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Forums - Music Discussion - The Official Heavy Metal Thread

 

Do you like extreme metal?

Yes 43 63.24%
 
No 17 25.00%
 
See Results 8 11.76%
 
Total:68

 

Welcome everyone! This thread is meant to be a general discussion thread for the genre of heavy metal. Metalhead or non-metalhead, anyone is allowed to participate! I hope that you'll all enjoy your stay!

 ~Authorized by axumblade

 

What Is Heavy Metal?


Now, that question should be simple enough, right? Unfortunately, there is no consensus on what heavy metal even is! However, in general terms, it is the hard and well, “heavy” descendant of rock music. There is often a debate on who are even the originators of metal! However, the most common candidate is Black Sabbath, who with their 1970 self-titled album created a dark, down-tuned album that had not really been seen beforehand. Some other bands that were seminal in the progress of metal were Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, who removed the bluesy aspects of the music, Quiet Riot, who had the first-ever number-one heavy metal album in the U.S., and Metallica, who are by far the most popular heavy metal band.

 

Album of the Week: Loudness - Thunder in the East (1984)

Embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U7_o7kHm-8

 

Loudness were the first Japanese metal band to really break through stateside, and this is their most popular of them all!! It's classic 80s metal, and I'd highly recommend it to those who are a fan of the good ol' style of metal. My favourite track on here may be Like Hell, though I'd have to listen to the album a few more times before having a definitive answer.

The Subgenres of Heavy Metal


Now, this is when it gets confusing! There’s so many subgenres of metal, including subgenres of subgenres, that it’s impossible to go through all of them, or even neatly categorize all of them. However, here are some of the more noteworthy ones. Note that it’s often debated which subgenres particular bands belong to, or whether or not certain even exist! Also, these are meant to be short descriptions of the genre, if you’d like more in-depth and detailed summaries, you can check out this link:

https://rateyourmusic.com/genre/Metal/

NWOBHM (new wave of British heavy metal): After the original heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, there were new bands that removed a lot of the blues, and gave heavy metal its definitive sound. Ex. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead

Thrash metal: heavily influenced by both NWOBHM and hardcore punk, this subgenre sped up the metal, with fast-shredding guitars and shouting vocals. Ex. Metallica pre-Black album, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax

Power metal: This is based more on harmony and melody, with heavy use of strong, clean vocals and a fast tempo. Ex. Helloween, Blind Guardian

Black metal: This subgenre attempts to be more atmospheric, with the production often being intentionally poor, and a wall of sound with tremolo picking and high-pitched screams. Ex. Burzum, Mayhem, Emperor, Immortal

Death metal: Based off of heavier forms of thrash metal, death metal often uses down-tuned, distorted guitars and guttural vocals, with frequent uses of blast beats. Ex. Cannibal Corpse, Death, Suffocation, Immolation

Doom metal: This attempts to have a depressing/despairing atmosphere, with downtuned guitars, repetition and generally long song lengths. Ex. Candlemass, Saint Vitus, Pentagram

Grindcore: Generally a mix of extreme metal and hardcore punk, grindcore focuses on assaulting the listener with short songs and extremely quickly paced guitar riffs, blast beats and harsh vocals. Ex. Terrorizer, Repulsion, Napalm Death

Progressive metal: Generally focuses on long, complex songs that well, “progress”, without adhering to a verse-chorus format. Ex. Dream Theater, Opeth, Queensryche

Groove metal: The riffs are generally slower and groovier than what is in thrash metal, emphasizing that more than outright speed and aggression. Ex. Pantera, Machine Head, White Zombie

Those are some of big ones, but be warned that there are several more! For example, there is stoner metal, sludge metal, folk metal, Viking metal, etc. And as previously mentioned, they can be divided even further: death metal can be split into brutal death metal, technical death metal, melodic death metal, etc. The more you explore, the more you will discover! I will probably also add more genres to the list as time goes on.


VGPolyglot’s Personal Recommendations

 

Here is a list of albums that should help you delve into heavy metal, featuring a mix of classics, and personal favourites. It’s very hard to make such a list, but I decided that 50 was small enough to not overload too much, but big enough to have a diverse representation. I made a rule to only put 1 album per band.


Band Album Year Genre Link
Accept Balls to the Wall 1983 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d9bNz2C9D4
Agalloch The Mantle 2002 Folk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnk2-Jctg6A
Atheist Unquestionable Presence 1991 Technical Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnUZ5xpcKHw
Black Sabbath Paranoid 1970 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb-OgPxdCeQ
Bathory Hammerheart 1990 Viking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YivCnFkjd8U
Boris Amplifier Worship 1998 Drone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBwK2s734DQ
Burzum Filosofem 1996 Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ZVkESecXk
Candlemass Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 1986 Doom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z33VWOaCImQ
Cannibal Corpse The Bleeding 1994 Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qG5ebfls0o
Corrosion of Conformity Deliverance 1994 Stoner/Southern https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOrrU6DKuHk
Cryptopsy None So Vile 1996 Brutal Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3JeaBoBU-c
Cynic Focus 1993 Death/Jazz Fusion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHA8JyIzaBE
Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky 1992 Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDi99nXhObs
Death Human 1991 Technical Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzvtfbqJeIY
Deep Purple Machine Head 1972 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwH4nt190YY
Dio Holy Diver 1983 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhGEGIBGLu8 (full album not available)
Dismember Like An Ever Flowing Stream 1991 Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMi86Dca1QY
Dissection Storm of the Light's Bane 1995 Melodic Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOGFXD7Z9WE
Down NOLA 1995 Sludge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFEDhm3dWkY
Dream Theater Images and Words 1992 Progressive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8uvyn7hDo
Edge of Sanity Crimson 1996 Progressive/Melodic Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St6lJaiHYIc
Electric Wizard Dopethrone 2000 Stoner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaMbKZPBruU
Entombed Left Hand Path 1990 Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsdWLtPAVqM
Fear Factory Demanufacture 1995 Industrial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-RdsIst6p4
Godflesh Streetcleaner 1989 Industrial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfN7OR5q_xw
Gorguts Obscura 1998 Technical Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1X0Bejwnko
Helloween Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 1987 Power https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68lwA6EfSAo
In Flames The Jester Race 1996 Melodic Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tl3BqLd0uI
Iron Maiden Number of the Beat 1982 NWOBHM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNsUyxxn2iU
Judas Priest Painkiller 1990 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYYr9q9F1-E
Katatonia Brave Murder Day 1996 Doom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZK9o1lyv_k
Kyuss Welcome to Sky Valley 1994 Stoner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUDvRdDMc8k
Mayhem De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas 1994 Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcS0CVJ1KPg
Megadeth Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? 1986 Thrash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEr5d6LpWmg
Mercyful Fate Don't Break the Oath 1984 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnWzCuhrsbE
Metallica Master of Puppets 1986 Thrash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HEGGlYg7_Y
Motorhead Ace of Spades 1980 NWOBHM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVecmhNYbuQ
Opeth Blackwater Park 2001 Progressive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhidUmuWkyg
Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz 1980 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHkUdE3BruM (full album not available)
Pantera Cowboys From Hell 1990 Groove https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzHe9NpYbQw
Pig Destroyer Prowler in the Yard 2001 Grindcore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcLwQ0uXYUA
Queensryche Operation: Mindcrime 1988 Progressive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTqv59JXMUk
Rainbow Rising 1976 Heavy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vbugK9N2KU
Repulsion Horrified 1989 Grindcore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiHl-Px8fig
Sepultura Beneath the Remains 1989 Thrash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Weg_mc6bk
Sigh Ghastly Funeral Theatre 1997 Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S0J8KQx4EE
Slayer Reign in Blood 1986 Thrash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn9LMdyc4DI
Suffocation Effigy of the Forgotten 1991 Brutal Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLorNSZjcBI
Terrorizer World Downfall 1989 Grindcore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd3HTU2a2mA
Ulver Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler 1995 Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVcjf_p5pDY
Last edited by VGPolyglot - on 02 March 2018

Around the Network

Isn't symphonic metal also one of the subgenres of heavy metal.

One the better symphonic albums in recent time are from Xandria. Bands like Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation are also pretty badass.

Sacrifium
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nUkNXlwPeoc

 

Anyway its still a great list of heavy metal music and a showing of how varied metal is. I like heavy, symphonic and progressive metal the most. Pirate metal like alestorm is also likable for me.



Please excuse my (probally) poor grammar

Qwark said:
Isn't symphonic metal also one of the subgenres of heavy metal.

One the better symphonic albums in recent time are from Xandria. Bands like Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation are also pretty badass.

Sacrifium
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nUkNXlwPeoc

Yes I'll try to add more subgenres to the list when I can, as well as adding some other things.



Hell yeah, I love Nu Metal!



If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.

vivster said:
Hell yeah, I love Nu Metal!

I actually do!! But I didn't include it here, as I didn't want to get into a debate over whether or not it's "real metal"!

Oh, and does this get the vivster seal of approval for thread quality?



Around the Network
VGPolyglot said:
Qwark said:
Isn't symphonic metal also one of the subgenres of heavy metal.

One the better symphonic albums in recent time are from Xandria. Bands like Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation are also pretty badass.

Sacrifium
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nUkNXlwPeoc

Yes I'll try to add more subgenres to the list when I can, as well as adding some other things.

Awesome OP this could become the metal heaven thread for VGchartz. Also a great way to show how diverse the metalgenre is.



Please excuse my (probally) poor grammar

Qwark said:
VGPolyglot said:

Yes I'll try to add more subgenres to the list when I can, as well as adding some other things.

Awesome OP this could become the metal heaven thread for VGchartz. Also a great way to show how diverse the metalgenre is.

Yeah, that's the goal! Though I'm not sure how many of us there are here.



VGPolyglot said:
vivster said:
Hell yeah, I love Nu Metal!

I actually do!! But I didn't include it here, as I didn't want to get into a debate over whether or not it's "real metal"!

Oh, and does this get the vivster seal of approval for thread quality?

Well, you have a picture which already gets you 50 points, then there is some text, some links and a table is always appreciated.

A few points deduction because of the thread theme. I mean you could've made an Evanescence tribute thread but you went with boring metal.



If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.

Nice thread. My favorite metal bands that are missing in the OP are Gojira, Tool & Oranssi Pazuzu. Check them out!



Here's some content to start you off. It's from the best metal album I've heard in recent years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cirhQ8iLdbw



If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.