Metal music in your 20s
- Thread starter Jazoni89
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While I was never a cool metal guy (although I tried ever so hard to be one), I did used to listen to a shed load of heavy metal and punk through my teens, it certainly has moved to the back a little as I've got older.Jazoni89 said:
Although at 22 heavy guitars and thumping drums still turn up on a fairly regular basis, the difference now is that something doesn't get automatically liked just for being suitably loud. Some albums (specifically With Teeth and Make Yourself) have never gone away, I think I'll still be playing those regularly when I'm 90.
I am 17 and I used to love all kinds of techno. Though I already was listening to fairly hard music. (Dutch Hardcore/Hardstyle) I later switched over to Metal. I just love the guitar and it sounds way more appealing then Hard Techno to me.
I occaisionaly still listen to some techno but its mainly metal for me.
I occaisionaly still listen to some techno but its mainly metal for me.
Based on my own experiences, I find that a rather amusing supposition, and one I'm not much inclined to agree with. See, I didn't start listening to Metal until I was 26 (2009 in other words) - my formative years were spent primarily listening to classical music, with the odd folk, jazz, or CCM courtesy of my respective parents, and a very small sampling of modern rock. I was never someone you talked to about music or "into bands" that other people liked, because I loathed (and continue to loathe) the lion's share of music produced over the last century; growing up I was always happy to regale captive audiences about how much whatever they liked sucked and why Pop was banal crap (still true now!).Jazoni89 said:
It wasn't until I was finally tempted to muck about with the Music Genome Project's front end Pandora [http://www.pandora.com] that my listening habits substantially shifted, and my unbridled enthusiasm for Canadian folk/pop musician Sarah McLachlan is in fact the only reason I'm a Metal apologist today; knowing my own background on the subject, I get a lot of wry amusement when people here suggest I'm a "resident expert" on the topic of obscure (yet approachable) Metal, considering I didn't know the first thing about it just 3 years back. I suppose that's the advantage of mild OCD and a passion for trivia, heh.
So childhood peer bonding and 'rebellion' might indeed have a lot to do with why a lot of people here like Metal (since the demographics of the Escapist skew quite sharply towards the "still in high school" side of the scale), and most of what music theorists would term "Modern Metal" is the sort of music that I'm convinced people only like because they're kids and kids like stupid aggressive noisy crap, but the folks like me who didn't grow up listening to Metal, knew no one who did, and didn't give a crap about what other people liked in the first place (except to wish heartily that we could selectively turn off our ability to hear things when subjected to that music)... well you can't very well suggest that our age has anything to do with our fondness for the genre.
No, we like it because it's good - or at least there is a lot of music under the broad umbrella of Metal that is good; I would never simply suggest that all Metal is praiseworthy because I know what some of those sub-genres sound like (ha ha!). It says a lot when someone like me with a background almost exclusively grounded in classical (from the late Romantic Period for preference) is compelled to say nice things about, and indeed, actively champion Rock's more aggressive(ly awesome) progeny; the persistent notion that "only kids like Metal", which goes hand in hand with the often unspoken corollary "kids are bloody stupid", is quite simply erroneous and denigrating to the medium. Consequently it is one I take every opportunity I get to dispel, as best I can - take it from someone who has introduced Melodic Power Metal to moms in their 40s: Metal may have a 'primary demographic' that consists mainly of young men, but appreciation for the medium is certainly not simply a facet of the audiences age, gender, and background.
That you've moved away from Metal as you've matured says more about the grounding basis of your original interest in the genre than it does about Metal itself. No one should ever feel embarrassed to still be listening to Metal in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s[footnote]I got my father to start listening to Metal in his 50s.[/footnote], etc, so long as the Metal they're listening to is good. It's when you get get to be my age and you're still enamored with say... Linkin Park that we'll start mocking you, heh.
Not quite sure what you're on about. As a fellow 21 year old, metal is still, if not more so, running through my veins. Going to shows, headbanging on roadtrips, doesnt get much better!
As a teen I was more into that whole wave of pop/punk/rock bands that plagued the earth, bands like Blink 182, The Offspring, New Found Glory, Sum 41 etc, then I stopped listening to them when the music industry decided emo was the way forward and all these bands started releasing albums composed entirely of slow depressing songs about their girlfriends, so for years I didn't listen to music at all, I would occasionally play some old albums, but music had really died in my world, but then I was introduced to Power Metal and it blew my mind, I loved everything about it, the fantasy lyrics, the awesome solos, the fast pace, the keyboards, the high pitched vocals, the upbeat tone and the awesome ballads, now my ipod has nothing but power metal, it really has ruined every other genre for me as now that I've heard power metal all other songs sound like shit. But I would never call myself a metal fan as I only like one sub-genre of metal.
Kind of yes, but also no. I listened to Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, Iron Maiden, Dio etc. when I was 15.
Now I'm 23, and I still listen to some metal music, but none of the above. I guess my tastes have evolved into something more psychedelic, groovy, and less aggressive. Nowadays I mainly listen to rock and metal with blues/stoner/doom/70's/psychedelic influences.
I don't think it was ever about rebelling, I was always trying to fit in more than anything else. I'm more of a rebel nowadays, actually.
Now I'm 23, and I still listen to some metal music, but none of the above. I guess my tastes have evolved into something more psychedelic, groovy, and less aggressive. Nowadays I mainly listen to rock and metal with blues/stoner/doom/70's/psychedelic influences.
I don't think it was ever about rebelling, I was always trying to fit in more than anything else. I'm more of a rebel nowadays, actually.
I listen to anything now, but I put that down to how my taste evolved from metal to progressive metal to progressive music and then Mr.Bungle and consequently pretty much anything goes now.
It's not just metal, it's any music in your teens. In your teenage years, music is just another way of segregating everyone into different cliques. Hell, I followed that philosophy, I made my choice to be an Indie kid and listened to shit loads of Bright Eyes and Noah and the Whale. Then I hit 18, and I gradually started to realize you don't NEED to stick to one genre, now my iPod is a mishmash of Metal, Country, Jazz, Funk, even some light Rap. My friends all progressed along with me.
I still listen to metal even today, going on 24 it still has it place as the ROCK/METAL section of my head, also listening it while playing shooters and hack and slash games still makes the mood more fun, SlipKnot (first major album) still is one of the start out of the gate BOOM for me, Korn Follow the Leader or Take a Look in the mirror with Right Now, metal its self is just a form of hate that is expressed in a awesome way to get your blood going for the time being, but long term listening to every waking monument can get tiresome.
Funny enough Ive found it relaxing at times listening to metal/rock, sorta kick back and hear some RAGE and no HHS about love and peace. (Happy Hippy Shit)
New music, well there's not a whole lot, problem is most of the good shit is already out and its come hard to find new music in any genre for myself, strangely A State of Trance can get a good trance/techno/drum&base song every now and then, but that's besides the point of listening to new Rock/Metal music, I think only new thing Ive heard in awhile is probably some Five Finger Death Punch a Minnesota band, and some new Metallica that I can't name.
Funny enough Ive found it relaxing at times listening to metal/rock, sorta kick back and hear some RAGE and no HHS about love and peace. (Happy Hippy Shit)
New music, well there's not a whole lot, problem is most of the good shit is already out and its come hard to find new music in any genre for myself, strangely A State of Trance can get a good trance/techno/drum&base song every now and then, but that's besides the point of listening to new Rock/Metal music, I think only new thing Ive heard in awhile is probably some Five Finger Death Punch a Minnesota band, and some new Metallica that I can't name.
Some bands have survived the test of time over others. Many have expanded their sounds, upped the production levels, and have actually progressed as metal. Then again I am not for the stereotype of metal that it's only for young people, is made to vent anger, and is along the lines of an uneducated listener in comparison to other genres. It's a musical genre alongside the same line as blues, jazz, classic rock, etc.
Many people are going to argue back and forth that The Beatles, The Who, [insert your favorite band here] are more intellectual than metal, but overall they just fail to understand and comprehend the material because they aren't open minded.
- The vocals are horrible.
- I can't understand the lyrics.
- It doesn't sound like something else I choose to recognize as good.
Metal is the only genre that actually challenges listeners to this very day. If you want to sort past the majority of bull, it even becomes the true heritage of rock and roll from the old days in terms of mentality, composition, and just sheer playability.
Opeth, Blind Guardian, Therion, Dark Tranquility, Falconer, and many others are still going strong. It's a shame though that many people pass up the opportunity to listen to this form of music, and I guarantee you that many years down the road (anywhere from fifty to a hundred years) this genre will be recognized as the true lineage and spiritual descendant to rock and roll.
All the other genres have done is merely copy whereas metal has innovated itself and pushed past stereotypical boundaries. It's downright laughable that The Mars Volta, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Radiohead, System of a Down, The Muse, Phish, and many others have continued down the road when all they've done is stay stagnant without any true progression, change, or differentiation from the past artists that have accomplished the many deeds of music before.
Many people are going to argue back and forth that The Beatles, The Who, [insert your favorite band here] are more intellectual than metal, but overall they just fail to understand and comprehend the material because they aren't open minded.
- The vocals are horrible.
- I can't understand the lyrics.
- It doesn't sound like something else I choose to recognize as good.
Metal is the only genre that actually challenges listeners to this very day. If you want to sort past the majority of bull, it even becomes the true heritage of rock and roll from the old days in terms of mentality, composition, and just sheer playability.
Opeth, Blind Guardian, Therion, Dark Tranquility, Falconer, and many others are still going strong. It's a shame though that many people pass up the opportunity to listen to this form of music, and I guarantee you that many years down the road (anywhere from fifty to a hundred years) this genre will be recognized as the true lineage and spiritual descendant to rock and roll.
All the other genres have done is merely copy whereas metal has innovated itself and pushed past stereotypical boundaries. It's downright laughable that The Mars Volta, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Radiohead, System of a Down, The Muse, Phish, and many others have continued down the road when all they've done is stay stagnant without any true progression, change, or differentiation from the past artists that have accomplished the many deeds of music before.
I've seen a lot of threads like this on different forums. It happens to most people. There'll always be a few bands that stick with you (Devin Townsend for me), but you grow out of the genre as a whole. The people who don't grow out of it... well, you know those fat guys with denim jackets with a billion band patches on them at concerts? Yeah, them.
18, and I am and always have been a rocker. AC/DC, Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Ozzy after he went single, Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy, Twisted Sister, Tenacious D (you know you love 'em), Eric Clapton, the Who, and all those guys are my bread and butter. I like a little bit of the more modern stuff, but I'm really all about the classics. Also love blues. Muddy Waters and such.
Nearly 17 here and ive already experienced this lul in metal and i started to banch out into pop/punk and those types of genres/sub-genres.But now im starting to get back into metal but i now listen to my genres more equally
Well Im 17 atm. Ive liked metal since hearing 'Duality' by slipknot age 10ish? At the moment I like a lot of metal and a few bits from other genres.
I listen to some fairly commercial stuff (A bit of Avenged, Slipknot and Metallica.)
I listen to some heavier stuff but still pretty mainstream: Lamb of God, Slyosis, Machine Head, Killswitch, the big 4 + Rammstein.
I listen to some death, prog, etc (some Opeth and Satyricon, Mastodon. Septic Flesh are my fav death band)
I listen to Asphyxia (dark electronic)
I listen to some old metal bands, particularly Maiden.
Also: viking, folk metal. (Turisas, Finntroll...)
Outside of metal: Early 'Muse' (alt rock), Abney Park (vaguely gothic), prodigy...
Ill let you know if Im still much of a metalhead at 20. (Probably. Any vaguely 'normal' music bores me to death and always has.)
EDIT: i dont like much hardcore or screamo. The stuff in bold is the stuff i listen to the most.
I listen to some fairly commercial stuff (A bit of Avenged, Slipknot and Metallica.)
I listen to some heavier stuff but still pretty mainstream: Lamb of God, Slyosis, Machine Head, Killswitch, the big 4 + Rammstein.
I listen to some death, prog, etc (some Opeth and Satyricon, Mastodon. Septic Flesh are my fav death band)
I listen to Asphyxia (dark electronic)
I listen to some old metal bands, particularly Maiden.
Also: viking, folk metal. (Turisas, Finntroll...)
Outside of metal: Early 'Muse' (alt rock), Abney Park (vaguely gothic), prodigy...
Ill let you know if Im still much of a metalhead at 20. (Probably. Any vaguely 'normal' music bores me to death and always has.)
EDIT: i dont like much hardcore or screamo. The stuff in bold is the stuff i listen to the most.