Voice_of_the_Soul12,13,01

I kind of expect different things from different genres of metal (I'm narrow minded and often only listen to metal, but am open to other music).

For nu-metal, It's really hard to sound good because most of it's the same boring crap. Some of it's more catchy, some of it's actually pretty good and the musicians have some potential at being better. It's a simple genre that doesn't rely at all on technicality. I don't expect much from it.

For metalcore, I expect fast music with a fair amount of technicality. I don't want a band to overcompensate for lack of creativity with a 6 minute breakdown, but I don't want them to negate the breakdown. Breakdowns, I think, can be just as effective as any interlude, if done in moderation.

For grindcore, I just want craziness. No musicianship, no thought. Just noise. LOUD, distorted, dissonant noise. That's what grindcore is to me.

For the rest of metal, I'm looking for a different sound in each band. In nu-metal or metalcore, you could have, like, a hundred "System of a Down" ripoffs or a hundred Atreyu wannabes (whoever would wanna be them must really like balls). I expect them to draw influence from other bands and creating a sound of their own, not rip off other people's riffs.

For black metal, I expect more atmospheric guitar and bass playing and technical keyboard and drum playing.

For thrash, I don't want to hear something tight and together. I wanna hear a race; 4 guys trying to beat each other to the end of a song and yet still hear order and structure (Listen to Kreator's "Endless Pain.").

For death metal, I want to hear a wide range of death grunts and screams; Technical guitar and bass and drum playing for the sake of playing tech; these show me the players, although may lack good music writing, have the endurance and strength to play extreme music and are willing to push themselves.

For melodic and progressive death, I expect more melodic and harmonic progressions and not so much tech-for-the-sake-of-tech music. This is one of my favorite styles of death metal.

My favorite bands, however, are the ones who evolve, trying stuff different and changing into something better and more productive instead of sticking to the same area of thought, instead of either making the same stuff over and over again or changing their sound to get more record sales. At the moment, only one band comes to mind; Death. I won't deny there are other bands, but I think Death is a prime example of musical evolution; evolving from their death metal sound such as from Scream Bloody Gore and Human to a more progressive and innovative sound such as from Individual Thought Patterns and Sound of Perseverance.

Now, I may be a little buzzed at the moment from taking my antibiotics, 4 or 5 aspirin, Zyrtec, and just smoked 2 cigarettes, but this is roughly what I think makes a good band good; evolution. I just tend to ramble often. I get it from my dad. Pickled sperm, you understand, eh?

__________________
I don't mean to dwell
But I can't help myself
When I feel the vibe
And taste a memory
Of a time in life
When years seemed to stand still

ThunderHORSE

If I hear it, and I just enjoy everything about it, it's obviously good to me. Originality always makes me a happy boy, and just the overall feel of the music at hand.

I'm a person who is big into lyrics, as well, so that is always a plus for me....but that's a different story. ;]

Urban Hat€monger ?

Individuality , thats all I ask.

In the words of John Peel ..

"I just want to hear something I haven't heard before"

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right-track

Which is asking a lot.
There's only a handful of bands since Joy Division that have met that requirement, for me at least.
Every now and then one comes along, but less so recently...unless I'm missing something.

It's got to the point that I'm searching for bands tucked away in obscure corners of the music world. Usually from the post punk years. It's getting desperate.

Urban Hat€monger ?

I think it depends how you look at it.

I can see where your coming from , but I also think that people can do something that's already there and put their own unique slant on things.

I mean take the White Stripes for example. They make basic garage rock that's been around for decades , practically everything on their first few albums was ripped off from stuff people like Billy Childish & Holly Golightly did over a decade ago , and yet despite all this they still manage to have their own identity & sound. Once you hear a White Stripes song you know who it is instantly.

That's the kind of thing I look for.

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cardboard adolescent

Anything capable of making me think or feel that isn't annoying.

right-track

Funnily enough the White Stripes are one of those bands that are on my list.
I don't have a problem with bands that make a particular sound their own. It's a long trodden path, to take what's gone before and add a slant to it.

I guess I'm always waiting for a new Joy Division, a new Bauhaus, or a new Talking Heads, but maybe that's just me wishing those bands mentioned could happen all over again. To grab my initial attention, then watch them develop and unfold over the following years.

Maybe that's where my problem lies. Always looking for the old in the new, without it ever being able to deliver.

right-track

If there's two members on these boards that'll introduce me to something I've not heard before, it's probably going to be you and Urban.

I get the impression Urban listens to anything that moves and your taste for the unusual matches something not dissimilar to mine.

cardboard adolescent

I definitely agree with you and Urban. Anytime I hear anything that sounds unlike anything I've heard before or has a particularly strong identity and individuality I can't help but be blown away. If it's generic, it had better be really good to command any of my attention.

NoiseNotMusic

if it aint got soul then it aint got shit