Black Metal Lameness

So Vampy sent me a song to play on me show next Thurs. I was listening to it, and the music was okay and all (I particularly liked the drums), but the "singer" was just... well, it reminded me of a mall goth. He knows deep inside that he is just a loser little *****, so he tries 10 times as hard to make up for it, and ends up just sounding and looking retarded.

Now, I'm not saying that whoever sang it is lame, I'm just saying that it seemed it. It seemed like he was so concerned with being GRRRR RAWR SO ANGRY AND HARDCORE that he forgot that a song was even going on. If you took him out of the song, I would have no argument against it. It would be a tad bland with no vocals, but it would beat having the buffoonery layed over top of it completely robbing me of the ability to listen to it with a straight face.

So what the hell, basically. Is the whole genre like that, and if so, why?

There's different styles of vocals.

But, it IS black metal. It's not the type of genre that you can just get into and enjoy straight away. And most will never enjoy it. It's an aquired taste, really.

But the vocals (guitars, drums) and rawness of the genre is why fans enjoy it. It may sound goofy or terrbily lame to people who don't like the genre, but it's just another way to convey emotion. It's more about the music and genre itself, rather than anything else like money or fame.

I'm all for emotion in music, but that guy just ends up sounding more goofy than emotional.

Also, the song in question is Possessed by Black F*cking Metal by Nargoroth, since I'm silly and forgot to mention the songs name.

If anyone wants to throw some examples that they feel might be more representative or accesible, feel free.

I dislike straight-up BM immensely! However, I'm keen on crossover genres - Falkenbach, for instance, are folky and have their (his?) share of nice, clean vocals throughout songs whereas occasionally he'll do a load of raaaaagh BM growls.

It's mainly the instruments in BM that I don't really like, actually. And the production quality.

[quote=Vampiro]It's not the type of genre that you can just get into and enjoy straight away.

<-- (that's an arrow pointing to me)

[quote=Lord of Spam] If anyone wants to throw some examples that they feel might be more representative or accesible, feel free.

Enslaved and Condemned by Old Man's Child. It's melodic bm with fuxing awesome drumming.

[quote=sexy vamps]Yeah, I can see both being really annoying. As the guitars tend to be really buzzy and repetitive, and the drums can be too upfront and really basic. And there is not production quality. But those are some of the reasons I like the genre, oddly enough.

That's what I keep hearing, but from what I've heard so far they're not always buzzy, repetitive, or basic. Nobody appreciates how hard it is to play double bass fast. And The Age of Cataclysm by Cryptic Wintermoon actually had pretty good production quality.

So yeah, I've only heard a bit of black metal from ...And Oceans, Cryptic Wintermoon, Old Man's Child, and War, but I'll be listening to a lot more today. Probably Mayhem, Vordr, Abyssos, and Carpathian Forest, so I'll know more about black metal later. :-*

[quote=Lord of Spam]So Vampy sent me a song to play on me show next Thurs. I was listening to it, and the music was okay and all (I particularly liked the drums), but the "singer" was just... well, it reminded me of a mall goth. He knows deep inside that he is just a loser little *****, so he tries 10 times as hard to make up for it, and ends up just sounding and looking retarded.

Now, I'm not saying that whoever sang it is lame, I'm just saying that it seemed it. It seemed like he was so concerned with being GRRRR RAWR SO ANGRY AND HARDCORE that he forgot that a song was even going on. If you took him out of the song, I would have no argument against it. It would be a tad bland with no vocals, but it would beat having the buffoonery layed over top of it completely robbing me of the ability to listen to it with a straight face.


I just finished downloading some Nargaroth, and listened to that song. I really loved it. I didn't think the singer sounded that angry either, he just used harsh vocals, but to me it wasn't that angry. And the production is good, thank god.

[quote=Vampiro]You just need to hear more of the genre, really. Which I can help you with, if you ever want it.

!!!!!!!!!!

I'd love that. I need some bands to look into first, cause I'm just starting out. Help?

Trance sets a better mood for me:/

Guess I'm jsut not cut out for metal.:cool:

hey black metal is really good. there is nothing like music from the dark countries

George bush

nuff said

I'm not big on black metal myself (yet). The only black metal band I listen to is Arcturus, I think. I'm always open to suggestions, though.

Anyone who wants a good transition between the "mainstream" stuff and hardcore black metal should listen to anything from Emperor's album "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk", especially "Ye Entrancemperium". It goes down easy, yet it has enough complexity and niche appeal to keep the hardcore black metal lover coming back.

Quite true. Most people opt for Dimmu (minus Stormblast and For All Tid) or CoF, but they're a pretty poor example of what's too come (really poor, actually). Emperor, like you said, is a good balance between accessibility and straight black metal. It's still a large jump from that to something like Nocternity, Ljå or Muliilation. But it gets the job done.

Other suggestion is Nokturnal Mortum. Somewhat like Emperor, just less symphonic elements. Though they maintain the "over-reliance" on keyboards.

I second Vampiro's suggestion on Nokturnal Mortum, and I'd suggest trying their Goat Horns album first. It's their most accessible album and just rules overall. Their stuff is actually pretty diverse ranging from pure black metal to straght up Ukranian Folk (try their Marble Moon EP to see what I mean) to a mixture of the two at times. They also have some good symphonic instrumentals. Here's a few other good songs you might want to try:

Sigh - Diabolic Suicide
Sad Legend - Realm Of The Soulless
Abigor - Unleashed Axe Age

Arcturus? ****, don't know how I could forget them. Yeah, their older stuff is straight-up BM with symphonic overtones and overboard keyboards, while their newer stuff (with Vortex from DB on vox) is almost entirely clean vocals with less abrasive drums and guitars.

I like both old and new though!

listen if you want true black metal any bands like venom bathory mayhem etc. there is a long list of them but the stupid radio destroyed that. mainstream will take and destroy any form of independent music. i ahve heard bands such as cradle of filth and behemoth on mainstream radio.

Agalloch is played on a particular radio station around here often, probably because they were formed in Portland. Still a fantastic band. I get excited every time I hear them on the radio, which isn't all too often. I'm glad they are getting airtime. I've actually met a few people around here who know of them, surprisingly. They didn't seem to care for them though.

you have to admit that radio does ruin all that we hold dear as musicians. i am a musician and i could find success without the radio. i have nothing out right now but i could do what slayer did. when they started out they were obscure and they never had a track on the radio same with anthrax and lots of other thrash bands. these bands have just started to get credit as thrash
becomes more and more mainstream. black metal is starting the same. bathory was never heard of till the rise of CoF and dimmu borgir

potland maine or oragon? I just just had a idea. Why don't we combine all the metal genres and call it fog metal

Jim you can't evan play the guitar controller at the mall.you cant evan play guitar you f*ck up once you get a good riff going

Ugh, never mind. Metal Kid is a retard.

As the title says LAMENESS

In before Shin & Vampir--...wait, beaten. Hi guys!

HAI SCOTT!

I really like "No Tyme 2 Cry" by Cradle of Filth. It's the only black metal song I can stand. :rock:

-=Edit=- Symgothic Phonic Metal. THx PIT

Symphonic Gothic Metal*