I like metal a lot but why so popular all a sudden

[ReiPsaeg]

Not. A. Single. Period.

[Stealth]

Originally Posted by Tituscrow

Neck tattoos and those ridiculous 'spacer' things in the earlobe are de rigeur in some quarters

I thöught thöse wëre pädlock hölders.

[Junk420]

Metal has always been popular. You were just hanging around idiots

[RhynoRock]

Originally Posted by Stealth

I thöught thöse wëre pädlock hölders.

löl!!

[4001]

I'm into metal to a certain extent...
I like Judas Priest but pretty much the 1974-1990 era
Black Sabbath, 1970-1983
Iron Maiden, 1980-1992
Scorpions, 1972-1984
and a few more....

Bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, STP, AIC, Soundgarden came around when my favorite era of metal/hard rock started crapping out.

[Waldo19]

On reason metal remains popular is that the fans of the genre are really loyal. Obviously this a generalization, but in my experience Metal fans come out and support "local metal" in a way that fans of few other genres do.

For example, even popped collar, boat shoe wearing Newport R.I. has a local club with a metal night every Friday. They wouldn't be doing that on a Friday if there wasn't an audience for it.

[AaronMB]

[Ifriff]

SSSSLLLLLAAAAYYYYYEEEERRRR!!!!!!!

Angel Of Deeeeeeeeaaaaaaath!!!!!!!!........
Then that awesome riffage in the middle of the song. With those trils

Pray for the end of your wide awake nightmare

[Blackjax]

Tastes go in cycles.

[Sni77]

Slayer! I had Raining Blood as the entrance song for my wedding. Played on a baritone ukulele. My wife's grandma described it as unusual

[Liam76]

I came from a funk/R&B background back in the early 90's, a decade later, a coworker found out I played and talk me into jamming and gigging with his doom-metal guys.

I remember the first show with them, I was at the table listening to the band before us, drinking a beer and I bobbin' my had like I was listening to the Commodores while everybody else was up front thrashing and throwing up the horns. Was different, and not really my speed, but I had fun with them.

[alexlocurto]

Barring the grammatical issues, OP here has a point, it seems. Metal has exploded in popularity in my community. It seems like everyone suddenly stopped listening to the kind of music they used to like, and started listening to metal...

[RhynoRock]

The guitar shred thing helped push metal around a lot too. Everybody and their brother wants to shred, although that's sorta dying off nowadays. A lot of stuff that's really popular has roots in hardcore punk with a twist, whether or not people actually realize it. Bands like Attila, August Burns Red, As Blood Runs Black, just to name a few, that's whats making the rounds up here in western NY.

[OneMoreRobot]

I don't understand this thread at all.

I have those "ridiculous spacers" which are actually called PLUGS. Not gauges, not earrings, not spacers, they are PLUGS. You probably have a sense of style I would find ridiculous, so let's not judge what other people do with their bodies.

Yes, they are in style now, yes metal is in vogue, yes so are tattoos. Point?

"Metal" seems to be a nebulous (word of the day) term that encompasses anything heavier than the societally accepted norm of popular rock. I would say I like metal, but I only like certain kinds and most of the time it is necessary to specify which kinds of metal I like when talking to other metal heads because one of the reasons for "metal's" popularity is its extreme diversity. It's as simple as that.

That being said, modern metal is REALLY stepping up to the plate. All my favorite albums this year were metal. Pallbearer, Hooded Menace? Fantastic production, epic sludgy riffs, masterful vocals. I'm also obsessively listening to Obscura and Beyond Creation as I've been a bit bored with Between the Buried and Me lately. Both Obscura and Beyond Creation feature exceptional six string fretless players along with badass drummers and a couple other guys who play some other kind of instrument...

[Bloodhammer]

Originally Posted by Nashrakh

Around here, stoner and doom are all the rage right now... And I personally couldn't be happier.

Not so stoked on djent though, love meshuggah but I could do without clones.

I haven't heard a so-called "djent" band that sounds anything like Meshuggah. Those bands just sound like they're playing a new take on metal-core, to me.

As many have said, metal hasn't ever gone away, but it does tend to change forms drastically over time. 80's Thrash was all the rage then, but it doesn't sound anything like what's big now.

Off topic - has anyone else heard Lord Worm's blackmetal band, Rage Nucléaire, yet? These guys could give the Norwegians a run for their money! I'm serious! They're badass!

[Tituscrow]

I get fiercely protective of Meshuggah
Those guys are on a different planet. I've waxed lyrical to anyone who cares to listen...Haake and Lovgren are monstrously good. I've seen them a dozen times and have been floored after each gig. Unbelievably good.

'Djent'? Meh...I don't care for labels, but my understanding is that is the name given to the chugging sound of that low F tuning. Chimp Spanner, Tesseract, Periphery, Animals As Leaders...all proper decent bands, but not fit to lace the boots of the mighty Swedes.

Try some proper heavy French metal like Gojira and - for me, the surprise album of last year - Hypno5e. Stunningly good stuff.

Bloodhammer speaks the truth \m/

[OneMoreRobot]

Djent is really annoying in my opinion... Just chugging in semi-complex rhythms while you're down tuned really low... It gets boring so quickly... Periphery is the king of djent, boring and annoying. Djent also seems to feature some disgustingly digital production, which is why I can't stand listening to Animals As Leaders. Too much digital distortion on everything, even sounds like they put some sort of effect on the drums. Everything sounds like Line6...

Gojira is where it's at! Those guys are so talented. Mario's drumming is SO GOOD. I like how his solos are so simple they're almost tribal but his normal playing is more technical than most death metal drumming. I love how From Mars to Sirius makes themes from Zechariah Sitchin's outrageous novels sound badass and brutal, while the Way Of All Flesh reminds me of the Tibetan Book of the Dead while adding in environmental themes. Their lyrics are so psychedelic, and you can tell that they love science and nature and the universe.

Whenever I describe a Gojira album to someone they're like, "I didn't know metal sang about stuff like that..." Gojira's lyrics are more uplifting than most pop bands, but the delivery is infinitely heavier...

[SBsoundguy]

Metal has been popular for a long time. Sadly (IMO) crappy 'core metal has been popular since 2005ish.

[Bert Slide]

I luv me some Heavy Metal(1981)!

[Tituscrow]

Originally Posted by OneMoreRobot

Djent is really annoying in my opinion... Just chugging in semi-complex rhythms while you're down tuned really low... It gets boring so quickly... Periphery is the king of djent, boring and annoying. Djent also seems to feature some disgustingly digital production, which is why I can't stand listening to Animals As Leaders. Too much digital distortion on everything, even sounds like they put some sort of effect on the drums. Everything sounds like Line6...

Gojira is where it's at! Those guys are so talented. Mario's drumming is SO GOOD. I like how his solos are so simple they're almost tribal but his normal playing is more technical than most death metal drumming. I love how From Mars to Sirius makes themes from Zechariah Sitchin's outrageous novels sound badass and brutal, while the Way Of All Flesh reminds me of the Tibetan Book of the Dead while adding in environmental themes. Their lyrics are so psychedelic, and you can tell that they love science and nature and the universe.

Whenever I describe a Gojira album to someone they're like, "I didn't know metal sang about stuff like that..." Gojira's lyrics are more uplifting than most pop bands, but the delivery is infinitely heavier...

Yep. I was lucky enough to catch Gojira again recently and they just destroyed the place. One of the true innovators of the current crop of new (ish) metal bands. I had a beer with Jean-Michel Labadie a few years back on the From Mars tour...that guy knows his stuff, and has some serious chops. Super cool dude as well.

If you like Gojira, you will LOVE Hypno5e. Get hold of last years 'Acid Mist Tomorrow' album. A truly stunning piece of work. Who said the French were all cheese-eating surrender-monkeys?