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Why is "Metal" constantly being bashed by "real" musicians?

#305
Hey everyone,

Umm, i think that the reason why metal bassists generally get put down is because on the whole Metal is pretty easy to play. Like, don't abuse me lol, i can play bass, check my youtube out if you can/ don't believe me YouTube - ‪Dcool53's Channel‬‏ . I started off playing bass from Blink-182 and then eventually started powering through Metallica riffs and even though initially building up the speed in the fingers is difficult, after a good 3 years of playing, it's not really a problem. I also play a lot of different genres of music, and i learn practically all songs by ear, and what i've noticed is that even if music genres other than metal isn't technically harder to play in terms of speed, the bass in those songs may be harder to hear because it doesn't follow the guitar and it can be more confusing to learn by ear. As a relatively experienced bass player, i can learn most metal songs in an hour by ear unless it's REALLY hard and it might take me a day or two. Metal just generally is easier because the theory behind is normally simpler, atleast for a bassist it is lol.
 
#306
Dcool53 said:
Hey everyone,

Umm, i think that the reason why metal bassists generally get put down is because on the whole Metal is pretty easy to play. Like, don't abuse me lol, i can play bass, check my youtube out if you can/ don't believe me YouTube - ‪Dcool53's Channel‬‏ . I started off playing bass from Blink-182 and then eventually started powering through Metallica riffs and even though initially building up the speed in the fingers is difficult, after a good 3 years of playing, it's not really a problem. I also play a lot of different genres of music, and i learn practically all songs by ear, and what i've noticed is that even if music genres other than metal isn't technically harder to play in terms of speed, the bass in those songs may be harder to hear because it doesn't follow the guitar and it can be more confusing to learn by ear. As a relatively experienced bass player, i can learn most metal songs in an hour by ear unless it's REALLY hard and it might take me a day or two. Metal just generally is easier because the theory behind is normally simpler, atleast for a bassist it is lol.
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Hey dude, cool channel + vids, but if you consider Metallica, RATM, and Iron Maiden to be the be all end all in metal bass, you got some learnin to do. ;)
 
#311
I'm a metalhead at heart (is that a mixed metaphor?), but I will admit that I'm finding it more and more difficult to find new metal that interests me. The screaming is just way too prevalent, I don't mind it as an accent to evoke an emotion every now and then, but to rely on it solely just makes my ears bleed. That being said, I have found a few gems lately:

Protest the Hero (yeah, I plug them every chance I get, but they are a great example of metal being interesting again, and Arif is an absolute monster.)

To-Mera (I can't stop listening to them. It seems every time I give it a play-through, I like it more.)

Pain of Salvation (The newer stuff is arguably straying away from metal, but Entropia, Scar Sick, that sort of stuff, is really good.)

Haaken (Sometimes sounds almost like Kansas, but enough heavy stuff to call them metal, I think.)

In Flames (Sounds of a Playground Fading is really blowing me away, and Reroute to Remain get played at least bi-weekly... and yes, I know he is screaming, but it *just* melodic enough to allow me to enjoy it. I'd say that's probably my threshold right there.)

And if you want something really, really, umm, interesting, try to hunt down something by Unexpect. You can call it metal, just as much as you can call it pretty much anything, including circus music. LOL

I guess other than In Flames, the bands listed fall under prog, experimental, whatever... but, well, I guess that's what it takes to make me interested in it. I still consider it metal at the core.

(I apologize if any of these bands have already been mentioned... I did try to read through the thread, but it's rather long, to say the least. :P)
 
#312
brane said:
I'm a metalhead at heart (is that a mixed metaphor?), but I will admit that I'm finding it more and more difficult to find new metal that interests me. The screaming is just way too prevalent, I don't mind it as an accent to evoke an emotion every now and then, but to rely on it solely just makes my ears bleed.
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Agreed. Screaming/growling to the point of unintelligibility is a major turn off for me too. Occasionally, I like to ignore it if the music is good enough.

What's weird is that in all such threads, people refer to disliking or liking 'metal' as if it's a single, totally distinct kind of music with no relation to any other genre and no 'milder' forms. I'm sure that if people who dislike metal wanted, they'd discover milder metal bands such as King's X and realize that metal is not just limited thrash, death, black, etc. metal, the likes of which they may find distasteful. Heck, even Led Zep were metal by most accounts and come on all you haters of metal, you don't like anything by Zep? :p
 
#313
I have been listening to metal for a long time and most of the stereotypes people make about metal are because they know nothing about metal. Yes there are alot of crappy metal bands out there (Slipknot!!!) but there are also alot of good ones. One stereo type is that all metal is a bunch of screaming, when in reality most metal bands incorporate singing too (other than black/death). One reason metal has got a bad name is the stupid people that refer to it as "Scream-o" Which in fact is a completely different genre and NOT a generic term for metal. And as for metal just being about playing fast that is not true either as lots of metal bands are very melodic and slow. And the repetitive double bass drum that is just a matter of taste, I personally like it (and know that it takes alot of skill and practice to do it) while others don't.
Just my opinion
 
#315
What's the point of screaming lyrics? Sure, it adds an angry and psychotic mood, if that's what you're going for, but IMO, most (if not all) screamo songs should be left as instrumentals. And that's being generous.
 
#316
LIONFURY said:
One reason metal has got a bad name is the stupid people that refer to it as "Scream-o" Which in fact is a completely different genre and NOT a generic term for metal.
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Marsco said:
What's the point of screaming lyrics? Sure, it adds an angry and psychotic mood, if that's what you're going for, but IMO, most (if not all) screamo songs should be left as instrumentals. And that's being generous.
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Wow, this thread gets revived with more ignorance, imagine that. :hmm:
 
#317
HaMMerHeD said:
You could say that about just about any genre of music.
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I think, however, the problem is that metal is an easy genre to play but a hard genre to master...kind of how bass is an easy instrument to begin to play but a hard instrument to master. What I mean is something that I'm sure Capsev is getting at - and that I see every day. There exists a countless array of generic local metal bands filled with guitar players who spew forth boring, unspired power chord riffs with bad, scooped guitar tone, drummers playing sloppy blast beats on every song, and toneless singers with boring, inane lyrics. These bands have a tendency to outnumber the metal bands with cats who can actually play their instruments and write good songs. I don't see that so much with other genres, such as blues, oldies, jazz, and country. In fact, in my experience, it's usually the opposite with country. The good country bands with good players usually outnumber the crap country bands.

None of that is a slam against metal as a whole. I love a lot of metal. Unfortunately, all metal bands truly aren't created equal. While metal is all about intensity and aggression, you still need to write great songs. All of the classic metal bands - Testament, Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Exodus, Diamond Head, even Slayer - had the ability to write hooks into their music. Even heavier metal and metalcore bands like Machinehead, Cannibal Corpse, Unearth, Otep, and In Flames have the ability to write things that catch your ear. That to me is the difference between those bands and the generic metal bands who think that just because they throw a bunch of detuned riffs together with scooped guitar tone and double-kick, they are God's creation unto music.
 

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