-=The All-Purpose METAL Thread=-

[ImpulseUCF]

Anybody checked out Hysterica? Really cool all-chick metal band. Their first album was pretty thrashy, while their second has harder vocals but is a bit more generic musically, but they rock pretty hard! Some of my favorites are below. Does anybody know any other metal bands with female singers? Preferably thrashy with sung vocals, not shredding/death growls/grunts. Musically, Kittie is almost what I want, but I feel like she ruinis the music with her vocals when she has such a great singing voice that has power and balances the harsh music well.

Anyway, Hysterica are a little campy, but I love it.

Girls Made of Heavy Metal

We are the Undertakers

Heels of Steel

Heavy Metal Man

[Brad Barton]

Couldn't find this thread in the music forum so I figured I'd give it a bump...

So I went back and listened to old albums I've bene neglecting for a while

I really need to do this too. I havent listened to any of my old metal favorites in years and years, probably havent spun Master or Rust in Peace in their entirety for, man, I cant even remember. I've been so absorbed with either new stuff (Mastodon, Opeth, Porcupine Tree) or just straight up not listening to any music for so long all those seminal albums that I'd burnt myself out on just might sound somewhat fresh again.

For as much as the death metal and more extreme guys try to be so hard, the genuine early thrash is ridiculously intense and brutal in what I think is a more organic way. Great stuff.

Agree to an extent, but don't think Metallica, Megadeth and their peers weren't intentionally taking music to and past the levbels of what was considered sane at the time at least partly because they knew it'd generate interest via shock value, or by appealing to an underground metal base that thrives on harder, faster, darker and heavier. I mean, I'm inclined to agree that the old thrash does seem more organically brutal than the modern era of grunty vocals and blast beats, but how much of that is nostalgia, and how much of that is just plain old personal preference? If you were to ask my dad he'd lump Killing is my Business in with Deicide, Amon Amarth or any other band more extreme than Led Zeppelin. Conversely, ask my nephew and he'd say 80's thrash is "gay". I'd say whatever was dominant while you were in your formative years tends to be what you idealize, and coincidentally for guys like you and me that just happens to be what was as yet the best era of metal music. :P

[Vic Rattlehead]

I'd say whatever was dominant while you were in your formative years tends to be what you idealize, and coincidentally for guys like you and me that just happens to be what was as yet the best era of metal music. :P

True to an extent, but if that were the case, I would still be listening to Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and WASP. The older I get, the more I appreciate bands like Venom and Merciful Fate.

Top 5 bands ever:
Led Zeppelin
Pantera
Megadeth
Anthrax
Exodus

[Bonemachine]

Despite all the old grandpa nonsense in the poll, there is tons of brilliant black metal coming out now like Liturgy, Kralice, YOB, Wolves in the Throne Room, Aggollach, Burzum, Entombed, Ghost, etc. Most of it is obviously from Scandinavia but some American bands are talented enough to pull it off. For example, Liturgy is from New York and just mind-blowing.

[Bonemachine]

Top 5 bands ever:
Anthrax
Exodus

I'm pretty sure both of those bands would laugh hard at being considered top five ever. As heavy and "different" as they are they'd both probably cite the Beatles as being better than them, probably Radiohead now too.

[ImpulseUCF]

Couldn't find this thread in the music forum so I figured I'd give it a bump...

Welcome back to you and the thread! Without fail, I start thinking about the good old thread after a while, and someone brings it back (often me) :P

I really need to do this too. I havent listened to any of my old metal favorites in years and years, probably havent spun Master or Rust in Peace in their entirety for, man, I cant even remember. I've been so absorbed with either new stuff (Mastodon, Opeth, Porcupine Tree) or just straight up not listening to any music for so long all those seminal albums that I'd burnt myself out on just might sound somewhat fresh again.

Yeah, man, you owe it to yourself. I caught myself forgetting to listen to music at work and getting all pissy and impatient. I've even been intentionally listening to the "bad albums" by bands I like, e.g. ReLoad, St. Anger, etc. I found new ways to appreciate some of the songs, and in other ways was able to better articulate what I didn't like. The classics are always great, too, after they've had time to cool off. I love to relisten to my favorites with fresh ears to see what new wisdom and thoughts I bring to the experience.

Agree to an extent, but don't think Metallica, Megadeth and their peers weren't intentionally taking music to and past the levbels of what was considered sane at the time at least partly because they knew it'd generate interest via shock value, or by appealing to an underground metal base that thrives on harder, faster, darker and heavier. I mean, I'm inclined to agree that the old thrash does seem more organically brutal than the modern era of grunty vocals and blast beats, but how much of that is nostalgia, and how much of that is just plain old personal preference? If you were to ask my dad he'd lump Killing is my Business in with Deicide, Amon Amarth or any other band more extreme than Led Zeppelin. Conversely, ask my nephew and he'd say 80's thrash is "gay". I'd say whatever was dominant while you were in your formative years tends to be what you idealize, and coincidentally for guys like you and me that just happens to be what was as yet the best era of metal music. :P

LOL, perhaps my word choice didn't properly convey my bias. :P What I of course meant is the old school, classic thrash is "better" than blast-beat grunty nonsense and instead of just trying to sound fast and heavy actually IS fast and heavy. Does that make sense? Also, clearly my old thrash bands are the bestest EVARRRR.

True to an extent, but if that were the case, I would still be listening to Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and WASP. The older I get, the more I appreciate bands like Venom and Merciful Fate.

Yeah man, it's interesting how your tastes change over time.

. As heavy and "different" as they are they'd both probably cite the Beatles as being better than them

As well they should, and most other bands should and righlty would.

In any case, I'm going to this show Halloween weekend with some old school classics that have been on my "see live" list that I never have gotten around to. Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie are headling, but also Machine Head, All That Remains, and Johnathan Davis' new project. I'm pretty stoked. Anyone else seeing anything else good soon?

[Bonemachine]

I just recently saw a show where those two headlined and Manson blew Zombie off the stage. He played old classics off Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals while Zombie played mostly new stuff. Zombie had a much better stage production but nothing compensates for bombing music and Manson does not mess around anymore, like, at all. Manson is a better film director now.

[Venomous Mask]

Neurosis' latest song is streaming at NPR. This band can't be touched:
http://www.neurosis.com/main.htm

[ImpulseUCF]

Also, just to the comment about "grandpa nonsense" in the poll - I'm glad there are good, new bands coming out in sub-genres like black metal, etc. It's great to get the new blood, but the poll is about the all time greatest, and with respect, that kind of implies long-term success and a deep catalog. New niche bands just don't frankly fit that bill IMHO.

Checked out that Neurosis song - it's pretty cool. Slower and darker than a lot of what else is out there. What are some of their other best songs?

[Brad Barton]

True to an extent, but if that were the case, I would still be listening to Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and WASP. The older I get, the more I appreciate bands like Venom and Merciful Fate.

No I'd definitely agree, lord knows my tastes have changed quite a bit since I was a teenager, though I'd still say I tend to idealize 80's thrash because it was what was going on in metal when I came to it. A good example is Bonemachine talking about all the "grandpa nonsense" in the poll. He's not wrong, I'd wager he's just younger than I am and therefore of a different era. Even the bands you mention as your top 5 fall more or less within the era of your "formative years" if you're anywhere near me in age, and though their eventual dominance over hair metal wouldn't be felt until their influence played out on next generation bands, I'd say they were the dominant force in metal in the 80's and much of the 90's. Not mainstream, but dominant nonetheless.

[Brad Barton]

Welcome back to you and the thread! Without fail, I start thinking about the good old thread after a while, and someone brings it back (often me) :P
Yeah, man, you owe it to yourself. I caught myself forgetting to listen to music at work and getting all pissy and impatient.

Yeah, that probably factors into my mood lately too. I'll look up and realize I've gone not days but even weeks without really listening to any music just because I've got so much other shit on my mind, definitely need to set aside some chill-with-an-old-album time more often.

Also, clearly my old thrash bands are the bestest EVARRRR.

That's really all that needs to be said. *metalfistpump*

[Brad Barton]

Despite all the old grandpa nonsense in the poll, there is tons of brilliant black metal coming out now like Liturgy, Kralice, YOB, Wolves in the Throne Room, Aggollach, Burzum, Entombed, Ghost, etc. Most of it is obviously from Scandinavia but some American bands are talented enough to pull it off. For example, Liturgy is from New York and just mind-blowing.

I think I may actually have mentioned Agalloch at some point back in this thread, but yeah definitely agree. It's taken me a long time to get past the grunt-vocal barrier because, as I've said, I'm of the older school. I still havent completely embraced them, but I can appreciate good music from a talented band that uses them a little more these days. I've gotten into Agalloch, Opeth and Carcass, and have just started to touch on SYL and Devin Townsend's body of work. There's a lot of good music there. Lot of bad music too, but such is the case in any genre.

[Bonemachine]

Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth is a huge black metal fan these days. Just an interesting tidbit.

[ImpulseUCF]

The more you know! Cool tidbit. I like hearing about stuff like that. It's cool to know which bands that bands are into.

I can definitely tolerate harder vocals than I used to, but even so, I think it's not just a matter of nostalgia and timing (though I admit those are huge factors). I think it also just comes down tyo good, old-fashioned personal preference. The grunty/shredding vocals are, by intent, extreme, and as such tend to appeal to a smaller yet specific audience. Not saying they're objectively bad or good, just that it's a preference, and it's just not one I really have. I can push my boundaries a little bit, blur the line to a broader grey range than absolute black and white line, but at the end of the day, those vocals just irk me. I want to climb through the speakers and slap the vocalists and be like STOP IT!! STOP IT!! SING A MELODY!!! lol.

Having said all that, I've been getting more into Mastadon, Lamb of God, some symphonic stuff. If the songs are good, I can give it a chance. I'm going to check out Agalloch since a few different folks have mentioned them now.

[Oskar Von Strange]

I can definitely tolerate harder vocals than I used to, but even so, I think it's not just a matter of nostalgia and timing (though I admit those are huge factors). I think it also just comes down tyo good, old-fashioned personal preference. The grunty/shredding vocals are, by intent, extreme, and as such tend to appeal to a smaller yet specific audience. Not saying they're objectively bad or good, just that it's a preference, and it's just not one I really have. I can push my boundaries a little bit, blur the line to a broader grey range than absolute black and white line, but at the end of the day, those vocals just irk me. I want to climb through the speakers and slap the vocalists and be like STOP IT!! STOP IT!! SING A MELODY!!! lol.

Back when I was in high school I couldn't stand the gutteral/growls/shrieking vocals(I was mostly on/off with metal music in general), which is mostly why I only stuck to 80's thrash. But a couple of years ago I started to open up a bit and began listening and looking for much more heavier and faster stuff: enter Death Metal. Been hooked ever since, until I discovered "grindcore" recently where the vocals are much more extreme and everything's faster. I distinctly remember hearing Napalm Death's first two albums with Lee Dorian and not being pleased by the vocals, but that was before knowing what the hell grindcore was. Today, they're some of my favorite albums. I guess it all comes down to whether you have the tolerance to listen to indecipherable noises lol.

I will say though that I can't stand the "pig sqealing" from some of today's death metal bands. Fuck that shit.