatred, rebellion, satanism... all pretty much stick with the same themes when it comes to lyrics.

Satanism? Neither Iron Maiden nor Opeth nor Metallica nor Megadeth are even the slightest bit satanic. That's four of the five most popular bands on Metalstorm. Not 50%, is it? I could go on with Dream Theater, Blind Guardian, Nightwish and all the other big metal bands of today, but maybe you should do some research yourself.

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 11:56

Written by Spirit Molecule on 25.08.2011 at 07:22

Have you noticed how 50% of the metal bands today sound the same? Death, hatred, rebellion, satanism... all pretty much stick with the same themes when it comes to lyrics.

Satanism? Neither Iron Maiden nor Opeth nor Metallica nor Megadeth are even the slightest bit satanic. That's four of the five most popular bands on Metalstorm. Not 50%, is it? I could go on with Dream Theater, Blind Guardian, Nightwish and all the other big metal bands of today, but maybe you should do some research yourself.

He didn't necessarily say the bands themselves were strictly satanic, but a lot of lyrical content focuses on satanic and/or occult themes. And all of those bands you have listed have touched upon the topic of death, hatred, and rebellion at least once in their careers...Not sure about Nightwish or Dream Theater (not so familiar with those groups).

Written by Doc G. on 25.08.2011 at 12:09

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 11:56

Written by Spirit Molecule on 25.08.2011 at 07:22

Have you noticed how 50% of the metal bands today sound the same? Death, hatred, rebellion, satanism... all pretty much stick with the same themes when it comes to lyrics.

Satanism? Neither Iron Maiden nor Opeth nor Metallica nor Megadeth are even the slightest bit satanic. That's four of the five most popular bands on Metalstorm. Not 50%, is it? I could go on with Dream Theater, Blind Guardian, Nightwish and all the other big metal bands of today, but maybe you should do some research yourself.

He didn't necessarily say the bands themselves were strictly satanic, but a lot of lyrical content focuses on satanic and/or occult themes. And all of those bands you have listed have touched upon the topic of death, hatred, and rebellion at least once in their careers...Not sure about Nightwish or Dream Theater (not so familiar with those groups).

Opeth even started off as a more or less satanic death metal band when David Isberg started the band.

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 11:56

Satanism? Neither Iron Maiden nor Opeth nor Metallica nor Megadeth are even the slightest bit satanic. That's four of the five most popular bands on Metalstorm. Not 50%, is it? I could go on with Dream Theater, Blind Guardian, Nightwish and all the other big metal bands of today, but maybe you should do some research yourself.

Lol I know, satanism was thrown in there as well coz a lot of metal bands use satanic themes. I doubt you can argue with me here. You can give me bands that don't follow the fantasy,angst, rebellious, death and gore themes and I can give you ton of them that do. So whats your point?
You have to admit that most metal bands follow very similar lyrical themes. You wouldn't have a stereotype if it didn't exist.
I'm not saying there are bands that don't follow the norm when it comes to "metal" lyrics, but there is a huge chunk that does as well. By the way, this was in reply to his " Oh pop, rap etc all sound the same and they write about the same things" rant.

Heh, I see you guys already made it clear

Written by Doc G. on 25.08.2011 at 12:09

He didn't necessarily say the bands themselves were strictly satanic, but a lot of lyrical content focuses on satanic and/or occult themes. And all of those bands you have listed have touched upon the topic of death, hatred, and rebellion at least once in their careers...Not sure about Nightwish or Dream Theater (not so familiar with those groups).

True, which is why I only objected the satanism part of his comment. Most of the time when bands write about death, hatred and rebellion it has nothing to do with satanism.

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 12:44

Written by Doc G. on 25.08.2011 at 12:09

He didn't necessarily say the bands themselves were strictly satanic, but a lot of lyrical content focuses on satanic and/or occult themes. And all of those bands you have listed have touched upon the topic of death, hatred, and rebellion at least once in their careers...Not sure about Nightwish or Dream Theater (not so familiar with those groups).

True, which is why I only objected the satanism part of his comment. Most of the time when bands write about death, hatred and rebellion it has nothing to do with satanism.

So you basically nit-picked in order to twist around the point he was trying to make. Satanism/occult themes are popular topics amongst metal bands. He was merely emphasizing how hypocritical the opening post was by returning equally generalized stereotypes. Your retort seemed to give the impression you thought he was trying to state it as a strict rule.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.08.2011 at 12:21

Opeth even started off as a more or less satanic death metal band when David Isberg started the band.

Their logo did originally feature an inverted cross. But speaking in the present tense, Opeth have nothing to do with satanism, even though they mention Satan in some of their songs, they have never written any satanic lyrics.

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 12:50

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.08.2011 at 12:21

Opeth even started off as a more or less satanic death metal band when David Isberg started the band.

Their logo did originally feature an inverted cross. But speaking in the present tense, Opeth have nothing to do with satanism, even though they mention Satan in some of their songs, they have never written any satanic lyrics.

They did in their demo days.
But that's beside the point. Megadeth also had some more or less satanic type lyrics early on and it could be argued that even Iron Maiden had with a song such as Number Of The Beast.

But like has been said by both Doc and Spirit... it is stupid to generalize any music whatsoever based on a couple of bands. One could as easily generalize metal as one could rap, country etc. That was the entire point.

The Grand Conjuration sounds satanic enough for me tbh.

Written by Doc G. on 25.08.2011 at 12:47

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 12:44

True, which is why I only objected the satanism part of his comment. Most of the time when bands write about death, hatred and rebellion it has nothing to do with satanism.

So you basically nit-picked in order to twist around the point he was trying to make. Satanism/occult themes are popular topics amongst metal bands. He was merely emphasizing how hypocritical the opening post was by returning equally generalized stereotypes. Your retort seemed to give the impression you thought he was trying to state it as a strict rule.

If what he meant was that 50% of metal lyrics feature one of the themes he listed, not all of them, then I don't have anything to argue against there. I might have misunderstood his post to mean that 50 % feature all of the themes (including satanism), but that's hardly the same as deliberately twisting his words.

Well that settles it, we all misunderstood each other No reason to further procrastinate

Written by X-Ray Rod on 25.08.2011 at 12:55

The Grand Conjuration sounds satanic enough for me tbh.

It's definitely occult, but that doesn't make it satanic. I forgot about "Bad Omen" though. Pretty difficult to argue with that being satanic.

My advice to you would be to just listen to what you like and not feel compelled to compete with other genres or justify why it is that your music is the best. If it happens that metal and just metal is all you wanna hear, then just listen to metal and leave other people to listen to what they want. I think a lot of the metal elitism we see comes as a counterattack against the stereotypes and disdain aimed at the genre by mainstream music listeners who often label metal as "just noise" or "talentless screaming/shouting" etc. Honestly I do find it annoying when people are so ignorant and close minded all the time, but hopefully there will come a day when I'll stop caring, like some of the posters above have said has happened to them.

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 13:04

Written by X-Ray Rod on 25.08.2011 at 12:55

The Grand Conjuration sounds satanic enough for me tbh.

It's definitely occult, but that doesn't make it satanic. I forgot about "Bad Omen" though. Pretty difficult to argue with that being satanic.

The Conjurin I would regard as quite satanic with lyrics such as:
Welcome to out sanguinary sect of worship,
Feel at home in our black conventicle,
As we anathematise,
All of those who oppose us,
Don't summon the devil,
Don't call the priests,
If you need the strength,
The conjuring. Obey!!!

Behold the flames rise,
From the compass' cardinal points,
Burn the sacred oil,
And, with the ashes you'll annoint,

Arrange the symbols,
Of the wizard, and, magician,
Light the candles,
Place the parchment paper in position,
Between its leaves place,
The lash from a black cat's eye,
A straw of a broom,
Fold, and, burn, and, centralise,

Don't summon the devil,
Don't call the priests,
If you need the strength,
The conjuring,

I am the devil's advocate,
A salesman, if you will,
You know my name. [You know my name],

I met your father years ago,
Gave him what he'd please,
He called my name, you'll do the same,

I'm claiming what is mine by right,
It's time to close the deal,
You're bought and sold, bought and sold,

Come join me in my infernal depths,
Mephisto's hall of fame
I've got your soul, I've got your soul,
The conjuring. Obey!!!


But that doesn't matter. Like has been said so many have used satanic imagery in their lyrics. I would even call faux-satanic but then again for me all satanic lyrics are faux as are religious lyrics.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.08.2011 at 13:15

But that doesn't matter. Like has been said so many have used satanic imagery in their lyrics. I would even call faux-satanic but then again for me all satanic lyrics are faux as are religious lyrics.

Now that I can truly agree with. Few other song lyrics make me laugh as hard as Sonata Arctica's "8th commandment", which talks about reading the bible in order not to burn forever Maybe it's supposed to be a joke though, I'm not sure.

Then again, this guy also makes valid points http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677164

Written by Zombie94 on 25.08.2011 at 14:02

Then again, this guy also makes valid points http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677164

Not really he doesn't, it's just more generalizations and pathetic excuses. He says that metal fans get a lot of crap from everyone, but there is no Rn'B Militia around that systematically spams metal videos on YT, is there? Also, he equivocates defending your favorite bands from criticism with elitism. Bullshit.

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 14:21

Written by Zombie94 on 25.08.2011 at 14:02

Then again, this guy also makes valid points http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677164

Not really he doesn't, it's just more generalizations and pathetic excuses. He says that metal fans get a lot of crap from everyone, but there is no Rn'B Militia around that systematically spams metal videos on YT, is there? Also, he equivocates defending your favorite bands from criticism with elitism. Bullshit.

Yeah, agreed, plus he states that metalheads are a dying breed
To be honest, metal has never been in a healthier state and bigger than currently.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.08.2011 at 14:24

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 14:21

Written by Zombie94 on 25.08.2011 at 14:02

Then again, this guy also makes valid points http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677164

Not really he doesn't, it's just more generalizations and pathetic excuses. He says that metal fans get a lot of crap from everyone, but there is no Rn'B Militia around that systematically spams metal videos on YT, is there? Also, he equivocates defending your favorite bands from criticism with elitism. Bullshit.

Yeah, agreed, plus he states that metalheads are a dying breed
To be honest, metal has never been in a healthier state and bigger than currently.

If that guy said that in the 90s during the fall of thrash, he *might* have a point. But still, plain bullshit.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 25.08.2011 at 14:32

If that guy said that in the 90s during the fall of thrash, he *might* have a point. But still, plain bullshit.

This may be off topic, but "90s: The Fall Of Thrash" would be an awesome title for a documentary.

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 14:35

This may be off topic, but "90s: The Fall Of Thrash" would be an awesome title for a documentary.

Shit, it does sounds quite catchy eh?



*runs to get a patent*

Written by [user id=105293] on 25.08.2011 at 14:35

Written by X-Ray Rod on 25.08.2011 at 14:32

If that guy said that in the 90s during the fall of thrash, he *might* have a point. But still, plain bullshit.

This may be off topic, but "90s: The Fall Of Thrash" would be an awesome title for a documentary.

A good follow up to the documentary in my signature

Written by Zombie94 on 25.08.2011 at 13:13

My advice to you would be to just listen to what you like and not feel compelled to compete with other genres or justify why it is that your music is the best. If it happens that metal and just metal is all you wanna hear, then just listen to metal and leave other people to listen to what they want. I think a lot of the metal elitism we see comes as a counterattack against the stereotypes and disdain aimed at the genre by mainstream music listeners who often label metal as "just noise" or "talentless screaming/shouting" etc. Honestly I do find it annoying when people are so ignorant and close minded all the time, but hopefully there will come a day when I'll stop caring, like some of the posters above have said has happened to them.

It seems like the more this point becomes obvious, the more people ignore it.