• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Metal Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Giant Robot

Member
Woffls said:
Where do we draw the line on 'heavy' these days? I ask because some asshat on last.fm laughed at the idea that Parkway Drive were heavy. Now, if *this* isn't heavy then I need to hear something that is - sick riffage at 1:30 btw. I mean, Maiden isn't heavy any more, but we're not about to start saying the Black Album isn't heavy are we?
Click to expand...

Heavy can mean a whole lot of different things. These days a lot of people will correlate heavy with techy-riffing/crunch/breakdowns used as a cover for shitty riffing/songwriting. I feel that heavy is more important with the substance and feel of the riffs plus everything around it to supplement/compliment it.

Listening back to older Black Sabbath are instant heavy/doomy riffs that just puts me into misery, especially at the 3:18 mark of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Then again something super super super simple and catchy like Floor or Torche can be devastatingly heavy. Then there's also Sunn O))) that bases their heaviness on sheer low end volume and extreme minimalism to actually "feel" the low end, not just hear it.

Godflesh-Streetcleaner is by far one of the heaviest albums. Simply crushing and crumbling. Sleep - Jerusalem will probably won't be topped for a long long time, and that was back in late 90's (the riff at the 5:30 mark is beyond heavy in every sense of it IMO.)

in the end, it's just highly subjective matter. :p
 
S

sazabirules

Unconfirmed Member
ACE 1991 said:
On a side note, that band seems awesome. Currently checking them out.
Click to expand...

Parkway Drive's first album is the best. I couldn't listen to the newest one because of the repetitive chugging.

I need to buy Blind Guardian's new one before I see them live.

I can't wait for the new Seventh Wonder disc to come out. I'm hoping it is more along the lines of Waiting in the Wings. I liked that one more than Mercy Falls.
 
V

Verano

Reads Ace as Lace. May God have mercy on their soul
Giant Robot said:
Heavy can mean a whole lot of different things. These days a lot of people will correlate heavy with techy-riffing/crunch/breakdowns used as a cover for shitty riffing/songwriting. I feel that heavy is more important with the substance and feel of the riffs plus everything around it to supplement/compliment it.

Listening back to older Black Sabbath are instant heavy/doomy riffs that just puts me into misery, especially at the 3:18 mark of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Then again something super super super simple and catchy like Floor or Torche can be devastatingly heavy. Then there's also Sunn O))) that bases their heaviness on sheer low end volume and extreme minimalism to actually "feel" the low end, not just hear it.

Godflesh-Streetcleaner is by far one of the heaviest albums. Simply crushing and crumbling. Sleep - Jerusalem will probably won't be topped for a long long time, and that was back in late 90's (the riff at the 5:30 mark is beyond heavy in every sense of it IMO.)

in the end, it's just highly subjective matter. :p
Click to expand...

pffft...this is heavy!!!
Exhumed- Death Mask
(1:00 mark)
 
M

Masenkame

Member
Verano said:
pffft...this is heavy!!!
Exhumed- Death Mask
(1:00 mark)
Click to expand...
I'm inclined to agree with Giant Robot here. The examples given in that post just feel heavy. Yes, it's subjective, but doom/sludge/stoner tends to produce the heaviest stuff. Exhumed there seems like typical goregrind. I do enjoy it , but it's not a genre which I turn to for heaviness.
 
Woffls

Woffls

Member
The song I posted isn't heavy throughout because it's still metalcore, which contradicts the more 'atmospheric' kind of heavy that I felt in the songs that Giant Robot posted. I imagine there's a contingent of people who listen to doom metal and insist that heavy is a feeling, and something that needs to be crafted rather than just thrown at you. Obviously I disagree, and once again we've managed to get to subjectivity, which I hate. I still think both are heavy, and I'm not going to compare them, but I don't like the idea that only one of these approaches to songwriting can be considered 'heavy'.

I suppose I'm hung up on this because I very rarely talk about music, and as soon as I do it seems like nobody can agree on anything. So I guess I want to know if I'm wasting my time :lol

More from Parkway Drive:
"Romance is Dead" - Live, good quality, gets awesome at 2:50
"Sleepwalker" music video

Also can't wait for new Seventh Wonder after hearing Alley Cat >_<
 
C

Chorazin

Member
ACE 1991 said:
Fair enough. The TLA is great as well, I saw Amon Amarth there earlier this year.
Click to expand...

I absolutely LOVE the TLA, shame not many bands I like play there, they all seem to prefer the Troc. Not only is the TLA a great venue, but it's in a good restaurant/bar district for pre- and post- show activities AND the parking garage up the street is DIRT CHEAP as far as city parking goes.
 
V

Verano

Reads Ace as Lace. May God have mercy on their soul
Masenkame said:
I'm inclined to agree with Giant Robot here. The examples given in that post just feel heavy. Yes, it's subjective, but doom/sludge/stoner tends to produce the heaviest stuff. Exhumed there seems like typical goregrind. I do enjoy it , but it's not a genre which I turn to for heaviness.
Click to expand...

I never did state, "OH hey grindcore is HEAVY as FUUUUUCK"...did I?
That one part of the song is heavy.
 
G

Giant Robot

Member
Verano said:
pffft...this is heavy!!!
Exhumed- Death Mask
(1:00 mark)
Click to expand...

ahaha EXHUMED! I used to talk to Matt Harvey all the time when he lived down the street from me. That guy was the most true thrash metal expert on the planet!

Woffls said:
The song I posted isn't heavy throughout because it's still metalcore, which contradicts the more 'atmospheric' kind of heavy that I felt in the songs that Giant Robot posted. I imagine there's a contingent of people who listen to doom metal and insist that heavy is a feeling, and something that needs to be crafted rather than just thrown at you. Obviously I disagree, and once again we've managed to get to subjectivity, which I hate. I still think both are heavy, and I'm not going to compare them, but I don't like the idea that only one of these approaches to songwriting can be considered 'heavy'.
Click to expand...

well in contrast to stoner/doom/sludge, death metal bands like Boltthrower and Carcass had a super heavy fat sound partly due to how they tuned their guitars. Carcass tuning to B, and Boltthrower tuning to A. I can't believe i left out the whole Stockholm, Sweden death metal either. Undeniably one of the heaviest tones. All they did was tuned to C# and cranked up their pedals to max. Dismember and Entombed comes to mind with insanely sick tones and catchy, yet melodic riffing.

Dismember - Override of the Overture
Entombed - Revel In Flesh
Bolt Thrower - Shreds of Sanity
for shits and the hell of it Goatsnake - Raw Curtains I can listen to the verse riff on repeat for hours on end.
 
F

Flynn

Member
Giant Robot said:
Heavy can mean a whole lot of different things. These days a lot of people will correlate heavy with techy-riffing/crunch/breakdowns used as a cover for shitty riffing/songwriting. I feel that heavy is more important with the substance and feel of the riffs plus everything around it to supplement/compliment it.

Listening back to older Black Sabbath are instant heavy/doomy riffs that just puts me into misery, especially at the 3:18 mark of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Then again something super super super simple and catchy like Floor or Torche can be devastatingly heavy. Then there's also Sunn O))) that bases their heaviness on sheer low end volume and extreme minimalism to actually "feel" the low end, not just hear it.

Godflesh-Streetcleaner is by far one of the heaviest albums. Simply crushing and crumbling. Sleep - Jerusalem will probably won't be topped for a long long time, and that was back in late 90's (the riff at the 5:30 mark is beyond heavy in every sense of it IMO.)

in the end, it's just highly subjective matter. :p
Click to expand...

There's a kind of technicality and shallowness, in my opinion, to the popular metal or nu metal that was popular in the late 90s early 00s. When I was a kid I remember thinking Kiss was the "heaviest" shit out there. That's because I hadn't really heard metal yet.
 
T

TheLastCandle

Member
So if you are a fan of power metal, there was a pretty interesting super group announced today. It features:

* Timo Tolkki (STRATOVARIUS, REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE) - Guitar
* André Matos (ANGRA, SHAAMAN, VIPER) - Vocals
* Jari Kainulainen (STRATOVARIUS, EVERGREY) - Bass
* Mikko Härkin (SONATA ARCTICA, KOTIPELTO) - Keyboards
* Uli Kusch (MASTERPLAN, HELLOWEEN) - Drums

The band is called Symfonia. Sounds pretty promising just based on the line-up, even if Tolkki is fucking crazy and Matos sort of sounds like he's constantly getting punched in the nuts.
 
D

DieNgamers

Member
I don't think of constant low E (or C or whatever) chugging as heavy anymore, even if there are some bands that can pull it of. Often there's the heavy sound (downtuning etc.) but the riff itself isn't if that makes any sense. I'm with the people who think that the heaviness of a riff depends on that certain feeling resulting from the composition. Hard to describe but Giant Robot hit the nail in post #4271. :) This old-school song is unbelievably heavy for me: Under The Sun
 
S

Shrike_Priest

Member
DieNgamers said:
I don't think of constant low E (or C or whatever) chugging as heavy anymore, even if there are some bands that can pull it of. Often there's the heavy sound (downtuning etc.) but the riff itself isn't if that makes any sense. I'm with the people who think that the heaviness of a riff depends on that certain feeling resulting from the composition. Hard to describe but Giant Robot hit the nail in post #4271. :) This old-school song is unbelievably heavy for me: Under The Sun
Click to expand...

Love that song. The Entombed Cover (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIgveMEnig) is pretty awesome as well. Very similar in everything except the guitar production. They do keep it going a bit longer at the end, though, which is awesome. Or at least they slow it down more or something, because it always gives me the impression of keeping going a bit longer.
 
R

Ravager61

Member
viewtifulsub said:
New Deathspell Omega is out.

Probably take me a few weeks to finalise an opinion on it though.
Click to expand...
My opinion is that it's fucking amazing. DSO definitely delivered. Much better than Fas imo.
 
G

Giant Robot

Member
Shrike_Priest said:
Love that song. The Entombed Cover (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIgveMEnig) is pretty awesome as well. Very similar in everything except the guitar production. They do keep it going a bit longer at the end, though, which is awesome. Or at least they slow it down more or something, because it always gives me the impression of keeping going a bit longer.
Click to expand...

holy motherfuck. I never knew Entombed covered this song. When i was waiting for Sleep to go on stage couple months ago, they just looped the end of Under The Sun forever until they came on.
 
B

bounchfx

Member
Loving the new Agalloch, it's so fucking good. Really, really good.

Also dug The Ocean's new release, and I gotta give the new Deathspell a spin later today. pretty excited for it.
 
T

TheLastCandle

Member
SYMPHONY X To Tour North America With NEVERMORE, SOILWORK, POWERGLOVE - Nov. 9, 2010
New Jersey's progressive metal masters SYMPHONY X will embark on a North American headlining tour in April/May 2011. Support on the trek will come from Seattle's NEVERMORE, Sweden's SOILWORK, Boston's POWERGLOVE and Montreal's BLACKGUARD. The trek will launch on April 21 in Philadelphia and wrap on May 22 in West Springfield, Virginia.

The dates are as follows:

Apr. 21 - The Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
Apr. 22 - Best Buy Theatre - New York, NY
Apr. 23 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
Apr. 25 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC - CANADA
Apr. 26 - Salle Albert Rosseau - Quebec City, QC - CANADA
Apr. 27 - The Opera House - Toronto, ON - CANADA
Apr. 29 - Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
Apr. 30 - Blondie's - Detroit, MI
May 01 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
May 02 - Station 4 - St. Paul, MN
May 04 - Ogden Theater - Denver, CO
May 06 - Showbox - Seattle, WA
May 07 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
May 08 - The Grand Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
May 10 - The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA
May 11 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ
May 13 - Trees - Dallas, TX
May 14 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
May 15 - Backstage Live - San Antonio, TX
May 17 - The Club at Firestone - Orlando, FL
May 18 - Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
May 19 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
May 20 - Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC
May 21 - Tremont Music Hall - Charlotte, NC
May 22 - Jaxx - W. Springfield, VA

Exclusive pre-sale tickets are available now at EnterTheVault.com. VIP tickets/packages are available for select shows and will include early entry and a meet-and-greet. After December 1, tickets can be purchased via regular ticketing outlets.

SYMPHONY X are currently recording their Nuclear Blast debut and follow-up to 2007's "Paradise Lost", which has sold over 60,000 copies in North America.

Formed in 1994 in New Jersey, SYMPHONY X has seven studio albums and one live album to its credit.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=149103

Pretty interesting tour. I love Symphony X, but Soilwork and Nevermore have dropped off of my radar in recent years. Haven't been into a Soilwork album since Stabbing the Drama and haven't particularly cared for Nevemore since Dead Heart in a Dead World.

Powerglove are fun, and I rather enjoy Blackguard, but I could see them getting hell from the crowd at this show. :lol Poor guys.
 
L

Lionheart1827

Member
TheLastCandle said:
SYMPHONY X To Tour North America With NEVERMORE, SOILWORK, POWERGLOVE -

Pretty interesting tour. I love Symphony X, but Soilwork and Nevermore have dropped off of my radar in recent years. Haven't been into a Soilwork album since Stabbing the Drama and haven't particularly cared for Nevemore since Dead Heart in a Dead World.

Powerglove are fun, and I rather enjoy Blackguard, but I could see them getting hell from the crowd at this show. :lol Poor guys.
Click to expand...

Yeah I remember Nevermore exploding after Godless Endeavor and then disappearing again. As for symphony x, they are one of my favorite bands but damn they take their sweet time making the albums. Paradise Lost was awesome so if they can equal that I'll be super happy.

Right now I'm looking at Darkwater's new release coming mid-end November as well as Seventh Wonder's "the Great Escape" coming early december. 2010-2011 will be a good year for prog :)
 
B

bounchfx

Member
wait, is Symphony X actually headlining that? I hope so!

definitely going to the MA or NY one. Going to Blind Guardian at the Palladium in a week or two. So pumped.

I can't wait to hear Symphony X's new album.. paradise lost was fucking sweet. Powerglove is bad ass too. I used to love Soilwork up until Figure Number Five.. what a pile of crap that was. Chainheart Machine and Predators portrait ftw.
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
Seeing Metallica in a few hours. This will be the third time I've seen them live after having seen them in 2004 and 1998. They're being supported by Lamb of God and Baroness. Not bad, but doesn't touch Horsehead who toured with them in 1998.
 
F

Flynn

Member
Witchfinder General said:
Seeing Metallica in a few hours. This will be the third time I've seen them live after having seen them in 2004 and 1998. They're being supported by Lamb of God and Baroness. Not bad, but doesn't touch Horsehead who toured with them in 1998.
Click to expand...

The first time I saw Metallica was at The Monsters of Rock (with The Scorpions, Van Hagar, etc), then I saw them with Queensryche for AJFA. Then they went without openers for that black album.

I kind of wish I'd seen them open for Ozzy.
 
E

EzLink

Banned
Holy shit. I'm almost through my first listen of Agalloch's "The Mantle", this is a great album. It's very atmospheric and folky, with this sort of dark and unsettling vibe most of the way through. I love it. And judging from how highly people speak of the band in this thread, I'll go ahead and assume their entire discography is worth checking out
 
D

DrM

Redmond's Baby
EzLink said:
Holy shit. I'm almost through my first listen of Agalloch's "The Mantle", this is a great album. It's very atmospheric and folky, with this sort of dark and unsettling vibe most of the way through. I love it. And judging from how highly people speak of the band in this thread, I'll go ahead and assume their entire discography is worth checking out
Click to expand...
Ashes Against the Grain is even better than The Mantle. Atleast for me.
 
E

EzLink

Banned
DrM said:
Ashes Against the Grain is even better than The Mantle. Atleast for me.
Click to expand...

Awesome :D Can't wait to check more of them out

Also, are there any good folk metal bands out there that have clean vocals (I'm talking about legitimate bands, not something cheesy like Elvenking :p)?

I've been going through some of Dio's other albums recently. More specifically, The Last in Line and Dream Evil. Both were fucking awesome. Starting Killing the Dragon right now. Man, it's incredible how versatile of a voice that man had
 
T

TheLastCandle

Member
EzLink said:
Awesome :D Can't wait to check more of them out

Also, are there any good folk metal bands out there that have clean vocals (I'm talking about legitimate bands, not something cheesy like Elvenking :p)?

I've been going through some of Dio's other albums recently. More specifically, The Last in Line and Dream Evil. Both were fucking awesome. Starting Killing the Dragon right now. Man, it's incredible how versatile of a voice that man had
Click to expand...

You may want to give Skyclad a chance. I always find it funny that they are almost completely ignored these days when folk metal is brought up, even though they are arguably the pioneers of the genre. Prince of the Poverty Line is a spectacular album.

And as far as Dio goes, the man's skills knew no bounds. So, so damn good until the day he left us. :(
 
E

EzLink

Banned
Blackheim said:
Try out Falkenbach :D

As Long As Winds Will Blow

Vanadis

Awesome band.
Click to expand...

Both of those songs were great. Which albums would you recommend?

TheLastCandle said:
You may want to give Skyclad a chance. I always find it funny that they are almost completely ignored these days when folk metal is brought up, even though they are arguably the pioneers of the genre. Prince of the Poverty Line is a spectacular album.

And as far as Dio goes, the man's skills knew no bounds. So, so damn good until the day he left us. :(
Click to expand...

I haven't even heard of Skyclad, but they sound promising. I'll get that album next chance I get
 
B

Blackheim

Member
Probably 'Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty' first and if you still want more '...Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri...' as well as 'Heralding - The Fireblade'. There's only 4 albums I think so far with an assortment of demos.

Oh, I guess Falkenbach isn't really a 'band' per se, more like one guy + session musicians hah.
 
T

TheLastCandle

Member
So yeah, all this Agalloch talk made me remember that I actually have Ashes Against the Grain. :lol Never gave it much of a listen so I gave it a spin at work today.

Some of the melodies are flat out beautiful, but overall I'm not sure this band is for me. I'll give 'em another shot tomorrow, we'll see. I can totally see why people would like them though. For whatever reason they remind me of Moonsorrow minus everything I like about Moonsorrow.
 
B

bounchfx

Member
EzLink said:
Holy shit. I'm almost through my first listen of Agalloch's "The Mantle", this is a great album. It's very atmospheric and folky, with this sort of dark and unsettling vibe most of the way through. I love it. And judging from how highly people speak of the band in this thread, I'll go ahead and assume their entire discography is worth checking out
Click to expand...

yeah man, they're fucking awesome.

truth be told, my absolute favorite of theirs is "The White", a 30 minute ep they put out in 2008. It's not dark, nor screamy, nor anything. It's pure nature and folkish. But it's fucking incredible.
 
F

Flynn

Member
So apparently John Cobbett from Ludicra and Hammers of Misfortune made a bunch of the phony metal songs for The Sims.

He got a bunch of bay area musicians to sing the songs in Simlish, including Mike Scalzi (Slough Feg, Hammers of Misfortune), Jamie Myers (Hammers of Misfortune), Ross Sewage (Ludicra, Impaled, Ghoul), and Laurie Sue Shanaman (Ludicra).

Invisible Oranges has an interview about the sessions and downloadable versions of the songs.
 
H

Hydranockz

Member
My gf has seen Apocalyptica and Sonata Arctica so far this year and in the coming weeks is going to see Ensiferum and Turisas. Those bands won't be here for ages! LDRs suck sometimes :p
 
T

TheLastCandle

Member
Less than a week til the opening show of Blind Guardian's North American tour! :D

If anyone is going to the Philly show, let me know. I'll keep an eye out for ye!
 
S

Stuck

Member
Not to oversaturate the thread with more Agalloch talk, but you can stream all of Marrow of the Spirit on All Songs Considered First Listen until the album releases on November 23rd.

Link via NPR.
 
H

Hydranockz

Member
Hydranockz said:
My gf has seen Apocalyptica and Sonata Arctica so far this year and in the coming weeks is going to see Ensiferum and Turisas. Those bands won't be here for ages! LDRs suck sometimes :p
Click to expand...

How fucking wrong I was!!!

n 2011, the CHILDREN OF BODOM battle ship will see again in sting! The band has just announced a two-month long tour through 23 European countries.

European headlining tour 2011

Support: Ensiferum
Opener: Machinae Supremacy
* = Additional support: Amon Amarth

March 19 - Teatria, Oulu (FIN)
March 20 - Pakkahuone, Tampere (FIN)
March 22 - Ice Hall, Helsinki (FIN)
March 24 - Arenan, Stockholm (SWE)
March 25 - Trädgårn, Gothenburg (SWE)
March 26 - Rockefeller, Oslo (NOR)
March 27 - Vega, Copenhagen (DEN)
March 29 - Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg (GER)
March 30 - O13, Tilburg (NED)
April 1 - UEA, Norwich (UK)*
April 2 - Academy 1, Manchester (UK)*
April 3 - ABC, Glasgow (UK)*
April 5 - Vicar Street, Dublin (IRL)*
April 7 - Rock City, Nottingham (UK)*
April 8 - Academy, Birmingham (UK)*
April 9 - Forum, London (UK)*
April 11 - Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen (GER)
April 12 - Z7, Pratteln (CH)
April 13 - Alcatraz, Milan (ITA)
April 16 - Gagarin 205, Athens (GR)
April 18 - Kucukciftilik Park, Istanbul (TUR)
April 19 - Universiada Hall, Sofia (BUL)
April 20 - Arenele Romane, Bucharest (ROM)
April 22 - Petöfi Csarnok, Budapest (HUN)
April 23 - Backstage, Munich (GER)
April 24 - Stadthalle, Langen (GER)
April 26 - Stodola, Warsaw (POL)
April 27 - KD Vltavska, Prague (CZE)
April 28 - Arena, Vienna (AUS)
April 29 - Posthof, Linz (AUS)
April 30 - Werk 2, Leipzig (GER)
May 2 - Elysee Montmatre, Paris (FRA)
May 3 - Krakatoa, Bordeaux (FRA)
May 5 - Club Hard, Porto (POR)
May 6 - La Riviera, Madrid (SPA)
May 7 - Razzmatazz 1, Barcelona (SPA)
May 8 - Rock Star Live, Bilbao (SPA)
May 9 - Le Bikini, Toulouse (FRA)
May 11 - LKA Longhorn, Stuttgart (GER)
May 12 - Rockhal, Esch / Alzette (LUX)
May 13 - Atak, Enschede (NED)
May 14 - Halle Gartlage, Osnabruck (GER)
May 15 - Hof Ter Lo, Antwerp (BEL)
Click to expand...
 
F

fallout

Member
viewtifulsub said:
So my local black metal min-festival got cancelled by a bunch of fanatic Christians.Can't believe people like this still exist.
Click to expand...
“This coming Sat 27th November a satanic “Black Mass” celebration is to occur at Newtown RSL – it is simply disgraceful. The advertising which features the insignia of the Church of Satan and an inverted crucifix is encouraging people to come and partake in an “unholy spell to be cast upon the city of Sydney” featuring the “ultimate of soul possessing occult revelations…unbridled blasphemy… [and] a union of all things unholy”.​

Whoa ... good song title.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater | Preview Thread
Opinion 2 3
108
6K
RCX replied
Kojima reveals that Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was supposed to be MGS5 at first
Game Dev
16
2K
VinnyMac replied
Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 - Preview Thread
2 3
106
8K
Vol5 replied
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 | Review Thread
News
32
4K
delirium trigger replied
The story behind the unreleased 2nd Control Denied album: When Man and Machine Collide.
13
4K
Toots replied
Top Bottom