The Metal / Rock Music Fans

I'm so burnt out on metal (and music in general), despite the fact that I love metal dearly. Problem is, any new band I discover just goes over my head, unless it's an old band I didn't know about, or a new band playing an old school style. I think my repulsion arises from the fact that a genre being influenced by itself for decades creates too much redundancy for me to digest in its modern form. There's also been a change in attitude, such as the "angst ridden melodrama" angle it the "so serious it's ironic" gimmick. I prefer my metal to be traditional, primitive and ugly, as I've so rarely seen it effectively elevated to a higher art form, Mr. Bungle being one of the only examples.

I hear you. A lot of new metal (no confusion with nu metal) sounds weird and alien to me.

I swear metalcore/deathcore's influence has had a lot to do with it. So many bands sound so watered-down these days - particularly laughable when they're trying so hard to sound "brutal". There also seems to be a horrible trend with metal vocalists who can't scream, grunt or even sing with any kind of intensity. I used to loathe bands like Korn and the kind of music Machine Head started to create back in the late 90's, but I'd take those days over the kind of stuff that gets put out there in 2013.

And yes, the rise of "hipster metal" (as I call it) has become more tiresome than 50,000 bands doing exactly the same thing. Guys like Devin Townsend are smart enough to experiment with their sounds, but not everyone is.

There's an art fag/hipster/indie/screamo influence in a lot of modern metal, along with that death/metalcore business, and when I hear that signature, homogenous sound, I just angrily switch to another song, thinking, "Quit taking yourselves so goddamn seriously and laugh once in awhile, it won't kill you." But even when they try to be funny, it's like this overly serious kind of funny, and it's just a real boner. A lot of these groups think they have to cram every cliche into every song (brutality, technicality, melody, harmonizing, solos, breakdowns, down-tuning, grooves, dissonance, etc.). Sorry to just bitch endlessly about one of my favorite subjects, but yeah. This sort of things happens with most any music genre. The only remotely new trend in metal that I like is the drone sounds of Sunn 0))) and similar bands.

I perfer earlier Death Metal than the technical stuff too. When it still had cool thrash parts, as well as definitive death metal parts that made it innovative. Like "Scream, Bloody, Gore" from Death, or "Seven Churches", from Possessed.

Kontra Kommando said:

I perfer earlier Death Metal than the technical stuff too. When it still had cool thrash parts, as well as definitive death metal parts that made it innovative. Like "Scream, Bloody, Gore" from Death, or "Seven Churches", from Possessed.

There's nothing wrong with technicality when it's done properly. It's hard to throw bands like Nile into the 'pointlessly over-technical' crowd, even if their most recent stuff sounds more like they were just pissing around in the studio than making an album.

I'm sounding like the sort of guy Infidelamsterdam hates.

I like the tech stuff if other elements are thrown in. Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation and Dying Fetus, for instance, are musically complex, but still generally rely on basso, chunky riffing typical of death metal. Voivod, Megadeth and Rigor Mortis are good examples of strong musicianship in speed/thrash metal.

GoatLord said:

Dying Fetus

Heh, I've been trying to play Praise the Lord on the guitar for years. Each time I sit down with it, I sound worse than the last time I tried. True story.

fan of speed metal? Then, try this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALse4RQSJk4

DoomUK said:

Heh, I've been trying to play Praise the Lord on the guitar for years. Each time I sit down with it, I sound worse than the last time I tried. True story.

so Brutal!!!

I've seen Dying Fetus, and Nile, both were good shows.

DoomUK said:

There's nothing wrong with technicality when it's done properly.

Truth. I guess that goes with any other genre too. but I have to say, there is definitely an over-saturation of brutal technical death metal in my area (NYC/NJ). Mortician is probably my favorite NYDM band, even if Will Rahmer is kind of an asshole.

Does anyone remember the zine, Grimoire of Exalted Deeds? It was a hilarious metal-zine. There are some pretty funny interviews with notable bands. The guy who ran it, Bill Zebub, made some pretty amusing, low-budget movies too. Bill Zebub is known to hate black metal and thrash, once me and my friends call bombed his radio show, yelling, "Black metal rules" obnoxiously. He responded with, "this is why you are hated!"

[NSFW]

http://thegrimoire.com/666/

Here is an interview he did with Seth Putnam from Anal Cunt. He usually speaks in olde English when he's fucking with people.

http://thegrimoire.com/666/AnalCunt8/tabid/62/Default.aspx

Being dead is gay.

DoomUK said:

Being dead is gay.

lmao

I actually met Seth Putnam at a Carnivore show in 2006, but it was after he woke up from the coma. He was really taciturn, and weird; he kind of just stood there with his cane. But then again, i was pretty drunk when I spoke to him.

I got to see two dead singers play that night, Pete Steele and Seth.

Witnessed AC some years back, amazing band. Seth had some other great "politically incorrect" projects too. The Grimoire interview with him is hilarious, especially the part about Christ Barnes.

LANEGRACABRA said:

Witnessed AC some years back, amazing band. Seth had some other great "politically incorrect" projects too. The Grimoire interview with him is hilarious, especially the part about Christ Barnes.

The Mayhem interview is really funny too.

I really like asking alexandria, they have heaps of potential to be big in the future. It's only been a few years for them and I think they are awesome.

Funny that you mention them, as they're a perfect example of the problems with moden heavy music I and a few others have recently discussed here. I won't deny their skill, but the screaming, super clean production and reliance on groove/breakdown patterns seems to spit in the face of tradition. Then again their whole purpose is to push the new sound, so maybe I'm just bring a grumpus.

GoatLord said:

Then again their whole purpose is to push the new sound, so maybe I'm just bring a grumpus.

Pushing meth isn't a good thing to do, but maybe I'm just being a grumpus about it.

Anyway, have some old fart music:-

Dawn of Possession, one of my all-time favorites!

I just went through the whole thread and I don't think I've seen any mention of soulfly.

Some oldschool death metal that i like:

thank you "Pedro VC" for sharing,
btw,Within Temptation's Compilation album is out "The Q-Music Sessions" check it out now.

mr fiat said:

I just went through the whole thread and I don't think I've seen any mention of soulfly.

Soulfly is in that same category of radio friendly, down-tuned hard rock with pseudo-aggressive tendencies as countless other nu/groove bands. It's metal in the same way that hair metal is.

Max Cavalera was one of those people directly responsible for the nu-metal movement, ruining an epochal thrash metal band in the process. Remember how awful Roots was? Well, he then went off and created a whole new band (Soulfly) to make that record over and over ad nauseum, instead of doing the honourable thing and redeeming himself by recording another Beneath the Remains.

Old school Sepultura was cool, (a la Bestial Devastation, and morbid visions). But I completely disregard, Max Cavalera's later work, especially Soulfly. I have the same sentiments with Peter Steele. Carnivore was a great band, but I hated type-o-negative.

DoomUK said:

Max Cavalera was one of those people directly responsible for the nu-metal movement, ruining an epochal thrash metal band in the process. Remember how awful Roots was? Well, he then went off and created a whole new band (Soulfly) to make that record over and over ad nauseum, instead of doing the honourable thing and redeeming himself by recording another Beneath the Remains.

I don't think Roots isn't that bad. Though I admit that their earlier stuff is wayy better (Chaos A.D. and before.) Also, there's that Cavalera Conspiracy now. Decent stuff, although something is missing in my opinion.

I don't have that same hate for nu metal and related styles like I did a few years ago, but my tolerance for it hasn't changed much. In some ways it's as neanderthalic as a lot of old school brutal death metal and goregrind, but the note choices, general lack of tempo variation, vocal style, squeaky clean production, constant stomp riffs and rubbery guitar tone has this emasculating, juvenile quality to it that's loathsome and obnoxious.

Kontra Kommando said:

(a la Bestial Devastation, and morbid visions)

I've always had trouble getting into Sepultura's very early stuff. I know it's an odd to say for a death metal guy, but their sound was a bit directionless back in those says.