Subs: + The Wrapup
* Slam Death Metal -
Now, this one, to me is merely acceptable terminology, as the "death metal" part gets dropped - which infuriates me - and a lot of wiggers, rednecks, and trash in general flock to it, claiming it to be a form of metal they like (or the ONLY form), outside of whatever trash they listen to. In all reality, it's really just death metal in the ol' NYDM style, (for the most part) the technicality dumbed down, focusing on the grooves and pseudo breakdowns that sometimes make up the entirety of the bands' playing. Imagery and topics are mostly that of the most disgusting gore, shit, piss, sexploitation, and a mix of all of these, often depicted graphically on the covers of the albums. The vocals veer heavily into the inhumanly gurgly, bass-lowered another octave, cupped-mic, indecipherable, and "cricket"-style that (though a lot of the newer ones don't even realize it) bands like Embalmer and Fleshgrind were setting themselves apart with decades ago. It can be a guilty-pleasure of mine, when the band is more than the restrictions I stated above; and only "guilty" because the garbage of the style outnumbers the good, at least in my findings.
* Symphonic Metal/Gothic Metal/Neoclassical -
Interchangeable terms for most. So, when called "symphonic metal", it's often beautiful and orchestral, mostly with female vocals atop, or both, with the man supporting the eye-candy frontwoman in order to retain their metal integrity. When it's "gothic metal" it doesn't HAVE to be female-fronted, and can have anywhere from a Sisters Of Mercy/Fields Of The Nephilim-style vocal, to a gruff-but-tuneful vocal (see Sentenced). The style can be a bit less on the side of orchestral (a single keyboard will suffice), but the music almost ALWAYS is sensual and/or vampiric/classic horror based, and when not - suicidal. Neoclassical can be either just like the other two, or it can be power metal going all-the-fuck out on Paganini/Bach-on cocaine virtuosity, with vocals styles like symphonic metal, or the original 8-octave (okay...I'm exaggerating a bit...except for some stellar cases) classic metal vocal-virtuoso. When all 3 of these subs combine, it' either wonderful (most Nightwish) or a trainwreck (see many of the struggling unsigned versions of these bands).
My forte', my thing, my shadowy world, my home-genre, the kind I perform.I'm wrapping up this Genre And Subs Trilogy, progressively explaining less, so I can get to the the post-script of this whole thing...so I'm choosing to simplify on THIS part, since it's seemingly understood by those that care, and ignored or belittled by those that don't. And fuck the latter, anyway.
*1st Wave - Some not even black metal in sound, these are the bands that influenced what the final, fleshed out form of black metal is. Often stated as "1st Wave" are Venom (due to their album "Black Metal", which is merely a loose, punky, Satan-mentioning classic metal/thrash album), Celtic Frost (arguably responsible for MANY of the subgenres we have now, and even certain styles of death metal), Mercyful Fate (MY choice of all of them, as the idea was in full form without actually BEING what black metal is now, sound-wise...but we had corpse-painted vocalist - who is my Lord of Metal - I have to add, who reached for the galaxy in range and diversity, adventurous and sometimes sinisterly-playful instrumentation that goes deep into the realms of experimentation that the more talented of black metal bands often do, driving and extreme drums when called for, and SATAN. Then there was Bathory, the first to actually sound like what many call "true black metal" that influenced the defining 2nd wavers. Quorthon eventually veered off, helping create Epic/Folk-kinds of metal. A true pioneer.
*2nd Wave - You know this one. Mayhem, Darkthrone, Satyricon, Emperor (who helped create lots of the sub-subs, like "symphonic black metal" and progressive black metal"), Gorgoroth, etc. The style you put on when someone asks, "What is black metal?"
*3rd Wave - Honestly, this is what should be all the other subs of the genre, but really, to most - all it means is well-produced symphonic black metal with lots of melody and a more accessible or gimmicky shtick. A few of the bands dubbed so are worth a true metal fan's time (early Old Man's Child, early-to-mid-era Ancient, early Dimmu Borgir...hey there's a pattern, see that?), but most of it is cleaned-up black metal to show your girlfriend, hoping she'll wanna get a lesson in the roots after a little time with it.
*Raw Black Metal - A great form of 2nd-wave-influenced blackness with a love for the production intimacy of the 1st Wave, inviting you to come into the jamroom with them, sonically, hearing all the passion, caught-in-the-moment-flourishes of performance highlights, mistakes, and the ambiance of the equipment that fuels the band screaming out with the rest of the recording. This is my most respected sub-genre of black metal that a lot of times, due to the honesty within, leads to another sub-genre that I could say I do, which is...
*DSBM/Depressive Suicidal Black Metal/Depressive Black -This is a misunderstood form of raw black metal (rarely, but sometimes, being cleaned up into a more accessible form) that gets called things like "emo black", "whiny black", and haunted by statements like "Get over it and get back to Satan!" or "This is just emo with the treble turned up and a goblin shrieking as vocals", "If you're suicidal, why don't you just do it? Why are you singing about it.", and so on, etc. I say this is all misunderstood, because whereas the non-metal of emo (i.e. pussy punk) is sadly emoting about their own menial troubles to music that even sounds upbeat and "perky", DSBM is a true tale of the horrors of mankind, the admitting of self-hate from things like drug-use, being a psychopath (for real), loathing for the cruelty of upbringing, the hypothetical things the musician would do to their rapists (or themselves who have raped) had the law of the land not been there to put them away, thus keeping them from drugs they need/are addicted to. Imagine if someone like Charles Manson, with his magnificent and HUGE mind, not being so proud, but HATING himself for his mind, his influence, his desires...then translate that into music that sounds like somewhere between an old Emperor demo and Abruptum, and you are somewhere in the ballpark. This isn't "my girlfriend of 2 months left me, I'll whine about it at 160 BPM in a major scale" EMO...but the purest form of hatred, disgust, and worship...delving into the spirit, trying to find ways to cope, vent, and ultimately know yourself.
Well, to not go much further, especially on black metal, with progressive black, folk black, bestial black...but, those terms are either self-explanatory, or will induce research...(and I could go on a LOT further, there's ridiculous subs now, many, many, make one up in your head, and it's out there, I guarantee you...in some form, at least...), I had a note-to-self to help end it, which was:
"Remind readers of the exclusion of metalcore/deathcore/nu-metal
(should remain, or be put into the "alternative" category of the zeitgeist of the 2000s thru the 20TEENS...
follow up with the "should-be" genres of:)
*Crossover/The Subs Of Crust/Sludge
*Post-____
*Punk Metal
*Experimental Metal ("experimetal")/Former-Metal (would-be-"post metal")
*TOWARD THE END, MENTION THE ABSURDITY OF AGGRESSIVE OPINION (bringing up the near bar-fighting over speed metal and thrash, slam and brutal, etc.)"
...Buuuuuut, I'll be lazy, and just leave that note-to-self there. It'll hopefully cause some to do some digging into literature and Bandcamp tags.
Hails. Let the darkness feed you.
7/5/15 TTSNSN
Now, this one, to me is merely acceptable terminology, as the "death metal" part gets dropped - which infuriates me - and a lot of wiggers, rednecks, and trash in general flock to it, claiming it to be a form of metal they like (or the ONLY form), outside of whatever trash they listen to. In all reality, it's really just death metal in the ol' NYDM style, (for the most part) the technicality dumbed down, focusing on the grooves and pseudo breakdowns that sometimes make up the entirety of the bands' playing. Imagery and topics are mostly that of the most disgusting gore, shit, piss, sexploitation, and a mix of all of these, often depicted graphically on the covers of the albums. The vocals veer heavily into the inhumanly gurgly, bass-lowered another octave, cupped-mic, indecipherable, and "cricket"-style that (though a lot of the newer ones don't even realize it) bands like Embalmer and Fleshgrind were setting themselves apart with decades ago. It can be a guilty-pleasure of mine, when the band is more than the restrictions I stated above; and only "guilty" because the garbage of the style outnumbers the good, at least in my findings.
* Symphonic Metal/Gothic Metal/Neoclassical -
Interchangeable terms for most. So, when called "symphonic metal", it's often beautiful and orchestral, mostly with female vocals atop, or both, with the man supporting the eye-candy frontwoman in order to retain their metal integrity. When it's "gothic metal" it doesn't HAVE to be female-fronted, and can have anywhere from a Sisters Of Mercy/Fields Of The Nephilim-style vocal, to a gruff-but-tuneful vocal (see Sentenced). The style can be a bit less on the side of orchestral (a single keyboard will suffice), but the music almost ALWAYS is sensual and/or vampiric/classic horror based, and when not - suicidal. Neoclassical can be either just like the other two, or it can be power metal going all-the-fuck out on Paganini/Bach-on cocaine virtuosity, with vocals styles like symphonic metal, or the original 8-octave (okay...I'm exaggerating a bit...except for some stellar cases) classic metal vocal-virtuoso. When all 3 of these subs combine, it' either wonderful (most Nightwish) or a trainwreck (see many of the struggling unsigned versions of these bands).
- Killing Many Bats With One Stone - The Many Black Metals
My forte', my thing, my shadowy world, my home-genre, the kind I perform.I'm wrapping up this Genre And Subs Trilogy, progressively explaining less, so I can get to the the post-script of this whole thing...so I'm choosing to simplify on THIS part, since it's seemingly understood by those that care, and ignored or belittled by those that don't. And fuck the latter, anyway.
*1st Wave - Some not even black metal in sound, these are the bands that influenced what the final, fleshed out form of black metal is. Often stated as "1st Wave" are Venom (due to their album "Black Metal", which is merely a loose, punky, Satan-mentioning classic metal/thrash album), Celtic Frost (arguably responsible for MANY of the subgenres we have now, and even certain styles of death metal), Mercyful Fate (MY choice of all of them, as the idea was in full form without actually BEING what black metal is now, sound-wise...but we had corpse-painted vocalist - who is my Lord of Metal - I have to add, who reached for the galaxy in range and diversity, adventurous and sometimes sinisterly-playful instrumentation that goes deep into the realms of experimentation that the more talented of black metal bands often do, driving and extreme drums when called for, and SATAN. Then there was Bathory, the first to actually sound like what many call "true black metal" that influenced the defining 2nd wavers. Quorthon eventually veered off, helping create Epic/Folk-kinds of metal. A true pioneer.
*2nd Wave - You know this one. Mayhem, Darkthrone, Satyricon, Emperor (who helped create lots of the sub-subs, like "symphonic black metal" and progressive black metal"), Gorgoroth, etc. The style you put on when someone asks, "What is black metal?"
*3rd Wave - Honestly, this is what should be all the other subs of the genre, but really, to most - all it means is well-produced symphonic black metal with lots of melody and a more accessible or gimmicky shtick. A few of the bands dubbed so are worth a true metal fan's time (early Old Man's Child, early-to-mid-era Ancient, early Dimmu Borgir...hey there's a pattern, see that?), but most of it is cleaned-up black metal to show your girlfriend, hoping she'll wanna get a lesson in the roots after a little time with it.
*Raw Black Metal - A great form of 2nd-wave-influenced blackness with a love for the production intimacy of the 1st Wave, inviting you to come into the jamroom with them, sonically, hearing all the passion, caught-in-the-moment-flourishes of performance highlights, mistakes, and the ambiance of the equipment that fuels the band screaming out with the rest of the recording. This is my most respected sub-genre of black metal that a lot of times, due to the honesty within, leads to another sub-genre that I could say I do, which is...
*DSBM/Depressive Suicidal Black Metal/Depressive Black -This is a misunderstood form of raw black metal (rarely, but sometimes, being cleaned up into a more accessible form) that gets called things like "emo black", "whiny black", and haunted by statements like "Get over it and get back to Satan!" or "This is just emo with the treble turned up and a goblin shrieking as vocals", "If you're suicidal, why don't you just do it? Why are you singing about it.", and so on, etc. I say this is all misunderstood, because whereas the non-metal of emo (i.e. pussy punk) is sadly emoting about their own menial troubles to music that even sounds upbeat and "perky", DSBM is a true tale of the horrors of mankind, the admitting of self-hate from things like drug-use, being a psychopath (for real), loathing for the cruelty of upbringing, the hypothetical things the musician would do to their rapists (or themselves who have raped) had the law of the land not been there to put them away, thus keeping them from drugs they need/are addicted to. Imagine if someone like Charles Manson, with his magnificent and HUGE mind, not being so proud, but HATING himself for his mind, his influence, his desires...then translate that into music that sounds like somewhere between an old Emperor demo and Abruptum, and you are somewhere in the ballpark. This isn't "my girlfriend of 2 months left me, I'll whine about it at 160 BPM in a major scale" EMO...but the purest form of hatred, disgust, and worship...delving into the spirit, trying to find ways to cope, vent, and ultimately know yourself.
Well, to not go much further, especially on black metal, with progressive black, folk black, bestial black...but, those terms are either self-explanatory, or will induce research...(and I could go on a LOT further, there's ridiculous subs now, many, many, make one up in your head, and it's out there, I guarantee you...in some form, at least...), I had a note-to-self to help end it, which was:
"Remind readers of the exclusion of metalcore/deathcore/nu-metal
(should remain, or be put into the "alternative" category of the zeitgeist of the 2000s thru the 20TEENS...
follow up with the "should-be" genres of:)
*Crossover/The Subs Of Crust/Sludge
*Post-____
*Punk Metal
*Experimental Metal ("experimetal")/Former-Metal (would-be-"post metal")
*TOWARD THE END, MENTION THE ABSURDITY OF AGGRESSIVE OPINION (bringing up the near bar-fighting over speed metal and thrash, slam and brutal, etc.)"
...Buuuuuut, I'll be lazy, and just leave that note-to-self there. It'll hopefully cause some to do some digging into literature and Bandcamp tags.
Hails. Let the darkness feed you.
7/5/15 TTSNSN