Any metal fans here?

[Unilin]

Sure, I like metal.  Espically the Alkali Earth metals.  Sodium, Lithium and so on.  Though, of course, Francium is the most excellent one of all.  I think most of the precious metals are a little too pretentious for my taste, but copper is always a good standby.  I only like pure metals, though, no alloys.

[Ghormak]

Pure metals... like pure gold?

[Unilin]

PURE GOLD, PURE GOLD!Ã,  RRRRR!!!!

* Unilin sends atomic monsters after Ghormak

[Las Naranjas]

Led Zeppelin is a tad on the heavy side, despite being quite soft.

But Iron Maiden is just too....ferrous.

[Helm]

Sacred Steel is a nice metal too, if you can get a priest, a judas one.

[HappyHobo]

I'm into metal. Stuff like:
In Flames
Pantera
Strapping Young Lad
Iron Maiden
Slayer
Iced Earth
Metallica (before Black Album)
GWAR (some of it is metal)
Black Sabbath
Shadows Fall
Manowar
Children of Bodom
Cradle of Filth

and I don't know if they count, but I like Atreyu, too. I just saw them this Saturday.
I know, my metalhead status is revoked because I like them, but whatever.

[Nikolas]

Tool are Metal?
Korn?
Maybe dEUS?

Shit! I have no idea about genres. Everything just crossfades into something else...

[Ishmael]

I have no idea about genres.

Everybody are too genre-oriented nowdays. Well, it's good if you can tell a friend "it's powermetal" if they ask what some band is like, but... jeez, still, all the sub-genres and sub-sub-genres... and if you accidentaly call some trash metal black metal someone is bound to go crazy about it... serious, what's the point?

[Helm]

If you call a cubist painting, a symbolist painting you seem confused and you cannot discuss with people less confused than you because you abuse the common terminology. It is the same with musical genres. As most people who aren't really interested in painting think of all modern painting is 'incomprehensible crap', people with no deep knowledge of music thing everything with loud guitars belongs to some particularily obnoxious kind of heavy metal. Genres make the life easier for people who desire to discuss the specifics of various musical movements. Make this analogy with anything you feel passionate about.

[Floskfinger]

I like metal (the term Heavy Metal was used by a journalist to discribe Jimi Hendrix in the late 60:s). By that I mean all the goodies from the end of 60:s, 70:s and 80:s.

But I like some newer stuff like Dream Theater, Pagan's Mind, Freak Kitchen etc.

I think all the diffrent metal genres and sub-genres is keeping (some) bands from being original and intressting. There too busy trying to fit a category

[DoorKnobHandle]

Dream Theater

Was about time someone named them here...

[xenogia]

Mattias Eklundh rocks man, Freak Kitchen are definetly one of my favourite bands and I'm from Australia.  No one knows who he is

And yeah Dream Theater rock also, been into them since I&W since I was young tottler of 12 now I am 24

[Ishmael]

Well yea, it's ofcource good you can name one band powermetal and some other deathmetal, but if you call some meloblack band deathmetal, someone goes all sixes and sevens on you...

[Nikolas]

Well... ifyou think about it genres are there so as not to mix traditional Indian music (for example) with, I don't know what else in the stroes...
But anyway it seems to me that a lot of bands (even most of them if you want) are made from the music industry.
I cannot believe that Marilyn Manson is not fake (but he sounds hard enough to enter this thread).
On the other hand NIN sound to me a little POP
I really can imagine, people playing Death-Trash-Black whatever Metal and going back home to their families and kids and all (really).

[Helm]

you really can't or can?

And a lot of people play thrash or death metal like it's their life depends on it. Even in this post-modern world a lot of people passionately love about the music they've chosen to play.

Marylin Manson isn't metal at all.

[Nikolas]

Marylin Manson isn't metal at all.

I know that, but you have to admit that he has a pretty hard sound (industrial though)

The thing is that really lot of the things we see on TV or MTV or live gigs or whatever, are just marketing. And anyway for an album to come out you need a whole buch of people (engineer, technician, producer, executive producer [I hate these guys] etc.) so the whole concept of an album is rarely the idea of a band, or a single person.
I just don't like people thinking that Metalica's album cover was made from metalica, or that anybody from the band had anything to do with it.
It is the companies that deal with these things...
Of course there are examples of bands that do it all themselves but it is pretty rare...

Anyway Does anybody have a definition for a metal sound (because just a lot of overdrive and some double kicks, don't make Metal, do they?) Where is the line that seperates metal from anything else?

[Paper Carnival]

I don't think there's a definite line, but one thing that's sure is that loud or heavy does not necessarily equal metal. As for Marilyn Manson, I only heard his Sweet Dreams cover and it kinda sounded like metal to me

[Helm]

most current actual metal bands, especially extreme metal bands have nothing to do with 'executive producers' if that makes you feel any better. Seriously. Most of these bands lose or at best don't see ANY money from putting out a record, and only see some returns when they play live shows. Most of them have day jobs.

so the whole concept of an album is rarely the idea of a band, or a single person.

so quite often it is.

The definition of heavy metal is a tricky one. It's far easier to tell what isn't metal than what is. Generally it has to be defined socially, historically as well as musically ( the timbre or predominating scales used) as well of course, aesthetically.

[Paper Carnival]

timbre and predominating scales? I googled it but I couldn't find anything, can anyone tell me how these work?

[Helm]

timbre is the sound of an instrument. I am refering to the specific brand of distorted and nondistrorted guitar sound and overcompressed drum most metal bands employ as the specific timbre in this case.

And predominant scales in heavy metal include pentatonic minor and major, natural minor, harmonic minor, several modes ( with which I have no experience so I won't comment) and when going to more extreme styles of metal a lot of chromaticism and fake atonal (based on a minor scale, but with plenty use of accidentals that are in the way of the fingering) scales. Metal chords most used are powerchords, inverted powerchords, octave chords ( nevermore must have not played a regular power chord in ages) tonic-fifth, tonic-fifth-ninth etc