Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - ok, with all the metal threads i think i need a clarification

n0nsensical · 12-12-2004, 03:10 AM

Well it's all really subjective, and many an internet flame war has been waged over the genre of a band. It's a fine line between some of them and everyone seems to have their own definition. So with tongue partially in cheek, I will explain what I've come up with.

Death metal bands always have names relating to corpses, body parts, death, etc., like Cannibal Corpse, Cattle Decapitation, Napalm Death...if the name sounds scary and funny at the same time, it's probably a death band. They have the usual screaming unintelligible vocals and a musical focus on being loud.

Doom metal vocals tend to be more raspy than the screaming of death metal. Also characterized by slower rhythms and minor keys. I'm not too familiar specific bands of this genre.

Goth metal is related to doom metal. Often involves anti-Christian lyrics and the other usual things you might associate with goth culture. Tristania and Sins of Thy Beloved can be characterized as goth metal.

Progressive metal is what you get when you take 70s prog rock bands like Rush and Yes and add a generous helping of metal. Usually have very complex songs, multiple time signatures, crazy solos, all that good stuff. Lots of musical virtuosity. Most MTV viewers can't process so much musical ability at once. The vocals are normal singing, and the vocalists tend to have very large ranges focusing on the higher end. Dream Theater is always the archetypical example, Symphony X and Fates Warning are also other examples.

Power metal, you could say, is an evolution of 80s metal bands like Iron Maiden. It usually has infectious melodies, and compared to the dark subjects of death and doom metal, power metal is usually much more cheerful and uplifting. Stratovarius, Hammerfall, Rhapsody, and Sonata Arctica are good examples. Vocals are clean and on the high end like prog metal. Fantasy is common subject matter: Dragons, Kings, and Elves all have their parts in power metal, and these bands are known to make songs about J.R.R. Tolkien books (and even whole albums, like in the case of Blind Guardian's Nightfall in Middle-Earth). It's obscure in North America even for metal, far more popular in Europe and South America, and most of the well-known bands are European.

Melodic death metal is a subgenre also related to power metal, the music usually is (surprise) more melodic and the vocals more intelligible, but still in the "death" style. Examples are In Flames, Opeth, and Children of Bodom. Like power metal, it's more popular in Europe, but it does have its following here.

12-12-2004, 03:10 AM	#5 (permalink)
n0nsensical Junkie Location: San Francisco	Well it's all really subjective, and many an internet flame war has been waged over the genre of a band. It's a fine line between some of them and everyone seems to have their own definition. So with tongue partially in cheek, I will explain what I've come up with. Death metal bands always have names relating to corpses, body parts, death, etc., like Cannibal Corpse, Cattle Decapitation, Napalm Death...if the name sounds scary and funny at the same time, it's probably a death band. They have the usual screaming unintelligible vocals and a musical focus on being loud. Doom metal vocals tend to be more raspy than the screaming of death metal. Also characterized by slower rhythms and minor keys. I'm not too familiar specific bands of this genre. Goth metal is related to doom metal. Often involves anti-Christian lyrics and the other usual things you might associate with goth culture. Tristania and Sins of Thy Beloved can be characterized as goth metal. Progressive metal is what you get when you take 70s prog rock bands like Rush and Yes and add a generous helping of metal. Usually have very complex songs, multiple time signatures, crazy solos, all that good stuff. Lots of musical virtuosity. Most MTV viewers can't process so much musical ability at once. The vocals are normal singing, and the vocalists tend to have very large ranges focusing on the higher end. Dream Theater is always the archetypical example, Symphony X and Fates Warning are also other examples. Power metal, you could say, is an evolution of 80s metal bands like Iron Maiden. It usually has infectious melodies, and compared to the dark subjects of death and doom metal, power metal is usually much more cheerful and uplifting. Stratovarius, Hammerfall, Rhapsody, and Sonata Arctica are good examples. Vocals are clean and on the high end like prog metal. Fantasy is common subject matter: Dragons, Kings, and Elves all have their parts in power metal, and these bands are known to make songs about J.R.R. Tolkien books (and even whole albums, like in the case of Blind Guardian's Nightfall in Middle-Earth). It's obscure in North America even for metal, far more popular in Europe and South America, and most of the well-known bands are European. Melodic death metal is a subgenre also related to power metal, the music usually is (surprise) more melodic and the vocals more intelligible, but still in the "death" style. Examples are In Flames, Opeth, and Children of Bodom. Like power metal, it's more popular in Europe, but it does have its following here. Last edited by n0nsensical; 12-12-2004 at 03:13 AM..