My solution to todays crappy music...
 

Buy old music!!

When I went to Ozzfest I realized how bad todays music really is and how good the old shit was. I've decided that I'm gonna start buying the stuff I listened to when I was in high school 20 years ago. I picked up Killers from Iron Maiden and Sold My Soul to Rock and Roll from Black Sabbath. I also got Dio's Anthology: Stand Up and Shout which is the best of him from Elf, Black Sabbath and his solo stuff. I plan to get more Sabbath and Maiden and some Judas Priest!!

I'm just really tired of the same recycled shit they keep putting out right now. There's no real talent out there at the moment. NONE!!

If I'm wrong point me in the right direction please.

In the meantime I wait for Tools new cd...

Kry, I think you are both right and wrong...

The old stuff is great and I imagine we all have much left to discover, but I urge you to seek out those active now, that are good. Trust me they're out there. When we ignore the current players, we don't lend much needed support to a vital and creative scene of music. These days, the internet is a great tool for those new bands to reach out to potential new listeners with samples of their music and in a lot of cases, full songs and more.

If we buy records of past artists, likely the money is not only going into the pockets of the record labels, but it also encourages said labels to continue producing re-issues of old music rather than risking money on new talent.

Problem for me is, by the sounds of the bands you mentioned, I wouldn't know where to steer you since I am mostly a jazz nut. But if anyone needs any recommendations for currently active jazz artists, ask away...you'll be sorry you did! :)

Based on your liking what you listed, I'll recommend if you haven't heard them already :

KMFDM
Mars Volta
Queensryche
Aphex Twin
White Zombie

I'm not overly familiar with the genres in question (well, classic rock yes, metal no) and four bands is hardly a representative sample, but that might get you started until someone more familiar with this sort of music comes along.

There's always new talent, it's just that sometimes you have to dig a bit in order to find it.

You might like Edguy. It's relatively non-cheesy power metal that's sorta in the vein of Maiden.

Oh yeah dude, we never did catch up on that Ozzfest. That was some pretty crazy shit with Sharon bashing Bruce at the end of Maiden's set; what do you make of that situation? I'm pretty pissed myself that they were fucking with the sound, especially during Hallowed Be Thy Name. I missed Arch Enemy and didn't even bother trying to get in the pit area of the second stage for the rest of the bands. Frankly the whole thing was kind of disappointing to me too. I'm kind of wondering a) Why is Mudvayne still a band and b) Why were they on the main stage. There was 20 minutes of only decent In Flames, then 60 minutes of pretty good Iron Maiden screwed up by Sharon & Co., and that was pretty much the best of the show. They may need to do something incredible to convince me to bother next year.
Relatively non-cheesy, to other power metal or to music in general? :lol: Since he's already a Maiden fan he can probably handle it though. :lol: Yeah I like Edguy. Did you go to their show at the Key Club last year? (or was that this year? Who knows)

Krycheck, how "new" are we talking here, new as in the last decade or last week? Almost all of the best progressive and power metal IMO is new in the last decade, and of course those bands are still putting out music of the "new last week" variety. They're the direct descendents of bands with obvious musical talent like Maiden, Rush, etc. European metal bands are especially still innovative, and in fact most of my favorite music in general is from Europe. I'm not sure how familiar you are with that whole scene, but I know there's a good number of people on this board who are into it and can point you to more examples. See the "new Opeth" thread, for one.

I tire of all the "all of today's music is crap" threads. To me, a sure sign that you are "old" is when you can no longer appreciate/have no patience to find new music. I'm 30 and I buy almost exclusively new bands, while my best friend is 31 and hasn't bought a CD from a new artist since probably 1991.

With the internet, finding great new music is relatively easy. You just need to get beyond the stuff on the radio and look around.

There is good music being made today, but you're not going to find it at Ozzfest. Dig, my friend, dig.

I'll echo the sentiments above. I listen to all kinds of new music, but you wouldn't hear hardly any of it on the radio.

On the other hand, I've always been a fan of older rock/metal, and have also been listening to quite a bit of it (I'd say lately but that seems to imply that I've only been listening to it recently).

I've really, really, really been on a Dream Theater kick lately, and along with Porcupine Tree and Wizards and Demons, I think you'd be able to stomach some "new" music again.

I'm also eagerly awaiting the new Tool.

^I second Porcupine Tree.

Ok, a few things:

Martian: The only band you mentioned there that I don't already listen to is Apex Twin. I'll check them out.

n0nsensical: Yeah it pretty much sucked all around cept for what we did hear of Maiden. I was very impressed with Ozzy and Black Sabbath. Most of the other main stage bands didnt' belong there imho.

Derwood: It's not that im lazy, maybe just spoiled. I work 12 hrs a day and drive for 2 more so my time is limited. Also since I live and work in LA/OC the radio stations suck. So finding new music that way is near impossible. I wish I could catch KCAL from Riverside. That station rocks! Reminds me of the KNAC days.

The crap that I refer to is the "grindcore" and "screamo" bands that sound pretty much all the same. Seems to me that record companys think it's cool to sign garage and party bands now. I know there's some good bands out there, I just hate that we get fed this crap while the good bands fall thru the cracks. Mars Volta wouldn't have got the attention if it wasn't for radio stations puting Windows in thier rotation.

Just my 2 cents.

I completely agree about Screamo and Grindcore completely sucking. God that shit hurts my ears, and this is coming from a Melodic Death Metal fan.

But anyway, you should check out some power metal bands and other stuff:
Tierra Santa(They're only big in Spain, but they sound a lot like Maiden and pull it off really well)
Dream Theater
Dragonforce
Power Quest
Children of Bodom(you might need to adjust to their vocals, but the music's awesome)
Opeth
Dream Evil

Edit, I see N0nsensical already suggested Opeth and other bands in the European scene. Europe is the only continent with a lot of good music nowadays, especiallly when it comes to metal. Scandinavia and germany are the best for it.

Ohhh dude.... you lost me when you said you wanted more Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.... Thank God the 80's metal scene died when it did... Sabbath is one thing... but dont dare say Maiden and Priest in the same breath.... I mean why not go all the way down that crappy road and mention Poision, Cinderella and Ratt...?

New stuff is out there that kicks ass.... The Mars Volta comes to mind.... also if straight out Rock n Roll is what you want....

Rage
Audioslave
White Zombie / Rob Zombie

its not new or old.... just right

How can you put Iron Maiden and Judas Priest in the same catagory as Poison, Cinderella and Ratt!?!?! Like them or not Iron Maiden and Judas influenced most metal bands out there now.

But back on topic. I love The Mars Volta. Frances the Mute turned me into a big MV fan. Now I have both of thier cd's and can't wait for the next one to come out.

I wanted to check out Aphex Twin and went to thier web site but I can't seem to get any tracks off of the site :(

I've only heard a song or two from Opeth and wasn't imediately impressed but I want to give them another try since they're always mentioned in these type of threads.

i agree with alot of above. there is ALOT of GREAT new music. and likewise, i rarely listen to the radio. don't get me wrong, i love a little old school every once in a while. grew up on kiss and zep, but alot of radio stations all you hear every third song is zep or ac/dc. i hear em so much i get sick of hearin it. just listen to metallica, master of puppets today. loved it, but only becasue i haven't popped the cd in for about a year. take the time to search out good new music. reccomendation. if you like the old sabbath groove, check out Fireball Ministry. hopefully it might help you change your mind and broaden your herizons a little.

Jesus fucking Christ.

edit: ELLIPSES

Dood, no offense, but if you look for good new music at Ozzfest, you're gonna die trying.

I've got neices and nephews and godchildren in college, and they send me the best stuff all the time. I take them out to their favorite restaurant if they burn a mix for me on a CD -- everybody's happy. I pass on lots of it, but some is brilliant. I share some of the older stuff with them too, old acoustic stuff and jazz and the stuff I like.

I like a lot of the points that you're making, but were do you see major record companies signing grindcore bands? Unless we have a different definition of what grindcore is, I'm not sure I know what you're talking about. Could you give some examples of a grindcore band? When I hear "grindcore" I think
-Anal Cunt
-The Locust
-Hella
-An Albatross

Nuclear Blast, Relapse, and Willowtip are fairly big labels in the metal community, and they both sign grindcore (especially Willowtip). Some of the more famous Relapse ones are Pig Destroyer, Nasum, and Cephalic Carnage.

I personally like those bands, but I can see why someone would not.

Which songs?

The best songs to get into Opeth with are probably:

The Drapery Falls
Godhead's Lament (just wait for the part that comes in at about 3:00...)
Windowpane
Harvest

I already converted someone on the TFP to Opeth with "Harvest," so definitly give that one a shot if anything.

Geez- there are current bands who are doing just fine out there.

edit: the word 'new' before 'current' deleted- I just don't bother to look for 'new' bands. Or well, if Franz Ferdinand is still considered as 'new'...

For example Finntroll, Muse, Nightwish, Dream Theater, the White Stripes...

Then again I do agree with you that 'old' stuff are really, really good sometimes. (And YES, Iron Maiden is good.)

One more thing is... it just seems like one can never get tired of Pink Floyd for some reasons, or well, Pink Floyd never sounds 'old' to me actually. (Yes, I am 19 and I am really into Pink Floyd and no, I don't do drugs or think it's 'cool' to listen to Pink Floyd. It's just their unique way of making songs... No one can match their talents nowadays... just no one.)

Or, if you are looking for something alternative, experimental to listen to, try a band called Einstürzende Neubauten. They arent musically genius but, fun to listen to and give you funny inspirations when listening to them.

I also went to Ozzfest in '03. That year it was Chevelle, Manson, Disturbed, Korn and of course Ozzy. All good bands imho.

As for Opeth: The other day I saw the video for The Grand Conjuration. I really liked the music, these guys have musical talent for sure. But the "Cookie Monster" vocals I have a problem with. I just can't get past that :(

I had to force myself to listen to their Blackwater Park album about six times before I started liking the vocals. It's an acquired taste. Now I absolutely love death vox in general and try to avoid clean singing.

What you're forgetting is for every great band, there's always 10 shit one's that try to sound just like everyone else. It was like that when Sabbath started, and it's still like that. Ten years from now, people really won't remember the crappy ones, all they'll remember is the great ones and pine for today when there weren't as many shitty bands. That said, I mainly listen to the older stuff because I don't like having to dig through all of the crap to try and find the good stuff.

I think you might like Anthrax (especially the older stuff), although they're like Metallica in that they've been around for a long time.