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What is metal for you?


Holy Terror

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Re: How Metal Affects You there are two ways that metal affects me, firstly when I listen to metal I feel like I'm part of this huge group, a family if you will, that shares the same love and respect for music that I do, this was really driven home last year when Metallica played my home town of Adelaide in Australia, to give you a little understanding of what it's like living in Adelaide it's also known as "the city of churches" because there's pretty much a church on every street. It's a place where the church groups kicked up about AC/DC playing a show here (and succeeded in having a curfew imposed on the concert), and where you will probably be called a "devil worshipper" for wearing a Judas Priest tee. So whilst I was standing (no one sat down from the moment Metallica walked out) at the concert I looked around at what was probably the 20,000 strong crowd (like I said it's a pretty small town) I couldn't help but think about all these people with different lives and interests, all jumping around and screaming the lyrics to Master Of Puppets at the top of their lungs. Second no matter how my day goes the music will always be there, it doesn't judge me or criticise me it's just always there for me, like an old friend, it's comforting, and on the days when I'm in a good mood it just makes me happier and I crank it all the way up, bang my head like a lunatic and sing along as loud as I can, whether the rest of my family likes that or not is probably another story but I just can't help myself ps sorry this post is so freakin' huge but I'm speaking from the heart and describing exactly how metal has influenced my life

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Re: How Metal Affects You

there are two ways that metal affects me, firstly when I listen to metal I feel like I'm part of this huge group, a family if you will, that shares the same love and respect for music that I do, this was really driven home last year when Metallica played my home town of Adelaide in Australia, to give you a little understanding of what it's like living in Adelaide it's also known as "the city of churches" because there's pretty much a church on every street. It's a place where the church groups kicked up about AC/DC playing a show here (and succeeded in having a curfew imposed on the concert), and where you will probably be called a "devil worshipper" for wearing a Judas Priest tee. So whilst I was standing (no one sat down from the moment Metallica walked out) at the concert I looked around at what was probably the 20,000 strong crowd (like I said it's a pretty small town) I couldn't help but think about all these people with different lives and interests, all jumping around and screaming the lyrics to Master Of Puppets at the top of their lungs. Second no matter how my day goes the music will always be there, it doesn't judge me or criticise me it's just always there for me, like an old friend, it's comforting, and on the days when I'm in a good mood it just makes me happier and I crank it all the way up, bang my head like a lunatic and sing along as loud as I can, whether the rest of my family likes that or not is probably another story but I just can't help myself ps sorry this post is so freakin' huge but I'm speaking from the heart and describing exactly how metal has influenced my life
I feel the same, the Exactly same, It feels like i'm a part of a well, family, That all share the same respect, as you said. Let take my family as an Example, I'm the only metalhead, exept my sis, in my family, My step-dad was a drummer of a reggie band, my mon likes, i dunno :P So, when im alone home, i Turn the volume to max, and sing along in the songs, headbang, you name it, as i am doing this, i feel like im ''connected'' to the ''family'' to you guys, yes that might sound wierd, but that's how i feel...
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Re: How Metal Affects You

I feel the same, the Exactly same, It feels like i'm a part of a well, family, That all share the same respect, as you said. Let take my family as an Example, I'm the only metalhead, exept my sis, in my family, My step-dad was a drummer of a reggie band, my mon likes, i dunno :P So, when im alone home, i Turn the volume to max, and sing along in the songs, headbang, you name it, as i am doing this, i feel like im ''connected'' to the ''family'' to you guys, yes that might sound wierd, but that's how i feel...
I can understand what you're saying...HammerFall talks about 'sisters and brothers in metal'. I guess that's what you're talking about?
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Re: How Metal Affects You Going back to very beginning of this thread, the community of metal is unique, not in its "brotherhood", but how wide the cultural differences are that are spanned. What I mean is, in most other forms of music there is a community, but it started as a community, with people of similar backgrounds. Metal draws from all walks of life. I am not endorsing stereotypes, but usually groups of people who grew up together and had similar experiences ended up with their friends listening to the same types of music. But metal, metal often has to be sought out, or run across by accident, then the individual falls in love with it. This creates a way more diverse sampling of the population in the fanbase. As for the theme of this thread, metal affects me by allowing me to understand my own feelings. I can let go, and just be when I am listening, no need to create some false image for the world. The message to me is: "You are OK, itis the world that is fucked", and that lets me relax.

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Re: How Metal Affects You I used to be a bit of a teenbopper back in the day and it wasn't until a friend got me into the first metal band I had ever properly listened to, Iron Maiden. That was in my early 20's . I am Amazed at how powerful this genre can be with a lot of other Sub genre's forming as we speak so rapidly. I was hardly ever a metal fan until somebody showed me exactly what it was all about. Metal music has the power to change musical tastes with it's powerful lyrics, it's tone and grit of guitars, the double kick you hear on the drums, the powerful full-bodied sound you hear on the bass, the sound of the vocals. Metal has evolved because there are so many different sounding bands out there who are highly influenced by other genres. Metal speaks louder than words and far more better than any physical conflict, I.E a punch in the face or a kick in the family jewels! Nah fuck brawls! Rebel with heavy metal! It can replace a lot of physical negative energy. I guess that's how Metal can affect not just me but other people who love it around me.

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Re: How Metal Affects You the power of Metal to unite people from all over the world is what makes it so special. I've always loved metal but it wasn't until I saw a documentary called Metal: A Headbangers Journey that I started thinking about exactly what metal means to me, and not until I saw the follow up documentary Global Metal that I thought about that power I spoke about. I would highly recommend watching those documentaries to any metal head as I'm sure they will really make you appreciate metal that much more

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Re: How Metal Affects You

the power of Metal to unite people from all over the world is what makes it so special. I've always loved metal but it wasn't until I saw a documentary called Metal: A Headbangers Journey that I started thinking about exactly what metal means to me' date=' and not until I saw the follow up documentary Global Metal that I thought about that power I spoke about. I would highly recommend watching those documentaries to any metal head as I'm sure they will really make you appreciate metal that much more[/quote'] I've been told by several people that the first documentary you mentioned is worth checking out. My problem is they don't really touch Doom at all in it. I've seen several documentaries on Heavy Metal over the years but the biggest thing they all have in common is the generally narrow slant of the director. Regardless of whether its positive or not a lot of the information presented isn't always accurate. I've never heard of the second documentary you spoke of, I'll look into it.
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Re: How Metal Affects You One way that metal has affected me is the fact that if I go out wearing a band T-shirt etc. I can be somewhere completely random (from beer festivals to in the supermarket) and someone will come up to me and start talking to me about said band, I've made loads of friends that way, people who I would probably never have met otherwise! While I'm sure this happens with other genres I haven't heard any of my non-metal friends describe this kind of thing...

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Re: How Metal Affects You I get more of the "you listen to metal? are you depressed or something?" or "metal is so stupid" etc comments then people wanting to talk metal, although it has happened once or twice, metal has helped me through some very dark times in recent years (a point which I frequently raise with the people who make negative comments towards it) so the way I see it if metal is able to make people feel good about themselves and help them get through any problems they're having then it IS more then just music, it almost becomes a living thing, it can be like a good friend, always there to support and help out when you need it. that may seem really corny and lame but it's how I feel.

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Re: How Metal Affects You

I get more of the "you listen to metal? are you depressed or something?" or "metal is so stupid" etc
I haven't really had a problem with people saying things like that since I was in school, listening to Cradle of Filth when everyone else was listening to the latest pop-factor monstrosity was always likely to attract that kind of comment in school I guess. These days I find that people are generally of the opinion that anyone can listen to what they like as far as music is concerned, they might not like metal, but they don't criticize. I expect individual experiences have something to do with the country you're in, for example bible belt America is going to have a very different attitude towards your choices than the UK, and not just in terms of music choice.
the way I see it if metal is able to make people feel good about themselves and help them get through any problems they're having then it IS more then just music' date=' it almost becomes a living thing, it can be like a good friend, always there to support and help out when you need it. [/quote'] I agree, but I don't think that this is necessarily an observation on metal so much as for music in general. People use the music they like to help them through difficult times; it just happens that for us the music we like and retreat to is metal.
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Re: How Metal Affects You

One way that metal has affected me is the fact that if I go out wearing a band T-shirt etc. I can be somewhere completely random (from beer festivals to in the supermarket) and someone will come up to me and start talking to me about said band' date=' I've made loads of friends that way, people who I would probably never have met otherwise! While I'm sure this happens with other genres I haven't heard any of my non-metal friends describe this kind of thing...[/quote'] Har. I can't even augur a reaction when I'm wearing a band shirt. Probably because no one here has heard of the bands I have shirts for...on the other hand, if I see anyone with something other than a Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Black Dahlia Murder or Lamb Of God shirt, I try to compliment them. Had one girl ask 'doesn't metal just make you angry or depressed all the time?' Yeah, usually because metal has the gumption to pay attention to the more difficult side of life, and if they do want to write a happy song it's better thought out. Funny thing is that she somehow can't figure out that that's what I'm going to do my music speech on.
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Re: How Metal Affects You I think people get the impression that metal is depressing because the lyrics are usually brutal, they're used to these pop lyrics about whatever the hell pop "musicians" (and I use the term very loosely) write about and they're always so cheerful, then they hear something like Megadeth's Holy Wars...The Punishment Due with lyrics like this "Brother will kill brother Spilling blood across the land Killing for religion Something I don't understand" which is basically saying everything isn't cheerful and happy, the world is fucked up, it must be quite confronting for them to hear music which actually looks at what's going on in the world at large as opposed to what's going on at some nightclub (obviously just about any example of a metal song would work but Holy Wars is one of my all time favourite songs and I like to quote it whenever possible)

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Re: How Metal Affects You

I think people get the impression that metal is depressing because the lyrics are usually brutal, they're used to these pop lyrics about whatever the hell pop "musicians" (and I use the term very loosely) write about and they're always so cheerful, then they hear something like Megadeth's Holy Wars...The Punishment Due with lyrics like this "Brother will kill brother Spilling blood across the land Killing for religion Something I don't understand" which is basically saying everything isn't cheerful and happy, the world is fucked up, it must be quite confronting for them to hear music which actually looks at what's going on in the world at large as opposed to what's going on at some nightclub (obviously just about any example of a metal song would work but Holy Wars is one of my all time favourite songs and I like to quote it whenever possible)
When anyone who ever tries to tell me that all metal songs are depressing, I point them in the direction of Helloween - Future World or Gamma Ray - Heaven Can Wait. Then I try to explain that just because songs have a serious or dark subject matter doesn't mean you have to be depressed to like them. Would be silly if people applied the same philosophy to films; serious films and horror movies would be out - does anyone really want to watch upbeat rom-coms all the time? Or thinking about books, I can't recall a single classic which is happy happy happy all the way through (except maybe the very hungry caterpillar...)
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Re: How Metal Affects You possibly Dante's Divine Comedy purely pecause of his discussion of Paradise at the end, but yes most of the great works of literature don't have happy endings i.e. Dracula, Frankenstein, Silence Of The Lambs, in more recent times the works of Stephen King. I tend to get bored quite quickly with books that are supposedly fantastic i.e. Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings, purely because they always seem to involve the hero solving some sort of dilemma, and usually having everything work out well, when you read a horror story sure the hero may solve the problem, but only after countless horrific events have taken place. Take Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" for example, the hero does come out somewhat successful, but just about every character dies in the process

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Re: How Metal Affects You Ar. Wuthering Heights just went from bad to worse, and Far From the Madding Crowd was melancholic as well. Anyhow, the other nice thing is that metal songs can be happy, but usually that's a more mature happiness, especially in prog.

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Re: How Metal Affects You metal can certainly be happy and fun, I mean there are lots of good examplses of fun metal songs, especially in thrash, i.e. Exodus - Toxic Waltz, Megadeth - Rattlehead, Metallica - Hit THe Lights and Whiplash, and too many to name even in the limited amount of Power Metal I've heard so far, I think I did say this already but metal artists have much more freedom in terms of lyrical content whereas pop artists almost have to be shallow all the time

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