My Problem with Heavy Metal.

CrimsonShark Disclaimer: This post is not about me hating the Heavy Metal genre and I am actually a fan. This post is simply about what I see are issues that I find within it. I am also trying not to offend any fan in general and if I do, I wholeheartedly apologise.

Heavy Metal. Perhaps this website's most favoured genre. Not saying its a bad thing. In fact, if it weren't for TheTopTens, I wouldn't even be listening to Metal. So as a result, I would thank this site for getting me into a heapload of headbanging and crazy guitar solos that will be jammed into my mind for quite a long time.

But that doesn't excuse the fact that Metal does have its fair share of issues that I see in the metal community. Albeit it's definitely better than a lot of other genres, it is not perfect and that is totally understandable. If one was to identify underwhelming or lackluster artists (*cough* Meghan Trainor and Drake *cough*) Metal has bands that make you either facepalm in disappointment or burst out laughing at what a bad song you've been listening to (Try out Design the Skyline's "Surrounded by Silence" for example). And yes, Pop and Hip-Hop do have a good number of talented and amazing singers under their belt. Sometimes you've gotta experiment on different genres and look at what's appealing to you.

My biggest problem is some of the fans. There's no denying that a lot of metalheads are open-minded, but when you're faced with someone who's really close-minded, there's little you could do to reason. Some of these fans think that Metal is the most "incomparable" and sometimes "the only genre" that matters when the statement could easily be overturned by saying that Metal is an offshoot of rock music and has influences from classical and blues music. I love Heavy Metal, but there are times that I'll jam into Rock, Classical and even Pop and some Rap music. Speaking of which, some metalheads take their hate on other genres way too much by saying "Pop/Rap has no creativity, meaning or effort put into it", which is most definitely false as there are a lot of revered artists whether it's in the past or present. And yes, there are good Pop/Rap songs in today's music, it's just a shame mainstream attention is given to those that don't deserve it.

That's not to say they just hate Pop or Rap. Some go as far as to hate different Metal sub-genres and even shun recent artists, whether it's a Metalcore or Nu-Metal band (Whether how acclaimed they are). It depresses me as someone who has grown with a genre decides to diss upon a sub-genre that is fresh and is growing strong, but cannot accept the fact that changes need to happen. Plus, they make a big fuss out of it when comparing newer bands/artists with older ones. For example, I prefer Avenged Sevenfold over Megadeth, but that does not mean I hate Megadeth. Hell, I actually think Dave Mustaine is Metal's greatest guitarist (Alongside Dimebag Darrell and Randy Rhodes, RIP), but I highly respect and admire Synyster Gates and his guitar skills and solos. Yeah, Metallica is my favourite band, but I also enjoy a lot from Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium (And both have obvious inspirations from Metallica and Megadeth) and I love Linkin Park (A Nu-Metal band) which happens to incorporate Rap Vocals into its music.

Aside from just the artists that I've listed above, a good number of newer metal artists/bands from the Metalcore/Nu-Metal scene include Architects, Deftones, Killswitch Engage and Korn.

Other than the fanbase, there really isn't much I could critique about Metal negatively. My only nitpick would be the reputation that the second-wave Black Metal movement established in the 90s which may be the reason why people complain about Metal being "completely satanic and unlistenable". Sure it gave you guys some talented acts (E.g. Darkthrone, Satyricon, Immortal, etc.) but the reputation of Gorgoroth, Euronymous and Varg Vikernes aren't gonna fade away quickly for obvious reasons.

(I hate Black Metal unfortunately, so sorry to anyone who's a fan. However, if you like the genre, I wouldn't mind. Be happy and enjoy it, because that's what matters)

*(This may seem biased)* Lastly, Metal does have one genre that I can openly truly hate and detest for eternity: Pornogrind. The name gives it off. And I've seen album covers of Pornogrind bands to see for myself (You can go ahead and try, but you're probably gonna regret it once you see them). It's pathetic making songs and lyrics based on perverted thoughts and imagery and it sickens me that such a genre/sub-genre even exists, to begin with. At least a lot of metalheads hate it as well, so I'm comfortable not being the only one out of the bunch.

There you have it. Those are my personal problems with the Metal genre. You might have your own reasons or you're perfectly fine with Metal, but that's okay. I just wanted to be expressive for once, though. And lastly, if I've offended anyone, I really apologise. My advice is just to enjoy whatever you get in the Heavy Metal community, that's basically all I could say. Even if I hate a few sub-genres, I'm not one to block your way.

Thanks for reading :).

Comments

Very long post, I haven't read it full. but I've seen some listeners sometimes listen metal songs if the vocals is slow. theydon't care about the heavy riffs. - zxm

I love Heavy Metal as well. Its not like I am a big metalhead either. I respect all kinds of music that are nice. I used to be entirely a rock fan but I realized there were a few good modern pop songs. - Zizz

I like both pop and metal - TwilightKitsune

It is a shame that mainstream pop and rad pretty much screwed quality pop and rap for some people - visitor

I agree that some metalheads are very close-minded, but as a metalhead myself, I agree with some of them (those that have good arguments). I have tried my hardest to find good pop or rap songs that I could listen to, but most of it simply lacks quality nowadays. Pop artists don't even write their own lyrics and the beats used in both pop and rap are so simplistic that a 4 year old could play them.

What I also don't like about pop is this "culture" that has been created where those pop or rap artists are idolized and people look up to them and want to be like them. The majority of those artists are far from being good role models. - visitor

Good post although I don't think you should've brought up Linkin Park because they aren't Metal. They do have some Nu Metal songs but as Finn Mckenty from the Punk Rock MBA said, Linkin Park is one of those bands he would consider to borrow influences from Nu Metal but not really be that. - DarkBoi-X

Linkin park is more similar to Alternative metal or nu metal and less similar to heavy metal - styLIShT

I strongly disagree that Linkin Park are nu-metal. Alternative metal, could be, yes, but they lean more towards alt rock and rap rock than to nu-metal. - Adrian_4