Death Metal/Black Metal. I don't get it? (1 Viewer)

[Garrett Lundy]

For some reason after I buy a best-of Motorhead CD from Amazon they keep recommending me albums from Deathmetal groups. Slayer is probably the most well-known but also bands like Gorgoroth, Immortal, and Cannibal Corpse.

I've listened to a few tracks but I just don't get it. The drummer doesn't seem to play in time with anyone else, the lead guitar I think is playing a differant song, and the front man must scream the lyrics in an annoying high-pitched whine like a little girl, or grunt like the Cookie Monster ( 'C' is for cookie, its good enough for me! *drumsdrumsdrumsdrums*).

Am I missing the point or what? Is there some secret to appreciating or listening to deathmetal in the appropriate context? How exactly can you even tell the songs apart? Or am I just way too old for this kinf of music ? (I'm 25)

 

[BrionL]

The only death metal bands I like are Morbid Angel and Entombed. I would recommend picking up Wolverine Blues by Entombed. It is a really cool CD. Go listen to samples on Amazon.

Brion

 

[Kevin Deacon]

Mmmmm, Cooookies!!!

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

IMO the only good Black/Death metal bands were those formed in the 1980s, and limited to handful: Mercyful Fate (first few albums, demo CD), Venom (Welcome to Hell, Black Metal), Slayer (Reign in Blood, South of Heaven)... Motorhead is NOT death metal.

What passes for metal today is pretty lame, boring and repetitive.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I know Motorhead isn't deathmetal, its vintage heavymetal. A classic band that should be studied in highschool, not a requirment for graduation like the Rolling Stones mind you, but an optional class none-the-less.

The problem is that Amazon customers who buy Motorhead albums tend also to buy deathmetal albums and so they get lumped into my 'recommendations' whether or not I even like the stuff.

I think it has to do with the album art. Motorhead has a very "undead sword-swinger" style of art that deathmetal bands seem to use.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Amazon recommendations are useless.

I personally am not a fan of death metal or black metal, but there are a few bands I like. Most of it is just noise, to see how loud they can go. But some of it, especially European black metal, features phenomenal musicianship. Combined with the intensity of genre, and it can be pretty cool.

The cookie monster vocals are too much for some, and I don't blame you. Once you hear some bands, you learn there are different kinds of cookie monster vocals, and sometimes it goes well with the music. But mostly I ignore them.

Some bands I like:

Slayer- I wouldn't even consider them "death metal," but you mentioned them. I can't explain it, but they have a lot of character. Some of the riffs are cool, and some of it is stupid, but somehow it always entertains me.

Death- their later albums are amazing. You can't complain about drumming after you hear this stuff. The vocals are particularly screechy and muppetish, but it goes with everything. Some nice riffs and angular song structures. Their last one, Sound of Perseverence, is just awesome.

Opeth- my favorite one. Their trademark is injecting the heaviness with acoustic guitars and normal singing, often using similar themes and moderate tempos throughout to give everything a unified, logical feel, despite the drastic change in dynamics. My Arms Your Hearse, Still Life, and Blackwater Park are masterpieces.

Meshuggah- this is my new metal thing. The songs are relatively short because the pack a lot into them. Some real crazy riffing here. Insane stuff.

 

[MickeS]

I don't know if there's a lot to "get".

I like death metal for the sheer heaviness of it, the tuned down guitars, the "out of sync" drumming and the growling voice makes for an interesting listening experience. There are often melodies in there too, Morbid Angel for example is very melodic (in a death metal kind of way, of course ).

The modern black metal is more melodic and has a more gothic feel to it than death metal (IMO), even though it often has a structure similar to death metal songs. What I like about it is the more operatic feel of it, and that it yet often plays more straight than death metal does. "Tormentor of christian souls" by Dimmu Borgir sums up the genre pretty good in about 5 minutes or so, for those interested.

I don't think you're too old by the way, I'm 33...

/Mike

 

[Mike Broadman]

I heard Morbid Angel live when they were touring with Static X, Slayer, and Pantera (man did I need some Excedrin that night!). I didn't know who they were, but I couldn't decipher and melodies or music from what they were doing. Everybody praises them- I need to hear them again in the comfort (and appropriate volume setting) of home.

I recently discover Dimmu Borgir after flipping around the TV and coming across the video for Progenies of the Great Apocolypse. It was just so ridiculous and cool, I got the album. It's hit and miss for me, but a lot of fun. They are wacky.

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Am I the only one who's laughing out loud at the extremely serious discussion using the term "cookie monster vocals"?

 

[Mike Broadman]

Well, it's a term used elsewhere a lot and I've always called it that anyway, especially when I'm blasting it and people look at me funny. It's a way for me to declare that yes, I know it's kind of silly, but I don't care.

Hey, this is rock music. If I can listen to Keith Emerson bang away on Moogs, The Who seriously sing about a pinball messiah, and watch a Zeppelin video where the singer runs around with a sword like he's King Author of freakin' Camelot or somthing, I can listen to angry potheads growl away tunelessly.

 

[Ben Osborne]

There's a lot of variation among death Death Metal. I can't stand 99% of it. Opeth, as an earlier poster mentioned, has some very good stuff. I would also recommend two albums by In Flames (The Jester Race and Whoracle), the last few albums by Dark Tranquillity (Projecter, Haven, Damage Done), and Amorphis - Elegy. I'm a fan of melodic music in a variety of genres, and those albums are some of my favorites.

 

[Don Giro]

I loved a lot of death metal during the late 80's. It helped that I worked at the Combat/Relativity label at the time, and I got to go out on the road with DEATH and DARK ANGEL (among others). I still love a lot of those bands, but I remember how it all got a bit stale after a while. The bands seemed interchangeable, and the barking/growling vocals got on my nerves.

Here we are, almost 15 years later, and I find myself enjoying death metal again. It started two years ago when Swede deathsters ARCH ENEMY recruited vocalist Angela Gossow (I'm a sucker for women in heavy music). I bought "Wages of Sin" to hear if this hot-looking chick could growl with the best of them (she CAN).

But, more importantly, with my "discovery" of latter-day ARCH ENEMY, I found out that death Metal has come a long, loooong way in 15 years. There is more melody throughout one ARCH ENEMY song than there is in CANNIBAL CORPSE's entire catalog.

Bands like OPETH and IN FLAMES have proved that you don't have to your lead singer gargle with Drano (my friends thought the new IN FLAMES was KORN!). And God bless CHILDREN OF BODOM!

I just turned 40 today, by the way. I predicted in my college days that I'd still be listening to aggressive music if I lived this long. Looks like I was right

 

[Rhett_Y]

I personally like only a few death metal bands...... Heck I don't know if you would even call them death metal any more, there are so many labels now......

I love
Death, all of there albums
Obituary, all of them
Morbid Angel, only album I really like is Covenant
Carcass

My favorite is Fear Factory (see other post). I can't get enough of this band......

R~

 

[guille verdun]

The best DVD'S of metal i have seen are the Pantera (containing the 3 home videos + Monters in Russia), Superjoint Ritual: Live in Texas, Iron Maiden: Rock in Rio, Sepultura in Barcelona and the recent Metallica dvd box (Live from Mexico with cds and stuff).

Help me here: is there a good ''Fear Factory'' dvd out there? and there is something from ''Meshugah'' in dvd?. Also i always wonder why theres is nothing Live recent-before-breaking-stuff from ''Faith no more'' and Melvins, Fantomas, Tomahawk or any stuff with Mike Patton...

Have a nice day....

 

[BrionL]

Hey guys, check out Morbid Angel's Domination. I like it more than their Covenant album. Although both albums are really pretty cool!

Brion

 

[Michael Martin]

No.

 

[Josh Dial]

Though personally not a fan of death metal, I do enjoy reading the song titles to "cannibal corpse" albums. Thems some funny shiat Check some song titles out on amazon. Their moms must be ever so pround.

cheers!

Josh

 

[Tony-B]

Fear Factory has a DVD out called "Digital Connectivity" and I don't think Meshuggah has a DVD.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I wasn't too impressed with the Digital Connectivity DVD personally.

Regarding death metal, I'm a metal fan of 16 years (I'm 29), and I have to say I find death metal extremely uninteresting. However, bands that crossover into death metal, but aren't exclusively death metal I tend to like, i.e., Opeth.

Regarding Death and Dark Angel, I'd probably consider them thrash, not death metal. I wouldn't consider Slayer death metal either. The first death metal band I was aware of was Napalm Death back in '92, and I didn't care for what they did back then. I am a huge fan of heavy music, but the current wave of "extreme" music just doesn't seem interesting at all. You can only go so low and so fast and then it becomes an exercise in futility. Black metal is frustrating for me, because I do like some of what's happening there musically (I like dark theatrical stuff), but the vocals are just a joke. It's not my intention to put death or black metal down, but most of the bands I hear these days from those genres sound like they're just painting by numbers. Give me Fear Factory any day...

 

[Rhett_Y]

Couldn't have said it better!!!!!!!!


R~