Or, in my case, finding new metal that resembles my old metal enough to where I’ll like it!
And another thing: I am getting old. Where did all these sub-genres of metal come from? Now its harder than ever to define the shit! First it was just rock, then hard rock/acid rock, then heavy metal, then thrash, now there’s black/death/stoner/drone/trance/fresh fish forms of metal…anyone want to try to describe the differencesin some of these?
For instance, what’s the difference between “black” metal and “death” metal? Stoner metal I can understand, its slower paced and possibly “trippier”, right? But some of these terms seem…absurd.
Yeesh. Now we’re getting into “I should just write a book” territory.
The differences are often subtle, for sure.
Black metal, generally, features vox that are more shrieked or high pitched demon wailing, whereas death metal is low, growling Cookie Monster Vocals (CMV).
Lyrical content is different: black metal is typically anti-Christian, anti-church. Death metal is all about despair, violence and, well, death.
Black metal tends to focus on the mid- to high range of guitars; death metal features downtuned guitars.
Both genres utilize blast beat drumming like its going out of style, but I’d say that typically black metal is going to be faster paced than death metal.
Obviously, you’re gonna find a lot of crossover and “they are not ----- metal, they’re totally ------ metal!” arguments, but the differences are there, however subtle.
The only other genre I know of that comes close to (or maybe surpasses) metal for sheer # of genres is the dance/techno/rave/electronica genres, and differences there can be just as wildly subtle.
You should go see 'em dude. Gene is the real deal, Brendon can play like a mofo, and they have a GREAT time on stage (it’s a full band, btw, not just those 2 guys). It translates to a really good time.
Cool, thanks! Its amazing what an ongoing education life can be, and its even more amazing to me that I need to re-learn a bunch of stuff about a topic I used to be quite knowledgeable about!
Just wanted to say that the chart from Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey is rather strange and inaccurate in several places. This chart is more accurate and comprehensive, I think.
I won’t argue the “more accurate” thing with you, just wanted to point out that the chart from M: AHbJ is at least 5, prolly more like 6 years old. So no, he won’t have bands that didn’t exist yet on it.
ETA: Besides, it’s all just a basic template to be able to follow the evolution of the music, not a grid that can’t be escaped.
So I rang up my buddy Blue Elk today and had him get me started on how to make vids, and now I’m well and able to waste hours and hours making videos for really obscure bands that no one has ever heard of.
Here’s a great band from India I found earlier this year. Their name is Bhayanak Maut, which means “Terrible Death”. They play a mixture of hardcore and death metal, kinda. This is Blasted Beyond Belief. Lyrics are in English, btw.
