Who else has noticed this with metal and hardcore?

[Im_A]

i love metal and hardcore, or "extreme" music, lol.

i love it on both scenes meaning Christian and non-Christian.

one question tho.

who else is noticing things in the metal and hardcore scene? i mean maybe i've just caught this with my ears recently, but, some of the new hardcore bands out there, just seem to have no melodic sense to their music. no like, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, all that musical stuff. and i can hear the changes ya know, but it doesn't seem to be there giving you chills while listening to them, or making you bang your head harder while driving, or sitting at the computer desk. ok, yes i'm crazy from time to time, haha.

i mean i know within the Christian Hardcore scene, there were just some amazing bands. and now, i know one band that stands out to me is Figure Four. maybe similiarities in styles of Hatebreed, and they are awesome.

i used to be a fan of the likes of Norma Jean, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Everytime I Die, stuff like that. very, intricate, and maybe chaotic metalcore/hardcore. but now, it's like if i buy their cd's, i'm like yea there are good songs on there, but it's something i won't be listening to a whole bunch. it's like something is missing in their own brand of heaviness.

then, i listen to the likes of Heavenshallburn, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, In Flames, Living Sacrifice, Zao (especially the newst release, wow is all i can say), Tourniquet, Soulfly, As I Lay Dying, and it's like finally there is some very musical metal out there, at least in my own likings. i mean the classic metal stuff, i haven't listened to much, simply because i never knew anyone or anyway of finding when i starting to like the metal and hardcore scene. i mean yea, i like metallica, megadeath, and stuff, but stuff like Iron Maiden, Dream Theatre, Queensryche, and stuff like that. and even the classics in the more extreme metal scene, i haven't heard of simply put because i dont' know where to find it, and i dont' want to buy an album if i don't know i'll like it for the most part. i mean i have been fortunate to take a risk on a band and they become of my favorite bands. but with the older stuff, i'm careful because my likings and my growing up is in the new metal scene, so i'll just have to see what i can run into.

 

[Im_A]

also mad props to the European metal bands!!!!


keep cranking out the metal!!!

 

[Roo6339]

yeah... i agree... the more recent stuff is starting to sound all the same. i guess all the new things to be done have been done... now it's just repeating. i still listen to and love it though.

and Scandanavia is THE best... what's the word... region? for metal... that's sweden, finland, norway and denmark...

 

[absolutely_lost_86]

ohhhhhhhhhhhh yeh, scandanavi has awesome meta bands. NIGHTWISH, FINTROLL, SONATA ARCTICA. europe in general has the greatest metal bands of all time. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Accept, Black Sabbath, Running Wild

 

[Aria_Joy87]

i agree that a lot of the music is beginning to sound the same... there are several newer metal bands that i like listening to, but after a while, it just seems to get old...

i wish more bands now would play like older bands, if that makes much sense... i love the old, more intricate sound of the guitar and drums that past bands have had... all the new stuff just sounds so generic a lot of the time.

.....and hopefully i dont sound like an idiot but im in a hurry lol. the bell just rang for me to go to lunch lol peace out

 

[Mr.Cheese]

What they call "metal" these days is nerf-rock for WWF junkies.

 

[Roo6339]

ohhhhhhhhhhhh yeh, scandanavi has awesome meta bands. NIGHTWISH, FINTROLL, SONATA ARCTICA. europe in general has the greatest metal bands of all time. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Accept, Black Sabbath, Running Wild

exactly! europe is the best... scandanavia's just the better part of it... nightwish, finntroll (!), children of bodom, in flames, opeth... gotta love it...

 

[blackwasp]

I saw Damageplan this summer and was thoroughly bored. Dimebag did a little improv. solo number in the middle of the concert (trying to show his speed) that didn't impress me. I have friends who can play faster, and different styles.

I prefer hard rock to metal or hardcore, but it seems that these genres overlap to a certain degree. I think that the bands that stand out through the history of hard rock (Sabbath, Guns n Roses, etc.) do so due to more catchy melodies and an overall attitude. I think the reason that I haven't been able to get into hardcore is that many of the bands have a similar sound and scream rather than sing. Just my opinion though.

 

[Aria_Joy87]

I prefer hard rock to metal or hardcore, but it seems that these genres overlap to a certain degree. I think that the bands that stand out through the history of hard rock (Sabbath, Guns n Roses, etc.) do so due to more catchy melodies and an overall attitude. I think the reason that I haven't been able to get into hardcore is that many of the bands have a similar sound and scream rather than sing. Just my opinion though.

i agree. i like the style of bands like Sabbath and Floyd and G'N'R and stuff like that, mostly because the guitar. (i could listen to an awesome guitar solo over and over and never get tired of it...lol) i wish more guitarists today would play like that. more intricate and extreme, not so much the 'chunking' (that's what my buddy calls it). i don't mind the screaming so much in music, but see, i'm a singer, not screamer. i like to be able to sing and jam along with my music. so yeah.

 

[Im_A]

well i think, the main problem is, right now, "metal" is such a over-used word.

i mean we want to hear what's new out there, we read articles about the new metal bands, and then when you buy the album, it is hardcore, or hard rock. now i love hard rock by all means, so i am in no ways dissing hard rock at all. and hardcore, i'm starting to have less of a liking for, but even then, i'm sure someone could disagree with the differences of hardcore and heavy rock. but i mean let's call music what it is, is my opinion. and i think we can make a really good assumption of what style of music from their influences and when we compare it to the older metal bands in the past. so the word, "metal" is being thrown like a blanket in the wind.

i'm kind of curious to hear other's opinions about the differences between hard rock and hardcore. feel free to give examples of both genres.

for myself, if we're going by the definition of hard rock with the likes of Sabbath, Floyd and GnR, Zepplin, ACDC then i must take the side of metal myself. it's not that i have anything against the classics if you will. i love them, they are great. but i've always been more into metal than anything else out there in rock or music period. i like the screaming, mixed with singing. i like that raw emotion. i love the guitars a lot. i love soloing guitars, and solo guitars harmonizing with each other. that stuff gives me chills. i love the drums in metal a lot too. i love the double bass when it is used, should i say, in a talent way and actually used in verses, instead of only in breakdowns. bass whise, well, i like hearing the bass, but as a guitarist, i'm biased, and i love the drums even though i cannot play them to save my life, and when metal bands sing, they usually have an awesome singing voice, as long as an awesome scream/growl.

anothing thing that makes me like metal more than let's say hard rock is the fact of the classical music influence in metal. now i mean of course, everything comes from blues and rock, that's fact, but i've always enjoyed the influence of classical music with metal. i love classical music. it's beautiful to me. so i like how metal has kind of always had that a big part in their music to some degree.

now i'm sure and know that there are hard rock bands that probably do some of this stuff, but i've just enjoyed the way that metal bands do it better than some of the hard rock stuff, including, dare i say the classics.

 

[Im_A]

one thing i think distinguishes metal from hardcore is the simple fact of guitar solos. i mean you take intricate hardcore bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan. if anyone hasn't heard of these guys, they are insane. very talented musicians. but to me, there isn't any melody. i mean it's just chaos. i've heard some label it as math metal because it's so technical. there are some songs i like by them, but it is rarely, rarely ever found in my truck when i'm driving.

i think the reason why metal and hardcore get mixed up is because of the imagery for one thing, and two there are similiars way in their playing to some degree, but again i can't get off of the fact that one is more musical than the other. it is hard to find melody in hardcore. i mean at least with bands like Hatebreed, they at least have something you head band and dance too, which is another reason i think Hatebreed is awesome. plus i've always wondered if hardcore bands only use double bass stuff in breakdowns, and then use punk/hardcore riffs throughout the rest of the song. some can pull it off, but only a select few who do not repeat the scene all the time, just because it may be "trendy." (don't even get me started on that trendy stuff! lol)

 

[ps139]

no offense to fans of this genre, but I've found that when I turn on amp on my overdrive, a lot of my mistakes are covered up. I'd really like to see if some of these guys have the ability to play with a clean sound, because at this point I don't think so.

 

[Im_A]

no offense to fans of this genre, but I've found that when I turn on amp on my overdrive, a lot of my mistakes are covered up. I'd really like to see if some of these guys have the ability to play with a clean sound, because at this point I don't think so.

oh i agree with that. distortion does do a lot of cover ups. but at the same, if they can do it with distortion, i would bet they could do it clean. it's just they would have to work harder in some ways for sure. now there are some hardcore bands that are just too technical for me to believe if they went to clean, they'd be good for sure, but i'll give most of the guitarists in the metal genre, at least the benefit of the doubt that since they can do it with distortion, it's just take some extra work to do it clean cause at least with metal, there is a sense of controlled chaos involved, instead of just chaotic mess, haha.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

Dillinger Escape Plan is INSANE!

I discovered some really cool music from www.snakenetmetalradio.com
Unfortunately they had to redo a bunch of stuff and their free stream now is pretty low fidelity. But if you can stand to listen to the sound quality you can hear some really good bands. If it's hard, they play it, anything from 80s metal to death and progressive.

 

[Jadis40]

yeah... i agree... the more recent stuff is starting to sound all the same. i guess all the new things to be done have been done... now it's just repeating. i still listen to and love it though.

and Scandanavia is THE best... what's the word... region? for metal... that's sweden, finland, norway and denmark...

I wholeheartedly agree!

I've basically turned my back on the vast majority (probably 98.8%) of American bands) and that started oh, 2 1/2 years ago when I was lamenting the sad state of "mainstream" music in general. That's why I turned to Europe, espcially the Scandinavian ones. Bands that some people are just picking up on now: Nightwish, Evergrey, Lacuna Coil etc are bands that I've known about for a while. I also like bands such as Therion, Dark Tranquillity and Amorphis.

I have an extremely strong sense of melody, and so much of what's around now all sounds the same: just one boring chord after another boring chord and no really melodic riffs.

There are exceptions to bands from America that I still like, such as OLD Metallica, especially Ride the Lightning up through ...And Justice For All. I'll even confess to liking the Black album and I do like some songs off Load and Reload. In defense of American bands though, I do like Queensryche, Symphony X, Kamelot, Dream Theater, Savatage, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra for a few.

There IS life outside of mainstream radio/MTV/VH1, and it's coming from Europe.

 

[zyklzy]

I totally agree with you Jadis40, most of my Cd collection is made up of European stuff, some of it with a Christian slant (at times) like Gamma ray. I've been into power/classical metal since the 80's and have found it has only improved with time. Most secular metal I wouldn't listen to as I find it dark and often occultic, as such i know it's not healthy to my spirit but I have no (or little) problem with bands like Kamelot, Helloween, Stratovarius and Metalium etc. I figure it's OK in moderation. As long as you put God first. Many Christian metal-heads, especially younger ones continue to make an idol of the music and put God 2nd. I've learnt that as long as you put God first you can for the most part "have your cake and eat it" (though some might disagree, such as my wife). I can't stand the comercialized grunge sound that has taken over most of the metal scene in the last decade. I guess I was born too early.