How to get into Metal Music: Part 7 - Master Listeners

Well, we have reached my final blog in the "How to get into metal music" series. Before i start with the heaviest of heavy, let me go back and add a band to the Moderate levels. I would also listen to some Bullet for my Valentine. They are a good "gateway" band that I have used to get people into heavy stuff. Go check out their albums when you get a chance.

Next, we will begin with some heavier Death Metal bands known as Goregrind (a combination of gore and grindcore) and Brutal Death Metal as well as grindcore

Band: Aborted

Albums: All of em'

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Brain Drill

Albums: All of em'

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Pathology

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Cattle Decapitation

Albums: All albums

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Napalm Death

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 10/10

And Heres some black metal. I tried to stay away from the Uber satanic bands because I myself, is a christian. Nevertheless, here are some good ones

Band: Immortal

Albums: Any from 2000 and above

Heaviness: 9-10/10

Band: 1349

Albums: Most Albums

Heaviness: 9/10

Band: Watain

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 10/10

Now, lets show you some deathcore. We have been putting it off for some time now, and finally its here. Deathcore (or death metal with hardcore and metalcore elements) in my opinion is the heaviest of the heavy. Here are the leaders of the genre as well as some offbeat ones:

Band: Suicide Silence

Albums: Every single one

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Whitechapel 

Albums: All of Them

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Chelsea Grin

Albums: All of them (except their self titled due to its slight slowness)

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Thy Art is Murder

Albums: Theres only 2 

Heaviness: 10/10

Band: Winds of Plague

Albums Decimate the Weak & Resistance

Heaviness: 10/10

And, for the best, and last band on my list and "how to" series. A band that is my personal favorite metal band of all time and of course, i saved the best for last...

Band: The Black Dahlia Murder

Albums: All albums in all their Glory

Heaviness: 10/10

So that is my blog series. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you are starting to see why metal heads love their music. Dont forget, i just mentioned SOME band, metal is all about exploration, so go out there and find some bands that you may like more. Remember those websites i showed you in part 1? From its old fashioned, Rock and Roll beginings to its intense and sometime odd end.  Metal is a great genre that receives  barley any radio play but shows that talent is not always in the spotlight...

How to get into Metal Music: Part 6 - Expert Listeners

Ok, assuming that you have listened to all the bands i have shown in the previous post, I am going to move into the Heavy Heavy metal.

First off, lets start by adding in some more intense metalcore, to lean you into death metal and deathcore. Lets start with the west coast metalcore acts

Band: As I Lay Dying

Albums: All Albums espcially, Oceans Between Us

Heaviness: 8-9/10

Band: Bleeding Through

Albums: All abums

Heaviness: 7-8/10

And, some other good metalcore acts

Band: For Today

Albums: All albums

Heaviness: 7-8/10

Band: Acacia Strain

Albums: Wormwood

Heaviness: 8-9/10

Band: Parkway Drive

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 8/10

Band: I killed the Prom Queen

Albums: Listen to their only 2 albums

Heaviness: 8/10

Now, after you have eased your ears into much heavier versions of metal, now i will show you some death metal. Some may argue that death metal is heavier of deathcore but, listening to all these genres and seeing many bands live from each genre i can tell you that deathcore is the most intense and will be put i. The "masters" section. Try out these death metal acts to start out with...

Band: Vadar

Albums: All Albums 

Heaviness: 9/10

Band: Nile

Albums: All albums

Heaviness: 9/10

Band: Cannibal Corpse

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 8-9/10

Band: Skinless

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 9/10

Band: Dying Fetus

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 9/10

Start out with all these bands to ease you in with the big boys. The heaviest of heavy is yet to come, so enjoy these bands as you wait. 

Winds Of Plague - Resistance Review

I was a fan of Winds of Plague when i heard Decimate the Weak. That album added perfect ingrediants of symphonic black metal with hardcore elements. The album was heavy and to this day i still listen to it. It seemed Winds of Plague had style and innovation. Then, came their next 2 albums, The Great Stone War, and Against The World. Both albums, i felt, had no innovation and were dull to the core. I was skeptical to listen to Their 4th try, Resistance, and i can honestly say i was NOT disappointed this time around. 

The album has so much style and fuses deathcore with Hardcore and black metal. Every single track on the album is memorable. There are also appearances by numerous vocalists of other bands such as Acacia Strain, Stray from the path and Thy art is Murder. This adds a significant beautiful sound which i loved. Each track keeps its heaviness and momentum. This is easily one of the best metal albums of 2013, and easily a must listen to. Winds of Plague you just redeemed yourself...

Score: 10/10

Heaviness: 10/10

How to get into Metal Music: Part 5 - Advanced Listeners

For the advance course of my little "how to" blog series, I will start to tune away from the more radio played bands from the previous posts, and more into heavier bands.

Lets start out with some newer Thrash metal artists and albums

Band: Testament

Album: All albums, especially "Formation of Damnation"

Heaviness: 7/10

Band: Exodus

Albums: All albums, especially "Exhibit B" 

Heaviness: 7/10

Band: Slayer

Albums: All Albums

Heaviness: 7/10

We will start out with these Thrash bands. Keep in mind that Slayer was the foundation for Death Metal, so its a good idea to listen to them and get to know their sound. After all, Slayer is one of the leaders of the heavy metal genre overall. 

Next, I will ease you into some metalcore...

Band: August Burns Red

Albums: All albums

Heaviness: 7/10

Band: Killswitch Engage

Album: End of Heartache

Heaviness: 6-7/10

Band: All That Remains

Album: The Fall of Ideals, Overcome

Heaviness: 7/10

Band: Trivium

Album: Shogun, The Crusade

Heaviness: 7/10

Band: Shadows Fall

Album: Retribution

Heaviness: 7/10

Band: Unearth

Album: The March

Heaviness: 7/10

Now, I threw in 4 specific bands here. All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, Unearth, and Shadows Fall were known as the "big 4" of the metalcore genre. All 4 are from Massachusetts as well. These bands have either HAD a big fan base or STILL has a big fan base, and are good bands to get to know.

Now, its time to ease you into death metal by showing you some melodic death metal bands, and some Groove metal bands.

Band: Lamb Of God

Album: As The Palaces Burn

Heaviness: 8/10

Band: Chimaira 

Album: Impossibility of Reason, The Infection 

Heaviness: 7/10

Band: In Flames

Album: Clayman, Colony, Reroute to Remain

Heaviness: 7-8/10

Band: Machine Head

Album: The Blackening, Unto the Locusts

Heaviness: 8/10

Band: Sepultura

Album: Roots, A-Lex

Heaviness: 8/10  

Band: Soulfly

Album: Primitive, Enslaved

Heaviness: 8/10

Band: Amon Amarth

Album: deciver of the Gods, With Oden on our Side

Heaviness: 8/10

Try out all these bands, and be sure to enjoy all tracks on each album. Keep in mind itunes usually has some of these albums on sale for $7.99. Next, we will get into even heavier metal. I know, like there is such thing as heavier than this...?

How to get into metal music: Part 4 - intermediate metal music

Hopefully you took some time to enjoy the abums i set forth. Now, i will delve into more heavier sounding genres of metal. Keep on mind though, some of these genres are the same as the beginner genres but slightly heavier albums

Start by going back to the year 2000 and enjoy some NU METAL

Disturbed

Albums:  The Sickness, Asylum

Heaviness: 5/10

Slipknot: 

Albums: All Albums, particularly, IOWA

Heaviness: 5-6/10

KoRn: 

Albums: All Albums 

Heaviness: 5/10

And i want you to start listening to some actual  heavy metal.

Band: Avenged Sevenfold

Albums: City of Evil, Hail to the King & their self titled album

Heaviness: 6/10

Band: Volbeat

Album: Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies

Heaviness: 6/10

Volbeat

Band: Five Finger Death Punch

Album: War is the answer

Heaviness: 6/10

Im going to throw in what i call gateway bands. A gateway band is a band that helps you get into even heavier types of metal. 

Band: Flaw

Album: Through the Eyes

Heaviness: 6/10

And of course im going to ease you into some Thrash Metal

Band: Metallica

Album: and Justice for all, Master of Puppets

Heaviness: 5-6/10

Band: Megadeth

Album: Peace Sells, but whose buying?

Heaviness: 5/10

Band: Anthrax

Album: Spreading the Disease

Heaviness: 5/10

Anthrax's 1985 album

Try out these bands and on my next post you should be ready to tackle some more extreme music.

  

How To Get Into Metal Music: Part 3- Beginner's

To start off, do not listen to the heavy heavy genres. Try to avoid these genres to start with: 

Metalcore

Death Metal

Deathcore

Black Metal

And various Groove Metal

When i started, i found it much easier to listen to some Alternative Metal and Grunge music.

These bands i found to be the best to start out with. Now, i know that some of these bands you have already heard and listened to before, but try and listen to full albums to explore the diffrent sounds and styles of the band. After all, metal music is not played on the radio often, and involves many technical sounds which cannot be seen through only one song.

Listen to:

Band: Metallica

Albums: Black Album, Load, Reload

Heaviness: 4/10

Band: Disturbed

Album: Believe, Indestructable 

Heaviness: 5/10

Band: Godsmack

Album: faceless

Heaviness: 4/10

Band: Avenged Sevenfold

Album: Nightmare

Heaviness: 5/10

Try to start listening to some of the albums by grunge acts: Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. 

This will help form the groundation for appriciation of metal music. I did not include old metal acts in here such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin due to the fact that im trying to get the reader into the heavy aspect of metal. However, listening to Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin is a good experiance and can be enjoyed by people who have no intrest in getting into metal at all. 

How to Get into Metal: Part 2 - History of Metal (Part 5)

Metal saw a bunch of new acts during the late 90's as well as bands with rising popularity. Groove/Industrial band FEAR FACTORY, and Groove/Thrash act MACHINE HEAD, enjoyed popularity during this time. However, during the turn of the century, metal genres took the back seat to NU METAL which saw incredible popularity during this time, but the reign was short lived.

HARDCORE TO THE RESCUE...

During the 90's, Hardcore punk did not see much action. Acts like AGNOSTIC FRONT, SICK OF IT ALL and 25 TA LIFE, helped keep the genre alive. When 2000 hit, it was time for metal and hardcore to combine again, but this time for a much heavier experience. EARTH CRISIS was not the first band to incorporate metal and hardcore together, but they did help to create a signature sound that helped create a east coast revolution. In the early 2000's, bands started to pop up with the signature metal/hardcore sound. Bands from the east coast such as KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, ALL THAT REMAINS, UNDEROATH & UNEARTH helped to form what is now known as METALCORE. The metalcore genre was like a locomotive, it started off slow to start but once it got going, bands popped up left and right with the new sound. AUGUST BURNS RED, BLEEDING THROUGH, AS I LAY DYING, TRIVIUM, ATREYU & THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA helped bring metalcore to great popularity. in the mid 2000's LAMB OF GOD, became a Grammy award winning metalcore/Groove metal band and became one of the most popular metal bands since Slayer.


All That Remains (C. 2004)

Some say hardcore died in the 80's but it was long from dead, hardcore came back in full force during the 2000's with acts such as TERROR, HAVE HEART, BURY YOUR DEAD, & The more thrash oriented SWORN ENEMY. In the mid 2000's southern California became a scene from hardcore punk  and the metalcore genre. The California Christian record label FACEDOWN RECORDS signed bands from all over the united states, bands such as COMEBACK KID, xDEATHSTARx and many others.



Sworn Enemy

 Today, metalcore still enjoys high popularity with good bands coming and going. The mid 2000's also enjoyed a new scene of people associated with hardcore punk, these people became known as EMO's. The scene quickly died out but left a imprint on hardcore punk. The new version of hardcore punk which Incorporated most of what the EMO's stood for, became known as POST-HARDCORE. The new hardcore genre kept some of its fathers traits but added more melodic sounds as well as a more "whining" vocal range. Soon, post-hardcore and metalcore collided, this resulted in bands such as BLESSTHEFALL, and OF MICE & MEN. During this time, a band incorporated both metalcore and post-hardcore as well as pop punk to create their own unique sound, A DAY TO REMEMBER has been enjoying high popularity since they came out way back in 2007.


A DAY TO REMEMBER

TIL DEATH DO US PART....

A Genre which saw not much tweaking was death metal. I mean there was the fusion with hardcore (Grindcore) and the fusion of melodic elements (Melodic Death Metal) but not much was changed. It was time Metalcore became fused with death metal. The first band to do this was DESPISED ICON. The genre did NOT take off quickly and some thought it was a useless genre. The new sound became known as deathcore and many metal heads were appalled by the new genre. The word deathcore became the most hated word among the metal scene. Even bands being labeled as deathcore, became mad at the name. It wasn't until SUICIDE SILENCE brought the genre to the masses and soon deathcore became a new favorite of metal heads (There were still some that hated the genre though).
Bands again, started to pop up all around the US, Bands like WHITECHAPEL, THE ACACIA STRAIN, THE RED CHORD & ALL SHALL PERISH had many LOYAL Fans



THE END...

As you can see, the metal genre has evolved into something more than just growling vocals that "you cant understand" but more about the art. ALL music is art (except "what does the fox say", and "Gangnam style", How is that art?). Metal music is here to stay and its fans are more loyal than a German Shepard dog. I will get into on the next blog, how to enjoy all these genres EASILY even if you find this music annoying of loud.

Disclaimer: In case you are wondering why I threw in the history of hardcore punk in with the history of metal, is because hardcore has had a massive impact on metal, as you can see.

Another disclaimer: All photos were taken from Google, I do not own any rights to them and they are strictly for educational purposes.

How to Get Into Metal: Par 2 - History of Metal (Part 4)

A NU TAKE ON A OLD GENRE...

With Grunge & Hip Hop on the rise in the 90's it was inevitable that anew metal genre was on its way in. In 1994 KORN released their debut single "Blind" which became a new sound to metal. This new sound incorporated Hip Hop, grunge, groove metal and other genres. Korn gained popularity and a small following after  their single was released. Enough fans to be noticed by other people. Soon new bands started to pop up with the same sort of sound, bands like the other ever so popular SLIPKNOT as well as GODSMACK, LIMP BIZKIT, DEFTONES, DISTURBED and later LINKIN PARK. This new genre became known as NU METAL and it became incredibly popular in the upcoming years.


Korn (C. 1994)

the mid 90's also saw a rise electronic and house music, especially with Haddaways "What is Love".
it was time that metal fused with that genre. NINE INCH NAILS played with the idea in the late 80's but it was not until the 90's that NIN became popular with his/their song "Closer". This new genre became known as Industrial Metal. Groove/thrash metal band WHITE ZOMBIE also got into the "industrial metal revolution" but it was not until the band broke up, and lead man ROB ZOMBIE became the leader of the Industrial genre. RAMMSTEIN mastered the industrial metal genre in Europe with high popularity in the states as well.

...AND THE VIKINGS LIVE ON

In the mid 90's the still underground genre Death metal, was going through a change. This change came mostly from Europe, particularly in Sweden. These Europeans wanted a toned down version of the incredibly heavy genre. They sought out to add melodies to the rough edged sound. Bands started to pop up with this "toned" down version of death metal. The Swedish band AT THE GATES started the genre with their sophomore album "With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness" which contained all the heaviness of death metal and the slower vocal paced sound. Soon the genre took off with bands popping up all over Sweden such as DARK TRANQUILITY, AMON AMARTH  and of course IN FLAMES.  This genre will eventually became a key ingredient in most new metal genres.


At The Gates


Melodic Death Metal was not the only tweaked version of death metal to be heard. A new version of death metal was on the rise in the underground that fused Hardcore Punk with the sound of death metal. This genre became known as Grindcore. Bands such as NAPALM DEATH & BRUTAL TRUTH helped get the genre on its feet, and gained a good amount of followers but still stayed in the cover of darkness.


Grindcore Pioneers NAPALM DEATH


These new genres of the 90's stayed mostly unchanged until the early 2000's when musical evolution took its course once again....

To be continued....

How to Get into Metal Music: Part 2 - History of Metal (part 3)

I'M NOT CRAZY....

During the time of Thrash metal, bands started to experiment (again. Notice metal has always been about experimenting with different metal genres). One band in particular loved the thrash sound of Metallica, and the Hardcore sound of black flag, or Circle Jerks. The band that came from these 2 genres was SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. Suicidal Tendencies mixed thrash metal with the elements of hardcore. Now, I know what you re thinking, "I thought thrash metal had hardcore already in it", well that's the thing with metal, so much experimentation, ends up with evolution. Metal evolves over time. Thrash metal evolved into its own form of music. Suicidal Tendencies saw this sound, and added hardcore sound back into the thrash sound, forming what is now known as Thrashcore , or crossover Thrash, they also formed early sounds to Metalcore (we will get into this genre a little later). Other bands quickly followed with the style, bands like CRO-MAGS, early BEASTIE BOYS & GWAR


Suicidal Tendencies


CEMETERY GATES...

As the 80's were coming to a close, bands started to pop up with less experimentation, and more of the same formula that has be around for the past 8 years. Thrash bands such as TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, NUCLEAR ASSAULT & FORBIDDEN. One band from Texas, saw the rise of thrash and glam metal, as a time to cash in their talent. The legendary, PANTERA, released a few albums before the end of the 80's with high emphasis on glam metal. The band decided it was time for a dramatic change, and in 1990 they came out with Cowboys From Hell, marking one of the most heavy albums since 1986's Big 4 Albums. Cowboys from hell brought a new sound to thrash metal that was not seen yet. With the help of SEPULTURA, Pantera formed a new sound that incorporated not only thrash, and death metal in, but also that never dying Hardcore Punk sound.


Pantera

This new genre of metal became known as Groove Metal, and it became the new normal for many upcoming metal genres. Its safe to say Pantera paved the way for a lot of metal bands that you may hear on the radio today. Tragically, Pantera guitarist, and founding member Darrell Abbot AKA Dimebag Darrell (All the way on the left in the photo), was shot and killed while performing with his side project band, ending Pantera for good.

RENEGADES OF FUNK...

the 90's saw a drought in experimentation with metal, aside from the evolution I was talking about earlier. NIRVANA became highly popular with its form of heavy metal and new forms of Hard Rock. The popularity of Nirvana gave rise to many bands such as SOUNDGARDEN, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and of course PEARL JAM. The Grunge genre was born, which saw extensive radio play. Since glam metal had faded away, it was time for metal to take a stab at more radio friendly sounding bands. As hip hop started to gain high popularity as well, it was time that metal and hip hop clashed. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE was coined as one of the first true Rap metal bands, with FAITH NO MORE being a toned down version of the genre. This genre saw radio play but not as much, as the grunge scene still over took the new rap metal genre. Anthrax, and Public enemy experimented with the genre with their song Bring the Noise. However, this did not stop rap metal bands to start popping up everywhere. Bands such as STUCK MOJO and rapper Ice-T's band BODY COUNT. 


early RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE




As rap metal tried to make its way into main steam, a band from California, was being formed that took a new heavy sound, and smashed it with Pink Floyd's signature genre, Progressive Rock. This band became known as the infamous TOOL, and they creeped their way into radio mainstream with their song "sober" released in 1992. With Nirvanas Grunge, Rage Against the Machines Rap Metal, Tools Alternative/Progressive & Pantera's Groove Metal, it was inevitable, a genre was in the works that combined all of them...

Yes, again, to be continued.....

How to Get into Metal: Part 2 - History of Metal (Part 2)

         During the Early 80's, Metal had saw a significant increase in popularity, as well as Hardcore punk. This gave rise to even more experimentation...


And Their name Was NBM.

Europe saw the rise and fall of its metal scene, as stated before, with NWOBHM. A particular band from the UK started a new style which brought back the darkness of Black Sabbath, mixed with the fast paced intensity of Punk. VENOM, gave at that sound then threw in a little twist of their own, adding not only Heavy Metal, and punk sound, but also added faster guitar riffs, which brought even more speed to the sound, which was appropriately named speed metal. MERCYFUL FATE, added even more intensity and darkness to this new sound. This darkened version of metal became known as Black Metal, and it spread to a particular part in the world like a virus.

  

Venom

Norway was home to extreme temperatures (all in the cold) and its rich history. Norway is also very known as being the home to Black Metal (although Venom was from the UK). Bands kept the same formula formed by Venom, but intensified the sound with growled vocals. The Norwegian black metal became more than just music, it became a lifestyle like its cousin, Hardcore Punk. Norwegian black metal bands were notoriously anti Christian, and often lashed out by burning churches and adding inverted crosses to all their apparel. Notorious Black Metal band MAYHEM, even put a picture of their band mates suicide on their album cover. Black metal gained high popularity in Norway, but was also looked down upon by others in the metal scene (as well as any normal human beings). Metal needed a boost that did no involve the burning of churches, but rather a lighter faster paced form...

Master of Thrash...

During this time, a California based band listened to Mercyful Fate, in their garage and decided to play some music dedicated in their honor. However, they did not care about the darkness but concentrated more on the partying. They took the sound of Speed metal and Hardcore punk to help create what is known simply as Thrash Metal. This band was known as METALLICA. The bay area based thrash metal band gave rise to even more thrash metal bands such as ANTHRAX, EXODUS, OVERKILL, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, and the one and only SLAYER. After Metallica enjoyed some time in the spotlight with their debut historical album "Kill em' All", guitarist Dave Mustaine, was kicked out (or quit, no one really knows for sure). Dave went on to form the successful band MEGADETH.  Thrash metal sought to put glam metal (which was becoming highly popular with the "trendy" public) to shame. There was, you could say, a Metal civil war.


Metallica

The Thrash movement saw popularity, with most bands but only 4 stood out more than any of them. METALLICA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER & MEGADETH became known simply as the Big 4. Slayer in particular saw an underground movement of fans which took everything that Thrash metal had, and decided to experiment with vocals... harsh growling, killing vocals...

THRASH Til' DEATH

Growling vocals added to Thrash metal became known as Death Metal, and it did not take off in popularity at all, but enjoyed more loyal fans than any other metal genre. POSSESSED has been said to be the first band to form the death metal genre, however the band was short lived and only released 2 albums. More death metal bands started to pop up everywhere and they had loyal fans. Bands such as CARCASS, MORBID ANGEL & SEPULTURA. This sound evolved to not only more growled vocals but more intense drumming known as blast beating which became the most distinct sound of extreme forms of metal. Death metal eventually made its way to Norway where they incorporated it into their infamous black metal, to create a new form of black metal.


Morbid Angel (C. 1986)


Popularity of death metal took a minor rise with 2 of the most famous death metal acts, DEATH and CANNIBAL CORPSE. Jim Carrey even asked Cannibal Corpse to be in his film Ace Ventura.
It was safe to say death metal  was here to say and Glam metal was on its way out.

During the Mid 80's Hardcore punk started to Die off (as some would argue) but bands refused to see it go, so fans decided to add some Thrash treatment to the genre and started another revolution which became 25 years in the making...

To Be Continued....

How to get into Metal Music: Part 2-History of Metal (Part 1)

Here I will discuss a brief history about metal music. Sound boring? Well in order to enjoy the music you have to enjoy where it came from. All genres of metal came from 2 genres of music. Blues Rock and Punk Rock.

Roots, bloody Roots: 

A lot of metal heads will argue about who started the Heavy metal movement, but some never look at the big picture. Metal music, just like most rock music, can find its blood, in non other than Blues. Blues had been around for decades before Heavy metal came on the scene, and with artists like BB KING who brought lower toned guitar playing to blues. 

This influenced many other artists to try their hand in faster playing Blues Rock in the late 60's. The time period ushered in the rise of drugs and free love. This fused Blues Rock genre mixed with the "sign of the times" style was formed to make a sub genre known as Psychedelic Rock. Many artists have been classified as this new genre such as GRATEFUL DEAD and PINK FLOYD. This genre of music contained the high amounts of blues, with low amounts of jazz and Folk music. 

However, during the time period of the Civil Rights movement, one artist stood out more than the rest and his name was JIMI HENDRIX. Jimi's style of Rock involved fast paced guitar riffs and more emphasis on the music rather than the vocals. This brought Psychedelic Rock to the mainstream of the counterculture. More bands started to follow in popularity such as JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and even BOB DYLAN. The creation of this style of music eventually went on to become known as Progressive Rock, which well known band PINK FLOYD ended up calling their "home" genre.

Now, I'm not saying JIMI HENDRIX created Psychedelic Rock, that can be traced back to THE BEATLES, but it's safe to say he was a major part in bringing it to a wider audience.

Jimi Hendrix

 

During the height of Jimi Hendrix's popularity, a band formed which took the Psychedelic Rock and added even faster guitar riffs and a much harder sound. BLACK SABBATH, is arguably the pioneers of the metal genre. Other bands have been said to be the pioneers such as DEEP PURPLE & LED ZEPPELIN, but Black Sabbath is most recognized as the creators. Although Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin are amazing bands and defiantly helped to shape Heavy metal, they did not bring the dark, anti culture, anti everything (haha) to genre which is seen heavily in the newer bands of today.

 

As Black Sabbath, gained high popularity with the already popular Jimi Hendrix, more bands started to see this new genre as intriguing and appealing while most saw it as blasphemous and pure evil. Bands started to get involved in Heavy Metal such as the much more heavier JUDAS PRIEST which became extremely popular in the late 70's and early 80's.

 

Black Sabbath

 

As time went on, Heavy Metal gained dedicated fans known simply as Metal Heads. These guys hated the world and escaped by using nothing but their music. These fans were more dedicated than any other genre of music fans (if that makes sense). These fans ended up becoming a show in their own and spawned a new counter culture.

 

I Am an Anarchist!

 

Around the Mid to late 70's, more underground music gained some spotlight. During this time bands started to experiment with pop music, disco music and even heavy metal. A new genre was created with this experimentation, known simply as Punk Rock. Punk Rock was a genre which sought to distant itself from any other genre that was popular, much like its anti establishment followers.

Bands during this period included SEX PISTOLS, THE CLASH and THE RAMONES. These bands brought intense shows which meant intense fans known as punk rockers or Punks. Their lyrics contained Anti Politics and anti government which also lead to the rise of Anarchy.

 

The Clash

 

 After Punk Rock and Metal enjoyed some devoted fans and popularity, a genre of music sought to take the sound of Punk and throw in the intensity of heavy metal. Hardcore Punk, became the basis for the new style of punk rock. The first and certainly most popular hardcore band BLACK FLAG, however they did not coin the term Hardcore, that can be traced to another main hardcore band: DOA. Many other hardcore bands started to pop up such as MINOR THREAT, CIRCLE JERKS and BAD BRAINS. Soon hardcore became more than just music, it became a lifestyle. This lifestyle included Straight Edge, which was started by the band Minor Threat, and sought to steer away from the partying lifestyle which was extremely popular in the early 80's.


Black Flag

 

 Pour Some Sugar on Me...

During the Rise of Hardcore Punk, and Heavy Metal. Bands started to experiment with the metal genre, and it came from a specific place, the UK. This specific "new Version" of heavy metal which contained much faster riffs and even early versions of blast beats (We will get into those later). These bands included the most popular Heavy metal band IRON MAIDEN. Others enjoyed just as much popularity, such as DIAMOND HEAD, DEF LEPPARD, and SAXON. These bands as well as the punk rock bands of the late 70's  eventually went on to help popularize 80's Pop Metal, known as Glam metal. Glam metal brought Metal to the main steam, which included much happier and fun sounding rather than the dark evil sound of regular heavy metal. Glam metal bands included BON JOVI, VAN HALEN, and the already seasoned ALICE COOPER. However, experimentation was not over yet, more genres popped up that were even more underground and much more evil sounding...

To be Continued.....
 

 

How to get into Metal Music: Part 1

So I have been asked by many of my friends "how can you enjoy music that you cannot understand". I can understand where they are coming from, I mean all that's in metal is loud growling, extreme guitar picking and fast paced blast beats from the drums. To that, I can say the same about Rap which usually has no passion or pop which all sounds the same. I can go on and on about other genres of music but the main point here is everyone finds beauty in their own favorite music whether it be Miley Cyrus or Cannibal Corpse. If you are here, you are interested in All the hype about metal music. I can say from the start that most metal is not on the radio nor is it on Tv, so be prepared to use the internet.

In this Blog Series I will go into detail about Metal music, as well as Hardcore punk and how you can easily enjoy it as if it were normal overplayed radio music. 

To start off I want you to get familiar with a couple websites I find very useful. 

1: lastfm.com

This site really is the best possible and the first I usually go to. It shows bands genres, similar artists, and streaming music. Awesome site

2:Wikipedia.org

Yes it's Wikipedia and gets a bunch of critisim but let's face it, we all use it.

3: metal-archives.com

This website shows you some good bands and where to buy their merch and all that good stuff. I use it rarely 

4: Facebook

Always a good way to find out where good bands are playing and where some good metal festivals are happening

I will be using these websites in this web series so feel free to get familiar with all of them (hopefully you're already familiar with Facebook)

Disclaimer: My upcoming g blogs contain pictures of which I do NOT own the rights to, I am not getting paid for this blog and all credit for the photos is not mine. This is strictly for educational purposes ONLY.

My new Blog...

Well I'm not sure if I have any fans or not, but this is my awesome new blog. Here I will be going over some MUSIC album reviews, news and How To blogs. I know I promised some Vblogs but I am still getting the vids up and running. For now, enjoy my new blog Metal Music Buzz or MMusicbuzz. Thank you and enjoy

-socomseal111