Poll: Do you listen to metal?

[TheTygre]

YES: ALL THE METAAAAAAL.

Would you believe I wasn't a metal fan until I read the epic Avatar fan-comic/atrocity How I Became Yours? It's true. We were story-timing it on /co/ one night, and I saw my brothers in despair. I did the only rational thing a man can do in that situation; I started posting links to Manowar and Rhapsody of Fire alongside Frank Frazetta and Luis Royo pictures. I'd always kind of liked Metal; I started listening to Manowar in high school, and got spurred on by Brutal Legend (which, screw what everyone else says, I goddamn -adore-) and Metalocalypse. But it wasn't until that fateful night reading that photoshopped abomination that I really started to explore for myself.

Preference-wise, I stick to my roots and still lean towards Power Metal. I'm not really a fan of Death Metal, but Symphonic and Melodic are both welcome (WHOO! WINTERSUN!), as well as some Death N' Roll (Check out Helltrain; all their music's free to download!). As a theist, Black Metal took some easing into, but I've found a comfortable niche. Classic Bathory is my poison of choice from the three founders, and Viking Metal by extension. Again, big, big fan of Symphonic Black Metal; Cradle of Filth is one of my favorite bands for their concept albums alone, and I actually like the direction Dimmu Borgir's been taking in recent years. But at heart I'm still a Power/Heavy Metal man. From household names like Dragonforce and Blind Guardian, to the classics like Helloween and Iron Maiden, all the way up to the king himself (DIO!), I find room for everyone in between. To make up for the narrow genre focus, I've made a hobby out of exploring international bands beyond Northern/Western Europe and the United States. I'd have to say that my favorites so far are;

Skinflint (A Ugandan heavy metal band that strongly sounds like early Iron Maiden)
Emerald Sun (A Greek power metal band with a fantastic 80s sound)
Pathfinder (Polish symphonic power metal that sometimes borders on the cheesy, but has all their music for free on YouTube)
VersuS (A growing Mexican band)
Deviant Syndrome (Small but fierce Russian melodic death metal)
Angra (A Brazilian power metal band)
Tengwar (An Argentinian folk metal band that did an entire album devoted to Lord of the Rings)
Dark Moor (Spanish power metal that does great covers of classical music)
Elvenking (An Italian folk metal band)
Kryptos (Indian thrash metal)
Thousand Leaves (Japanese Neoclassical/Prog metal)

And now, sit back, and let Wintersun rock your soul:

 

[solemnwar]

I listen to Power, Symphonic/Orchestral, and "regular" (heavy) metal. There seems to be a really blurring line between what constitutes "heavy" and "normal" metal lately...

I've noticed that the best metal bands tend to be from Europe. What's with that? The only band I have that really bucks that is Kamelot, which is American, but it kind of cheats because Khan (former vocalist), and now Tommy (current vocalist), are both European (Norwegian and Swedish respectively, if I remember correctly). And they seem to be spending all their time in Europe now anyways.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

I grew up in Metal's golden age. ie: The 70s/80s. Can't really remember a time before I started enjoying Metal of most kinds.

What sucks is getting older. I still dig most of it, but I catch myself getting a headache if I play it too loud too long. Reminds me of that old saying "If it's too loud, you're too old". And I guess that's pretty much true.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

Though...my personal guilty pleasure is Dethklok.

I hear that man. I could listen to Dethalbum II on repeat all day.

Yeah...I've got all three Dethalbums. Granted, they ARE supposed to be a parody of metal, but that doesn't take away from how awesome some of the songs sound. *looks up at CatBus's rant* Excuse me one moment...I think I may need to report someone for unlawful stereotyping...

 

[Raikas]

Believing that opinion is above right and wrong is foolish. Some people were of the opinion the world was flat. Didn't make them any less retarded did it? Opinion is only protected to make stupid people feel worthwhile.

Except that it's objectively and observably wrong that the earth is flat. Whether or not some art form is enjoyable is entirely subjective. I've never seen any correlation between intelligence and taste in music - at least not once you factor in things like location and social class, and that's more about access and experience than anything else.

 

[bak00777]

I am not a fan of metal where the singer is making guttural growling noises, but i do love progressive/symphonic and power metal. Bands like Symphony X, Stratavarius (sp?), Kamelot and Nightwish

 

[Ishal]

My favorites genres are metalcore, post hardcore,

The reason I don't identify myself as a "metalhead" or anything is because most of the 'purists' will scoff you away if you so much as mention metalcore or post-hardcore because "They're more punk than metal" and they're my two favorite sub-genres as well.

Progressive metal and instrumental metal are the two closest follow-ups for "real" metal, with everything else coming up behind and then most doom/death/black metal falling into the territory of "Eh, I don't really like the vocals/lack of melody/production values/combination of any of the preceding."

There are certain groups making changes in black metal. This group is prog/black metal and they catch a lot of flak for their production quality being too "good" or "clean", thus, I love them. You might as well.


and something more chill of theirs, with the violin being more pronounced.

 

[Zen Bard]

Yes, I listen to Heavy Metal.

Why? Because it's your one-way ticket to midnight.
(And if you don't get that reference, turn in your black concert tee shirt at once!)

Proud to say I saw Iron Maiden, Soundgarden AND Black Sabbath all this year!

 

[optimusjamie]

I mostly listen to power/prog metal, like Iron Savior and Blind Guardian, but it's not the only music I listen to- Meat Loaf is one of my favourites, and Fallout has got me into oldies.

 

[The Funslinger]

I do love me some classic style Heavy Metal. As well as that, I'm a fan of Power Metal, such as this:

 

[ron1n]

Mostly listen to melodeath, prog, industrial, post metal and assorted djenty stuff. Anything with some melody, a good tempo and/or a catchy groove to it I'll typically enjoy though. Also a big fan of genre fusions and the layering of different sounds be they instrumental or electronic.

Lately though, been really enjoying the resurgence of sludge/stoner metal coming out. Has probably been the USA's best contribution to the wider genre since the golden days of Thrash.

Particularly love stuff like Baroness, The Sword and Red Fang:


Makes for the best in-car music I swear aha.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

I don't really listen to any particular genre, so answering what subgenre of metal I like is pretty much impossible. Hell I don't even like more than 25% of the songs of most bands I like (with the exception of soad, Cage the Elephant and MAYBE Korn). What particular song I like is basically just random.

But yeah I listen to a few metal bands occasionally. So varied?

 

[MisterGobbles]

I prefer to identify as a fan of "heavy" music, because there's so much that can't really be considered metal that is awesome and heavy (Godspeed, Botch, Converge, Dillinger, Pelican, Touche Amore, etc), and even though my tastes have been drifting towards hardcore and post rock and such, it still feels like the same spirit of "metal" that I've been listening to forever. There are bands that aren't really that heavy that still are a large part of what the scene listens to and loves (Nine Inch Nails, Karnivool, Deftones, etc), progressive bands that don't really sound like traditional metal at all (Scale the Summit, Animals as Leaders, Periphery, Protest the Hero, Corelia), the overall inclusion of the post-hardcore scene in the whole thing (At the Drive-In, Letlive, Glassjaw and Coheed and Cambria being bands many metalheads love) - so even though most of my listening may not be strictly metal, I still feel connected to the whole thing. And of course, I love me some metal - I'm jamming some Revocation right now.

 

[Eddie the head]

Nope. In fact I hate it. I would say why but CatBus has already demonstrated perfectly my feelings towards that genre of... "music"...

Considering he used faulty logic, factually untrue statements, and an aggressive tone, you might want to demonstrate your feelings better. You know so you could call it anything more then an appeal to emotion.

 

[TecnoMonkey]

Nope. In fact I hate it. I would say why but CatBus has already demonstrated perfectly my feelings towards that genre of... "music"...

Considering he used faulty logic, factually untrue statements, and an aggressive tone, you might want to demonstrate your feelings better. You know so you could call it anything more then an appeal to emotion.

Ehh, I know he was kind of a jerk about it, might have exaggerated when I said that he demonstrated my feelings "perfectly" but still some of what he said clicked with me.

 

[TecnoMonkey]

Nope. In fact I hate it. I would say why but CatBus has already demonstrated perfectly my feelings towards that genre of... "music"...

You believe this?

"Metal is a genre for children. Everything about it is infantile and appeals to an immature misconception of "cool" that adults know simply means shit/angry for the sake of being shit/angry. That explains why it has developed such an expansive subculture despite the awful quality of the music. Pretty much every teenager goes through a phase like that, being angry at everything and that's when most of them land on metal. Unfortunately for some of those people they never grow out of that mindset and will always remain petulant and adversarial, believing it to be a strength just like the terrible taste in music they adopted thanks to their myriad of personal problems.

Of course I'll get plenty of people calling that bullshit and telling me how smart/well balanced/successful they are despite the shit that they listen to. My entire life has been spent around metal fans and metalheads and I can guarantee that it's so uniformly true I have no reservations about casting these aspersions on total strangers. People are boring and predictable and metalheads are the most boring/predictable of the bunch."

I hope not, because that would make you an ignorant asshole.

No, like I said three posts up I exaggerated my statement. But I do agree with him when he says that the genre is repetitive and uninventive, that it has shitty rhythms and melodies and that there is a lack of instruments in pretty much every metal song.

If that still makes me a ignorant asshole then so be it.

 

[AnarchistFish]

I do not listen to metal. In fact it's one of my least favourite genres and I have never been able to fathom the love people have for it. It's ceaselessly angsty, repetitive and uninventive, it's characterised by muddy, ugly sounding guitars playing boring chords in uninspired rhythms and occasionally there's the desperate attempt to fret-wank something cool out of the single scale most metal guitarists use (pentatonic). Not to mention that the vocalists that have no imagination or discernible skill as lyricists or singers.

I find the people that listen to metal or proclaim themselves "metalheads" are either troubled social outcasts who find the aggressive style of the music helps them cope with their impotent rage at being a pathetic social outcast, or musicians who respect speed and repetition rather than the inventive rhythms, melodies, harmonies and instrumentation used in other forms of music (which makes them terrible musicians).

Metal is absolutely awful for it's lack of instrumentation too. Sure, many bands throw in a token acoustic track every now and then or use orchestral backing but it is always subdued and diluted by the terrible, ugly sound of overdriven guitars.. I especially hate the ones that use far too much mid, which only serves to blur everything into one dirty mess of noise. Then of course you have the crossover genres, which are usually ham-fisted blends of two opposing styles of music complete with an awful vocalist, murdering two genres in one.

Metal is a genre for children. Everything about it is infantile and appeals to an immature misconception of "cool" that adults know simply means shit/angry for the sake of being shit/angry. That explains why it has developed such an expansive subculture despite the awful quality of the music. Pretty much every teenager goes through a phase like that, being angry at everything and that's when most of them land on metal. Unfortunately for some of those people they never grow out of that mindset and will always remain petulant and adversarial, believing it to be a strength just like the terrible taste in music they adopted thanks to their myriad of personal problems.

Of course I'll get plenty of people calling that bullshit and telling me how smart/well balanced/successful they are despite the shit that they listen to. My entire life has been spent around metal fans and metalheads and I can guarantee that it's so uniformly true I have no reservations about casting these aspersions on total strangers. People are boring and predictable and metalheads are the most boring/predictable of the bunch.

Yeah, yeah, listening to metal means that you "get it" and you're a special little flower and you and all your comrades are enlightened to a truth that the rest of the world will never understand. Go learn about in-group/out-group phenomena while I laugh derisively at your belief that you're anything more than a mindless drone.

Though I agree with you a lot about the fanbase, which is something that's driven me away from the genre, it's ironic you complain about their arrogance and then go on blanketing it as "uninventive", "lacking instrumentation" and "ceaselessly angsty". A lot is, especially the stuff "outsiders" get exposed to, but a lot isn't. Weird that you'd have such a passionate opinion about something you obviously don't know much about.

wait, what?? True metal? Extreme? Radio?

Kid, learn your subgenres before making polls like this

No one said those were genre names.

 

[AnarchistFish]

I prefer to identify as a fan of "heavy" music, because there's so much that can't really be considered metal that is awesome and heavy (Godspeed

pls tell me you're referring to our gorgeous French Canadian legends, in which case hi5. though I don't understand why so many people label them as heavy.

I find the people that listen to metal or proclaim themselves "metalheads"...

As I see it, that "or" is actually an important distinction. People's likes and dislikes are diverse, but I'm always suspicious of people who have made being a fan of some particular genre into a major cultural marker.

Personally, I don't listen to metal aside from a couple of subgenres (symphonic metal and dance metal) which generally have equal influences in other genres, but I've certainly known plenty of people who listen to traditional metal who don't define themselves by their taste in music. And realistically, how many people genuinely only listen to a single genre of music? Even the most stereotypically "metalhead" couple I know also go to the opera and check out the local jazz festival, so I'm not seeing how any meaningful

EDIT: I hate untruths, and metal being a good genre is one of the biggest lies I've ever heard... perpetuated only because of the misconceptions people have about their own minds and tastes.

But taste is relative - a difference of opinion is hardly a lie. If someone loves something that I hate and hates what I love, I just learn not to take their advice on which concerts to attend - I don't assume that they're lying to me. That's such a bizarre way of framing something as subjective as taste.

Believing that opinion is above right and wrong is foolish. Some people were of the opinion the world was flat. Didn't make them any less retarded did it? Opinion is only protected to make stupid people feel worthwhile.

That's an objective idea though. It isn't an opinion because it isn't something that can be proved correct or incorrect. Obviously it's wrong. Music taste is a subjective opinion, someone's particular taste. You can't say someone's enjoyment of something is incorrect and shouldn't exist; it doesn't make sense, because they do enjoy it whether you do or not.

And then I can just refer back to this earlier post which completely contradicts what you've said about metal.

It's funny, cos this was exactly the band I was thinking of as I read your posts before I saw that one.

Rosetta

Or even more apparent as far as varied instrumentation goes:

 

[mitchell271]

wait, what?? True metal? Extreme? Radio?

Kid, learn your subgenres before making polls like this

It was more of an attempt to lump a lot of similar genres together because of the limited poll options. I know my genres and listen to a wide variety from symphonic to brutal death to metalcore to progressive and everything in between.

 

[Pikey Mikey]

I usually listen to Rammstein, Pantera, Megadeth, Motörhead etc. But also a huge mish-mash of other kinds of music (soundtracks, blues, whatever Gorillaz is, rock, and the list goes on (a few opera songs (Andrea Bocelli = childhood memories)