music Why do people think metal is dumb?

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

So some people at school think that metal is stupid and for stupid people. Which is far from true. I listen to death, black and thrash metal. I like Tool who are Prog/Alternative. I also like alternative and punk so I'm not narrow minded.

OK so I told my friend's teacher that metal is complicated (we like to kick it in her class lol) and she thought it was just screaming and meaningless lyrics. Than she started listening to One Direction (Me and my friends were like dafuq lol). And then I told her again that it's not screaming and well, she didn't believe me. Oh well... Still a kinda funny story though.

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

It's because they get the wrong idea from the way the bands personify themselves, I mean take Slayer for example. Pentagrams, and inverted crosses, that gets people saying it's all satanist. Then the screaming part. Metal is complicated, because it talks about actual problems. The thing is people don't listen closely enough.

[Rainbow Skywalker 642]

Well, to tell you the truth I find this quite amusing that somebody can bash on metal and then go on to listen to Wrong Direction over there. I have personally learned that I don't hate any type of music, I just become more particular to what I like in certain genres. And metal being random screaming? lol

[Nah 3,181]

Because the religious society we live in thinks metal is nothing but Satanic screamo music that poisons people's minds, I'm not too in to metal, but it's honestly dumb they need to get involved in people's music tastes.

[Champion RD92 8,655]

One of my friends said that metal is "disgusting and just a bunch of people screaming". But that's not true at all..I was like "what the f***??? Have you ever even actually listened to any kind of metal before??" It kind of annoyed the crap out of me cause there's a lot of metal that doesn't have screaming in it (Metallica, Megadeth, etc)

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,525]

Probably because it is far too complicated for them. Not in an intellect sense, but just in a musical sense. It is either that, or the more common one, they hate the vocals, which there are plenty of great instrumentals out there. In terms of metal, I like most bands because I am able to appreciate everything that it has to offer. I concentrate mostly on the instruments unless the vocals are really good. I just love zoning out and letting the music take me, which metal does easily. People judge it way too quick, but it makes sense since this society is the same society that made Lil Wayne famous, America that is. http://mlpforums.com/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.png

Edited November 3, 2012 by Killman

[Driz 1,552]

I think it's just a rather unusual taste for music when compared with the sh*t most teenagers listen to nowadays. Other than that, well... Religion...

 

*shudders* ¬-¬

 

It's a genre of music like any other. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm not very much into Metal myself, but I obviously respect it and the people who like it.

[Guest]

Musical taste will always create these small petty rifts between people. Honestly I think opening up to an eclectic mix of music really gives you the best chance to enjoy all music around you, and not be limited by genre. Its a bit of a stereotyping, not worth worrying about though, in the end its just music. It would be like if you felt put off by someone because they prefer broccoli and you prefer asparagus.

[Shanks 10,811]

I didn't particularly like metal at first because I have fairly sensitive hearing and to me it was like if somebody walked up to me and yelled in my ear, it is still not my favorite form of music but there is some metal I do like and alot of metal I have listened to is actually exposing the truth about what is really going on and not the lies that are presented to us in the mainstream media and that are reinforced through a combination of subliminal messaging and brainwashing through gradual introduction of tyranny and the "education" system. I was also surprised upon further listening to notice heavy classical influences in metal, while it is not surprising that it has some influence as it has formed the basis of modern music the amount of influence is far greater than I had originally realized.

[DeiStar 248]

Because there are a lot of musical oblivious people that seldom have a reasonable and valid argument for their claims.

 

I'm more into Rock, but I don't diss Metal, because I understand what Metal is about.

[SilverHeart 741]

Because the religious society we live in thinks metal is nothing but Satanic screamo music that poisons people's minds, I'm not too in to metal, but it's honestly dumb they need to get involved in people's music tastes.

 

(Disclaimer: I love metal and I'm religious.)

 

You can't really blame the religious for not liking metal after the whole early 90's Black Circle in Europe.

[Nah 3,181]

(Disclaimer: I love metal and I'm religious.)

 

You can't really blame the religious for not liking metal after the whole early 90's Black Circle in Europe.

 

My town is full of religious nuts that frequently hate against it, but then again, they rely on stereotypes to define things in my town. :/

[AegisReflector 886]

I only find certain metal songs appealing to me, especially if it has a smooth melody to it, like Masters of Puppets or Enter Sandman. I don't listen to a lot of metal but I do enjoy glam rock or progressive rock, which can have many of the same elements combined together.

 

I think certain people dislike the genre because of how hard the instrumentals are being played, and how explosive the composition can be. But, then again, these complainers, like your teacher, most likely listen to One Direction so they really shouldn't be critiquing on what music genres qualify as shit lol.

[Titan Rising 2,156]

I don't think it's dumb, honestly I think it's sad that people would actually rather listen to the screaming of depressing lyrics on top of overly loud sounds with no actual melody than many amazing great video game soundtracks and stuff

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

(Disclaimer: I love metal and I'm religious.)

 

You can't really blame the religious for not liking metal after the whole early 90's Black Circle in Europe.

 

Can I blame them for stereotyping the entire metal scene as evil for the actions of a few bands that went way over the line?

Musical taste will always create these small petty rifts between people. Honestly I think opening up to an eclectic mix of music really gives you the best chance to enjoy all music around you, and not be limited by genre. Its a bit of a stereotyping, not worth worrying about though, in the end its just music. It would be like if you felt put off by someone because they prefer broccoli and you prefer asparagus.

 

Folly-Fallen Gryphon is best answer. I was able to discover metal in the first place thanks to my open-ear policy. ^^

[Naphthol 7]

a major chord is a major chord, am I right?

 

whatever else is going on in the music is happening to give it uniqueness. differentiation. deeper and deeper levels of quantisation that are meant to appeal to smaller and smaller groups of people. music that is easily appealing to anyone, and music that is particularly, and deeply, appealing to a very small number of people. strip away the vocals, the texturing, the syncopation, and the effects - there are more similarities than differences. many people recognise this, and these same people often don't enjoy certain textural adjustments to what would otherwise be enjoyable music. Personally, i'm not very fond of vocals in music, whatever the genre.

 

no accounting for taste right?

[Retro*Derpy 3,115]

The funny thing being, my school is EXACTLY the opposite. If you don't listen to some type of metal or rock your somewhat an outcast. I think I am the only one at my school that listens to Jazz/Techno.

[Twiliscael 3,960]

People are idiots. Metal has some of the greatest instrumentalists, songwriters, and fans of all music. The shit they play is so complicated it'd have Bethoven's head spinning.

 

People generally look for music as a way to relax and most people can't relax to, as my friend says, "random notes being shit out of instruments with a suicidal demon screaming to unleash Satan upon us all."

[The Milkman 186]

Because popularity.

If listen to anything that it's not Rap/Dubstep/anythingthatspopularwhereveryoulive they will consider almost every other kind of music weird.

That's how it is here at least.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

I listen to mainstream pop/rock hits from the '60s-'80s and adult pop/rock hits from the '90s-present, and I must admit, I don't understand the appeal of metal, based on the limited amount of it that I've heard. I think one reason why people think metal is dumb is because non-fans like myself can't see the appeal of it - to me, it seems rather mind-numbing, repetitive, and not particularly pleasant to listen to.

 

OK so I told my friend's teacher that metal is complicated

Metal is complicated, because it talks about actual problems. The thing is people don't listen closely enough.

Metal has some of the greatest instrumentalists, songwriters, and fans of all music. The shit they play is so complicated it'd have Bethoven's head spinning.

Maybe some of you metal fans can elaborate on why you like to listen to metal. Is it because of the lyrics? If so, why are metal lyrics better than the lyrics in other genres of music? Is it because the music is complex/complicated? If so, why does its complexity cause you to like it more than other genres of music? Can "complexity" in and of itself make a good song? Is it because (as I have heard) metal is "cathartic" to listen to?

 

I like the music I listen to because it has memorable riffs, catchy melodies, interesting chord progressions, and/or the ability to draw forth a variety of emotions; furthermore, lyrics to a song are only of secondary importance to me as long as they are "good enough." The metal music I have listened to lacks these things that I look for in music. Maybe the instrumentalists are technically skilled and maybe the lyrics are meaningful, but those things are lost in the mind-numbing repetitiveness and unmemorable nature of the music.

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

I don't think it's dumb, honestly I think it's sad that people would actually rather listen to the screaming of depressing lyrics on top of overly loud sounds with no actual melody than many amazing great video game soundtracks and stuff

 

WTF? No melody? Ever listened to melodic death metal? Stuff like Children of Bodom and At the Gates. And it's not screaming for f*cks sake. It's growling and screaching, sometimes. And I would much rather listen to a song like The Philosopher by Death (Just bought the album it's on c:) than a song from a video game.

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I listen to mainstream pop/rock hits from the '60s-'80s and adult pop/rock hits from the '90s-present, and I must admit, I don't understand the appeal of metal, based on the limited amount of it that I've heard. I think one reason why people think metal is dumb is because non-fans like myself can't see the appeal of it - to me, it seems rather mind-numbing, repetitive, and not particularly pleasant to listen to.

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe some of you metal fans can elaborate on why you like to listen to metal. Is it because of the lyrics? If so, why are metal lyrics better than the lyrics in other genres of music? Is it because the music is complex/complicated? If so, why does its complexity cause you to like it more than other genres of music? Can "complexity" in and of itself make a good song? Is it because (as I have heard) metal is "cathartic" to listen to?

 

I like the music I listen to because it has memorable riffs, catchy melodies, interesting chord progressions, and/or the ability to draw forth a variety of emotions; furthermore, lyrics to a song are only of secondary importance to me as long as they are "good enough." The metal music I have listened to lacks these things that I look for in music. Maybe the instrumentalists are technically skilled and maybe the lyrics are meaningful, but those things are lost in the mind-numbing repetitiveness and unmemorable nature of the music.

 

Well take (there are multiple good examples, but I'm using this one) Angel of Death by Slayer for instance. It has pretty awesome instrumentals that really offer help to the music. Then you have the lyrics. The song is about a Nazi doctor who was known for his brutality, Basically metal goes places other forms of music would never dare to. Like pop music is usually about love/lost love, punk is usually about rebellion love/hate, and Metal is about a wide variety of things. (Rape, drugs, alcoholism religion, etc...) These things are real issues in today's world, and metal gives people the opportunity to (dare I say) rant about those said issues. They are angry about something they want to let it out.

The complex rhythms plus the screaming guitars, add to the lyrics, and make for a complex song, that honestly wouldn't be possible without it. They set the mood.

Edited November 3, 2012 by Tormented Dusty Soul

[DusK 1,264]

Metal, really good metal, is like math. Listening to a really technical metal band is a lot like looking at a complicated algebra problem. If you don't get it, if you don't know enough about it to understand it, it'll just look (or in the case of metal, sound) like a bunch of gibberish.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

@,

 

Okay, I tried listening to the song you mentioned as an exercise, and it's a good example of a song which I don't understand the appeal of. Maybe you can help me. Bear with me as I try to think this out, because I don't have much of an idea here.

 

It has pretty awesome instrumentals that really offer help to the music. Then you have the lyrics. The song is about a Nazi doctor who was known for his brutality, Basically metal goes places other forms of music would never dare to.

 

What is "awesome" about the instrumentals? Is it that the guitar and bass players can strum notes really quickly? Is it that the guitar player can move about the range of possible notes quickly or that the guitar player can make screaming effects? Is it that the drummer can play a high-tempo rhythm? Is there anything unique about the instrumental track in this song compared to other songs by the group or compared to other metal groups? Do you find the riffs, chord progression, solos, or vocals memorable or interesting?

 

I won't argue that the subject matter of the song is "daring." I did have to read the lyrics, though, because for me, it was very difficult to pick the quickly-spoken half-shouted words of the overall sound of the song. Do you think that the lyrics are an integral part of enjoying this song? Furthermore, do the instrumentals enhance the impact of the lyrics? Is there something unique about the combination of the lyrics and the instrumental track in this song that makes it particularly enjoyable?

 

Any further explanation you can give would help me with understanding the appeal of this song and maybe of metal in general.

[Naphthol 7]

it could be seen as a form of guitar worship, and drum and bass for that matter. virtuosity is a very appealing ideal.

 

it should be noted that metal is a very popular style of music, despite what many inside, and outside of it's interest have to say on the matter.