ED's Furry Fucking Guide To Metal!!!!

[fraggle]

All this subgenre nonsense just comes from the human need to try to categorise everything into neat little boxes. What difference does it make if a band is "psychedelic rock" or "metal"? You'll find that a lot of bands will play in a variety of different styles for different songs, and it's inevitable that different genres get combined as people try new things (whereupon, of course, a new "box" is created to fit it into). I'm skeptical of anything but the very broadest of categorisations for the simple reason that most music does not fit into neat little boxes.

The worst effect is when people use these meaningless distinctions to decide their musical tastes, eg. "I only listen to music in category X" or "I won't listen to Y, because it's in category Z". The most obvious example would be "I don't like rap". Nice way to totally dismiss a ton of actual good music just because someone put it in a box with some other music that you don't like.

[Sharessa]

Well I don't really like the concept of genres and don't restrict myself to them (and I hate how record stores have everything divided up and I have to search through 3 sections to find what I want), but it's often the best way to describe something. I like listening to music and finding all the influences in it, though, and it's less of a hassle to just describe what genre it is in than list all the bands they're channeling.

[Nick Perrin]

Butts said:

people seem to go so far as a different tone in guitar is a new genre, then pretty soon every single metal band will be a different genre or something.

Yes and those people are idiotic genre-arguers, and metal is FULL of them. The difference between the really different genres is still there. It describes the influences on the metal(not necessarily from other metal), and stylistic tenets like instrumentation, harmonic relationships, how experimental it gets, etc.

Any big genre in any style of music tends to get over-genre'd by a bunch of elitists, and often the band/artist/composer themself doesn't appreciate it and doesn't agree with the super-specific genre they've been named as by these people.

I don't know what's worse, though - the elitists proposing ridiculous new sub-sub-genres, or the metal haters calling all metal the same as "Slipknot" or something (which is a band most metalheads hate, haha).

[Jim Rainer]

In my opinion, only major subgenres need to exist. For example, rock would be:
*Rock
*Hard Rock
*Alternative
*Indie
Metal would be:
*Metal
*Death
*Black
*Thrash
*Metalcore
*Nu-metal
*Melodic death
*Power
And such for all genres that have major subgenres.
I really see no need for all the grindcore, hardcore, _insertwackywordhere_core crap, and unless the subgenres have sub-subgenres that are actually significantly different such as symphonic black metal, they don't need to exist as yet another way for elitists to bicker.
EDIT: Forgot power metal.

[SulfurOccult]

Jim Rainer said:

And such for all genres that have major subgenres.
I really see no need for all the grindcore, hardcore, _insertwackywordhere_core crap, and unless the subgenres have sub-subgenres that are actually significantly different such as symphonic black metal, they don't need to exist as yet another way for elitists to bicker.

I disagree with you on the points of the -core genres, as those are *supposed* to represent bands with a much larger punk lineage and influence. I agree on the point that some people try to break down sub genres to a ridiculous degree, and I'll bet you these elitists are all 15 year old idiots trying to sound elite.

but you forgot power metal... :)

[Jim Rainer]

Yeah, power metal must've slipped my mind when I typed that. Fixed.

[SYS]

Stilgar said:

Gothic Metal: For My Pain... - Tomorrow Is Closed Gate

That song is incredibly downer. A part of any angst ridden teenager's complete breakfast.

[alexz721]

If you want good gothic metal, check out Regicide, a band from Germany. I found them randomly one day and got instantly hooked.

[Kid Airbag]

Jim Rainer said:

*Indie

This has always bugged me. Like, is "indie" confined only to bands who are literally signed to independent labels? Or is it a certain type of sound? Cause there are so many bands who people will categorize as "indie rock" when they're on small labels but all of a sudden when they sign to a major label, their genre immediately changes even if their sound doesn't in the slightest.

Point being, genres are pretty superficial. At least, trying to sort things into "subgenres" or anything beyond the clearly obvious.

[deathbringer]

In Britian Indie tends to be bands like White Strips, the Kooks, that thing with the drug addict who ought to just be shot, etc etc. Even though they are huge and on major labels. And play at Lincoln Engine Shed all the cocking time.

[Kid Airbag]

Yeah I dunno, I just think using the term "indie" to describe a certain type of sound is dumb. Like all small-label or independent acts sound that way, or something.

[Ralphis]

what the fuck is a hippster

[exp(x)]

Ralphis said:

what the fuck is a hippster

You've obviously never been to Portland, Oregon. Also, it's spelled hipster.