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About heavy metal lyrical content....


Zardoz

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it seems to me that the first NWOBHM bands, but also bands like accept and judas priest had a focus on sci-fi, dragons and/or satanic imagery and other fantasy stuff, but was abruptly cut short by thrash metal whose lyrical content was about everyday politics and much more down-to-earth stuff (not counting violence), although for some reason death metal continued the tradition, same stuff as for black metal, albeit much more specifically anti-Christian.

how come there is a lack (if not complete ignorance) of fantasy in thrash metal? and am I wrong in saying that traditionally metal was about all of this escapist stuff?

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3 hours ago, Zardoz said:

it seems to me that the first NWOBHM bands, but also bands like accept and judas priest had a focus on sci-fi, dragons and/or satanic imagery and other fantasy stuff, but was abruptly cut short by thrash metal whose lyrical content was about everyday politics and much more down-to-earth stuff (not counting violence), although for some reason death metal continued the tradition, same stuff as for black metal, albeit much more specifically anti-Christian.

how come there is a lack (if not complete ignorance) of fantasy in thrash metal? and am I wrong in saying that traditionally metal was about all of this escapist stuff?

Umm, Kill 'Em All has fantasy or boneheaded fist pumping lyrical themes, like the NWOBHM that influenced them. Slayer was all satanic, Megadeth was black magic-occult. Anthrax was boneheaded or comic book themes. The direction changed a bit on later albums, but it didn't start that way.

Metal was often escapist, true, but it started with Black Sabbath which went all over the map with socially conscious lyrics. The first Priest album is all about everyday topics. Second album, a bit more abstract. Halford didn't start inventing stupid metal superheroes and villains until The Sinner, Starbreaker etc, on the third album.

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11 hours ago, Zardoz said:

it seems to me that the first NWOBHM bands, but also bands like accept and judas priest had a focus on sci-fi, dragons and/or satanic imagery and other fantasy stuff, but was abruptly cut short by thrash metal whose lyrical content was about everyday politics and much more down-to-earth stuff (not counting violence), although for some reason death metal continued the tradition, same stuff as for black metal, albeit much more specifically anti-Christian.

how come there is a lack (if not complete ignorance) of fantasy in thrash metal? and am I wrong in saying that traditionally metal was about all of this escapist stuff?

I'd  dispute NWOBHM and Accept sang about fantasy/sci fi:

Eg early Accept - mainly songs about partying, sex, rock n roll.

Raven - mainly songs about partying, sex, rock n roll.

Early Saxon - a lot of every day stuff including old steam locomotives and an actual runway black out as well as usual rock n roll themes. 

Iron Maiden - very little pure fantasy.  First few albums had songs about everything from prostitutes to literary characters to history to partying.    

Tygers of Pan-Tang - lots of everything.

 

Venom were the only NWOBHM band that embraced the Satanic imagery.

 

Fantasy lyrics were embraced by epic doom and speed metal bands (Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road, Helstar and most prominently by Helloween).

 

 

Thrash took on a lot more from punk and hardcore which was by nature more political.  Remember this was the 1980s with Reagan pushing the world back to the precipice of WW3, growing neoliberalism (Thatcherism and Reaganism) dismantling communities, growing awareness of environmental issues and Americans finally waking up to the fact the American Dream was dead.

The fantasy/sci fi is still there but just not as prominent.  Eg Megadeth's Five Magics and Psychotron or Anthrax's Medusa or Slayer's Die By The Sword or Metallica's Phantom Lord.  Kreator's Endless Pain had very much a fantasy album cover.  You also get modern stuff like Toxic Holocaust's Primal Future 2019 which has lots of post apocalyptic scifi.

Slayer and Teutonic thrash ala Sodom and Destruction was full of satanic stuff.  

 

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