Trying to like metal

[Ant Illington]

Ozzy might be unsurpassed in vocal phrasing. Dio is pretty cool that way, too. Both have great voices. Everything that I can think of with Ozzy has included a very good bassist who is usually quite melodic (this is pre mid-90's when I lost interest in what was going on in rock). Don't forget the live album Speak of the Devil. It is Sabbath tunes but with Rudy Sarzo (later success with Quiet Riot), Brad Gillis (later success with Night Ranger) and Tommy Aldridge (journeyman drum god).

FAITH NO MORE- A couple of years ago I stumbled upon "What Is It: The Best of Faith No More" and, wow. Great song after great song. Great vocal phrasing and some nice grooves. I must investigate them further myself.

One thing I've learned about whether music grabs one or not is, especially music that hits you in the nuts rather than in the mind, is that it can be very context dependent. I used to love metal, I still quite like a lot that I grew up with but it's really hard to get into new stuff (even the new stuff that sounds like it could be old stuff) for more than a minute or a week. I'm not sure why that is but don't try too hard to like metal because I suspect that you generally get infected when you are young or you don't get it. Generally. There are exceptions, hammerheads, so don't go off on me.

 

[Matt O]

Just in case the Funkadelic influence wasn't totally recognized:

 

[Ant Illington]

I LOVE this god damn track. There is no logical reason I should like OM, yet I do.

pffft. No logical reason..... Note the Rickenbacker. Next.

 

[socialleper]

Funny, I'd rank it behind Piece of Mind and it would battle Powerslave for 2nd.

Piece of Mind was my first metal CD. I love it, but track by track, and tonally, Number of the Beast is a home run for me. I don't know why but Powerslave was never a big one for me. I felt like there were some filler tracks. Everyone has their different likes. When a band is around for almost 40 years, everyone is going to have their own favorite eras. There are some people that only like the first two. [shrug]

 

[Altitude]

Piece of Mind was my first metal CD. I love it, but track by track, and tonally, Number of the Beast is a home run for me. I don't know why but Powerslave was never a big one for me. I felt like there were some filler tracks. Everyone has their different likes. When a band is around for almost 40 years, everyone is going to have their own favorite eras. There are some people that only like the first two. [shrug]

Yep.

 

[socialleper]

pffft. No logical reason..... Note the Rickenbacker. Next.

That's one of the weird aspects. I have zero affection for Ricks.

 

[Ant Illington]

As someone who lived through the funk metal revolution circa 1988-91, I find myself cringing at almost every memory of the era that this thread has dug up for me: the tie-dye-and-board-shorts look that it popularized, the chili-pepper slapping that still endures today, the obligatory "wiki-wiki" that made it into every song, the fact that so many bands flirted with it. I remember feeling, for a brief moment (wearing my tie dye and board shorts) that no song could ever possibly rock harder than this one:


On the other hand, at that same moment, the Cro-Mags, who just a couple of years earlier had released one of the single finest hardcore albums in all of human history were busy doing this:

So, if I immediately cringed at that stuff back then because it was so much less interesting than say, Steely Dan which I loved (the band, not the sex toy... but who knows), but I can now appreciate this amalgamation of "funk" and rock for a few seconds does this mean that I have regressed while you have progressed to a higher state of musical enlightenment? Congratulations, if so. And where does Rage Against the Machine fit in because according to their own selves they are the most enlightened beings... but they still play the same cringeworthy music for almost 30 years. Something isn't adding up here. Somebody is being all judge-y and pompous as usual. No, not you. That other guy, the dude in RATM.

 

[Jack Butler]

Prog work for you? Vic on bass (yes, THAT Vic!).

Wow, I always respected VW's playing, but a lot of the music itself didn't move me. I think this is amazing, easily my favorite work of his. It's like he just went to this genre with no effort.

 

[CryingBass]

My thread got zero hits on this yesterday, so I am doing a minor derail here. What style would you fit
this into Gorn? I think this guys wails ( if not singing ) and you tell me - sorry if I am out of line here.
Listen to the first video and tell me what you think.

Per Mathisen - the Bass Viking

 

[bolophonic]

So, if I immediately cringed at that stuff back then because it was so much less interesting than say, Steely Dan which I loved (the band, not the sex toy... but who knows), but I can now appreciate this amalgamation of "funk" and rock for a few seconds does this mean that I have regressed while you have progressed to a higher state of musical enlightenment? Congratulations, if so. And where does Rage Against the Machine fit in because according to their own selves they are the most enlightened beings... but they still play the same cringeworthy music for almost 30 years. Something isn't adding up here. Somebody is being all judge-y and pompous as usual. No, not you. That other guy, the dude in RATM.

It's all just a state of mind, man. Haven't you figured that out by now? Only you can tell if you are regressing. Why would I care what direction anyone is going besides myself?

 

[SkinCoffin]

Not necessarily metal all the time, some have prog/funk/rock/misc sounds but check some of these out.. often good gateway drugs to other genres

Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Incubus, Clutch, Rage Against the Machine, The Mars Volta, Queens of the Stone Age, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle, Port Noir, Pain of Salvation, Black Sabbath, Ghost BC

 

[Herrick]

Not funky at all, but you might give Opeth a shot with an emphasis on the albums Windowpane (an interesting take on metal that has a lot of space as you requested), Pale Communion and Sorceress (both of which are more proggy takes on metal, but still employ a lot of space in the arrangements that you might dig).

What do you mean by Windowpane being an interesting take on metal? The whole album is very good but there isn't even the slightest attempt to play any sort of Metal.

Funny, I'd rank it behind Piece of Mind and it would battle Powerslave for 2nd.

I'd rank The Number of the Beast behind all the classic albums.

 

[sqlb3rn]

Sounds like you don't like metal, which is cool. Metal is my favorite genre, which is kinda funny because I don't like most metal bands. Strange that you want to like it though... for example, I don't like country and gospel and have no reason to "try" and like it.

Archspire and Dying Fetus are good metal bands with good bass lines, if you want to expand your musical library... but I suspect you wouldn't like them because you don't like metal.

 

[DavC]

i can only take the detuned chug , chug/chug , ... so long ... i like it , but just for a short while . ( similar to wife #1 ) but , when someone opens their mouth , i'm done . ! ( like wife #2 )

how much speedy double bass crap does the world need .. ? technical speedy self gratifying masterbation on any instrument should be kept fairly short/sweet ... please ...

i found some tracks on Glenn Hughes latest solo album an interesting mix of genres ... metally riffs into mellower major 7th stuff almost jazzy stuff ... ?! plus the ' Voice of Rock ' ... !

 

[Altitude]

I'd rank The Number of the Beast behind all the classic albums.

Powerslave was new when I got into the band. I was about 14. I happened to be on a vacation to England and found the 7" vinyl singles for Aces High and 2 Minutes while there and carried them all the way back to Austin. I liked the B-sides which were a Leslie West tune and a Nektar tune.

I might like Powerslave as much as I do because of the nostalgia, but I do think the guitar riff in 2 Minutes is one of the best riffs in all metal.

 

[Blaargh]

I always suggest Mutoid Man for threads like this. Not a ton of screaming, stand out bass (fills more of a rhythm guitar role often) and they're quite fun and lighthearted. Not to mention sick riffs for days.

Also here's them playing Purple Rain with John from Baroness.

 

[silky smoove]

What do you mean by Windowpane being an interesting take on metal? The whole album is very good but there isn't even the slightest attempt to play any sort of Metal.

Well... They are, or more accurately WERE a death metal band. The Windowpane album to me is definitely a bunch of metal songs played in a very non-metal way by a band that was very metal before and immediately after Windowpane (the Watershed album). So there are lots of metal elements to the band, the songs, the writing, etc., but to your point it wasn't played like a metal album, so... Interesting.

 

[AngusHasMoxie]

I'm looking to expand my musical horizons. I'm cool with the growling/screaming thing as long as it's not too high pitched. Distortion is fine but I want to be able to discern individual bass notes. If a guitar solo lasts longer than 15 seconds I'm not interested. And maybe some funk influence? Is there any James Brown/Parliament Funkadelicish metal out there?

 

[Pirate Captain]

You mean like the band "Infectious Grooves"? It was an old Robert Trujillo band. Post Suicidal tendencies.

Sarsippisus!!!

 

[Richland123]

You may like Mother's Finest - Black Radio won't Play this Record.
No metal, but heavy and funky, so you may like it. \m/ *

*) or rather \MF/ in this case

Early Mother's Finest sure is funky/metal.