ITT: Everest lists pet peeves concerning extreme metal

All Nines

1. It bugs me when people say "I think these guys would be better if the vocalist didn't use screams" while listening to death metal, especially the more extreme kinds. Do they actually think about this statement at all? Do they really think something by, say, Viraemia (the band whose song's video the above quote was lifted from), or Brain Drill, or even Arsis or The Black Dahlia Murder, would sound right with clean vocals? There is, in fact, a very good reason for using harsh vocals in extreme metal.

2. It bugs me when breakdowns are thrown into a song without buildup. If you naturally reach a point where a slowdown in the music works, fine, but don't start a fast-paced, edgy riff and then toss a slowdown in there; it ruins the mood that you've established, and for what? Some moshing? Can't that be done without breakdowns? A notable offender is early Bring Me The Horizon. A bunch of other offenders are most deathcore bands.

3. It bugs me when people claim that no talent whatsoever goes into making extreme metal. The ones who act as if all metal lacks method and is purely noise. The specific instrumental complaint that bugs me the most is that harsh vocals don't require any talent, when if anything, they require better technique (or a more strict technique, at least) if you don't want to damage your vocal cords.

4. Lastly, for now, it bugs me when good songs are marred by production values from an earlier time that turn them into unworthy listens. This goes double for black metal, and why the older bands would sometimes prefer to remain minimally produced is beyond me. While I'm at it, I also dislike when you can't hear the bassist. If he isn't having any noteworthy effect on the music, why is he there? If you're going to produce him out of the music, you might as well just go the way of Pig Destroyer and not have one; their music sounds fine without one.

Some of this is obviously a matter of opinion, but it still bugs me.

ninjaclown

Like caviar or wine, it's an acquired taste.

All Nines

It definitely is. I had to work my way into it as much as many other people did. I got into death metal after playing Guitar Hero and finding nu-metal bands, and worked my way up through the different levels of extremeness. I shamefully once said something to the effect that "Visions" was just pointless noise. I now regret that statement, having matured in musical appreciation a good deal.

But my IJBM was originally about certain facets of the genre, and people's interpretations of it, that are just ill-conceived, whether they're coming from within the scene or without.

Vorpy

The thing that bugs me about it is also the minimalistic production of their music. I have yet to find this amazing album I downloaded from somebody on Winmx by the name "DarkMetalMark666", since I lost it when my last hard-drive bricked. It had something to do with "Forged of Stone and Fire" and one of the titles of a song I loved was called something similar to "Hallow Be Thy Shame".

The fact that even Nightfall almost didn't exist on Youtube until later on, I was really hounding people for some of their more rare metal albums.

Vorpy

Oh hey I found it, thanks Everest

All Nines

But I didn't do anything. You're welcome.

delta534

On the op

1. Agreed so much.

2. Breakdowns are taken from hardcore punk and should be nowhere near metal.

3. Same as 1.

4. I like BM production when it is done right. Though I will agree with you on not hearing the bassist.

Chagen

2: I actually like breakdowns when they happen abruptly, sometimes. But I'm weird, so.

DYRE

^^ Pretty much my opinions exactly.

All Nines

Wow. "Unhallowed Be Thy Shame" is really good. Thanks, Vorpy.

Vorpy

You are welcome. If I ever find DarkMetalMark again I will download as much as possible from him. All of his stuff comes with album art, all of the information and the year it came out, in either .flac or .mp3.

DonZabu

I can sing any death metal song if I do it in a Macho Man Randy Savage voice.

Forzare

Okay, I'm listening to Unhallowed Be Thy Shame, and it is awesome.

delta534

Yeah, that song is actually good.

Nyktos

It's okay.

MadassAlex

General modern metal peeve:

When the music and the vocals have a completely different objective. Like when some asshole thinks putting screaming vocals over your basic traditional metal power chord chug suddenly creates death metal. Or the opposite, where a piece has extreme riffage with boy-band vocals. Not clean, mind you -- there's ways to do that combination. But a fair few bands these days combine some pretty good instrumental stuff with vocals that don't carry the power they should.

Chagen

Sometimes the jarring difference can be interesting, however.

All Nines

"But a fair few bands these days combine some pretty good instrumental stuff with vocals that don't carry the power they should. "

That reminds me of this and this ("Wasted Years" by Norther, regular and clean version, respectively). The song's riffs don't match well with the extreme vocals in the regular version, but the clean vocalist sucks, thus ruining the clean version as well.

The complaint about boy-band vocals reminds me of Disarmonia Mundi, as well.

GLORIOUSLeader

All arguments are irrelevant. 

DYRE

I don't know what that song is, but since it's by System Of A Down, I am completely certain it does not fit the subject of the thread.

All Nines

^^ Not a bad song, but I'm not sure where your "all arguments are irrelevant" comes from. System of a Down lies quite outside of my complaints, I think. People don't complain about the vocals as far as I know, or about the musicianship (for a nu-metal band, they're very well-respected), the production is pretty good, and their composing skills are sound.

Vorpy

Although a ton of hardcore gamers metalfans hate Slipknot, I thought Vermillion Part 2 was a nice change of pace.

GLORIOUSLeader

All right, I suppose. Helps that it's the only relatively metal band I like. 

All Nines

Which would make sense, in a way, since they're a very unique band. But "B.Y.O.B." is by far the better song, just sayin'. /lolopinions

^^ Yeah. I like Slipknot, too, especially their softer stuff.

Vorpy

I liked Bounce.

Chagen

I was never much of a metal fan.

I do like it, but I prefer more "electronic" songs--trance, D'n'B, Dubstep, etc.

But Metal can be pretty awesome. I'm also not ashamed to admit I like Metalcore.

All Nines

The mention of Slipknot made me want to post this, for everyone's amusement. (Wait, didn't I originally find it in a thread here?)

^ Nor am I ashamed to admit it. As long as it isn't on the level of Black Veil Brides or The Devil Wears Prada. As I Lay Dying, Between the Buried and Me, and Bleeding Through are worth checking out.

DYRE

Every Time I Die is also a good metalcore band.  And The Fall Of Troy is sort of metalcore I guess... maybe.  At least, mathcore is a subgenre of metalcore, so... >.>...  And The Black Dahlia Murder isn't really metalcore, but they get called that sometimes, and they're good.

All Nines

See, I don't generally think of Every Time I Die as metalcore, though if you think of metalcore's terminology, it would make more sense. The Fall Of Troy, I haven't heard much of, but "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." from Guitar Hero III is pretty good. And I like The Black Dahlia Murder as well, though I find that their music runs together.

And if Protest the Hero counts as metalcore (though mathcore is slightly more accurate; prog metal is really the best fit, though), they're also the best awesome.

For deathcore, The Red Chord is pretty good, and if you count Born of Osiris as deathcore instead of djent/technical death metal, they're high-caliber deathcore as well.

Wicked223

There is, in fact, a very good reason for using harsh vocals in extreme metal.

Well, what is it?

Forzare

why does that slipknot/bieber thing actually almost work