Slayer and Sepultura… really no heavier than that. There’s no need, from my perspective.
I can’t do cookie monster vocals. That means that Death Metal and Black Metal bands are out.
To be honest, I haven’t made a concerted effort to break into these genres. The barrier to entry is so high that I just can’t bring myself to do it, even though I can appreciate some of the riffs and melodies.
I need to be able to understand what the vocalist is saying, and I can do that with Max Cavalera and Tom Araya.
Sabbath is heavy enough for most mortals, and will raise an eyebrow in mixed company. Slayer and Sepultura will get you flat-out kicked out of parties … but I still greatly enjoy them. As with here, on Refuse/Resist, and South of Heaven.
Both awesome, and really fucking heavy. But I don’t feel the need to go any heavier.
What’s your “max heavy?”
10 comments:
I'm a bit of a weird case. Slayer and Sepultura (as well as bands like Pantera) are too much for me, nor do I care much for most death metal (simply being brutal does not make for very interesting music, in my opinion). However, I do enjoy some black metal. I think it's because there are forms of black metal that are more melodic and atmospheric, which appeals to me. I've never worried much about understanding the lyrics, since I consider them secondary to the music.
This subject does remind me of something I saw pointed out recently, though. Some revisionists have tried to argue that the 90s weren't such a bad decade for metal, and the proliferation of extreme metal has been cited as a reason. And yes, if you're really into death and black metal, the 90s were great. However, if you were into more traditional forms of metal, the pickings were slimmer. Thankfully, traditional metal has seen something of a renaissance in recent years, plus the internet has made it easier to discover the torchbearing bands from the dark years.
Slayer and Sepultura are about my high point, too. Not a cookie monster fan, but I saw Amon Amarth open up for Ghost last August and they were good, so maybe them, too for the upper limit, even if they're a bit cookie monster.
Ian: Thanks for the comment re., lyrics. I haven't thought about it too deeply, but I guess (based on the way music resonates with me, and I write about it here) that lyrics do hold meaning for me; I do place importance on what bands write about and what they are saying. But without the music--a good lyricist, guitar hooks, catchy rhythm, etc--I wouldn't be interested in the band. And yeah, the 90s sucked for classic metal.
Jason: I should probably give Amon Amarth a go, I've heard good things.
For me it isn’t so much about how heavy, but the value of the heaviness, if that makes sense. I find that a lot of heavier sub-genres will just be “heavy-for-the-sake-of-being-heavy” and that doesn’t really do it for me. Brian, I know you’re a big Iron Maiden fan. If you’re interested in exploring some quality death metal I’d recommend giving some of the earlier In Flames records a shot if you haven’t. The Jester Race or Whoracle would be the best starting points in my opinion. Heavy as fuck, yet very melodic guitar parts not dissimilar to the harmony work of Adrian Smith/Dave Murray.
Dustin: I get it, that makes sense. I was listening to a podcast I'd recommend ("And Vol. 4 All") and the host did a series on WWI I and metal, and the black metal heaviness certainly played a purpose in conveying the terrible carnage of that conflict. I will check out In Flames, too. Thanks for the comment.
I like Dethklok, but they're a joke band, albeit one with really good music. I can't really get into cookie monster/black metal vocals beyond that.
Have you checked out Slower? Covers of Slayer but played slow.
Wait... Slower is an actual thing? i see what they did there...
I am the opposite -- I find it difficult to listen to most "classic" metal like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden because after listening to really heavy stuff for many years, the lighter, more operatic vocals are just...not metal enough for me. It's not necessarily a matter of age -- I love bands like Bathory and Slayer from the 80s and love Ozzy-era Black Sabbath but can't do most of even the modern bands that sing with the classic sound (there are a few exceptions like Eternal Champion). I don't love a lot of straight-up death metal since I find it repetitive and boring but melodic death is often more interesting. I am more of a black metal and doom guy these days. Black metal vocals in particular just go with the music to the point where it's almost like another instrument. It just melts into the background. I don't care about the lyrics and a lot of them aren't even in English anyway.
Andrew: Interesting, thanks for that. And yeah, I'm perhaps an outlier regarding lyrics. Metal is very much about atmosphere and attitude and emotion.
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