Heavy Metal is a lot like scotch
Heavy Metal is a lot like scotch. To the inexperienced drinker, a quick shot will surely induce severe and comical choking and gagging, followed by a desperate gasp for fresh air. To the drinker who has sampled the world's various liqueurs, beer and spirits however, it becomes one of the most complex, rich and warm things you can partake of.Now I am in no way condoning, nor encouraging the free and rapid consumption of multiple alcoholic beverages, but the idea still sticks. Heavy Metal is a difficult thing to understand, and few truly do. To the untrained ear and a quick-to-judge eye, Heavy Metal is a raucous, ridiculous form of music populated with overly macho guys dressed in leather and ripped jeans, cranking out ear-splitting guitar riffs and panic-inducing anthems of noise. To the seasoned musician however, Heavy Metal becomes a multi-layered symphony of technical precision with an unflinching dedication towards crafting some deeply passionate music.
To understand Heavy Metal, the listener must resist the temptation to do the first instinctual thing: classify it. The term "Heavy Metal" is in actuality a very generic label for an entire musical tree of sub genres. Behind its crypt-like doors lies traditional rock n' roll, glam metal, pop metal, death metal, black metal, doom metal, industrial, and power metal (to name a few). For those uncertain of where to start, it is generally best to think about what you like to hear most: melody versus power, or naked aggression versus traditional chord progression. Indeed, some of the more extreme forms of Heavy Metal will probably not hook the average music lover on a first listen.
Heavy Metal is the symphony of our day. It bypasses the desire for extreme fame and fortune that is found in mainstream music, and in that simple movement manages to allow each band to focus on the music itself, and the passion behind it. It is not bound by the rules of the mainstream record labels which force a band to put out songs at radio-friendly, 3:30 second running times, whilst maintaining the mundane sound adherent to that very same approach. Indeed, where 60s pop music gave rise to hard rock, so too did hard rock give birth to Heavy Metal. Ironic is the reality that mainstream music has been watered down to such a great degree in the new millennium.
Metal is not a radio-friendly genre. This is both a blessing and a curse to its talented pool of musicians, as a lack of mainstream exposure means significantly less record sales and popularity. It does unlock a treasure chest of possibilities however, in the form of extended song lengths, more technically diverse compositions, and a genuine motivation towards crafting new and exciting sounds. Where mainstream music tends to follow one of three structural "templates" (the dystopian alternative rocker ballad, the melancholy piano-driven softy, or the cookie-cutter R&B dance track) Heavy Metal can instead focus on time and pacing switch ups, odd time signatures, dueling guitar solos or twin-rhythm guitar attack, and furious expert-level drumming. Even the musicians themselves are painfully dedicated to their art. Metal bands do not have lavish tour buses for private jets, or a concierge of folks attending to their every need and demand. Instead, Metal musicians are truly the working class of the music world. They tour for very little actual money (most times actually taking a loss), and they tour often. Mainstream musicians forced to accept the same low-profile terms as Metal musicians would undoubtedly pack it in within the first week. Similarly, the differences in record sales are striking, but encouraging. Metal bands will gladly accept a much lower profile and status than mainstream bands, purely for dedication towards, and love of their work.
But what of Heavy Metal's content? The Metal of the 80s heyday frequently rocked about incessant, prison-inducing partying binges, wild sex with multiple partners, and hedonistic rioting all on a grand scale. Even underground thrash and death metal bands from the time period were focused very deeply on death and all of the (un)marvelous methods in which to achieve it. For the most part, Heavy Metal was a budding teenager during the time of the early 90s, unsure of its place within the world. The cloud of alternative and grunge music that soared in above Heavy Metal in 1992 managed to dethrone it, and send it into a proverbial abyss. During that time, there was a talk of Heavy Metal's stagnation within the music world, and for all intents and purposes, those naysayers were pretty much correct. The music had stagnated, and a change was in order. Grunge's short-lived reign soon gave way to alternative, and from alternative we have reached the apex of mainstream rock in our present day. The results have been far from pretty. The same musical stagnation that plagued Heavy Metal at the close of the 80s has fully taken a cancerous root in every single mainstream sub genre from rock, to R&B, to rap. Metal has managed to arise anew, with a fresh new sonic palette that sounds more diversified than ever. It has grown up into a full-fledged, intelligent and mature adult that is ready to expand its own horizons.
Lyrically, Heavy Metal has mostly concentrated on socio-political issues, while concentrating in a cynical matter on humankind's ability to do harm to itself, and the world around it. While the traditional theme hasn't gone away, it is punctured by an increasingly positive message to its listeners. Even such extreme death metal bands as Arch Enemy have eschewed a nihilistic and bleak message for one of positive combat and uprising to the woes of society and life. Whilst many a Heavy Metal band can certainly be blamed for promoting naked aggression, anger and violence, it is far more likely to find that the vast majority of Metal bands today are looking at bleakness and violence from a non-participatory standpoint, or making a stand against it altogether. The same cannot be said of mainstream rap, which glamorizes violent actions and lifestyle choices outright. Still, Heavy Metal has been consistently demonized down through the years, in an increasingly unfair manner.
With so many wonderful bands joining the Metal scene, now is definitely the time to start exploring the genre. The music is extremely loud, and terribly powerful, which may scare off potential listeners. But for those willing to withstand the sonic tidal wave, there is music of varying levels of intensity for everybody to enjoy, as well as a wonderful substitute for the bland, uninspired drudgery that has dominated today's FM wavelength.
Heavy Metal is alive and..
Heavy Metal is alive and well. It may not be as popular in the mainstream as it was in the early nineties and eighty's which is a good thing to any true follower of metal. I am a metal head and proud of it,i am glad metal is not popular in the mainstream. That is part of its appeal to me. Only people who are truly in to the music listen to true heavy metal. How many people do you know talk about how they were into Slayer once when it was popular, I don't know a single person like that. When it comes to metal you are either there or your not and that is the way it should be.Metal will never die because people don't get into it because it is popular. People listen to metal because it says something to them, they feel it.Its an outlet for all there frustration with there jobs, families, girl friends and life in general. For me metal is part of who i am, I'm not my job or my car. I dress in black and listen to heavy music and F..K you i won't do what you tell me.
Heavy Metal getting bad name..
I'm a Metal Head and proud of it. I am so tired of metal getting a bad name. Other than the unfortunate situation when "Dimebag" was killed, I have never heard of any incidents happening at a metal show. There have been plenty of incidents after rap shows in the past year though. Until I met my husband ten years ago I wasn't really into metal, although I did like AC/DC, KISS and Queen. I often thought that it was just noise until I listened to Iron Maiden for the first time. "Seventh Son of the Seventh Son" absolutely blew me away. The vocal talents of Bruce Dickenson were - and still are - incredible. Even my mother couldn't deny his vocal abilities.Whether metal is your taste or not, you can't argue with the musical talent of some of these bands. The members play tightly and the vocals are incredible. There is some growling and yelling, but that is not the majority of the song.Admittedly, metal is not for everyone; however it is a genre of music where everyone is welcomed. I love all genres of metal; industrial, death, thrash and black. I love Ministry, Sepultura, Soulfly, and old Metallica. My favorite bands these days are the ones to come out of the Noridc countries. Opeth from Sweden and Marduk and Immortal from Norway. Yes, they sing about dark things, even evil things, but it is more than that. There is a sense belonging to something amazing when you listen to this music. This is not to say that all the musicians in metal are choirboys, but not all of them are destroying property or worshipping Satan either. My husband and I saw Opeth a couple of years ago and we took our son (then four) to meet the band. He is an absolute Metal Head. He only wants to listen to metal and has even created his own band name - "Skeletons of the Dark". He wasn't able to go into the concert, but he did get to meet Michael, the lead singer for Opeth. Michael spent almost ten minutes hanging out with my son and talking to him. This proved to me two things: 1) Not everyone is out there just for the money. 2) It is possible for metal musicians to be down-to-earth and even kind. I would say that this aptly describes those of us who listen to metal as the vast majority of the people I have met at concerts are really cool. You get to become part of a brotherhood, even if it's just for a couple of hours. I don't know that this is the case with any other genre of music.
Finnish metal music..
Finnish metal music has been well-known amongst metalheads in plenty of countries for a long time, but over the past couple of years it has finally crawled to the charts also in the major market areas of Great Britain and United States. They are extremely hard markets to conquer, so the achievement is huge. How many bands do you know that are from Finland? Or you just might not know they are Finnish?In the 80s Hanoi Rocks were the biggest and almost only name known abroad. They were the pioneers of Finnish glam rock, and inspired bands like Guns n' Roses. The 90s were kind of quiet time for metal all over, the techno-pop-dance dominated the charts.
In the end of the decade in 1997 a band called His Infernal Majesty shortened their name to HIM, released their first album and caused a stir. By 2000 and their second album they were already a household name, and the single Join Me In Death topped charts in several countries. Today HIM are doing sold-out tours in all over, and were the first ever Finnish band to get a gold record in the U.S. Their vocalist Ville Valo is an international sex god, they have sold millions of albums, and the sixth studio album will be out this Autumn.
Another huge Finnish name to mention would be Nightwish, who mixed metal with opera-like vocals of their female vocalist. They faced a big media scandal in 2005, when in the middle of the brilliant success, their vocalist Tarja Turunen was kicked out of the band. However, the rest of the band kept going, and arranged auditions for a new singer. Last month she was introduced to the media, a Swedish lady called Anette Olzon. Lets hope the fans will welcome her.
Apocalyptica are three guys with classical music training. They were the first ever band to start playing metal with cellos. They started by playing Metallicas hits, and later making their own music. The music itself is extraordinary, and has made them favorites of fans all over the world. You seldom see the guys in their homecountry anymore, they are far too busy touring all year round. For the past months they have time off as well as also putting together a new album.
You might have heard of the bands mentioned above. Well, have you heard the brilliant melodic metal of Charon, Entwine or Poisonblack? What about the gothic sounds of The 69 Eyes? The savage trash metal of Deathchain? The deep dark melodeath of Children of Bodom or Norther?
There are metal festivals with dozens and dozens of excellent bands every Summer. Fantastic metal gigs all around the country basically every week. Metal bars and nightclubs in all the major cities. Even our new Idols winner is a metalhead. Finland is a true metal country. Maybe, like they say, its due to our melancholic northern mentality and long Winters. Who knows. Nevertheless, it seems to be a fact.
Heavy Metal a music genre that..
Heavy Metal, this is a music genre that has always had it's detractors and probably always will. The music can be loud, aggressive, dark and satanic, but it also has plenty of humor, soul and thought provoking lyrics.I have been a fan of heavy metal for about thirty years now and have seen some of the biggest bands in the world, I've been to over fifty concerts and festivals seeing groups from AC/DC to ZZ Top and as much in between as possible, in all this time I've only come away from one show slightly disappointed, these are the groups that invented the high impact stage show to give their fans nights to remember, I can't list them all but for example: KISS, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Alice Cooper all put shows on that probably cost more than they were paid for some of the venues they appeared in but this maximized the experience for their fans of which is why these groups still endure whilst others have fallen into obscurity.
Whilst a few groups in this area have relished the image of being satanists this has only been in the recent past, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot most of the older generation of groups got this label due to the raucousness of their music and the lyrics, you can hardly sing about puppies and flower gardens when your going at 100mph all the time, these groups play the music and sing the lyrics that the young want to hear, the pace of the music helps you forget the monotony and stress that life heaps on you.
Heavy metal is an acquired taste that has been acquired by millions all over the world and as much as people wish it to go away it's still out there, listen to it, love it.
