[QUOTE=GFreeman]Well I'm sure that ya'll won't agree with me on this.....but I think its a tie between two bands for the Best Band of ALL Time:
The Beatles
[/QUOTE]
Yes, truly an excellent one. Had a gift for creating real songs and literate comment that's yet to be matched in rock. Though the Kinks were pretty damn good, and the Doors made existentialism their own.
who is the greatest musician/band?
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Macleod1701
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The Beatles are a contender.
Metallica has changed a great deal. I recall buying their first...ok, it was actually a record
...back in '83 or so. It's okay if you don't like 'em now, but I agree with Tam...save the bashing for a different thread.
Brilliant musicians are endless. I cast a vote for Stevie Ray Vaughan. I also cast a vote for Billy Gibbons of ZZTop. I have spent some time listening closely to his guitar playing, and his brilliance is very subtle. Like most great blues players, Billy Gibbons has the "touch", which was something Stevie Ray Vaughan had aplenty.
@BS: I heard some new Judas Priest lately. Interesting.
Metallica has changed a great deal. I recall buying their first...ok, it was actually a record
...back in '83 or so. It's okay if you don't like 'em now, but I agree with Tam...save the bashing for a different thread. Brilliant musicians are endless. I cast a vote for Stevie Ray Vaughan. I also cast a vote for Billy Gibbons of ZZTop. I have spent some time listening closely to his guitar playing, and his brilliance is very subtle. Like most great blues players, Billy Gibbons has the "touch", which was something Stevie Ray Vaughan had aplenty.
@BS: I heard some new Judas Priest lately. Interesting.
CYNIC, n.:
A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
-[url="http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/a.html"]The Devil's Dictionary[/url]
A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
-[url="http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/a.html"]The Devil's Dictionary[/url]
[QUOTE=Chanak]Metallica has changed a great deal. I recall buying their first...ok, it was actually a record ...back in '83 or so. It's okay if you don't like 'em now, but I agree with Tam...save the bashing for a different thread. [/QUOTE]
Funnily enough, they've gone back to their roots when playing live. I saw them early last year and it was all from the pre-Black era minus the odd St. Anger song of course.
...back in '83 or so. It's okay if you don't like 'em now, but I agree with Tam...save the bashing for a different thread. [/QUOTE]Funnily enough, they've gone back to their roots when playing live. I saw them early last year and it was all from the pre-Black era minus the odd St. Anger song of course.
!
[QUOTE=Moonbiter]Seriously, this is beneath us! The Strauss Orchestra of 20-30 guys toured with father to son-to-son-to nephew for over 50 years, and created music which still a 150 years later stands as some of the best stuff ever made, and you twits are going on about Metallica?[/QUOTE]
Moonbiter, as a former classical pianist and somebody who is quite interested in several different genres of music, I cannot even start comparing the great composers with rock bands like Metallica or Iron Maiden.
Music, like literature and other art forms that are strongly popularised and commersialised, has two basic levels I think: the popular level (what people like, what appeal to many people) and what can be assessed as high quality art from a more historical or expert perspective. Personally, I find Heavy metal a dull, monotonous and boring genre. The songs are composed of very few and simple variables, always the same few instruments and the similar vocal style. Melody and rythm is simple and there is little variation. It's usually the same rythm, the same tempo and the same key throughout the song (possibly with the exception of the typical popular music change of key in the last repetitions of the refrain). However, I have noticed that many here at SYM like Heavy Metal, and I guess that must be for personal, emotional reasons rather than because they find a great "pure muscial" merit in Heavy Metal.
My favorite music include the Golden and Silver age Russian composers, some baroque composers, some jazz, some experimental stuff, some popular music and some less well known non-Western musical styles. Very little of this would be suitable to classify as a "band", but a few musical artists I really enjoy are:
Shostakovitch, Rachmaninov, Ligeti, Puccini, Duke Ellington, Lester Young, The Residents, Keith Jarreth, Youssou N'Dour, Björk, Tibetan fold music, Beijing opera.
If I have to pick one, it would be Shostakovitch.
Moonbiter, as a former classical pianist and somebody who is quite interested in several different genres of music, I cannot even start comparing the great composers with rock bands like Metallica or Iron Maiden.
Music, like literature and other art forms that are strongly popularised and commersialised, has two basic levels I think: the popular level (what people like, what appeal to many people) and what can be assessed as high quality art from a more historical or expert perspective. Personally, I find Heavy metal a dull, monotonous and boring genre. The songs are composed of very few and simple variables, always the same few instruments and the similar vocal style. Melody and rythm is simple and there is little variation. It's usually the same rythm, the same tempo and the same key throughout the song (possibly with the exception of the typical popular music change of key in the last repetitions of the refrain). However, I have noticed that many here at SYM like Heavy Metal, and I guess that must be for personal, emotional reasons rather than because they find a great "pure muscial" merit in Heavy Metal.
My favorite music include the Golden and Silver age Russian composers, some baroque composers, some jazz, some experimental stuff, some popular music and some less well known non-Western musical styles. Very little of this would be suitable to classify as a "band", but a few musical artists I really enjoy are:
Shostakovitch, Rachmaninov, Ligeti, Puccini, Duke Ellington, Lester Young, The Residents, Keith Jarreth, Youssou N'Dour, Björk, Tibetan fold music, Beijing opera.
If I have to pick one, it would be Shostakovitch.
"There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance." - Hippocrates
Moderator of Planescape: Torment, Diablo I & II and Dungeon Siege forums
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fable
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I'd agree about Shostakovich. My own listening habits run the gamut of classical music, as well as jazz (I prefer bebop and hard bop), and some selected folk music--mainly Javanese/Balinese, Hungarian, Balkan, and Irish.
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
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CopperWater
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Bloodstalker
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[QUOTE=Chanak]The Beatles are a contender.
Metallica has changed a great deal. I recall buying their first...ok, it was actually a record ...back in '83 or so. It's okay if you don't like 'em now, but I agree with Tam...save the bashing for a different thread.
Brilliant musicians are endless. I cast a vote for Stevie Ray Vaughan. I also cast a vote for Billy Gibbons of ZZTop. I have spent some time listening closely to his guitar playing, and his brilliance is very subtle. Like most great blues players, Billy Gibbons has the "touch", which was something Stevie Ray Vaughan had aplenty.
@BS: I heard some new Judas Priest lately. Interesting. [/QUOTE]
Billy Gibbons does tend to get looked over in a lot of discussions. Mostly due to the synthesized sound of their albumns in the 80's like Eliminator. Before that, he was one of the most authentic blues rock guitarists I have heard, and their later cd's reverted to that classic muddied up sound. I liked their 80's stuff, but I much prefer Rythmeen to anything they did in that era.
And where'd you hear new Priest? Details man, details
Metallica has changed a great deal. I recall buying their first...ok, it was actually a record
...back in '83 or so. It's okay if you don't like 'em now, but I agree with Tam...save the bashing for a different thread. Brilliant musicians are endless. I cast a vote for Stevie Ray Vaughan. I also cast a vote for Billy Gibbons of ZZTop. I have spent some time listening closely to his guitar playing, and his brilliance is very subtle. Like most great blues players, Billy Gibbons has the "touch", which was something Stevie Ray Vaughan had aplenty.
@BS: I heard some new Judas Priest lately. Interesting.
[/QUOTE]Billy Gibbons does tend to get looked over in a lot of discussions. Mostly due to the synthesized sound of their albumns in the 80's like Eliminator. Before that, he was one of the most authentic blues rock guitarists I have heard, and their later cd's reverted to that classic muddied up sound. I liked their 80's stuff, but I much prefer Rythmeen to anything they did in that era.
And where'd you hear new Priest? Details man, details
Lord of Lurkers
Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!
Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!
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jopperm2
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THis is really hard.. Some that I think have a great amount of merit are:
Richard D James
Doc Watson
BB King
Paul McCartney
There are so many more.. These are not necessarily my favorites though, as I prefer songs with certain feelings or messages that these don't always have.
I personally think the best musician ever is my late father, but you guys have never heard him.
Richard D James
Doc Watson
BB King
Paul McCartney
There are so many more.. These are not necessarily my favorites though, as I prefer songs with certain feelings or messages that these don't always have.
I personally think the best musician ever is my late father, but you guys have never heard him.
"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security,
will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
Thomas Jefferson
will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
Thomas Jefferson
I was hoping the "that kind of music is droll, blah, blah", would remain out of this thread. Just because one can't connect with a genre - modern or historical - doesn't lessen the skill, nor dedication, of the artists. In addition, one must also understand that a variety of musicforms today are in essence folk music of sorts - not "folk" as in the genre of music, but still outgrowths of culture and time periods. Blues is such a form...as was punk, and heavy metal.
Music is a fantastic medium, able to touch upon different things in different people. I love classical music, and I also happen to enjoy heavy metal, blues, jazz, fusion, celtic folk music, etc, etc. The ability to connect with an artist, and appreciate what you listen to, isn't that common.
@CE - I find your generalization of heavy metal much too narrow. While I would agree with you to a limited degree - much of what is termed "heavy metal" is not what *I* would call heavy metal - there is in fact a wealth of material out there by quite a few artists that is progressive, technically brilliant, and not exactly well known. One such heavy metal musican, David Chastain, was classically trained as a youth and incorporates elements of jazz fusion, ragtime, and backbone blues to his music. The result is outstanding...hardly what I would call "the same stuff over and over." His compilations always include a few instrumentals, which are always my favorites.
In the heavy metal genre, an instrumental piece is a sure sign of emerging musical maturity (in the case of a younger band), or an earmark of a band who are musicans *first*. One such group, Rush (a Canadian trio), has been around since the 1970s and boasts Neil Peart as a member. He is arguably the finest percussionist to ever walk on to the stage...and make no mistake, he is a *percussionist*, not a simple drummer. The percussion set-ups Neil Peart uses in concerts is impressive, filling up most of the stage area with his array of snares, toms, cymbals, hats, congas, triangles, chimes...and an interesting fact about this hard rock drummer: he was filmed in action years ago. Experts determined that Neil Peart strikes each drum in almost precisely the same spot, with each strike. He is famous for working in circles inside of his percussion setup, using several snares, toms, hats and cymbals with blazing speed and precision...all the while carrying on with double pass pedals with his feet.
Music is a fantastic medium, able to touch upon different things in different people. I love classical music, and I also happen to enjoy heavy metal, blues, jazz, fusion, celtic folk music, etc, etc. The ability to connect with an artist, and appreciate what you listen to, isn't that common.
@CE - I find your generalization of heavy metal much too narrow. While I would agree with you to a limited degree - much of what is termed "heavy metal" is not what *I* would call heavy metal - there is in fact a wealth of material out there by quite a few artists that is progressive, technically brilliant, and not exactly well known. One such heavy metal musican, David Chastain, was classically trained as a youth and incorporates elements of jazz fusion, ragtime, and backbone blues to his music. The result is outstanding...hardly what I would call "the same stuff over and over." His compilations always include a few instrumentals, which are always my favorites.
In the heavy metal genre, an instrumental piece is a sure sign of emerging musical maturity (in the case of a younger band), or an earmark of a band who are musicans *first*. One such group, Rush (a Canadian trio), has been around since the 1970s and boasts Neil Peart as a member. He is arguably the finest percussionist to ever walk on to the stage...and make no mistake, he is a *percussionist*, not a simple drummer. The percussion set-ups Neil Peart uses in concerts is impressive, filling up most of the stage area with his array of snares, toms, cymbals, hats, congas, triangles, chimes...and an interesting fact about this hard rock drummer: he was filmed in action years ago. Experts determined that Neil Peart strikes each drum in almost precisely the same spot, with each strike. He is famous for working in circles inside of his percussion setup, using several snares, toms, hats and cymbals with blazing speed and precision...all the while carrying on with double pass pedals with his feet.
CYNIC, n.:
A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
-[url="http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/a.html"]The Devil's Dictionary[/url]
A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
-[url="http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/a.html"]The Devil's Dictionary[/url]
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CopperWater
- Posts: 120
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Def Lepards drummer is awesome and he only has one arm. And Tony Iommi has no finger tips. ...Thats it! If I cut off a piece of my body I will be a master guitarist like Iommi!
[color=dark red]When an adult goes to hell its terrific, but when a child goes to hell, well, thats why I am in the business.[/color][/size]
I don't think I could pick one band to listen to for the rest of my life. But if it had to be just one, I'd pick Spinal Tap, who can nail the riffs better than anyone they've ever parodied.
[QUOTE=Chanak]In the heavy metal genre, an instrumental piece is a sure sign of emerging musical maturity (in the case of a younger band), or an earmark of a band who are musicans *first*. One such group, Rush (a Canadian trio), has been around since the 1970s and boasts Neil Peart as a member. He is arguably the finest percussionist to ever walk on to the stage... [/QUOTE]
I never considered Rush to be a heavy metal band. I put them in the category "art rock". Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin claims to be the inventor of heavy metal, or at least the heavy metal sound, but his background was in blues. I've hardly ever listened to bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc, but I really haven't seen much in them that compares to bands like Rush and Led Zeppelin, neither in spirit nor in art.
As for Neil Peart, it's a pleasure to listen to his drumming, but I have only one complaint about him. His range is limited to two volume levels: loud and louder. The person handling the mixing board has to control his volume. Aside from that, he's as technically perfect as a drummer can be.
[QUOTE=Chanak]In the heavy metal genre, an instrumental piece is a sure sign of emerging musical maturity (in the case of a younger band), or an earmark of a band who are musicans *first*. One such group, Rush (a Canadian trio), has been around since the 1970s and boasts Neil Peart as a member. He is arguably the finest percussionist to ever walk on to the stage...
[/QUOTE]I never considered Rush to be a heavy metal band. I put them in the category "art rock". Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin claims to be the inventor of heavy metal, or at least the heavy metal sound, but his background was in blues. I've hardly ever listened to bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc, but I really haven't seen much in them that compares to bands like Rush and Led Zeppelin, neither in spirit nor in art.
As for Neil Peart, it's a pleasure to listen to his drumming, but I have only one complaint about him. His range is limited to two volume levels: loud and louder. The person handling the mixing board has to control his volume. Aside from that, he's as technically perfect as a drummer can be.
As a true percussionist myself, I can appreciate NP immensely. I do not, however hold with all the metal loving on this forum If I had to name my greatest band, it would be CRS7 (For the less esoterically educated among you, that is the 7 musicians who make up Leftover Crack, Choking Victim, Morning Glory, and IDNK) I can however, appreciate that this music is not to everyones (lit. anyones ) taste. Personally, I think the greatest musician of all time has to be John Williams, the genius behind the themes for such films as Star Wars, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones trilogy, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws and more. I think these themes are more iconic and recognised than any other music worldwide.... but it's all subjective, of course.
If I had to name my greatest band, it would be CRS7 (For the less esoterically educated among you, that is the 7 musicians who make up Leftover Crack, Choking Victim, Morning Glory, and IDNK) I can however, appreciate that this music is not to everyones (lit. anyones ) taste. Personally, I think the greatest musician of all time has to be John Williams, the genius behind the themes for such films as Star Wars, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones trilogy, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws and more. I think these themes are more iconic and recognised than any other music worldwide.... but it's all subjective, of course.Mag: Don't remember much at all of last night do you?
Me: put simply.... No
Mag: From what I put together of your late night drunken ramblings? Vodka, 3 girls, and then we played tic-tac-toe and slapped each other around.
Me: put simply.... No
Mag: From what I put together of your late night drunken ramblings? Vodka, 3 girls, and then we played tic-tac-toe and slapped each other around.
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Grimar
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- Location: Norwegian stationed in the philippines
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(just jumping into the thread without reading all the post)
Favorite bands:
Dream theatre(my absolute favorite)
symphony x
pagans mind
Metallica
Bruce d.ickinson
iron maiden
sonata arctica
lost horizon
masterplan
edguy
griffin
dokken
and some more i dont remember..(manowar, hammerfall and stuff like that is also ok..)
Favorite guitarist(sp):john petrucci(sp) fromt dream theatre, michael romeo from symphony x, malmsteen, satriani and vai...
Favorite bands:
Dream theatre(my absolute favorite)
symphony x
pagans mind
Metallica
Bruce d.ickinson
iron maiden
sonata arctica
lost horizon
masterplan
edguy
griffin
dokken
and some more i dont remember..(manowar, hammerfall and stuff like that is also ok..)
Favorite guitarist(sp):john petrucci(sp) fromt dream theatre, michael romeo from symphony x, malmsteen, satriani and vai...
I once had a little teaparty, this afternoon at three, twas was very small, three guests in all; I, myself, and me. myself ate up the sandwhiches, while i drank up the tea. twas also i that ate the pie,and passed the cake to me
[QUOTE=Chanak]@CE - I find your generalization of heavy metal much too narrow. While I would agree with you to a limited degree - much of what is termed "heavy metal" is not what *I* would call heavy metal - there is in fact a wealth of material out there by quite a few artists that is progressive, technically brilliant, and not exactly well known. One such heavy metal musican, David Chastain, was classically trained as a youth and incorporates elements of jazz fusion, ragtime, and backbone blues to his music. The result is outstanding...hardly what I would call "the same stuff over and over." His compilations always include a few instrumentals, which are always my favorites. [/quote]
I have not heard David Chastain, so it is fully possible that he indeed is a musician with broader qualities than many other heavy metal musicians. Every genre in any art form always has artists that are more or less representative for the genre, and contribute more or less to artistic development. However, I should have clarified myself. When I discuss a genre (heavy metal, synth, baroque) I refer to the genre as it is usually defined, ie according to what is typical for that genre. Comparing musical structure, I dislike synth music for the same reason as I dislike heavy metal (lack of structural variation), but still there are specific artists that I fully appreciate as musicians, although I may not personally like the music they produce.
However, it is amazing to see that so many people in this thread mention Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Megadeath as candidates for best band/musician ever.
I have not heard David Chastain, so it is fully possible that he indeed is a musician with broader qualities than many other heavy metal musicians. Every genre in any art form always has artists that are more or less representative for the genre, and contribute more or less to artistic development. However, I should have clarified myself. When I discuss a genre (heavy metal, synth, baroque) I refer to the genre as it is usually defined, ie according to what is typical for that genre. Comparing musical structure, I dislike synth music for the same reason as I dislike heavy metal (lack of structural variation), but still there are specific artists that I fully appreciate as musicians, although I may not personally like the music they produce.
However, it is amazing to see that so many people in this thread mention Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Megadeath as candidates for best band/musician ever.
"There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance." - Hippocrates
Moderator of Planescape: Torment, Diablo I & II and Dungeon Siege forums
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Bloodstalker
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@VonDondu... the way I view it, Zepplin was very important to metal scene, moreso in some bands than in others. I have kind of a duel parentage thing going in my mind. Page did evolve from a blues background, but in maturing into his own, he laid a lot of the basic groundwork for a lot of bands to come. Certain scales, syncopation, musical peices with varying rythms and tones within the same peice etc. All these served as an inspiration for countless musicians to pick up the guitar and try to imitate him. Ace Frehly for one is a very vocal Page wannabe. If you listen to bands like Kingdome Come, KISS, Whitesnake, actually, the majority of 80's pop metal, you can hear a lot of fantasy zepplins trying to emerge. Granted, many people would bristle at the thought of these bands being labeled as metal, but it is one sub section of the genre.
Blues has always been a big part of rock music in general, and metal is no different. Listen to Guns & Roses for example, and you'll here blues licks spit out all over the place, just louder, with a somwhat different feel, maybe a different accent on certain notes or timings. The power chord, which is on of the staples of metal in any form, is nothing more that taking the rythm stylings of Chuck Berry,which he picked up as a way to copy the old blues boogie style of the piano, adding a hefty amount of distortion, changing the rythm from the attack, and spitting it out in it's recycled glory. To me, saying a person has no correlation to metal because they started in blues is like saying that my greatgrandfather has no bearing on me being here because his fathers time and way of living was so much different than mine.The two products might not seem at all the same, but there are underlying patterns and links that are there.
To me, Sabbath is the other half of the equation, the band that spawned the darker side of the genre, what most people would associate with "real" metal.
@CE..I can't speak for everyone else, but my own reasoning for naming such bands is simple individual preference. And it's not coming from a place of ignorance (Which I did not read into your post btw, just clarifying myself) of other genres. I've been playing guitar for about 16-17 years now, and over the time have sought out any type of music I could to try and broaden my scope. I've listened in depth to old blues, new blues, jazz, swing, old country, new country, rockabilly, rock, metal, hip hop, R&B, funk, you name it. Admittedly, I never listened to much classical music until college, as I am a self taught payer who never had the benifits of classical training and to put it quite bluntly, there wasn't much in the way of the genre available to explore locally. Once I did, however, I found that I did enjoy quite a bit of it. Now, I have nowhere near the knowledge of the genre that some people (say, like fable) have. I couldn't discuss composers in detail, and for the most part don't know who,what or where what I listened to came from. But as far as preference goes, I've always been drawn to the harder edged, darker aspects of all the genres I listen to. I guess that would explain my favoritism to metal, since for the most part, it incorporates the aspects of music that I enjoy to the highest extent.
Not to say other elements don't exist. Metallica, (pre-Sandman) to me has all the elements I look for in an artist. They have a decidedly heavey edge, while at the same times employing mood changes, tempo changes, elements of classical fingerpicking in certain places, and belended aggresiveness that I enjoy. Ride the Lightning through Master of Puppets I consider to be the definative Metallica, and while the Black Albumn gained the most commercial success, I feel that it started the band onto a path of conforming it's music more into the straighforward metal stereotype.
For me, I listen to music and play music on a purely emotional level. While I appreciate varying movements within a peice, I don't view it as a necessity. I never approached music from an intellectual standpoint, I simply don't believe music is meant to be defines and studied in the context of it compositional elements. For me, it's the final product and how it hits me emotionally that determines my level of enjoyment.
@No one in particualr, I don't understand the reasoning that classical music has survived the ages makes it inherently better. Some composers are more widely known and appreciated than others, and I'd wager much of the musics less gifted artists have been forgotten. But the fact that the genre has survived as long as it has mean little to me. Metal hasn't been around a fraction of the time, it's had no way to be measured effectivly against such an old genre in terms of longevity. My own feeling is that a couple hundred years from now, when people are studying this time period, it appears to me that certain musics, literature, patterns of thought etc that we take for granted or may pass off as superflicial may be viewed in a somewhat similar light as classical music is today. It will all be determined by acedemics who study the period, tie in the connections between such works of art and the social background against which they appeared, an classified accordingly. Maybe metal will have a place in such coversation, maybe not. But that in itself is for future generations to determine it's staying power and importance, and I feel vastly underqualified due to living in the era to guage it's longevity.
Blues has always been a big part of rock music in general, and metal is no different. Listen to Guns & Roses for example, and you'll here blues licks spit out all over the place, just louder, with a somwhat different feel, maybe a different accent on certain notes or timings. The power chord, which is on of the staples of metal in any form, is nothing more that taking the rythm stylings of Chuck Berry,which he picked up as a way to copy the old blues boogie style of the piano, adding a hefty amount of distortion, changing the rythm from the attack, and spitting it out in it's recycled glory. To me, saying a person has no correlation to metal because they started in blues is like saying that my greatgrandfather has no bearing on me being here because his fathers time and way of living was so much different than mine.The two products might not seem at all the same, but there are underlying patterns and links that are there.
To me, Sabbath is the other half of the equation, the band that spawned the darker side of the genre, what most people would associate with "real" metal.
@CE..I can't speak for everyone else, but my own reasoning for naming such bands is simple individual preference. And it's not coming from a place of ignorance (Which I did not read into your post btw, just clarifying myself) of other genres. I've been playing guitar for about 16-17 years now, and over the time have sought out any type of music I could to try and broaden my scope. I've listened in depth to old blues, new blues, jazz, swing, old country, new country, rockabilly, rock, metal, hip hop, R&B, funk, you name it. Admittedly, I never listened to much classical music until college, as I am a self taught payer who never had the benifits of classical training and to put it quite bluntly, there wasn't much in the way of the genre available to explore locally. Once I did, however, I found that I did enjoy quite a bit of it. Now, I have nowhere near the knowledge of the genre that some people (say, like fable) have. I couldn't discuss composers in detail, and for the most part don't know who,what or where what I listened to came from. But as far as preference goes, I've always been drawn to the harder edged, darker aspects of all the genres I listen to. I guess that would explain my favoritism to metal, since for the most part, it incorporates the aspects of music that I enjoy to the highest extent.
Not to say other elements don't exist. Metallica, (pre-Sandman) to me has all the elements I look for in an artist. They have a decidedly heavey edge, while at the same times employing mood changes, tempo changes, elements of classical fingerpicking in certain places, and belended aggresiveness that I enjoy. Ride the Lightning through Master of Puppets I consider to be the definative Metallica, and while the Black Albumn gained the most commercial success, I feel that it started the band onto a path of conforming it's music more into the straighforward metal stereotype.
For me, I listen to music and play music on a purely emotional level. While I appreciate varying movements within a peice, I don't view it as a necessity. I never approached music from an intellectual standpoint, I simply don't believe music is meant to be defines and studied in the context of it compositional elements. For me, it's the final product and how it hits me emotionally that determines my level of enjoyment.
@No one in particualr, I don't understand the reasoning that classical music has survived the ages makes it inherently better. Some composers are more widely known and appreciated than others, and I'd wager much of the musics less gifted artists have been forgotten. But the fact that the genre has survived as long as it has mean little to me. Metal hasn't been around a fraction of the time, it's had no way to be measured effectivly against such an old genre in terms of longevity. My own feeling is that a couple hundred years from now, when people are studying this time period, it appears to me that certain musics, literature, patterns of thought etc that we take for granted or may pass off as superflicial may be viewed in a somewhat similar light as classical music is today. It will all be determined by acedemics who study the period, tie in the connections between such works of art and the social background against which they appeared, an classified accordingly. Maybe metal will have a place in such coversation, maybe not. But that in itself is for future generations to determine it's staying power and importance, and I feel vastly underqualified due to living in the era to guage it's longevity.
Lord of Lurkers
Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!
Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!
[QUOTE=Bloodstalker]@VonDondu... the way I view it, Zeppelin was very important to metal scene, moreso in some bands than in others...
Blues has always been a big part of rock music in general, and metal is no different... To me, saying a person has no correlation to metal because they started in blues is like saying that my greatgrandfather has no bearing on me being here because his fathers time and way of living was so much different than mine.The two products might not seem at all the same, but there are underlying patterns and links that are there.[/QUOTE]
When I said that Jimmy Page had a background in blues, I didn't mean to suggest that he couldn't be part of the metal scene. I meant that his music has a different sound than that of musicians who don't have any blues in their background. As you suggest, there can be a great deal of overlap between rock, metal, blues, classical, etc. But the heavy metal musicians who stand out are those who do more than simply repeat the riffs of other heavy metal musicians. I hope that's not too redundant.
Blues has always been a big part of rock music in general, and metal is no different... To me, saying a person has no correlation to metal because they started in blues is like saying that my greatgrandfather has no bearing on me being here because his fathers time and way of living was so much different than mine.The two products might not seem at all the same, but there are underlying patterns and links that are there.[/QUOTE]
When I said that Jimmy Page had a background in blues, I didn't mean to suggest that he couldn't be part of the metal scene. I meant that his music has a different sound than that of musicians who don't have any blues in their background. As you suggest, there can be a great deal of overlap between rock, metal, blues, classical, etc. But the heavy metal musicians who stand out are those who do more than simply repeat the riffs of other heavy metal musicians. I hope that's not too redundant.