Mecca

I like this comment - maybe the source of our different opinions is what we respectively consider to be required in the "sonic equation" (nice phrase by the way) for metal. Maybe my threshold is lower than yours. I write about my "sonic equation" here - I'd be stoked if you could give me your thoughts too on what you consider metal!

OMG - someone who actually largely agrees with me haha. Thanks for the comment mate - what kind of bands you into?

Well I can definitely conclude that you do not like Slipknot haha. I agree that they have unnecessary members and that the whole get up is very gimmicky. I think where I disagree with you is where you say they have progressed pass nu metal but not into anything more metal. My interpretation of your comment is that even if Slipknot are metal, it's really really really shit metal with shit lyrics, shit song structure and music with no feeling...so it's so bad to the point it's not metal?

Cheers for the comment - appreciate it. I'm glad that you agree with me about nu-metal not actually being metal...."Nu-metal" is more like 99% not metal, 1% metal - really exaggerated but done so to make my point". The hardest part when writing this post was, in my opinion, bands that have evolved or developed their sound. I am by no means a maggot, but I find it extremely difficult to say Slipknot are not metal despite their nu-metal elements in my opinion (in particular their later releases). I'm interested in what you mean by incorporating metal elements in a "bastardised way"? If I interpret that correctly (which I may not be), you are saying they have incorporated metal elements but have done so poorly. In my opinion, it still makes it metal, albeit metal I don't like. But yes regardless of whether it is metal or not (I am just interested from an academic point of view), power to those who like the music.

What forge said haha What are your thoughts anyway? Agree/disagree with me? Interested to hear what people think...

Metalheads! This one is going to grind some gears....basically this post is my opinion of why the 10 bands below are "metal" or "not metal". This is purely my opinion so comments and discussion are encouraged. This post is part of the "Metal Basics" series on my blog but has been slightly abridged for this forum. It builds on my post "what the hell is metal anyway". Please note that there is some tongue and cheek in this article and it may help if you read "what the hell is metal anyway" before absolutely crucifying me in the comments Disclaimers and context I want to begin by saying that I do not subscribe to the whole "this isn't 'true' metal" way of thinking. If the song is metal, it's metal. If it's not metal, it's not metal. To use a much clichéd example - Metallica's first 5 albums are metal (yes, I consider the Black Album metal - which I discussed here). Load and Reload are not metal. That's it - clear cut. None of this "true metal" BS. You may also notice that many of the bands below could be considered "nu-metal". This is a debate for another day, but to me the genre of "nu-metal" deviates too significantly from "metal" that makes it not metal (despite having metal influences). Compare this to say "death metal" or "thrash metal" which are different stylings of metal, but nonetheless they adhere to 99% of metal elements. "Nu-metal" is more like 99% not metal, 1% metal - really exaggerated but done so to make my point. I will elaborate on this in my next Metal Basics post entitled "subgenres…does metal need them?" on another day. Let the debate begin (let's try keep the hate to a minimum yeah?)! 1) Is Justin Bieber Metal? Let's start off with an easy one. No (but the death growls, blast beats and technical guitar work do put it on the cusp of the metal genre). 2) Are Slipknot Metal? Ah, the band that "tr00" metalheads LOVE TO HATE. Personally, I don't get the hate. Maybe it's the gimmicky get up they have with the masks and uniforms, maybe it's because they use turntables or maybe because they can be considered mainstream and successful. For me, the use of non-metal elements does not automatically disqualify a band from being "metal" (unless it is totally overwhelming - e.g. 50 cent rapping over Sylosis riffs). It is the removal of certain of elements that makes a song not metal (again, my opinion only). So the use of turntables is fine for me. Of course, there are Slipknot songs which shy away from the metal sound (thinking Dead Memories), but many metal records have these songs for diversity and to break the record up so it is not just 100% balls to the wall. E.g. A Tout Le Monde off Cryptic Writings, The Hardest Part of Letting Go off Endgame, Nothing Else Matters off The Black Album. Metal bands can write non-metal songs. Whether you hate them or love them (are you a maggot?), in my opinion, Slipknot are METAL and there are no two ways about it. 3) Are Korn Metal? On balance, I don't think Korn should be considered Metal, which actually aligns with frontman Jonathan Davis' own thoughts. You can't deny that they have metal elements, such as downtuned guitars, occasional harsh vocals and some really really mean breakdowns (Freak On a Leash). But when you look at Korn holistically, they deviate from Metal stylings more than adhering to it. Not METAL but some cool tunes. 4) Are P.O.D metal? Slightly easier decision than Korn for me because P.O.D doesn't really make me want to bang my head or get my blood pumping (whilst not necessarily fatal to P.O.D being metal, it does make it an uphill battle). Having said that, they do have heavy distorted guitars, but the vocals are not really aggressive enough. Now of course Power Metal bands don't have aggressive vocals, and nor does Belladonna era Anthrax....but these bands possess other elements that kick them back into the metal realm. P.O.D doesn't have the same elements. Not METAL, but some cool tunes. 5) Are Avenged Sevenfold metal? I think they just slip into the metal genre for me. Although they don't do it for me personally, they do possess some pretty metal elements in terms of their instruments. The only thing potentially questionable are the vocals - but not entirely fatal to A7X being considered metal in my books. METAL (but closer to being not metal than being really metal). 6) Are Linkin Park metal? OK, I have no shame at all in saying this on a metal forum, but I actually really enjoy Hybrid Theory and Meteora (their first two albums). It does get me pumping and banging my head - think One Step Closer (ok, not in the same way I would to say... Cannibal Corpse). They have metal elements like the distorted guitars etc and the occasional screams from Chester (but then again Linkin Park mostly rap and do clean singing) but they don't really have solos, double kicks etc. My conclusion? Not metal but really heavy rock with rap/hip hop influences (their most recent releases is more just radio rock imo). 7) Are System of A Down metal? For me, SOAD are not metal but they have really AMAZING vocals and some memorable guitar riffs. I like to describe them as having some metal-esque riffs (and screams) in non metal songs, such as in BYOB or Chop Suey. Yeah you can bang your head to some songs, they have some heavy riffs, but on the whole SOAD songs do not demonstrate metal elements on a consistent enough basis to fairly call it metal. Neither do I consider it hard rock either.....as Yoda would say, "an anomaly, System of a Down, is". 8) Are Godsmack metal? On a knife edge between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal - just tipping towards metal though. It's not particularly heavy, but metal does not necessarily need to be super heavy. They have some pretty grooving riffs though! In my opinion, Godsmack is metal that can played on the radio and non metalheads wouldn't go "OMG WHAT IS THAT?". Metal in my books, even if just by a whisker \m/ 9) Are Disturbed metal? Pretty similar vein to Godsmack really. They started off not really as a metal band (The Sickness) but have developed their "metal" sound throughout their 5 CD discography. Yep, definitely metal, but not too heavy. Disturbed is metal that can played on the radio and non metalheads wouldn't go "OMG WHAT IS THAT?" 10) Is Rob Zombie metal? Metal but some songs drift into the hard rock category and some electro elements. Not all that contentious in my opinion - overall definitely METAL. 11) Are Rammstein metal? Again, not all that contentious in my opinion despite many songs only meeting Step Two in my opinion. Rammstein is a strange one but I believe it would be incorrect to to call them not metal. Sorry this is a rather weak argument but the "feel and vibe" overall says metal to me. Like I alluded to above in Slipknot, many metal bands write ballads or non metal songs in their CDs. Rammstein just does more "ballads" or non metal songs than other metal bands do. Honourable Mentions Cannibal Corpse, Testament and At The Gates are definitely pop. Anyone who says otherwise is tonedeaf Let me know your thoughts metalheads...I'm bound to have pissed someone off with this post! \m/ecca

The weird thing is that the reasons I got into metal in the first place (you can read the link if you are looking for that "reinspiration"...but getting that passion for metal back should really be organic and natural in my opinion) are not necessarily the same reasons why I love it today. I only have three reasons, which is more than enough for me! 1) Like those who have posted before me, it is first and foremost the energy and feelings that metal invokes in me that no other music does; 2) As a former pianist, I sometimes felt that precision was more important than feeling in my music. Metal harbours both these qualities. 3) The community - cool people like those in this forum, artists on YT and people at gigs who I would never have talked to were it not for metal. I hope you do find what you are looking for (ugh, sorry that sounds so cheesy). \m/ecca

Metalheads! This is a repost of my review of Trivium's debut record, Ember To Inferno (2003), which appears on my blog here. I get the feeling that they may not be many fans of this tyoe of metal on this forum but for those who do, enjoy! Seeing as Trivium are the band that got me into metal (read about it here) and that it has been 10 years since the release of their début album, I thought it would a good time to revisit that very début album, and review Ember To Inferno for nostalgia's sake. The Ember To Inferno line-up - from left to right: Brent Young (bass), Travis Smith (drums) and Matt Heafy (guitar and vocals) Summary Let's put this in context.... Ember To Inferno was written and recorded when Heafy was 17 years old. To achieve this by the age of 17 is no mean feat, let alone being signed onto a record label (Lifeforce Records) as well. The riffs on this album are a mixture of groove and thrash which is indicative of their inspirations, which include Pantera and Metallica. What surprised me the most was the musicianship of Heafy. Yes, the composition is not particularly intricate in that it generally follows the verse/chorus structure (the second half of the album is where all the good stuff is imo), but I bet that after you listen to the album, you will put it on again right away and be humming several of the tunes. The songs are extremely memorable and they will be burned into your brain. Heafy also demonstrates a strong vocal capability by showing that he can scream and sing. Smith provides drums which, whilst not spectacular, complement the music beautifully. I think Smith has great groove in his drumming and he knows how to drum "for the song". It is a shame he is no longer with Trivium. In summary, 3.5 out of 5 horns from me! \m/\m/\m/\nn/\m/ Stellar début effort! See below for my track by track analysis! Track by track review 1. Inception The Bleeding Skies The calm before the storm....... nice little orchestral tune. Nothing special but should mention it is "A View of Burning Empires" played in reverse. 2. Pillars of Serpents I hope you are ready to headbang. One of the heaviest intro riffs ever - especially when locked in with the double kick. I guarantee your face will melt when Heafy's vocals kick in at the half minute mark. The song is unrelentless in its aggression, in particular at the 2 minute mark where you could just imagine all hell breaking loose....as demonstrated below with line up as at 2009. Heaviest song on the album. 3. If I Could Collapse The Masses Another heavy song but with quite a bit more clean singing throughout the song. One of my favourite parts in this song is the breakdown/bridge and solo section - nothing overly technical or extraordinary but the beauty is in its simplicity. There is a headbang inducing breakdown followed by some nice melodies in the solo. The song finishes by moving up a key, which is a nice change from just playing the intro again. 4. Fugue (A Revelation) The intro riff is pure thrash and really gets your blood pumping (or bodies moving as Heafy likes to say). There is a nice balance of shred and melody in the solo too. Like the song before, the song finishes by moving up a key to keep things fresh. 5. Requiem Unfortunately this tune just doesn't do it for me... I'm just not a big fan of the riffs. However, this is not denying the chops in this song. Some really tight picking hand technique in this song (for the guitarists out there). 6. Ember To Inferno Ah, the title track and it doesn't disappoint. The vocals, section before the solo and the outro solo are the highlights for me in this song. The vocals sound extra "passionate" to me in this tune, whether they are screams or cleans. I particularly like the bit when Heafy goes "SACRED" and the riff that goes after that....so groovy! Killer killer outro solo too. Check out the Chapman Studios live performance...talk about fast or what!! 7. Ashes Short instrumental track with "peaceful" vibe break up the album - nice touch. 8. To Burn The Eye I really like this track - relative to the rest of the album I feel like this song is a lot more complex from a compositional perspective. There are more riffs and the song structure seems a bit more thought out than the verse/chorus structure. I also like the bass which comes through during the breakdown - it really drives the heaviness in that section. I have not seen them play this song live but the middle section would be great live (pits would be crazy) and I think the solo is tasteful shred defined! 9. Falling To Grey So much to say about this song - awesome tremolo picked intro, the simple verse riff to let the double kick shine through (Smith's forte), the use of the inverted chords for diversity and the pre solo and solo are perfect examples in writing melodic metal riffs and licks. Amazing song - shout out to Smith's drumming again in this song. 10. My Hatred This song is riffage galore! My Hatred would be a good song to involve the crowd with its catchy chorus..."FEEL, FEEL, MY HATRED!" Again, a common theme shining through here is the strong middle section which really keeps the momentum up in this song (where many songs drop off). 11. When All Light Dies Possibly the best song of the album! Absolutely killer intro (great for "heys" live) and the riff following the melodic octaves is just so so thrashy! I LOVE the cymbal chokes and the artificial harmonics throughout this song! In terms of an overall perspective, this song is the most "complete". Heavy breakdown, melody and shred in the solo....what more could you want? Best outro in the whole album too. 12. A View of Burning Empires Picks up with an acoustic guitar where When All Light Dies left off... a big fan of the harmonised octaves. Finishes the album off nicely. Horns up \m/ecca

Welcome! I like your attitude - it's very "metal" in that you just raise the middle finger to adversity and keep you head held up high

Maybe I'm just not "chaotically and nu metally staccato" inclined haha! Yeah man, Imperium and Descend The Shades of Night are my favourites off Through The Ashes. I'm looking forward to MH and Trivium's new albums...I believe MH have begun the writing process for the follow up to Locust and Trivium have finished recording Album V. I wonder how the departure of Adam Duce will impact on MH.... I wrote about it here if you're keen to read about it \m/

Hi Idlewilde - thank you for the welcome What bands do you listen to?

100% agree that you have to really "listen" to Blackening but can just pop Locust on in the background!

Such a shame you don't like MH my friend! Having said that, I am actually only a fan of The Blackening [2007] and Locust [2011]. Not sure why, but their earlier albums just don't do it for me, but I know A LOT of ppl would disagree with that statement...just my opinion.

Metalheads! I had never heard of Oblivion until Ben Orum, their current bassist, announced he left All Shall Perish for these guys. So I gave their album Called To Rise a go, with no expectations. From left to right - Victor Dods (guitar), Luis Martinez (drums), Nick Vasallo (vocals), Ben Orum (bassist) and Ted O'Neill (guitar) Apart from using adjectives such as staggering, mind-blowing and asking questions like #whatdidIjustlistento and #howdoyoucomposemusiclikethis (meant to be interpreted as a complement), what were my thoughts? Each and every member of Oblivion is the absolute definition of technical mastery in relation to their respective instruments. Although metal as a genre generally requires more technical ability than just strumming a few chords, Oblivion takes this to a whole other level. Each member demonstrates absolute control of their art and it is more than impressive. Personally, as a novice guitarist that is satisfied with chugging generic metal riffs, I feel totally under qualified to review and offer an opinion on this music (note that Vasallo, the vocalist and main songwriter, is a Doctor in Music Arts and a world renowned composer). Nonetheless, I shall try….. SUMMARY Called to Rise this is a MONSTER metal album that will utterly numb your senses and make you get goose bumps all over, as several of the songs did for me. To the non-musician or metalhead who listens to more “generic” metal, the album may start to get monotonous for you around the halfway mark. It isn’t necessarily focused on melody or “memorable” riffs like some of the more well-known metal bands. However, if you are a metalhead that likes intricate riffage and technical playing in metal, or you are a musician (not necessarily into metal) that has a general appreciation of composition and music structure, this album is for you. This is not a metal album that you can just have on in the background while doing chores etc – you must sit down and actually LISTEN to it to appreciate all the subtleties throughout the music. In a way, it is almost hard work because there is so much going on in the music and you need to concentrate to no miss anything. I URGE you to give Called To Rise a listen because it will make you view metal in a totally different light. 4 out of 5 horns from me \m/\m/\m/\m/\m/. One amazing metal album that deserves to stand the test of time. See below for a track by track review. (P.S. special mention to the final two tracks with the string orchestra…..wow….just wow). Track by track review 1. Oblivion Part 1: The Chant of Tyrants One of my favourite things about metal albums is the acoustic/soft intro song. Oblivion does not disappoint in this respect. This album begins with a soul piercing opera chant with distorted guitars in the background. There is a motivational speech (the way I interpreted it) going on in the midst of this…with a personal favourite line – “The death of weakness”. 2. Black Veils of Justice This song begins with what I like to call an “out of tune” tremolo scale. It sounds totally out of tune and out of control but it is somehow composed in an organised manner which makes the chaos gel. You just have absolutely no idea where the song is going which is nice because it keeps you on the edge of your seat…no verse/chorus formula to be found here. The dissonance at 2.20 was a nice touch without being overdone and the “breakdown” complemented with the cymbal chokes made me what to smash a brick wall. Metal at its finest. 3. Between Suns of Light Vasallo’s vocals hit me like a tonne of bricks at the start… absolutely and utterly brutal. Again, it is organised chaos. It sounds like the instruments are out of time, but it also sounds so “right” in a way. Big fan of the “stop start” guitar rhythm around the 1.20 mark and the high pitched shriek at 2.00 mark was a shock. I was not aware Vasallo was capable of such range. This is followed by a super shred metal solo top the song off. 4. Binary Souls The clean guitar at the beginning is no indication of the carnage that is about to be unleashed upon the listener…. I know Oblivion are not a touring band and I do not question their ability, but god damn how will they pull songs like these off live? They would have to rehearse so much that the guitarists would develop arthritis in their hands and fingers and the drummer would be put in a wheelchair due to overuse of muscles and limbs! I like the slight change in tempo at around the 1 min mark just to break it up and not always be 100% balls to the wall. I also liked the slow “sludge” feel around 1.30 with some heavy palm mute chugging. Cool little trills around 2.20 too….metal. 5. Reclamation Intricate bass riff at the start followed by a soul crushing Vasallo growl. It’s hard to explain, but there is a certain higher pitched note that the guitars keep hitting to maintain a very catchy riff. You must listen to it to understand what I mean (see clip below). This particular theme to the song is revisited many times throughout the song and makes the riff very memorable (despite what I said at the beginning of this review). There is a breakdown at the 3 minute mark for you to groove and headbang to – it would be a great live song if they toured. 6. Canon 1 in E Minor As the name suggests, there is a strong classical vibe to this tune (not surprising considering Vasallo’s background). Broadly, a Canon requires a melody to be imitated throughout the song, which you definitely hear. As the “minor” in the title suggests, there is a slight “sad” feel to the tune but also a real sense of dread and foreboding…. 7. Annunaki The octave melody at the start is followed by pure craziness and aggression in the riffing. I want to give a particular mention to the drumming in this song – it really stuck with me how well they complemented the rest of the song, especially the motif of the 3 snare beats that keeps reappearing throughout then song which go, boom boom boom, boom boom boom. 8. Reigns in Fire Over the halfway mark and no let up from these guys. Intense double kick during this song complemented by the “out of tune” feel as mentioned in Black Veils of Justice. Big fan of how the solo just appears out of nowhere with shred, sweeps, taps and the whole kitchen sink of guitar soloing techniques. This trades off to a more melodic solo which balances out this song very nicely. 9. Cancer of Wraiths I sense a much more groovy feel to this song which is much more conducive to headbanging. Vasallo’s vocals destroy in this song, especially when he goes “CANCER OF WRAITHS!!!!”. Sounds totally venomous. 10. Multiverse The peaceful clean guitar intro is shrouded in mystery, in particular when the piano kicks in. The peaceful vibe descends into a quite an eerie feel which will make you keep looking behind you to see if someone is creeping up on you. The clean intro in this song gave me goose bumps and made my hairs stand before the heaviness kicked in. I also like the “random” (no doubt calculated by the band, but sounding random to the ignorant bystander like me) sweeps injected into the song in unexpected places. 11. Oblivion Part 2: Infinite Descent We arrive back at where the album started – ritualistic chanting and tribal-esque drumming. The chanting goes through phases that give different vibes, which fades to being barely audible and the drums and bass become more prominent and then reverting back to the chants. I got a big fright near the end of this song too…did you? Personally thought this song was too long though. 12. Black Veils of Justice (Instrumental version) This is a good chance for people trying to learn the song to attempt and break the song down…. good luck. I appreciated aspects of the song which I was not able to notice in the non-instrumental version, in particular the drumming. Luis sounds like a machine and the sheer amount of rhythmic changes and patterns he chops and changes between is breath-taking. 13. Shred: I. Multiverse (String Orchestra) Okay Multiverse is good but this is even better (how is this possible???). The strings made my face go numb… no jokes. The strings made me visualise that I was falling into a bottomless pool of water and the “chaotic” parts (you will know what I mean when you listen to the song) are me trying to struggle out of the water. If they did this song live it would be so metal…. But would I sit or headbang? DILEMMA. 14. Shred: II. Long Deaf Hate (String Orchestra) This would be a perfect soundtrack for a movie like Inception. I got the feeling this song ws about a race against time (e.g. getting to the next dream layer within the allotted time in Inception). The “chugging” riffs on the strings sound so so evil. Think I might have nightmares tonight! The addition of the vocals going “shhhhhhhh” was a very nice touch, as was the tribute to a famous thrash metal song…….did you get it? I'm all tired from listening to this metal as hell album..... until next time metalheads! Horns up \m/ecca

Thanks BlutAusNerd, will definitely go check it out \m/

Iceni - maybe you can introduce me to some Avant Garde and Prog - two genres I have very little exposure to!

Ciao Gianni! I am also new here Don't worry about your English, a lot of people would be proud to speak two languages. I LOVE Septic Flesh \m/ It's cool you like Korn too because I feel like metalheads give them so much hate! Life is Peachy is a good album Nice to see some classical music fans in too - big fan myself!

Haha cheers mate - here are some ideas for your review! Deathspell Omega, Orphaned Land, Blind Guardian, Arsis, diSEMBOWELMENT, Nevertanezra, Steel Attack, Dissection, Mournful Congregation and Overkill