WHAT'S HAPPENED TO GOOD HEAVY METAL?

[ConnorExum 0]

As a big fan of the heaviest of metal that's actually good. I can't believe what's happened to the genre lately. What passes for good metal music these days is just laughable. Bands like Pantera, Slayer, Linkin Park, Grand Unified Theory and many more can't even hold a candle to the classics. Where are the great guitarist like Ritchie Blackmore , Tony Iommi , Angus Young , Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai , Jimmy Page , and many more that created such memorable rifts. Now Heavy Metal music is more fused with rap then anything else and it's lost it's edgyness. I doubt anyone for some time will create an Album like AC/DC's Black in Black just a great riffy album from start to finish. Or an Album like Van Halen's Fair Warning that's sublime pefection of just the right amounts of unbelievable guitar pryotechs ; the rock solid rythm section of Micheal Anthony and Alex; All rolled up in the punchy fun lyrics of David Lee Roth's. Where has that gone to now? The fun punchy lyrics of that music has been replaced by the angry screams of people with no talent. If you're like me you love almost anything done by the godfather of Heavy Metal, Tony Iommi. His work is the blue print for the hardest of the even today. His rifts resonate through heavy metal like a supersonic shockwave. The gritty low c# or half step d# tuned guitar combined with the solid bass of Gezzer and the plodding drum beat of Bill Ward created a sound then and now that's completely original. Many have copied it but songs like Paranoid, Iron Man , Sabbath Bloody Sabbath , Snowblind, and so many more great songs. While darker then say Van Halen their music still had a good message protesting war and the ills of the human nature that tramples on others. How I can I even talk about Heavy Metal without mentioning Ritchie Blackmore... A guitarist that's done more for the genre in more diverise ways then most. Using Classical infusion before anyone else even considered it on such classic songs as Highway Star with Deep Purple to his harder edged work with Rainbow. His guitar cut's a gaint path into the next era of rock that helped to spawn greats like Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malsteem , Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani. Without Ritchie Blackmore's use of sweeping appeigo's , gonzo whammy bar drips I doubt we'd have the same Eddie Van Halen we today. Although Van Halen claims his music is based on Eric Clapton's influence it's a hard to miss the similarity to Ritchie Blackmore's style. However Yngwie Malsteem is proud to call Ritchie an influnce and his work dripps of the classical based heavy rock that Ritchie helped to develop. What can one truely say about Randy Rhoads on the other hand? His masterful fusion of Hard Rock, Classical And Blues created an original sound in the late 70's early 80's unlike most others that copied Van Halen's work. It's just a shame he's dead. As for Joe Satriani he's top of the heap. From such experimental albums as Not of this earth , Surfing With Alien , to more surrealistic albums of Engines Of Creation , and Strange Beautiful Music. Satriani show's great prowess with the guitar and the ability to seemlessly fuse mulitple musical styles into one coherent guitar tour de force album. The use of artifical harmonics , rapid two hand finger tapping , gonzo whammy bar dips all bring to mind Van Halen roots but then he goes way beyond into the soulful blues , jazz and classical mixed with his unstoppable speed and capalbities make him one of the truely greatest guitarist still recording. Anyone agree with me that Heavy Metal is taking a death sprial into medicority?

[Takara_Soong 4]

"Good heavy metal" Isn't that an oxymoron? Just kidding. :unsure:

[ConnorExum 0]

Soong Girl , there are some great guitar players in Heavy Metal... Some guys that really know how to use their guitar in interesting ways that expand the genre then there are 3 chord wonders too. But I was speaking of the later not the former. I guess you're not a fan or aren't fimilar with the artists I mention because if you were you'd know what I was speaking of when I mention names like Blackmore. Vai , Satriani and Van Halen. Guy's that truely redefine the playing style of the electric guitar for generations. Then you have minimalists like Angus Young who's greatest achievement isn't how exactingly he can play but how simple and riffy he can make music in he best traditions of blues. Without albums like AC/DC's Black In Black in 1980 , Van Halen's selftitled debut album in 1978, Deep Purple's Machine Head in 1972, and so many more saved us from becoming either disco or new wave only listening public. Songs that had backbone to them and not just bubble gum pop hooks like The Knack , The Cars and so many more. That's what I talking about when I speak of good Heavy Metal. Not the over rated knock offs in the late 80's that turned Metal into a bubble artform that need three simple elements: a guitar player that sounded like Eddie Van Halen , A Leader Singer that sounded and looked like Robert Plant or Steven Tyler and a wardrobe that looked like rags. That wasn't metal music that was marketting gone overboard like that of bubble gum pop music for teenie boppers. That was a subvert form of the music.

[Takara_Soong 4]

I agree that there are some amazing guitarists throughout the history of metal. Some of the more commercial metal has seemed to be more about screeching vocals and who can play the loudest than anything else.

 

When I was a kid my brother used to listen to Black Sabbath and some other metal. I have never really been into metal myself. In some ways I'm not sure who would be defined as metal now.

 

I have a CD that I burned that I like to listen to that is quite eclectic in its range of music. It starts with Brent Spiner and ends with Nickelback.

 

I didn't mean to make light of your music choice and I apologize.

[removed 0]

"Good heavy metal"  Isn't that an oxymoron?  Just kidding. :unsure:

lol. id have to agree. i used to love hard rock and i pretty much hate it now. i like punk and classic rock now. its all about individual taste however.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Yeah Con. 99% of today's music is crap, I never listen to the radio anymore unless I get wind of a recent song playing which fit's into the one-percent category but that rarely happens. Give me the Classics anyday.

[ConnorExum 0]

Radio friendly heavy metal is dead... Classic rock stations play a so-so mix of music but they usually get hung up on the Stones , Beetles , or Led Zeppelin too much and neglect so many other great bands. They claim not to have a music playlist but I disagree you listen to any Classic Rock station and they play all the standard music from Jounery , Forgnier, Reo Speedwagon , Styx and so on that was popular in '81. Then they claim to have huge libaries of classic rock. Yet you can hear the same song on the radio 2 times or more a day. Not much of a variety when you consider the amount music they claim to have. Not to mention the DJ's on most classic rock stations wouldn't know a good ablum if it them in the head. They never touch staple bands like Montrose which brought out the first heavy metal riffs from an American band. They never play much Rainbow. Play few songs from Black Sabbath , Deep Purple , and so on. Even though they were both instrumental in the genre. They never touch Joe Satriani. However you can listen more of Joe's stuff on Dish Network's Hard Rock station then on the normal radio. You never hear Yngwie Malmsteen from his Raising Force Album. Limited air play of Van Halen's nonsingle hits. They don't even touch Frank Zappa's more mainstream compostions. Steve Vai's work is never showcased. Iron Maiden is a strickly Taboo. Then they call it classic rock and don't even bother to request a song on their request hour because they just won't play it. The way I see it is you need to buy the albums and listen to the cd player... Forget Radio because radio sucks...

[A l t e r E g o 9]

That's interesting, it sounds like where you are, things are even worse than I thought. We have a radio station which still play's many of the artist's you just mentioned (Classic Rock) with the exception of the Zapp.

They may be on the web, the stations call sign is 101.5 KGBfm San Diego. They do a pretty good job of "Rock's San Diego", (that's their catch phrase), but everything they play I can listen to commercial free as I sit here at my pc.

[8247 0]

It was just a matter of time before I found this post. My favorite bands are Queensryche, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc. I also like Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani. The vocals of Geoff Tate (queensryche) and Rob Halford (Priest), and heck, why not? Ripper Owens (Priest's new singer) are very good. Not everyone has that kind of vocal range, and the people who could do it well needed to do it. It was GREAT.

ConnorExum, I'm assuming you are a guitarist. I am as well, but I perfer singing lead vocals. In a band, I do both. I have a high vocal range, but I dont use it as much as the 80's metal singers did. I use it for an occasional accent. While I like the 70's guitarists...Iommi, Young, etc. I'm more partial to Chris DeGarmo, (Queensryche), Paul Gilbert (Racer X), and the others in that bracket. Even Oz Fox from Stryper was great. (admit it.) lol.

Today's "guitarists" if you want to call them that cant hold a candle to the 70's or 80's guitarists. :)

[ConnorExum 0]

Actually, I've never liked Queensryche all that much to tell the truth; or The Judas Priests... KK Downing and Glen Tipton were okay but I liked Iron Maiden better from that paticular invaison of English metal. Adrian Smith, had some pretty good stuff but again I really don't put them in same list as do my favorite Axe men of all time. Which really isn't that long of a list. Basically I feel there's only been truely one guitarist for the last 25 years or so. That's Eddie Van Halen. While I do think Joe Satriani is much better in many aspects of his playing. It's still Eddie Van Halen that rekindled the fire in the public's imagination to play guitar again back in '78. If you listen to any band from 1980 to present you'll hear his influnce all over the work. Drop #d tuning , the heavy usage of the jett distortation , gonzo whammy bar dips and of course his trade mark the two handed fret board tapping. Still a staple of todays guitar playing. The only things I wish would happen before I'm old and gray are Joe Satriani playing more in the United States and a full reunion of Van Halen. Have you ever seen Yngwie Malmsteen play? I have he's pretty amazing in a limited area however I feel he's all speed no feel... Which is very cool at times but his playing looses focus on the feel which detracts from it. Hence the reason I feel Joe Satriani is so great he encompasses all the best qualities of playing in his songs I feel at least. Plus no words the fastest way to screw up a good guitar song is buy a great guitarist thinking he's a vocalist... Never's work out if you ask me! Personally I hate Jimi Hendrix's vocals...

 

Sorry bud not a guitarist at all... Can't play to save my life maybe I should sell my soul like Robert Johnson but I'm just a guy who really loves all music and I research it alot... Have fun in your band best of luck. Oh yeah you can just use Connor it's my first name.