The Official Metalheads Thread

[LWakefield]

Rammstein, Metallica, A7X, and Bullet for my Valentine.

[-42-]

A7X and Bullet for My Valentine are not metal. The first is hard rock and the second is emo.

Start with Slayer, work your way up.

Speaking of Slayer, I actually thought that God Hates Us All was a good album.

[RaidJTC]

Like St. Anger, God Hates Us All is only enjoyable to listen to if your really angry with the world. XD

As far as metal bands I like:

Black Dahlia Murder- Saw them live. They are amazing. Great Drumming. Bad vocalist IMO but whatever.
Lamb of God- Saw them live as well. Best Metal Concert I've ever seen.
Children of Bodom- Do I have to defend CoB? They are amazing.
All That Remains-I love their style. Very Lamb of God-ish in guitar riffs and very catchy.
Amon Amarth- Again, a legendary metal band. No explanation needed.
I'd say Avenged Sevenfold is metal. Even though they are more mainstream, like disturbed, I'd still classify them as metal. I can see your argument though.
God Forbid- Their songs are hit or miss. I love War of Attrition and Empire of the Gun but others are "meh..."
Kalmah- Very Children of Bodom-ish. If you like CoB, you'll probably like Kalmah.
Pantera- Duh. If you like metal, you have the love dimeback.
Slipknot- Though mainstream, I loved their new CD. Joey is still an amazing drummer.
And lastly (and probably most debatable to be considered metal but my absolute favorite band) Dream Theater: I can totally see the argument that "They aren't metal but progressive rock." However, certain songs are VERY metal in my opinion. A Nightmare to Remember and This Dying Soul are examples. Dream Theater is without a doubt the most talented band ever (Minus their singer XD.) Petrucci, Myung, and Portnoy extremely talented and them staying together in the same band for 20 years is really great. If you care about Music Theory and song writing, I highly suggest you listen to Dream Theater.

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by -42-

A7X and Bullet for My Valentine are not metal. The first is hard rock and the second is emo.

No!

I may be a metalhead, but I'll certainly defend the dignity of emo bands from being lumped in with BFMV. BMFV is (melodic) metalcore (albeit terrible metalcore, it's still metalcore). They are NOT emotive hardcore, emo, screamo, skramz, emo-violence, or anything mildly related to that. READ THIS to understand what emo music really is and where it comes from. 99% of bands that are labeled as "emo" really are just some form of pop-punk, pop-rock, or post-hardcore.

As a side note, there are a number of screamo and emo-violence bands that I enjoy. Majority Rule, Orchid, Funeral Diner, Pg. 99, and Saetia are chief among them. Majority Rule's Interviews with David Frost is absolutely incredible.

Originally Posted by RaidJTC

Pantera- Duh. If you like metal, you have the love dimeback.

I disagree. Also, you need to rethink how you use the word "legendary."

[Chris is me]

I would easily call Dream Theater metal long before I'd call Slipknot metal. I'm somewhat of a Dream Theater fan myself, in that I've heard a little and enjoy it.

[machetemonkey]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

It's not just a question of effort, though. The production has to fit the style of music. Not all styles of metal sound better when they have higher production values, crisper tones, and have melodies that jump out of the mix.
Take for instance Infernal Stronghold. Their first LP was recorded in a rather nice studio, and their second was recorded with only 11 mics being played "live." Their second sounds far better, as it fits their "raw" style of blackened crust/thrash. I know the guy who mixed/mastered their second album, and it's not that he just works better with lower production values. He has a really clean, high-end production on his (formerly solo) project, Woe, and that sounds great because it fits the style of black metal he plays in Woe.

I tend not to like the really polished styles of black and blackened metal (with some exceptions such as Woe, Shining (Swe), Vreid, etc.). I usually gravitate towards the raw, dirty, and ugly varieties (like Darkthrone, Iskra, Infernal Stronghold, Ork Bastards, etc.).

I never meant to imply that the low production values were a lack of effort. I understand fully that the raw sound is a personal choice. I just guess we have different opinions, with you generally preferring that sound and me preferring the more refined sound for this genre of music.

I don't want to sound like I'm putting down any form of music, I love it all. Literally. I'm sure you could tell me just about any genre and I could either name something I like or find something I like with a little searching.

Also, as for the debate over what is metal: Based on the usual defining characterists, slipknot is far more metal than dream theater. This doesn't mean that Slipknot is better than dream theater, not at all. Metal is not a perfect genre, there are certainly bad examples of metal. Metal fans, imo, try far too hard to defend their favorite genre, by trying to prove that any bad metal bands "aren't metal." Bad Art is still art. Bad cars are still cars. Bad movies are still movies. Bad metal is still metal, whether you like it or not.

Remember what metal started as: Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, etc. Slipknot in those days would be considered on the same level as something like goregrind today. The standards of what is "heavy" may have increased in time, but the definition of metal hasn't.


Just my two cents on the matter.

[Kage]

Me and the two programmers on my team are really into "viking metal"...that is the best explanation we could give it...

bands like Blind Guardian, and Crown the Lost...

But we listen to pretty much anything that has a guitar, and some bass and a drum kit...
Another thing I particularly like is "hardcore punk"...like the misfits, and such

minus a few exceptions here and there, and basically the whole "pop/popular culture" kind of stuff : P

I love Crown the Lost...anyone else heard of them?

[Kage]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I would easily call Dream Theater metal long before I'd call Slipknot metal. I'm somewhat of a Dream Theater fan myself, in that I've heard a little and enjoy it.

Black clouds and silver linings is *** amazing... enough said

[Lil' Lavery]

What's everyone's favorite album of 2010 so far? I'm partial to Black Trinity's (Greece) In This Infernal Night of Black Thrashing Hell and Petrychor's demo, Dryad. The new Ihsahn album, After, and Shining's (Norway) Blackjazz are also solid. Haven't had a chance to listen to the new Orphaned Land, yet. Arsis' latest (Starve for the Devil) was terrible, though.

[Josh Fox]

Can't say I've really listened to anything from 2010 yet, I'm never on top of when artists are releasing new material.

Anxiously awaiting the new Cynic EP though.

[Kage]

My favorite album as of the past few years is The Bedlam in Goliath by The Mars Volta (2008)... Wich also happens to be my favorite band of ALL TIME
If you have never heard of them, go look them up.
I recomend the songs "Goliath", or "Metatron" for first time listeners...

[Chris is me]

Considering I've listened to 1 metal album in 2010, Priestess

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by Kage

My favorite album as of the past few years is The Bedlam in Goliath by The Mars Volta (2008)... Wich also happens to be my favorite band of ALL TIME
If you have never heard of them, go look them up.
I recomend the songs "Goliath", or "Metatron" for first time listeners...

Wouldn't really consider The Mars Volta to be metal, though I do enjoy them (particularly De-loused in the Comatorium and Frances the Mute). The Bedlam in Goliath was okay, but didn't really hit me the same way as their first two LPs did. Fun (albeit expensive) live band, though.

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Considering I've listened to 1 metal album in 2010, Priestess

I've considered them as a stoner rock band rather than metal, but once again, a band I enjoy. Haven't had a chance to listen to their new one, but I do have a copy waiting for me to listen to.

[-42-]

No 2010 music as of yet, I'm still somewhat new to the metal scene, so I've been working my way backwards as opposed to forwards. Highly anticipating Snakes for the Divine though.

[Lil' Lavery]

Very much enjoying the new albums from Burzum and High on Fire. Mixed feelings about the new Darkthrone album, and I usually enjoy crusty Darkthrone. Orphaned Land's was pretty good as well, but I need to give it another listen or two.