Metal Reviews

Agreed 100%, very well said.

Bands don't make me hate the world around me, threads like these do. It seems that people like Mr. Seinfeld have some stupid, pre-conceived notions about what someone who listens to Metal music is or isn't supposed to be like. The entire conceit of the thread is, quite frankly, a load of fucking horseshit. It's basically saying, I don't look like your classic stereo-typical teen comedy version of what metalheads are "supposed" to be. What it describes in it's basic principal isn't even what most true metalheads are even like, as this board proves. It's describing Slipknot fans and Slayer fans, who at the very core are eithier teenagers going through a phase, or they are just plain flat-out briandead idiots. Hardcore Slayer fans generally fall into the latter category, as the guy who carved Slayer into his wrist proves beyond a shadow of a doubt. And hardcore Slipknot fans generally fall into the former category. Eithier way, it does not accurately describe any people on this board, or on most other boards and in real life that I would consider real metalheads.. People who are truly into Metal are going to look like a lot of things, and are going to come from all walks of life, just like every Hip-hop fan doesn't neccesarily wear baggy pants, sports jerseys, and "sport" a side-ways hat. Nor do most people who hate organized religion do so because Kerry King tells them to. Like I sad before, you're not railing against any form of stereotype, you're just merely perpetuating it. You think you've reached some form of enlightenment by not adhering to a set of pre-conceived "rules". The fact of the matter is, those "rules" don't even really exist amongst the people who truly like the music.

hay guyz m i an metalhed yet???/





ps. i agree with EI that mentioning you don't perfectly conform to a stereotype is retarded because stereotypes are generally exaggerations and there are no real-life versions of them.

Dude, I wasn't at all suggesting anybody on this particular board was like this. But check out some of the less intelligent boards (like the boards on Blabbermouth.net), as well as certain metal sites like Metalrules.com, and you'll see how widespread the things I described really are. There IS that "culture" within the metal scene. Where being happy with life is considered "un-metal", where dressing normal is "un-metal", where quite a few people hate organized religion but don't know squat about it beyond the lyrics for Jesus Saves, etc.

I'm sorry if I came off as a little judgemental and conceited in my last post, but just as that level of conceit pisses you off, what I described in my post pisses me off too. Mostly because, in real life, I'm subjected to this stereotype all the time. People asking me stuff like, "If you listen to metal, why don't you have long hair and why are you so nice/friendly?"

That's because you're looking for it and its a public board where you're only getting isolated slices of someones personality. I'm sure if you actually talked to them there would be a lot of ways that they don't (and do) fit into the stereotype.

Actually, what prompted me to do this thread in the first place was thinking about how much my tastes in music have changed over the years. Six years ago, I listened almost exclusively to metal. Now, metal probably constitutes about 50% of what I listen to. Today, for example, my playlist was 1) Blur - Blur, 2) Radiohead - OK Computer, 3) Megadeth - Cryptic Writings.

Absoltutely guys, but just because it would come across as conformity doesn't mean someone should stop doing something they likeor feeling the way they naturally feel. I love long hair and band t-shirts and hate religion too, that isn't going to change, but if I see a cool shirt that has nothing to do with metal and like it, doesn't mean I can't wear it.

I've never, ever encountered a true metalhead, meaning someone that was in it for more than the image to think that way. I used this board as an example, because it backed up my claim completely. You have all kinds of people on here, who come from totally different places in life and the world, and outside of a usually not very serious Holy Terror post, nobody thinks like that. Blabbermouth is nothing more than people shooting their mouths off for the hell of it, and since it's a very informal board, I'm guessing that most people on there are just being idiots for the fun of it. Take the thread Ken made about the place, he got banned for calling a reviewer a turd. I doubt he'd walk up to the guy in real life and call him that. He just thought it would be fun to call him a turd on a mostly anonymous board for the fun of it. I would bet that's what most people on there are doing.



Are the people asking you that other people who listen to metal? Or are they people that have no clue about the music aside from my afore-mentioned stereo-typical depictions? Or are they Hot Topic kids who will probably grow up and drop the act once they figure out how the real world works? Hell, I find fellow metalheads to be generally nicer than other kinds of people. I don't know why exactly that is, but I've found for the most part, metalheads don't have a chip on their shoulder. They "get it" if you will. I just hate the generalizations. It's not fair to us, and it's not fair to anybody else. You'd be surprised how many buttoned-down white collar folks who listen to Gangsta Rap. It's not jsut metal that gets generalized.

How about anything non- Hard Rock?

No offense, but I think it's a bit trite to mention mainstream hard rock actsas proof you don't listen to just metal. How about Jazz, Blues, Dance, New Wave, Pop, or anything else... If someone's into those kinds of music and metal, then I would take thier non-conformist (sic) attitude a little more seriously.

On that train of thought, most makers of heavy metal are good-hearted and kind people, they are not self-loathing jackasses with ego problems. Those afflictions seem to affect certain black metallers and hair band members, but most guys that are in thrash bands, death metal bands, power metal, prog metal, et all are very satisfied with thier lot in life (ie: making just enough money to get by as a musician)

Sorry for the generalization, but Ive found most of these guys to be the opposite of what you'd expect

I doubt even most Black Metal bands really want to see the world burn, so to speak. It's a valid state of mind, and it's a train of thought that I fall into myself, but I suspect for the most part they are just immortalizing those particular pieces of thought into music. It doesn't mean they think that way all of the time.

I'm not a metalhead, I'm more of a retarded metal fan nobody wants to play with

Rob Halford is bald and homosexual. Does it make him any less a metalhead? I think not.

I feel that if you love and listen to the music then you're a metal fan/metalhead. I don't draw any distinction between the two. Leather, band shirts, long hair, etc have become stereotypes for the genre but not definitives for all fans and musicians.

Be who you are but love the metal!!

Metal music is a gateway to appreciate any music that comes from the heart and is pure. So who really gives a fuck about being called one or what not! Stop making idiotic discussions. Metal music is about getting ever closer to life and from there you will just discover more and more.

That was some deep shit yo

+1.

your such a conformist listening to only music made by humans who sing and play instruments.


but seriously i get your point about megadeth, blur, and Radiohead sounding so similar I can't tell them apart sometimes

listen to metal: yes, but not as much as i did before
drink alcohol: yes, but that hasn't got anything to do with metal in my opinion
wear bandshirts: occasionally, but i mostly wear them when i'm doing work around the house, or when i go camping with friends or family.
My hair has been the same for about 5 years, and it isn't really long so i don't really consider myself as a metalhead.

I don't even know if Blur really falls under the "hard rock" catagory. They're more power pop a la Oasis.

Anyway, as for the genres Adveser listed:

Jazz - I like.
Blues - I like.
Dance - Don't really care for, but it can be a fun diversion when with friends.
New Wave - Same as dance.
Pop - I have my guilty pleasures.

I can see what Adveser is getting at. Like i said earlier i listen to more dance music now then metal (mainly psy trance and hardcore) and also quite a bit of folk to. And i love pop music, you just got to filter through all the shit and you find some great stuff. Kinda like you have to do with metal aswell lol.

But the metal head sterotype probably isn't represenatative of the majority of metal fans so it's a hard question to answer really.