Namdnas Retne

Comments

[Tillion]

never was much a fan of the "reverse ALL the things" movement
but thanks all the same for some background noise to drown out my screaming neighbors

[Idsertian]

It is the most over-used song on that album with regards to the various metal oriented music channels, but that was particularly epic. I really hope he does Sad But True, as well, though he probably won't.

[ssokolow]

3067998

It is the most over-used song on that album with regards to the various metal oriented music channels

Agreed. I never understood the appeal of Enter Sandman, even when it's Metallica doing it. Give me The Memory Remains or Nothing Else Matters or Fade to Black any day.

(Or these awesome covers of the latter two)

[Idsertian]

3068444 The Memory Remains is a fantastic song and is also the best thing to come out of the Load/Reload era, though that isn't saying much, when you think about it. Nothing Else Matters isn't a bad song either, but I much prefer Sad But True over it. It's just such a nasty, dark song, I love it.

The Gregorian cover was amusing in that "Well this is something different" sort of way, but that Apocalyptica cover of Fade to Black was pretty sick. Not a cover, but let's not forget that this was also a thing that happened (I suppose I should put a minor gore warning here) that was awesome.

Also, have you seen this video, by any chance?

[ssokolow]

3068865

Yeah. Apocalyptica began as a Metallica tribute band, so they've done quite a few covers. (Sad But True included) They even did a joint performance of One with Metallica.

Zombieland came out years after I basically stopped watching moves entirely (so I wouldn't have to keep checking who made one after I started boycotting the MPAA), so I was unaware of it, but that intro is great.

To be honest, as far as metal goes, I tend to be more into Iron Maiden or epic/symphonic metal than Metallica most of the time. The main reason I listen to some of their songs is that I listen to "some of" just about every subgenre under the sun. It's just a question of finding that "some of" that appeals to me.

Are you familiar with any metal bands which fall under the symphonic and/or epic metal subgenres? (Or, for that matter, viking metal like Týr)

[Kwakerjak]

3068444 - The appeal of "Enter Sandman" is relatively straightforward at least as I see it: It's basically a really catchy (if somewhat dark) pop melody played on downtuned heavy metal guitars. Metallica are far from the only heavy metal band to have songs like this; to name just one example, I personally think that "Wait and Bleed" by Slipknot is built around one of the best pop melodies of the nineties:

[ssokolow]

3069724

I guess it's just a matter of personal taste, then.

Wait and Bleed doesn't do it for me either. Maybe I'm just not very perceptive and I'm missing something, but, to me, the melody feels neither memorable nor catchy and it doesn't help that they don't really mix things up much. (eg. Not even a guitar solo to provide counterpoint to the vocals. Just short pauses in the vocals.)

Heck, it was hard for me to find examples of metal or punk/alt rock in my favourites list which just stay heavy on the guitar and strong-and-rough on the vocals all the way through rather than including soft periods to provide a counterpoint. (I suspect that's the classical influence in most really good metal music.)

Monster by Skillet

The Trooper by Iron Maiden

When Sorrow Sang by Blind Guardian from their album Nightfall in Middle Earth

I had to rule out Rhapsody entirely when looking for examples because, if they didn't do back-and-forthing between the electric guitar and something like a flute or violin, it wouldn't be Rhapsody.

The main punk example I can think of where the guitar and vocals stay strong and reasonably heavy throughout is The Kids Aren't Alright by The Offspring and they produced counterpoint by playing the vocals off against guitar solos.

As far as I can tell, the problem with Wait and Bleed is that it's a perfect storm of things that don't do it for me. It's already got that "downward trending" feel similar to something like I Miss You by Incubus which I'm not that fond of, the melody is uninteresting, the roughness and down-tuning further obscure it into a "musical mumble".

Rammstein's stuff is very rough, but they mix things up and tend to mix in a pinch of electronica for flavour.
Korn's stuff is very rough, but songs like Y'All Want A Single have a lot of variety in them.

[Idsertian]

3068918 I can appreciate you liking Maiden, certainly. They're not 100% my cup of tea, but I won't turn them off if they come on on Spotify or whatever.

I don't really know if I've listened to any symphonic/epic/viking metal, as I tend to take my music on a track-by-track basis. If I hear something and like it, I'll listen to it, but I won't necessarily investigate the artist. Usually because whenever I've done that, I've been vaguely disappointed by the rest of their offerings.

+1 For mentioning Rammstein and Korn in the same paragraph, though. I particularly like Rammstein's older stuff and I have a whole bunch of different favourites of Korn's stuff, not least of which is their cover of Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall".

[ssokolow]

3070697

What do you look for and shy away from? Maybe I can make some suggestions.

As for symphonic and epic metal, do the names Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, or Nightwish ring any bells? (Also, Dragonforce since power metal also tends to verge into that mix.)

but I won't necessarily investigate the artist. Usually because whenever I've done that, I've been vaguely disappointed by the rest of their offerings.

Sounds like me half the time. My advice is to check them out on Last.FM where you can see their songs sorted by how many times people with the Last.FM plugin installed have played each one. It's often a good way to pre-filter when you don't have time to research a group.

[Idsertian]

3070752 I honestly couldn't answer that question. I don't look too much into music beyond "Yeah, I like this" and "Nah, this is doing nothing for me". I do know the name Nightwish, might possibly have heard one or two of their songs over the years, though I couldn't name any.

You can keep your Dragonforce, though, they're a disgrace to the British metal legacy. Too much technicality, no soul or drive. They had great bands lay the groundwork for them, like Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Judas Priest, and what do they do with their opportunity to bring British heavy metal back to the forefront? Piss it up the wall, is what.
Dragonforce, this is how you do a riff. Or this. Or even this. Not this findlegroodle nonsense. Not that anyone could write an original riff any more anyway, 'cos Sabbath already done 'em all.

Ahem. Yeah, I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about them, as you might be able to tell. Moving on.

[ssokolow]

3070978

I honestly couldn't answer that question. I don't look too much into music beyond "Yeah, I like this" and "Nah, this is doing nothing for me". I do know the name Nightwish, might possibly have heard one or two of their songs over the years, though I couldn't name any.

Here's Nightwish covering Gary Moore's Over The Hills and Far Away (as I understand it, a song inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo):

...and a sampling of other Nightwish songs I find catchy: Nemo, Amaranth, Wish I Had an Angel, Moondance (Instrumental), Planet Hell, End of All Hope, Dark Chest of Wonders

For Rhapsody, here's the song I discovered them by (complete with intro narration by Christopher Lee. Make sure you at least listen to the the part that starts at 5:20 and continues on through 7:30):

(Some of their songs are purely musical and some have those narrative interludes, so don't consider them a deal-breaker when you just want music to guide your mood. Again, like all good metal bands seem to do, they've got quite a range within their chosen niche from fast and heavy stuff like Holy Thunderforce and Land of Immortals through softer, mid-paced stuff like The Bloody Range of the Titans, on to stuff that's basically the metal version of church music like Echoes of Tragedy)

I get the impression you're the kind of person who'd appreciate clever lyrical artistry so here's another one from when Rhapsody's Luca Turilli did an album under his own name. Make sure you understand what's being conveyed by the bit starting at 3:24:

For Blind Guardian, here's the song that introduced me to them...

Like Rhapsody, they've got quite a stylistic range. On the same CD, they've got Harvest of Sorrow which is so soft and slow all the way through that you might not even recognize that they're a metal band. (Another example of that would be The Bard's Song)

More noteworthy, perhaps, is their album Nightfall in Middle Earth which is a musical retelling of the War of the Jewels from The Silmarillion. A few example tracks I'd suggest would be Mirror Mirror on the hard end and Nightfall on the softer/slower side of things.)

To respond to your passing comment about not knowing viking metal a few messages back, here are a few suggestions from the viking metal band Týr:
Regin Smiður (Regin, the Blacksmith), Sinklars Visa (heavier), Hold the Heathen Hammer High (heaviest).

For fun, here's some "scottish pirate metal":

(Wolves of the Sea is also catchy)

...and the softer end of celtic metal:

(Don't bother trying to make out the lyrics. They're singing in gaulish)

...or there's Lordi if you want "glam metal" (as oxymoronic as that sounds):

Finally, while it's just a single song recommendation and they're "ordinary" heavy metal, give Commissar from Savatage's album Poets and Madmen a listen if you haven't already heard it:

You can keep your Dragonforce, though, they're a disgrace to the British metal legacy. Too much technicality, no soul or drive. They had great bands lay the groundwork for them, like Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Judas Priest, and what do they do with their opportunity to bring British heavy metal back to the forefront? Piss it up the wall, is what.

Dragonforce, this is how you do a riff. Or this. Or even this. Not this findlegroodle nonsense. Not that anyone could write an original riff any more anyway, 'cos Sabbath already done 'em all.

Ahem. Yeah, I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about them, as you might be able to tell. Moving on.

Not a problem. I generally don't let myself care too much about who makes my music as long as I like the sound of it, but I can understand your point of view.