What Is “Real” Metal?
December 5, 2007 by Scott
Every time you turn around and read an article somewhere about some band there is always someone that has to feel that they are some high official on “Metalogy” and has to comment on how this band or that band is not “Real” metal. So I’m going to ask the question. What is “Real” metal?
Metal from day one has evolved at every turn. With the birth of a new genre just about every two minutes, this raises the question even more. Obviously the biggest thing is people saying that nu-metal is not real metal, hardcore is not real metal, and metal core is not real metal. I don’t think you can really define any one metal genre as not being real metal because if it wasn’t metal it would not be in the metal genre.
Now there are a boat load of bands that are thrown into the metal namesake that have no right to be there so by all means, please say they are not real metal. But there are so many newer bands that people deem are not real metal.
They say opinions are like assholes, everyone has one but nobody wants to hear it. Thats a lie because everyone want to hear someone elses opinion…as long as it’s the same as their own opinion. Some people are not open minded enough when it comes to metal because they feel they will be criticized for straying from the flock…but thats the whole point of metal from the get-go, is not to conform, and not to be a sheep. Every single person on this planet is a conformist in one way or another and a sheep in one way or another. It just depends on what shepherd you follow.
My opinion? Metal is metal, no matter what genre you put it in, no matter how heavy, how many instruments are used, no matter what instruments are used. Unless it’s a manufactured metal band, that has the typical punk-ass sleeved arms, jet black stylist spiked hair, eyeliner, and a brand new AC/DC t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. We won’t call you metal…but we will call you out. (Cough-A7X-Cough)
So enough of my B.S., whats your take. What exactly is “Real” Metal to you?
metal is more of an attitude or way of life than a specific type of music…people hollering about bands not being metal are elitist assholes whos opinions hold no more constitution than anyone elses
I agree with you to some extent. However; I think that metalheads do have the right to decide what is metal and is not metal. I mean we are the listeners. This is something that is ours and only ours. We should have the right to have a say in it.
i just stumbled here and i had to comment.
people like to waste their time judging music by some arbitrary criteria they pulled out their ass. these people are pathetic. genres are abstract and over analysis tends to rob good music of its meaning. who cares if A7X could be classified as metal. they suck balls and that’s all that matters. case closed. next band please.
This sounds like an opening to promote my band. CRESCENT SHIELD is Real Metal!
http://www.crescentshield.com \m/
What is REAL METAL?
Real Metal has real guitar riffs, not chugga chugga chugga.
Real Metal has real singing with melody, not angst crap.
Real Metal has originality, no clone bullshit.
Real metal has audible bass guitar.
Real metal has bass drums, not clicky clicky noises.
Real metal is not image, it’s music.
Real metal is not digitally perfect, overproduced, and stale, it’s tight and powerful but has a raw edge.
Real metal is about songs, not being the fastest, most brutal, or most whatever.
Real metal is not hair and clothes, it’s heart and mind.
I agree with everything Daniel said except the bit about the raw edge. Metal can have a polished surface. It just depends on how the metal is composed. There are some slow songs and bands that use pit orchestras that have the distinctive metal sound.
Well in your opinion Daniel there can only be a handfull of “real” metal bands from the beginning of metal. However I totally agree with the audible bass and drums. But like I said, evolution is everything, if metal did not evolve it would be stale. It’s good to still have bands that keep it basic and good raw metal, but it has to evolve or it will die like other genres like grunge and glam.
Bonsor Said “genres are abstract and over analysis tends to rob good music of its meaning.”. I couldn’t agree more!!
I think trying to pin a label on some music is a waste of time. People who make the music get the influences from all over the place. Cross-pollination of different styles can make for some great music (eg Rage Against the Machine) but it can also backfire(eg Limp Bizkit).
Me? I like good music. It’s not my fault the majority of it’s metal.
the diversity in metal these days is what keeps it “fresh” You get bands that have so many different influences and granted sometimes you get the occasional bands that seem like “Clones”.
What is real metal? That’s a difficult one. I’m inclined to say that metal has moved above being a genre specifically, to become a group of genre’s. I mean, when you consider that the term was coined to describe bands like black sabbath and led zeppelin, it get’s much harder to classify. So, fear factory are metal, they’re industrial metal, megadeath are metal, thrash metal, and so on and so forth. Sadly, this also means that A7X are also metal, if a shit version of it. Metal’s has become more than a genre of music, it’s become a unifying idea that links together hundred’s and thousands of sub genre’s.
Lets start a new genre and call it poo-metal. It will be one step lower than Nu-metal, and we can stuff bands Like A7X in it. Sorry, but I really hate that band.
What is “real” metal? Hell, I doubt anyone can give a good answer to that. You said it yourself: metal is always evolving. And you might as well ask what the best band ever is, because everyone will have a different opinion. Personally, I think the line gets drawn when a band “sells out” so to speak, and just pisses all over their fans (I know you can think of some…)
It’s hard to say what is or isn’t metal because it’s so diverse. Where do you draw the line and say ‘this band is metal and that band is not’? I wouldn’t know where to start really. Although to me, metal is about expressing yourself, loyalty and most of all fun- so I suppose any band who doesn’t care about things like that, whatever the sub-genre, isn’t really metal.
The question of “What is ‘real’ metal?” is probably impossible to get a definite answer. There are just so many different styles of music which are categorized as metal that it’s hard to decide which one truly is metal. Music is always changing as well. But the fact is, if it’s not metal is someone’s eyes, it might be considered metal to someone else.
ATR
Real metal to me is music that doesnt go with the flow like the recent Hardcore/scene movment. everyone at my school that says they are “scene” is pretty much a copy of their “scene” friends. To me those bands that are in it for the money and the popularity arent real metal bands. Bands that break away and have their own defining style of playing and delivering assulting vocals about situations and feelings we as fans can relate to is the definition of real metal and that is something a lot of recent bands just can’t achieve.
real metal to me is just not listening to rap or hip hop that gangster stuff suck ass.i don’t care what you say any so called “metalhead” who listens to that crap is not metal that includes alot of bands out there.REAL METAL is sure as hell not rap nu metal okay i don’t care what u say it will never be metal just some rockstars wannabe’s.Metalcore will be way more metal than any gangtsa crap.just wait whe you see my band ……….REAL METAL!
It’s impossible to define a single thing, or list of things to have “real” metal, unless you want to be a smart-ass and say steel and iron. One of the best things about music is that absolutely anyone can interpret it as they see fit. If someone thinks Ludacris is Metal, then accept it. They’re an idiot, but accept that because that is who the person is. Everyone has their own opinion on it, and if you don’t agree, big deal. If they go on and on about how their opinion is better than yours, then don’t talk to them. My personal interpretation of Metal is a combination of a load of different sub-genres, from Nu-Metal, through to Symphonic Metal. And I love it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s better than everything. I like some metal music, but there are dance and rap acts who I prefer in some cases.
Here is the truth of metal, you have to be reborn as a metalhead, and your whople life changes, things you used to like you don’t like anymore, there is something inside of you, is in your soul and in your heart, you don’t have to describe metal, yopu simply feel it, you know is metal or some poser shit because is in your soul, you don’t have to define your music as metal or try to imitate or try to create metal, is not possible, if you have it in you whatever music you make will be metal even if you are not intending it. This poser bands decide to play metal , real metal bands are guys likeminded getting together and playing music from their souls with passion and intencity, and whatever comes out will be real metal just because is in their soul and in their blood. I’ll leave it here for now I hope you have an idea of what I’m talking about.
well i just stumbled across this article and all the coments afterwards and was like wow. i first started listening to metal in 1982 when i was 12. personally i like the fact that “metal” in all its new reincarnations is great. as ive grown up metal has changed with the times. i dare say that thanks to youtube its far easier finding metal i like. such as in the vain of metal church, hammerfall, helloween, iron maiden, uriah heep, black sabbath, dragoforce, megadeath, metallica, highland glory, manowar, and all that new “power” metal from the scandanavian countries coming out.
metal is a mindset and a way of life listen to what you like there are many bands that have 1 or 2 tunes that could be classified as metal and are far from metal bands. i got picked on in school for liking metal, so, so far so good so what to quote the megadeath album
Holy crap, it seems like I just wrote this yesterday but it’s been almost a year. I thought it was a pretty good discussion and got some great open ended opinions.
I got picked on in Highschool because I listened to metal too. Small town, small school filled with grunge fucks and dead-heads. I typically got the asshole that knew nothing about metal or what it was really about. It wasn’t until I convinced my parents to let me transfer to a bigger school in a bigger city that I met other like myself and it only got better from there.
Real metal has a certain feel about it; and when you feel it, you know it’s metal.
You are a breathing paradox dude.
“Just don’t call shit like The Mars Volta and Avenged Sevenfold metal!”
Yeah, I know….but seriously,don’t call shit like The Mars Volta and Avenged Sevenfold metal.
Personally, of the 3 genres you listed, I think that nu-metal and metalcore are metal (unfortunately). Hardcore isn’t. Hardcore is punk, which occasionally overlaps with metal. And some genres of metalcore are actually pretty metal. S.O.D. were undeniably metal, and some metalcore subgenres, like grindcore, are WAY more metal than punk.
Metal is simply what you make of it. Whether it be a rebellious attitude, heavy playing, or just down-right fast and fun playing. Everyone has their own line. Everyone has their own standard in which music has the privilege to be called metal. If you disagree with someone’s standard, that’s fine. But don’t be an asshole about it, and try to keep an open mind.
If someone calls Eminem metal, I respectfully disagree, but that is their standard. Don’t bother wasting time fighting about it trying to determine who’s right and who’s wrong; because you can’t.
Personally, I draw the line at bands like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. They don’t really belong in my metal threshold. And I think bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Slipknot can be considered metal.
As for “selling out”, sure, some people can’t handle change. But you said yourself, metal has been evolving since day one. It’s the same with bands. I think it’s refreshing to hear bands experiment with new sounds and meanings. Whether I like the new sound or not, I respect the bands for trying something new (that is how metal got started after all.) Take bands like Slayer for example. It’s been at least twenty years, and they’ve barely changed at all. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Slayer. But after awhile, I feel like I’m listening to the same song. Whereas bands like Korn have a different sound that THEY pretty much started. Each of their albums have songs that have been so different and daring, that people don’t know what to make of them. And, for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of them (Issues being my favorite.)
So in conclusion, metal is whatever you want it to be. Metal is what it means for you. The standards are pretty similar across the metal-world, but metal-opinions are like DNA; everyone has their own.
I hope this was helpful in some way.
So, effectively, we should be more lax on what is required to be metal? Well, a lot of these “nu-metal” (mallcore) bands don’t have leads, and definitely not solos, they shout and whine and they don’t actually have anything other than distorted guitars in common with metal. So, harsher vocals and distorted guitars make a band metal?
Well, actually, that’s impossible. Harsh vocals can’t be what makes something metal because Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath all lacked those things. In fact, other than Maiden, all three bands at one point or another did clean guitar work, be it for a ballad or just to add some tension to a verse. So I guess the kind of stuff that allows bands like Disturbed to be called metal also disallows Judas Priest to be metal.
Anyway, enough being smarmy for me. I will state that without question, hardcore is NOT metal. It is punk. Hardcore and Metal grew up together. They are second cousins. Punk and Hard Rock were their fathers. Punk and Hard Rock were cousins. They both were spawned from Rock. Bands like Disturbed, Slipknot and Staind have the heavy guitars and the distressed vocals, but so did bands like the Sex Pistols, to a lesser extent. The truth is, the only thing mallcore bands pulled out of the Metal scene was the look, which they wussified and applied without understanding.
You know WHY metal fans get tired of the metal label being thrown on these shouty detuned bands? Because it is goddamn annoying having 6 people in a day suggest a band that has no relation to the music you like because they have no idea what the hell they’re talking about. It is sickening seeing these talentless hacks like Slipknot in the same section of a music store as Blind Guardian.
Metal splits into sub-genres. I mean no one would deny that Black Sabbath is metal, and no one would deny that Slayer is metal either. But all they really have in common is distorted guitars and solos. Infact, Disturbed has more in common with Black Sabbath than Slayer does if you really get down to it. So the arguement that bands like Slipknot and Disturbed aren’t metal based on not having common-ground with Black Sabbath and Judas Priest is invalid.
I think for some people, it’s about the attitude. I have no arguement that nu-metal bands were spawned out of twelve-year-old mentality and record company avidity, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the music from time to time. The attitude of rebellion and violence seems to strike the “true” metal fans over whiny songs about how some guy lost his girlfriend. I guess when you think about it, you realize that metal is simply rebellion put to music.
Some metal fans get so caught up in it however, that they start to rebel against all of metal’s children.
You know why some metal fans get tired of the metal label applying to more than just attitude? Because they’re trying too hard.
metal cannot be classafied
alot of it shouldnt be screaming
but it has to have good guitar riffs
if its all one riff the whole song for most songs (cough-disturbed-cough)
its not metal, its wannabes.
not putting them down. they have some good songs but the “metal” songs of theirs are just hard rock
but originals are SOAD, Trivium, Atreyu, BMFV, a7x
but dont throw crap like all the bands that make hits stations but there are rarites like a7x or soad but its rare and dosnt happen much
and all the songs that made it in the last several years that are “metal” can suck my cock
if you have to ask, you don’t deserve no know, metal is metal, you hear it, you know it, you love it, if you try to argue what is and isn’t metal, you’re ruining metal for people, some people like A7X metal.. okk. Some people like JFAC or Cannibal Corpse, and thats ok too, if you still call Metallica metal and not hard rock, thats alright.