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The Metal Thread |OT2| All Riffs, No Gifs

not the biggest fan of Pantera, but Anselmo is very underrated as a vocalist i think.

massive range (modal was around Bb1 - Bb5 during the late 80s/early 90s, that's full 4 octaves right there. if you count spoken passages it's down to C#1). shame age (and booze) killed his high notes.
 

Gr1mLock

Passing metallic gas
This is a discussion board, is it not? If we all did was endlessly masturbate over our favourite bands this thread would get stale quickly.

Also, go fuck yourself.

j/k <3

What are you doing? Dota wont play itself!
 
My response was indeed sarcastic :) If you have nothing good to say, it just makes sense to not post. I do not care if someone thinks a band is complete shit.

Sorry breh I couldnt hear you over dat cowboys from hell swing.

Jviu57e.gif


Pantera may have broken up over a decade ago, but their music will live on forever to help identify people who have bad taste in metal.
 
By the way, here's a fun piece of Metal/Gaming trivia:

IvoryTower.png


A unique item in Diablo 3. The name and flavor text are a reference to Fates Warning's 20 minute epic The Ivory Gate of Dreams. "Song of the Arch" in the flavor text refers to the legendary ex-vocalist of the band, John Arch. What makes this really obscure, however, is that he never sung on the album version of the song. He did presumably write most if not all of it and did sing on a demo version before he left the band.

Seeing this in the game gave me massive nerd chills and I doubt many people would pick up on this at all, but hey - it's one of my favourite bands.
 
The metal community is literally shrinking by the second
I... don't think that's true

I guess I only have anecdotal evidence, but I thought it was common knowledge that metal has been having a resurgence the past several years, and that (especially thanks to the Internet) it is more popular now than ever before
 
I... don't think that's true

I guess I only have anecdotal evidence, but I thought it was common knowledge that metal has been having a resurgence the past several years, and that (especially thanks to the Internet) it is more popular now than ever before

You're right, it's absolutely not true.

Metal is more popular than ever, and that's an understatement.

There are more ways for metal bands to reach their audiences, there are more ways to make a name for yourself quickly, the cost of entry for metal musicians to make music is lower, etc.
 

Gr1mLock

Passing metallic gas
So why do bands have to tour twice as much to make a living? With a few exceptions so many bands struggle to fill even small venues. Why do record companies draft contracts that cut into merch and touring money? Country records still sell in millions, pop records still sell millions. When was the last time a band not named metallica went platinum?Where's this popularity reflected? Youtube views? Yea its easier to get noticed and yadda yadda. If metal is more popular than ever why are so many well known bands barely keeping their heads above water?
 

ShaneB

Member
This is a discussion board, is it not? If we all did was endlessly masturbate over our favourite bands this thread would get stale quickly.

Here's a novel concept... if you like it, share it. If you don't, ignore it. I was never that big a Pantera fan, so I never bothered to comment.

This person came in asking about Pantera remasters, and all you can think of replying is "nah, Pantera sucks". What value did that add? Is that going to help him or deter him in some fashion? No, it's pointless to post. Did you deem it important to share what you think is awful today? Is it discussion if I were to reply to all of your posts with "face, that sucks" because I think I might start doing that.

My soundtrack at work is currenty "Steel Assassin - War of the Eight Saints", I need to know if you think it sucks or not FACE! That will change my mind if I like it or not.

Also, that Dio Medley by Metallica is alright.
 
So why do bands have to tour twice as much to make a living? With a few exceptions so many bands struggle to fill even small venues. Why do record companies draft contracts that cut into merch and touring money? Country records still sell in millions, pop records still sell millions. When was the last time a band not named metallica went platinum?Where's this popularity reflected? Youtube views? Yea its easier to get noticed and yadda yadda. If metal is more popular than ever why are so many well known bands barely keeping their heads above water?

Metal has never been a way to make a living or to go platinum, and no band in their right mind thinks so. * Most bands tour for the experience and to hopefully break even.

*edit: of course there are metal bands that make money on tour, but not the majority.

Metal's popularity is incongruent to the number of bands making a living off of it.

Here's a novel concept... if you like it, share it. If you don't, ignore it. I was never that big a Pantera fan, so I never bothered to comment.

This person came in asking about Pantera remasters, and all you can think of replying is "nah, Pantera sucks". What value did that add? Is that going to help him or deter him in some fashion? No, it's pointless to post. Did you deem it important to share what you think is awful today? Is it discussion if I were to reply to all of your posts with "face, that sucks" because I think I might start doing that.

My soundtrack at work is currenty "Steel Assassin - War of the Eight Saints", I need to know if you think it sucks or not FACE! That will change my mind if I like it or not.

Also, that Dio Medley by Metallica is alright.

It added value of an opinion, same as yours. A pointless discussion would be one of only positive opinions, and an opinion isn't necessarily an attempt to change your mind about something.
 
So why do bands have to tour twice as much to make a living? With a few exceptions so many bands struggle to fill even small venues. Why do record companies draft contracts that cut into merch and touring money? Country records still sell in millions, pop records still sell millions. When was the last time a band not named metallica went platinum?Where's this popularity reflected? Youtube views? Yea its easier to get noticed and yadda yadda. If metal is more popular than ever why are so many well known bands barely keeping their heads above water?

Because country and pop are all over the radio, and unless you have XM you won't here much, if any, new metal.

Kids growing up are going to listen to whats on TV or the radio, and their tastes will develop from that. I'm sure the majority of pop record sales are from the kiddies asking their parents to buy a CD for them.

I obviously love metal, but its not completely unreasonable for many people to think its just yelling and screaming, especially when their only exposure to it are parodies poking fun at that part.
 

Gr1mLock

Passing metallic gas
Because country and pop are all over the radio, and unless you have XM you won't here much, if any, new metal.

Kids growing up are going to listen to whats on TV or the radio, and their tastes will develop from that. I'm sure the majority of pop record sales are from the kiddies asking their parents to buy a CD for them.

I obviously love metal, but its not completely unreasonable for many people to think its just yelling and screaming, especially when their only exposure to it are parodies poking fun at that part.

You're right. I still fail to see how metal is somehow more popular than its ever been. I think its more readily available. There's got to be a reason why so many bands struggle, especially here in the states. I can't think of a single other genera of music that took a hit the way metal has. Hell maybe it IS more popular than its ever been. If that's true then the average metal fan is a cunt that doesn't support their bands.

*edit* I agree with good friend shane. I rarely feel the urge to shit on a band I dont like. i just..you know...dont listen.
 
You're right. I still fail to see how metal is somehow more popular than its ever been. I think its more readily available. There's got to be a reason why so many bands struggle, especially here in the states. I can't think of a single other genera of music that took a hit the way metal has. Hell maybe it IS more popular than its ever been. If that's true then the average metal fan is a cunt that doesn't support their bands.


That is colossal bullshit.

I go to shows all of the time, and there are crowds for just about every single band I go to see, regardless of where they're from, if they sing in English, or if they even have CDs available for sale on Amazon. Metal listeners are the most savvy music fans in the world. We know how to find what we like, where to get merch and CDs from indies, where to find them if digital only, etc.

Metal is only top 40 in the rarest cases.
 
You're right. I still fail to see how metal is somehow more popular than its ever been. I think its more readily available. There's got to be a reason why so many bands struggle, especially here in the states. I can't think of a single other genera of music that took a hit the way metal has. Hell maybe it IS more popular than its ever been. If that's true then the average metal fan is a cunt that doesn't support their bands.

One thing I've noticed with it, that is a problem IMO, is that those in control of metal are sometimes slow to adapt to new ways of doing things. For example, it took forever for Spotify to get a good, diverse metal collection. Some of it was them not trying until the users started clamoring for it and some of it was labels like MetalBlade refusing to use the service. I'm not sure how much of that was tied to royalties but, I do remember a comment about how it would affect record sales coming from their head dude though.

Another example, Phil Anselmo was on Sirius talking about his side project a couple months back and was saying something along the lines of, "go out buy our record, don't fucking steal it by pirating it or some shit." Everyone I was with at the time kind of laughed at how out of touch he was with what is going on. No one steals music anymore (not literally, you can still find torrents but, piracy is down). You don't have to. You can get it on streaming services. You can listen to it on YouTube. You can find it on a number of places.

tl:dr - As the business model changes, they are slow to adapt and it affects the popularity, and bottom lines, of the genre in a negative manner.
 

Gr1mLock

Passing metallic gas
That is colossal bullshit.

I go to shows all of the time, and there are crowds for just about every single band I go to see, regardless of where they're from, if they sing in English, or if they even have CDs available for sale on Amazon. Metal listeners are the most savvy music fans in the world. We know how to find what we like, where to get merch and CDs from indies, where to find them if digital only, etc.

Metal is only top 40 in the rarest cases.

Yea..except its not bullshit. I go to shows all the time too. I buy cd's and hoodies too. Guess who else does? The 20 or so dudes I've been running into for 15 years at every show I go to. Yea there's crowds..the same fucking faces at every show. Why did lamb of god go broke over a trial? Why does the black dahlia murder sell a fraction of records compared to their youtube listens? If metal is more popular than ever why arent they rolling in that motley crue soundgarden fuck you money? Fact of the matter is YOU may go to shows, YOU may buy cds and merch YOU might spring for the vinyl edition of the new baroness. But YOU represent fuck all of the fan base. So either metal IS more popular than ever because a band gets a million likes on facebook and the grand majority of those likes are by cunts who will never buy a cd or go to a show..or metal is nowhere near as popular as it was in the 80ties 90ties or hell even ten years ago.
 
Yea..except its not bullshit. I go to shows all the time too. I buy cd's and hoodies too. Guess who else does? The 20 or so dudes I've been running into for 15 years at every show I go to. Yea there's crowds..the same fucking faces at every show. Why did lamb of god go broke over a trial? Why does the black dahlia murder sell a fraction of records compared to their youtube listens? If metal is more popular than ever why arent they rolling in that motley crue soundgarden fuck you money? Fact of the matter is YOU may go to shows, YOU may buy cds and merch YOU might spring for the vinyl edition of the new baroness. But YOU represent fuck all of the fan base. So either metal IS more popular than ever because a band gets a million likes on facebook and the grand majority of those likes are by cunts who will never buy a cd or go to a show..or metal is nowhere near as popular as it was i the 80ties 90ties or hell even ten years ago.

That sounds more like the case was 15 years ago. It really seems like you're out of touch. I'm in Cleveland, Peabody's was usually packed for even the most obscure band from overseas. Maybe it's where you're at.

Again, metal is not about making a living at it. Nobody in their right mind would play metal to make money. They know that going in. Just about everyone does this on the side, just like every metal band always has. Lamb of God is like Katy Perry successful in comparison to just about everyone else. They are one of the handful of mainstream crossover metal bands.

It's also very different outside of the US. Borknagar and Solefald are touring these days. Ajattara played at an family pizza place in Finland.
 

Gr1mLock

Passing metallic gas
That sounds more like the case was 15 years ago. It really seems like you're out of touch. I'm in Cleveland, Peabody's was usually packed for even the most obscure band from overseas. Maybe it's where you're at.

Again, metal is not about making a living at it. Nobody in their right mind would play metal to make money. They know that going in. Just about everyone does this on the side, just like every metal band always has. Lamb of God is like Katy Perry successful in comparison to just about everyone else. They are one of the handful of mainstream crossover metal bands.

It's also very different outside of the US. Borknagar and Solefald are touring these days. Ajattara played at an family pizza place in Finland.


Im in NYC breh..rest assured im in touch. Metal has almost zero 'mainstream' presence these days. If by 'more popular' you mean that lesser known and up and coming bands get more exposure then i agree. You say no one gets into metal to make money but there was a time when people made money playing metal. Lots of money. The fact that its almost impossible to do so today says something.
 
Im in NYC breh..rest assured im in touch. Metal has almost zero 'mainstream' presence these days. If by 'more popular' you mean that lesser known and up and coming bands get more exposure then i agree. You say no one gets into metal to make money but there was a time when people made money playing metal. Lots of money. The fact that its almost impossible to do so today says something.

At least a lot of bands aren't signing to labels and having to pay back the label for the recording time by touring and making nothing (or even going into debt). A lot of 'successful' metal bands before seemed like they were making money, but were underfoot of the label contract walking away with shit in the end.

These days bands can sell directly or through an indie and at least bring home a few bucks by touring a little bit with some merch.
 
One thing I've noticed with it, that is a problem IMO, is that those in control of metal are sometimes slow to adapt to new ways of doing things. For example, it took forever for Spotify to get a good, diverse metal collection. Some of it was them not trying until the users started clamoring for it and some of it was labels like MetalBlade refusing to use the service. I'm not sure how much of that was tied to royalties but, I do remember a comment about how it would affect record sales coming from their head dude though.

Another example, Phil Anselmo was on Sirius talking about his side project a couple months back and was saying something along the lines of, "go out buy our record, don't fucking steal it by pirating it or some shit." Everyone I was with at the time kind of laughed at how out of touch he was with what is going on. No one steals music anymore (not literally, you can still find torrents but, piracy is down). You don't have to. You can get it on streaming services. You can listen to it on YouTube. You can find it on a number of places.

tl:dr - As the business model changes, they are slow to adapt and it affects the popularity, and bottom lines, of the genre in a negative manner.

Except it its on YouTube its probably not legal unless its on the official artist/label page.

And I agree about the business model not changing. But thats on the music industry as a whole.

Unless your looking at a metal blog/site, your not going to know of new releases unelss its from Metallica, Lamb of God, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, or another big name band.

They need to dedicate resources to getting new fans. I hear about most new(or at least new to me) bands and albums from you guys and my friends. I found out there is a new Shakira album because of a sign at the mall and then the album listed under "New Releases" on Spotify.

Exposure is key. As much as I love going to shows it's hard for me most of the time, and rarely see a band I don't know. The only time it really happened was when Warbringer opened for Iced Earth. Without hearing them there, I'd never would have known about them.
 

Gr1mLock

Passing metallic gas
At least a lot of bands aren't signing to labels and having to pay back the label for the recording time by touring and making nothing (or even going into debt). A lot of 'successful' metal bands before seemed like they were making money, but were underfoot of the label contract walking away with shit in the end.

These days bands can sell directly or through an indie and at least bring home a few bucks by touring a little bit with some merch.

There's that. Unless youre NiN or Tool you're not starting a retirement fund any time soon. Obviously the internet hurt the record companies but fuck who is buying all those Nickelback cd's? Hell who bought the last Sabbath record? Metallica can set up shop in any part of the globe and sell out a 20 thousand seat arena. Where the fuck are those people? Buy a Witchcraft record you assholes.
 
the more i listen to it the more i think Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil is one of my favourite heavy metal albums of the 80s.

Red Hot is so Saxon-ish, the chunky fat riffs on Knock em Dead, Kid. hell, most songs had chunky riffs. the bridge on Too Young to Fall in Love is awesome. 10 Seconds to Love... just an amazing album all around.

i also await some elitist cunt to drop by and say this shit wasn't "metal, man, they look like drag queens, duh".
 
Whatever happens to Metal and its popularity, it's not going to affect my l love for it. I could be the last Metal head on Earth, in a Dystopian world where it's outlawed and deemed punishable by death. I'll still never give it up.
 
There's that. Unless youre NiN or Tool you're not starting a retirement fund any time soon. Obviously the internet hurt the record companies but fuck who is buying all those Nickelback cd's? Hell who bought the last Sabbath record? Metallica can set up shop in any part of the globe and sell out a 20 thousand seat arena. Where the fuck are those people? Buy a Witchcraft record you assholes.

I'm with you, but it's not as bad as you make it out to be. There are success stories in there- Meshuggah, Ghost, Orphaned Land... and to a lesser extent, Periphery and Tesseract. The technical bands are creative with making money with lessons while on tour (which is kind of awkward, but cool in a way). Veil of Maya apparently makes a good living, so there is something going on.
 
I'm with you, but it's not as bad as you make it out to be. There are success stories in there- Meshuggah, Ghost, Orphaned Land... and to a lesser extent, Periphery and Tesseract. The technical bands are creative with making money with lessons while on tour (which is kind of awkward, but cool in a way). Veil of Maya apparently makes a good living, so there is something going on.

And there's the key.

Ghost for example is very unique. They are doing what isn't being done and doing it well.

Lets all be honest, A LOT of metal coming out sounds rehashed. So many of these thrash revival bands, for example, are doing what Slayer, Metallica, Testament, Anthrax, and Megadeth did back in the day. The problem is they aren't doing it any better.
 
It also doesn't help that metalgafs preferences don't typically overlap with the newer subgenres that inch closest to being mainstream. Seems like nu metal bands and metalcore bands did way better than whatever death or black or sludge or doom stuff we rave about.
 
Whatever happens to Metal and its popularity, it's not going to affect my l love for it. I could be the last Metal head on Earth, in a Dystopian world where it's outlawed and deemed punishable by death. I'll still never give it up.

Personally I am dropping metal as soon as it becomes uncool. Is it really worth it when I can't pull fresh pussy, from chicks buying iron maiden shirts at hot topic anymore?
 

Flynn

Member
I never bought many records but I did see Pantera open for Anthrax when dude still had long hair. That crowd was cra-zy.
 
Oh hai!
So the running order for Roadburn 2014 is out and I am really in need for some advice on which bands to see.
Here's my current plan. Outlined in red are the bands that I don't want to miss. The arrows go through the bands I'd like to check but, if they are not outlined it means that I am open to switch them for another one.

Would you guys help me not miss any must see act I might not yet know about? Thanks!
 
definitely check out Bölzer, really great Swiss black/death metal. Sounds like you may be tied up during Tribulation and Obliteration, but both of those groups play solid death metal that would be worth checking out if only for a little.
 

Ravager61

Member
And there's the key.

Ghost for example is very unique. They are doing what isn't being done and doing it well.
.

Ghost are popular because they were created in a marketing meeting and completely rip off the music of a much superior band (Mercyful Fate).

Metal in general though is pretty god damn popular these days and I don't see how you could really argue that it isn't. Metal bands have never made big bucks except for hair bands and Metallica.

edit: I second going to see Tribulation bytesized if you can. Awesome band
 

blahness

Member
definitely check out Bölzer, really great Swiss black/death metal. Sounds like you may be tied up during Tribulation and Obliteration, but both of those groups play solid death metal that would be worth checking out if only for a little.

I think I am the most hyped to see Bölzer at MDF this year. Just hope nothing conflicts during that Saturday between venues.
 
Finally! Found a used copy of Tiamat's Wildhoney. I no longer have to deal with my horribly compressed, low quality burned copy that sounds like a Youtube video.
 

vatstep

This poster pulses with an appeal so broad the typical restraints of our societies fall by the wayside.
Pitchfork's increased coverage of metal has probably had a bit to do with its recent spike in popularity. They have always had a metal-leaning writer or two on staff, but now it seems to be one of the core genres that they cover. Hell, they seem to run a metal album review every day now; doesn't seem like too long ago that it was more like a few per month.

Speaking of, they're also streaming three great records!

http://pitchfork.com/advance/

THE BODY w/ THE HAXAN CLOAK - I Shall Die Here (fuck, this is even better than I could have imagined)
PILGRIM - II: Void Worship
PYRRON - The Mother of Virtues
 
Speaking of, they're also streaming three great records!

http://pitchfork.com/advance/

THE BODY w/ THE HAXAN CLOAK - I Shall Die Here (fuck, this is even better than I could have imagined)
PILGRIM - II: Void Worship
PYRRON - The Mother of Virtues
BADASS! I've been hyped as hell to check out that Pilgrim album ever since the first track was released and I saw that INSANE cover art.

I've not heard of the other two, but I guess I should check out the first one based on your glowing recommendation. Pilgrim first though!

But before that I have to finish listening to 2112, because frigg off, Rush is still metal even if a lot of their songs aren't

I've been in love with this song for the past few weeks, even though I've only seen a couple episodes of the show over ten years ago
 
I think I am the most hyped to see Bölzer at MDF this year. Just hope nothing conflicts during that Saturday between venues.

for sure. For a band with so little output, they definitely are gaining steam quick in the underground and it's nice to see a band like this make it out. MDF overall is looking strong yet again.

wanted to post a few videos for Obliteration, just in case anyone here was curious who they were.

from their 2nd LP, Nekropsalms:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l50Ji0WJe9o

and from their new LP, Black Death Horizon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLrxzmokIMo

just excellent, old school death metal.
 
There's that. Unless youre NiN or Tool you're not starting a retirement fund any time soon. Obviously the internet hurt the record companies but fuck who is buying all those Nickelback cd's? Hell who bought the last Sabbath record? Metallica can set up shop in any part of the globe and sell out a 20 thousand seat arena. Where the fuck are those people? Buy a Witchcraft record you assholes.

Are you really wondering why huge bands that have transcended the metal community sell shit loads, while small bands don't? And who wants to have anything to do with Nickelback fans :p

And there's the key.

Ghost for example is very unique. They are doing what isn't being done and doing it well.

Lets all be honest, A LOT of metal coming out sounds rehashed..

I fail to see what's so special or unique about Ghost. Their costume gimmick maybe is (and I really enjoyed it) but musicallly they don't bring anything new to the table. I sill enjoyed their debut (though it was much better live).
 

rObit

Banned
Whoa, what's going on specifically?

I am intrigued, good sir.

Nothing really, just seems weird to me that people were jumping up on stage and running around during a prog show. Just felt weird, not really the vibe AAL was pushing to me. Was probably due to After the Burial being the supporting act, those guys know how to get a crowd going. It was a great show, regardless.
 
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