Popular Post buddhahoodlum Posted August 29, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted August 29, 2021 This is a question I've often contemplated. Actually contemplated is the wrong word because there is only one answer for me- heavy metal. I've been a fan of this music since '83-84 when I first heard Ozzy Osbourne's Bark At The Moon. Up until that point I had only ever listened to pop music and Top 40. Soon after hearing Ozzy, thanks to Good Rockin' Tonight with Terry David Mulligan's heavy metal special I got to bang my head to videos like AC/DC's Nervous Shakedown and more importantly, Judas Priest's Love Bites, for the first time. I found out heavy metal was often as much about the spectacle as the music. I reveled in this stuff. Now days I enjoy rock, pop, country, folk, classical, medieval, punk, reggae, jazz, disco, and hip hop as well , but back then for me it was metal or nothing. Heavy metal provided a form of escapism, different from books, in that I could escape while doing other things (or avoid doing things, like homework). Heavy metal could transport me to a world of sword and sorcery a la Ronnie James Dio, provide a history lesson more exciting than any stuffy textbook courtesy of Iron Maiden, scare me with serial killers and Satan the way only Slayer could do, or just open my eyes to pressing social and environmental issues as almost every thrash band of the day did. Heavy metal woke something inside of me. More importantly, it gave me something I had been missing in my life up until that point- an identity. I belonged to a tribe. We were called rockers! And boy did our music rock. My high school years (1985-1990) were a golden age for heavy metal. Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Ozzy, Metallica, Anthrax, and Guns 'N' Roses, to name but a few, all released monster albums during those years. Metal bands routinely sold out stadiums. I would be glued to MuchMusic (Canada's version of MTV for you Americans) from 5-6 PM for the awesome Power Hour! Of course I had to sit through more Poison and Motley Crue than I would have liked, but when Danzig's Under Her Black Wings or Sacred Reich's American Way or Overkill's Hello From the Gutter came on, it was more than worth it. Thrash metal eventually took over from the Accepts and Judas Priests of the world by playing faster, harder and with far less cheesy lyrics. I'll admit I was late to the black metal party, but when I heard it, I fell HARD for it. Where had this music been my whole life? Raw, aggressive, emotive, and fierce, this wasn't your dad's heavy metal. I say I fell hard, but that's not quite how it happened. When I returned to my job after a 3 month practicum they had hired on another metalhead. But he wasn't just "another" metalhead. When he discovered I was a fan as well, he immediately played me Dimmu Borgir's Progenies of the Great Apocalypse on YouTube. HOLY SH!T! That was the most epic 3:36 of my life! Funnily enough I couldn't get into the vocals at first. Maybe not so funny, as the shrieks and gurgles can be an acquired taste. But the music was awesome! The blast beats, the guitar playing (which I now know is called tremolo picking), and the vocals I had never heard done like that before. And to top it off the whole black metal aesthetic was so, well, EVIL. After a few more listens, I decided I really did love the shrieking. It suited the lyrics and music to a T. I can't say I'm a black metal purist (it's called TRVE KVLT) or an elitist, like many of this niche sub-genre's fans. In fact, I don't care if it's blackened thrash, blackened death, black 'n' roll, symphonic, folk, medieval or "castle", psychedelic, melodic, atmospheric, avant garde, industrial, or the tried and true orthodox Norwegian black metal. As long as it's got those piercing, shrieked screams of a soul in apparent torment, it's probably going to stir my blood and put a smile of ferocious joy on my face. And that's where I'm at today. As far as the traditional heavy metal and thrash goes, I prefer the bands of my youth. But thanks in part to the hard work of the people behind such sites as No Clean Singing I'm always on the lookout (or is that listenout?) for new black metal sounds. I'm fascinated how this small sub-genre , which nonetheless has legions of fans across the globe and so many talented musicians among its ranks, has grown and taken their music into so many unpredictable directions. And unlike other genres (I won't name them here) I don't think black metal will grow stale any time soon, with all the genre-pushing. Yea, I'm a heavy metal lifer. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Some people look down on my music as fit for only dumb kids. Others call it noise. And yea, it's noisy and when I listen to it I feel like I'm a teenager again, full of energy, anger, and excitement. So in that respect I suppose they're right. It's funny, what started out as a simple question, to myself as much as to others, has morphed into a multi-paragraph love letter to heavy metal music. What's even funnier, I've barely even scratched the surface. But beneath that surface beats a metal heart. 2 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Listening to horses whinny, cows moo, goats bleat, and all farm animal noises is the cacophony I enjoy. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstantHockey Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 jazz and all the jazz like music from around the world ( which is basically having little duels and repartees within the classical framework broadly speaking). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YEGCanuck Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Hey man, well written. I believe what you say about heavy metal and as long as you can feel the music is all that matters. Not everyone is capable. Although I grew up with rock and roll and rythem and blues, jazz is my go-to these days. Cheers! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 I'd have to go with metal as well, simply because, like the OP, I enjoy the vast majority of the subgenres. I have a ton of love for older/underground hip hop, but I have as much respect for mumble rap as I do for Matthew Tkachuk. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhahoodlum Posted August 29, 2021 Author Share Posted August 29, 2021 17 minutes ago, Alflives said: Listening to horses whinny, cows moo, goats bleat, and all farm animal noises is the cacophony I enjoy. Lol. When I go mountain biking or hiking I love listening to windsong, riversong, and the birdsong. But on the drive to those wonderful places, it's metalsong. Which, if it's the sound of metal on metal coming from the direction of the brakes and not the speakers, isn't a good thing. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Maybe this genre is too broad, but I'd say "soundtrack". Hans Zimmer style music for both movies and video games is my favourite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstantHockey Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Just now, -AJ- said: Maybe this genre is too broad, but I'd say "soundtrack". Hans Zimmer style music for both movies and video games is my favourite. its called instrumentals, no ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 3 minutes ago, InstantHockey said: its called instrumentals, no ? Possibly, but there's some music in that genre that does include singing. Now We Are Free from the movie "Gladiator" comes to mind as an example. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhahoodlum Posted August 29, 2021 Author Share Posted August 29, 2021 1 minute ago, InstantHockey said: its called instrumentals, no ? That's something I almost invariably hate, no matter the genre- an instrumental. Back in the day, albums typically only had 8 songs. And I'd feel cheated if one of them had no lyrics. A perfect example is Black Sabbath's Master of reality. That album had not one, but 2, instrumentals! One was :30 and the other 1:30. Out of 8 songs! Feeling a little lazy there Ozzy? I guess they couldn't drag him out of the pub. Oh well. To each there own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstantHockey Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 1 minute ago, buddhahoodlum said: That's something I almost invariably hate, no matter the genre- an instrumental. Back in the day, albums typically only had 8 songs. And I'd feel cheated if one of them had no lyrics. A perfect example is Black Sabbath's Master of reality. That album had not one, but 2, instrumentals! One was :30 and the other 1:30. Out of 8 songs! Feeling a little lazy there Ozzy? I guess they couldn't drag him out of the pub. Oh well. To each there own. well it depends on what you think of vocals. I can't stand a mediocre voice with very little actual skill and control. So i often prefer instrumentals and its one of the main reason i don't listen to 99% metal or rap - only 1 in a million of them can actually sing better than the best kid in a random high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhahoodlum Posted August 29, 2021 Author Share Posted August 29, 2021 5 minutes ago, InstantHockey said: well it depends on what you think of vocals. I can't stand a mediocre voice with very little actual skill and control. So i often prefer instrumentals and its one of the main reason i don't listen to 99% metal or rap - only 1 in a million of them can actually sing better than the best kid in a random high school. I'm not a music connoisseur. In fact I can't even tell if a musician or singer hits a bum note. I can only rarely tell if someone is a really good musician. Take Prince as an example. Is he a talented artist? Everyone says he is. But me, I don't know. I just hear a jumble of noise. Pleasing noise, maybe. And it's like that for all music. I'm sure someone will make a snarky comment about that's why I love metal so much, but it is what it is. I feel music more than I think it I guess. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Metal. First started listening to KISS as a preteen 40 years ago, then got into Sabbath, Maiden, Saxon, Priest. Fell in love with Dio's voice. The Big 4 out of the Bay area, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. These days I love (aside for what I listed): North America Lamb of God Trivium Machine Head Killswitch Engage Other Children of Bodom Amon Amarth Sabaton Arch Enemy Primal Fear Insomnium Soulfly Swallow the Sun 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstantHockey Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 1 minute ago, buddhahoodlum said: I'm not a music connoisseur. In fact I can't even tell if a musician or singer hits a bum note. I can only rarely tell if someone is a really good musician. Take Prince as an example. Is he a talented artist? Everyone says he is. But me, I don't know. I just hear a jumble of noise. Pleasing noise, maybe. And it's like that for all music. I'm sure someone will make a snarky comment about that's why I love metal so much, but it is what it is. I feel music more than I think it I guess. its all down to experience, which shapes views. Before corona happened, i gave voice coaching lessons to kids ( i can't really sing, but i have a good ear for the voice). So for me, if you can't impress me with your voice when all the instruments are silent and thus can't hide your voice, i am better off just listening to the instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 They say the music you grew up with is what sticks. Elvis, Roy, Platters, of course Buddy, and Patsy Cline. Loved their vocals. Holly was a innovator. Also liked some of the big band music even tho I am not that old. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhahoodlum Posted August 29, 2021 Author Share Posted August 29, 2021 1 minute ago, NUCKER67 said: Metal. First started listening to KISS as a preteen 40 years ago, then got into Sabbath, Maiden, Saxon, Priest. Fell in love with Dio's voice. The Big 4 out of the Bay area, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. These days I love (aside for what I listed): North America Lamb of God Trivium Machine Head Killswitch Engage Other Children of Bodom Amon Amarth Sabaton Arch Enemy Primal Fear Insomnium Soulfly Swallow the Sun When my gf said she wanted to see Amon Amarth I had my reservations. 1) I'm not a huge death metal fan (though I've been getting more into it in recent years), and 2) they seemed kind of cheesy. But holy crap they put on an amazing live show! And other than Johan Hegg continually hoisting an empty drinking horn to salute the fans, it wasn't cheesy at all. Those guys write some really great songs. Vikings! Raise the shield wall! Hold the front line! Fight to death! F#CK YEA we will! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 1 minute ago, buddhahoodlum said: When my gf said she wanted to see Amon Amarth I had my reservations. 1) I'm not a huge death metal fan (though I've been getting more into it in recent years), and 2) they seemed kind of cheesy. But holy crap they put on an amazing live show! And other than Johan Hegg continually hoisting an empty drinking horn to salute the fans, it wasn't cheesy at all. Those guys write some really great songs. Vikings! Raise the shield wall! Hold the front line! Fight to death! F#CK YEA we will! Yes! I've seen them a few times, got to meet them. I also got to see them at an outdoor venue in Arizona a few years ago, and the stage was much bigger so they had the drummer on a Viking ship, Fire, etc. Some rockin' tunes. lol I had to laugh about raising the horn, but it fits with the song Raise Your Horns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnarcore Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Rock It covers such a wide variety and I am not giving up Led Zeppelin. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnarcore Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 17 minutes ago, Boudrias said: They say the music you grew up with is what sticks. Elvis, Roy, Platters, of course Buddy, and Patsy Cline. Loved their vocals. Holly was a innovator. Also liked some of the big band music even tho I am not that old. I was wondering what your age bracket was based on other threads. Thanks for the clue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Might as well ask if you can eat only one meal for the rest of your life. No. My music choices vary on my day, and mood I'm in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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