Music Genres With the Most Intelligent Lyrics

Other notable Heavy Metal bands include Judas Priest, Anthrax, Testament, System of a Down, Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, Avenged... read more
"We have the power make our lives what they are to be
Reconnect with our humanity
Transcend to a higher place, accepting reality
You are the key to the life that you seek"
(Iced Earth - Anthem).
Iron man, Paranoid, Enter Sandman, Master of puppets...
First I thought that that heavy metal is all about hard instrumentals, extreme rhythm but the day when I listened to a heavy metal song with lyrics I was just blown up by lyrics it was so truth it tells about the dark nature of todays society

Not ALL artists. There are many prog artists with excellent lyrics, and then sometimes they just try too hard. Thick as a Brick, Dogs, and Time, for example, are songs with brilliant lyrics, but in songs such as Tarkus, for example, I feel that it's not very sincere, or maybe trying too hard? I would say that some prog lyrics sometimes lack real substance behind their crypto-poetic nature. I know it's a very unpopular opinion, please don't kill me, I love progressive rock. I just sometimes have the impression that some lyricists jsut write something plainly cryptic and people will try to interpret it and call it a piece of genius.
Thick As A Brick By Jethro Tull
'The cattle quietly grazing at the grass down by the river
where the swelling mountain water moves onward to the sea:
the builder of the castles renews the age-old purpose
and contemplates the milking girl whose offer is his need.
The young men of the household have all gone into service
and are not to be expected for a year.
The innocent young master - thoughts moving ever faster -
has formed the plan to change the man he seems.
And the poet sheaths his pen while the soldier lifts his sword.
And the oldest of the family is moving with authority.
Coming from across the sea, he challenges the son who puts him to the run.'

Listen and read the lyrics for bands like opeth and try and comprehend some of them you'll find it very difficult the lyrics are intelligently written. This song black rose immortal for instance and anything else in their discography.
Listen to tool

I don't know how metal is #1, but rap has very clever lyrics that aren't just incoherent screaming. Although rap nowadays is less lyrical and somewhat mumbly, it still is better than cheesy metal lyrics.
Don't knock this genre because of some of the idiots who represent it, because every genre has those. If you listen to rappers like Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, J. Cole, etc, there is a lot of skill and meaning behind what they do and it's impressive. From the messages they try to send to fit in with what was happening in the world during that time to the deep stories of their personal life and the delivery they are able to paint the picture with, it's a brilliant form of music if done correctly.
Kudos to rappers : It's not easy to do. Prog lyrics (and I love prog lyrics) have wide possibilities. Since they don't hold the song together, they don't have to be perfectly rythmical and in the same meter. Plus, most songs have only a few short verses.
In rap, verses are long and lines have to be held together by cohesive elements of assonance and alliteration. Or else, it's weak, it doesn't hold. This puts a lot of constraint, yet pushing creativity : rap is the definition of a lyrical genre.

Some of the best songwriters of all time made Psychedelic music such as Jimi Hendrix, Syd Barrett, John Lennon, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, Jim Morrison, Grace Slick, etc.

Most of the power metal lyrics are also close to poetry:
"Just hand me my harp, this night turns into myth
Nothing seems real, you soon will feel
The world we live in is another skalds
Dream in the shadows".
(Blind Guardian - Skalds And Shadows).

Remember Kurt saying, "wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are." We need more of this in music.

To be very honest, I don't know what they're saying half the time in the songs, but I know that the songs do have good life meanings to them. I did see one opera show back when I was like 15. Thought I was going to hate it but it actually made me cry because of the ending.
To be honest, the reason you don't know what they are saying half the time, is because the lyrics are not in English.
Very underrated but opera rock should be here too.

In the words of Bluesman Albert Cummings: "Oh well now some people say that the Blues makes you feel sad, hah! Best damn feelin' I musta ever had; I said the Blues makes me feel so good."
You really don't need big words or have a degree in psychology or philosophy to be this clued-up; you just need to know what you're talking about. This man sums up things pretty well, methinks.
Yes it is the music of intelligence and peace.

We need To Pack more Changes cause,
"I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere
Unless we share with each other
We gotta start makin' changes
Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers"
Needs to be number 1.

The English band, Venom is credited for laying the groundwork for Thrash Metal with their debut album "Welcome... read more
Slayer has some very complicated lyrics like World Painted Blood. Also many of their songs are about intelligent topics like history, religion and mythology. And Slayer isn't the only thrash metal band with intelligent lyrics. Other examples are Metallica's Sad But True/Master of Puppets and Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction/Holy Wars...The Punishment Due.
"Brother will kill brother
Spilling blood across the land
Killing for religion
Something I don't understand
Fools like me who cross the sea
And come to foreign lands
Ask the sheep for their beliefs
Do you kill on God's command?
A country that's divided
Surely will not stand". (Megadeth - Holy Wars)
Slayer skeletons of society. "Minutes seem like days since fires ruled the sky the rich became the beggars and the fools became the wise. Memories linger in my brain from burning in the acid rain of pain I never have won" that is so true. Reply if u agree



If "Every step that I take is another mistake to you," "I can't feel you there," cause I'm resting at Lincoln Park.
This makes more sense then rap metal, they are completely different.

Definitely one of the most lyrical genre. Just listen to the Dead Kennedys or Bad Religion.
Most artists in this genre say : "We just wanted to uplift the lyrics in music. Talking about what was happening in the real world."
I remember a guy from a famous anarcho-punk band saying (something along the lines of) : "Venom was even singing about Satan! I don't wake up in the morning and see Satan. I hear about wars, famines, disease, corruption..."
Most of the time, punk is a political statement. That's the whole point of the genre. Expressing one's own thoughts on subjects instead of mindlessly agreeing with the popular opinion.
Anybody who knows anything about music should know #20 is way too low for punk. Absurdly ridiculous.


I can't argue with Bob Marley that "None but ourselves can free our minds."

If you think I am wrong, you should be Led by "Wholle Lotta Love" back to schooling.
What are all these greater genres doing behind rap?

Hey Jude, please guide me through the Stairway to Heaven, so I can walk All Along the Watchtower. After you get here, I know you will find the definition of intelligence Across the River.

For God fearing people's choice.


If you deny this, you probably don't know what the cards are by reading your opponent's face. Ask Kenny Rogers.
Only classic country not modern.
Country, not country pop

You can't really understand most of them so it's kinda pointless (at least in my opinion).
