Death Metal/ Speed Metal/ Grindcore etc.

[zero]

So does anyone actually listen to this shit? Thanks to the boys at my work I get to listen to ALOT of it. Bands like Killswitch Engage and Cryptopsy (from Quebec) seem to be particularly popular. It's pretty hard for even a lover of challenging music to get into this shit I'll say that. I'll take some avant wank fest any day. But I want to understand it better, what makes one band good and another not, what is craftsmanship, what is good lead guitar, bass, drums (certainly alot of double kick and floor tom stuff that makes Rodney Holmes look like a fairy). So anyone out there got any recommendations so I can look knowledgeable to the boys at work or any insight into any of this. Hell I'd love to understand the difference between the genres.

[bradm]

Try

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grindcore

Aloha,

Brad

[Thorgnor]

I'm no expert either but here goes it from my perspective...

Death metal seems to be separated from the others by more variety of range on pace and clarity and deep, growling, unintelligeable vocals about blood, vomit, death, y'know? The good stuff. Can be strangely melodic.

Think Sepultura.

Grindcore = lots of distortion on everything and lots of "non-harmonic" yelling. Tons of time signature changes, very strange beat counting. Hard to follow because of a lack of clear separation between sounds and unresolved bar structures and melodies.

Speed metal is separated by the fast paced clarity of the sounds, especially the drums. The more double-kick the better. Hard to play because of sheer dexterity and timing between band members.

[ollie]

The only death metal/grindcore recommendations I could give you would make you look old. I used to kick it to bands Carcass, Entombed and Obituary back in the day. I can't speak to anything being made today but, yeah, I really liked that stuff and used to be able to pick out the wheat from the chaff.

[shainhouse]

ask Mister Slippery... he goes wacko for this stuff.

[zero]

Thanks for the info keep it coming. I'd love to hear Andrew Barr rock the blast beats.

Blast beat is a drum beat consisting of torrents of alternating or simultaneous snare and bass drums which increase the speed, density, and percussiveness of death metal, black metal and grindcore. The hi-hat or a ride cymbal is often played simultaneously with the bass drum and the snare drum at the same time, and occasionally a crash cymbal or china cup is also featured. Diverse patterns and timings are also frequently employed by more technical players. While this method is often used to create a forceful climax, a blastbeat can constitute the bulk of an entire song.

A blast beat is normally played in tempos from 180 bpm upwards, with so-called "hyperblast beats" (achieved by using a one-handed roll on the snare and hi-hat and double bass drum) existing in the range of 260-340 bpm.

Typical blast beats consist of 8th note snare and 8th or 16th note bass drum hits, on the top of which a cymbal, normally a hi-hat or a ride, is hit, in Quarter or 8th notes. Variations exist. Some people maintain the bass drum should be played with one foot for the best effect; others prefer a double bass drum.

Blast beats have their roots in hardcore punk as well as thrash metal, however in modern standards the snare work is frequently comparable to established snare patterns in jazz. Early blast beats (the original use in metal is generally attributed to SOD and Napalm Death) were generally quite slow and less precise compared to today's standards. The blast beat is a fundamental component in nearly all of extreme metal. Bands making extensive use of it include Origin, Cryptopsy, Napalm Death, Dying Fetus, Suffocation and Dark Funeral among others.

[purple foot]

i've always been a fan of deicide.

[zero]

That dude looks more than a bit like Qu'es-ce que c'est.

[Tenenbaum]

in jr high i used to be knee deep in metal (if you recall Luke, my buds and I hosted Much Music's Power 30 back in '91) but I needed to slow down or I would've gone deaf and burned out; that's why I moved on to the Dead ;-)

as for the types of Metal you noted, I'm sure it all sounds like rubbish to the untrained ear.

Personally, I don't listen to any new-skool contemporary metal these days. Ignorantly, it all sounds like bands ripping off Korn/Tool/Slipknot. I'm sure there are some legit bands nowadays that can royally tear me a new asshole, but I'm not interested. I do still throw on some old-skool metal when I'm at the gym.

I get a kick out of bands that defined new territory in the metal realm: Slayer (thrash/death metal); Napalm Death (uk death metal); Kreator (euro thrash metal); and pre-Black album Metallica FOREVER! Maybe you can take listening comfort in knowing these bands changed the way music sounded. Or not ;-)

Speaking of Metal, I'm currently reading "Fargo Rock City" which examines the u.s. pop culture phenomenon with Metal and all it's glam. LOVE IT!

[whiteymuseum]

Google some of these:

HELLA

DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN

THE LOCUST

FUCK THE FACTS

IRON BITCHFACE

HORSE THE BAND

LIGHTNING BOLT

[Guest Low Roller]

The closest I ever got to this crap was Fear Factory, Slipknot, and Static X.

It's all about the kick drum. The faster the better, but I have no idea how the drummer can keep up that pace for an entire show.

[ge-off]

Google some of these:

DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN

THE LOCUST

also look up Mastadon

dillinger escape plan is pretty decent... their guitarist is now playing with trent reznors new line up for NIN..

the locust are a bunch of METAL SNOBS.. their songs have no coherent flow of any sort.. its a start stop type of noise you will never get used to.. i caught a show of thiers with Mr. Bungle in may here in toronto.. i was relieved when they left the stage.. their music just sounds like its a wounded animal begging to be shot..

[thatpatguy]

I'm going to forward your question off to my buddy Dimitri, who happens to host Ottawa's best metal show, the Monday Night Metal Mayhem on CKCU. He is amy resource to all things metal and I'm sure he'll be able to offer some insight.

I just want to add, if you are at all into power metal (a genre of heavy metal that is bigger in Europe, especially Northern Europe, that is very melodic and features themes that would be more commonly found in a D&D manual) I recommend checking out 3 Inches of Blood from Victoria BC.. they are amazing!

[ge-off]

apocalypica.. you aint never heard Cellos like this be for... Apocalyptica

[ollie]

my buddy Dimitri

I would think that anyone named Dimitri has to be an expert on heavy metal.

Veering off topic here, but in the realm of power metal, the new Judas Priest album is absolutely killer.

[rubberdinghy]

the new Judas Priest album is absolutely killer.

They're still around....I used to be a Slayer fan me-self...but then I played the record backwards....

[thatpatguy]

so.. I got an email back from Dimitri (local Metal Lord) and he said this:

I don't really know Killswitch Engage all that well, but Cryptopsy is

incredibly popular (at least amongst metalheads I know). It's hard to say

what makes one band better than another. You could apply that question to

any genre, not just metal. It really comes down to what the person likes to

listen to. I know a lot of metalheads who hate (listening to) bands like

Cradle of Filth, Dark Funeral, and Dimmu Borgir because they see bands like

that "bastardizing" black metal because they incorporate certain elements

that were typically never found in metal (keyboards or blastbeats, for

example). Other people love these bands and have no qualms about calling

them metal. In the end, it really comes down to taste. The guy needs to

experiment a little with other bands if he's looking for something to get

into. If he's not into either Killswitch Engage or Cryptopsy, maybe he

needs to try listening to other genres of metal. Maybe older school stuff.

There's some amazing musicians in some bands, and some pretty cool concepts

that others use. I think it's really difficult to try to pinpoint what

makes one band better than another, since it's entirely subjective. It's

not an equation that if you have x and y, you will automatically get "great

band z." If you like it, listen to it. If not, move on.

I dunno, does that kinda answer the question (albeit in a meandering way)?

so I dunno.. probably doesn't help you out.. but I tried

[Freak By Night]

so.. I got an email back from Dimitri (local Metal Lord)

You know Dimitri too eh? He definitely knows his stuff. I often see him at CKCU when I get to do fill-ins on Monday nights.

As a matter of fact, back in the early 90's I used to be the host of "Meltdown" on CKCU, the name of the show Dimitri and Marcus host now.

When I was the host it was more of and old school metal show. Eventually, all the racket got to me and I had to pass on the Meltdown torch.

Edited September 30, 2005 by Guest

[thatpatguy]

I know Meech really well.. since grade 9 actually.. I also know Marcus and Rob (who co-hosted before Marcus).. Ottawa is such a small town eh

[ollie]

As a matter of fact, back in the early 90's I used to be the host of "Meltdown" on CKCU, the name of the show Dimitri and Marcus host now.

That's awesome. What years did you host the show? I used to listent to it religiously for about a year.

Fuck. I remember when Chez 106 used to have a metal show hosted by Jim Hurcombe (Power Chords?). I especially remember him pimping the hell out of Megadeth's So Far... So Good... So What when that album came out. Fuck Chez used to be a really, really good local radio station. I remember when the Screaming Blue Messiahs were in regular rotation.

[thatpatguy]

back when Chez was still privately owned and the DJs could choose the material they wanted to play as supposed to adhearing to a national playlist dictated by the Rogers Media Group

[Freak By Night]

Yep Ottawa sure is a small town. I knew Rob too. He used to live on the same street as me and I used to be in a band with his cousin.

It was actually mid-90s when I hosted Meltdown. I think I started in 1995, and gave it up early 1998. Towards the end of my tenure, I had a crazy co-host name Gina. I have no idea what became of her.

[zero]

I knew there was a Phish connection to all of this. I recall reading once that some members of Phish heard a speed metal record driving presumably on the bus between gigs and were so into it they tried to track down the producer. Did a quick google search and found it, turns out it was a letter from '98.

Dear Phish:

Phish is the only non-metal band I really like. Has this genre influenced any of you? Are there other Phish-head-bangers out there?

Thanks, Andrew Labarrere

Andrew:

Two of us heard a speed-metal song on a big speaker system, south of the Carolinas. It was so speedy that the album was instantly purchased. And now we're courting that album's producer.

-Mike