Liric said:
Man real metal takes awhile to get used to, its an acquired taste. As you are exposed to more of it you learn how to listen to it, i.e. losing the basic assumption of vocals as the lead instrument, listening to the progression of melodic shapes instead of trying to pick out individual phrases...
and you ask about the appeal of the genre. There are alotta different genres in metal, and alot of them dont have much to do with the other styles. Even in, say, black metal, you could have a punk-grind band like Beherit which has nothing to do with the musical style of a symphonic band like Emperor, both of which have little to do with a melodic band like Dissection. There's no one album that can sum up metal, just as no one face can sum up the American population. I can tell you that Burzum's Hvis Lyset Tar Oss owns, but if I played it for a person not literate in metal they would just give me a funny look. I would play them some In Flames or somethin kinda mainstream sounding, something with enough familiar musical conventions for a non-metalhead to relate to, but enough metal elements to get them accustomed to the vocals, etc.
tbh, and maybe this is wrong, but i pretty much automatically just disregard people that cant "lose the basic assumption of vocals as the lead instrument" as having a mind way too simple and narrowed to even comprehend the simplest aspects of music. this is so easy to bring out in people with metal - the
only thing "dumb" people will hear is the vocals and some background noise.
and this is a good overall response, similiar to what i said. metal is way, way too diverse a style of music to be summed up in just one release. heck, an entire discography of any given band (and we all know its typical for metal bands to release 10+ albums) would not even come close. you have to sample lots of it over time.
listening to the more "mainstream" stuff, or stuff thats a bit more "dumb people friendly" (not to say the music is bad, but its music thats acceptable to people who freak out when music does not adhere tightly to the constraints of contemporary mass marketed music) is sort of like going to a chinese resteraunt and eating fried chicken and jello off the buffet. dont go tell your friends how much chinese food sucks when uve never had anything but the bastardized fried chicken.
(note that im using the word "dumb" to represent "numbness/insensitivity to anything unfamiliar")
so where do you start if u really are genuinely interested in learning about metal music (weather you like the music or not is an entire different subject, regardless, its still an extremely interesting musical art form)? id suggest again, just browse through this thread, and the previous two threads (just use search engine constrain to post titles and search for metal), check out anything that ppl in the threads said was a great release, listen to it in full, and then make a post in here about what you think. if you hate it outright, we can probably explain it better and direct you to a sort of metal-sphere-of-influence that might be more to your liking. if you like what youve sampled, then any self-respecting metalhead would be able to instantly rattle off 5 other bands of the same breed and calibur back to you.
possibly my favorite album of all time. its most certainly in my top 5 favorite cds. id reccomend this one for sure to ppl new to metal. as long as you can understand it isnt cracker-jack music crammed into a 3 minute time space for the listener's convenience. this album screams "work of art."
and R O F L @ "tight as a virgin's box," i enjoyed chaimera's last release so ill check this one out. that cover looks like some kinda new video game lol.
and indeli yeah i really dug that other kamelot album u posted in the older metal thread, im gonna have to check out some of their other stuff i hadnt ever heard them previously.
