2075 replies to this topic

[Commander Loony]

Malus Rune, on 22 October 2011 - 02:52 PM, said:

Yeah, that cheeses me off quite a bit. I've got a friend who I actually rather respect musically- I owe a lot of the non metal bands I've started listening to to him, and his musical opinions are interesting- who once told me that he'd never heard a metal song that wasn't all about anger and hatred and things. There's plenty of variety in what metal bands sing about, in my experience,

Again, that probably depends on what he's exposed to primarily, and the most dominant forms are those that deal directly with aggression and death. Plenty of bands out there that have some odd-as-sh!t lyrics and meanings-hidden-between-lines-of-hate.

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Aye, exactly. Lyrics imo can be good in as many ways as music can- two of my favourite bands lyrically are Modest Mouse and The Dead Kennedys, and yet while the former hides complicated ideas behind layers of metaphor and symbolism, the latter makes a political point obvious to the point of hilarious.

There's also the occasionally missed art of writing lyrics that suit your/your singer's vocals. Our man Randy Blythe is wonderful at that- that profane, authoritative, image-evoking lyrical voice he uses goes brilliantly with the southern tinged screams of his vocals.

Of course! And although Randy claimed he had writer's block in the writing of Sacrament, the lyrical content throughout the album is way up there with style and guts, very few can write like he can!

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The problem I have with Deathcore is that it's popularity hinges too much on shock value. I mentioned earlier that, growing up on S-Club Seven and Busted, I thought that I just didn't like music until I got into metal. That generation of manufactured, family-friendly music I feel creates a tendency in people to leap on anything that seems slightly confrontational or grotesque. Deathcore fills that necessity, and the problem is, because people then start to associate that kind of senseless wankery with what's true and real and artistic, they turn a blind eye to bands that do more interesting things, both metal and not =/

Indeed, and I blame Bring Me The Horizon for this trend in image-related shock. Oli Sykes' clothing line was all about mutilated cats and savage animals and gore all detailed in a happy-and-rainbows cartoony style, and suddenly every 17 year old that likes Cannibal Corpse adopts this mentality. I hate it, it's a gimmick, a fad that should have died out long ago. But now it's becoming more socially acceptable for kids to sweep their dyed-black and straightened hair to one side of the face, getting neck tattoos and full sleeves, stretchers, and a "I don't care what you think (but secretly, I really, really do" demeanour. The young lads copy one another and the girls go wild over it, it all just looks generic to me.

Image aside, the music itself is just one big regurgitation machine. I've seen more than a dozen big-time deathcore bands that all have the same guitar tuning, the same chugging riffs with the same breakdowns. Lyrical content is 90% about sluts, which bores the hell out of me. Though I sound butthurt, I'm just irked at how acceptable it has become to be mediocre. Only a small number of deathcore bands are decent, but the rest are a big steaming pile of meh.

I just like bands that aren't so uptight about being "the best band in the world" and more about "music's great isn't it?"

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Ever seen Mr. Hoglan play with his shirt off? The man jiggles in polyrhythms.

I don't think I want to!!

[Cheeseinator]

Commander Loony, on 30 September 2011 - 11:54 PM, said:

Physical features are pretty much irrelevant in musicianship. Dino from Fear Factory is a fat ******* but can trem and shred just as well as any one else that plays his field of music. Gene Hoglan is also probably the largest man I've ever seen, but can bury most other drummers with his insane skills, speed, precision and hard hitting effectiveness. All it is is practice, practice, practice!

Being overweight I don't think is an issue so much. More so genetics, Dino, who is quite overweight, still has normal looking fingers, average length and thickness and everything. Though I'd agree that physical characteristics have no effect on drumming.



I wonder about those who have short pudgy fingers just from their genetics. They can't do a thing to change it, they just have short fat hands, even when in top physical condition. I wonder if they have a more difficult time playing guitar.

...

Well I went and looked it up. Seems to be a mixed boat, while having short fat fingers can in fact make it harder to play guitar, it's no big deal. There seem to be numerous solutions, get child-sized guitars, custom guitars, alternative hand techniques, alternative hand positioning, tuning a ukelele to sound like a guitar (this was the best one), and the simplest "fix" was extra work. It's not impossible for fat fingered people to play to guitar but it is somewhat more difficult for them than those with longer fingers, they just have to work harder but if they do they can play just the same. There did also seem to be a consensus that "the majority of famous/good guitar players have normal or long fingers". Also interesting was the fact that different hand sizes present different challenges, those with short fingers have a harder time stretching to play certain chords and things, but those with gargantuan hands also have trouble playing certain chords that place the fingers close together, I for example, even with my normal sized hands, have a hard time getting the A chord right because there's not enough room for all of my fingers to be on the strings just above the fret, which is the ideal location for the getting the optimal sound, so my A chords always sound awful, also it larger hands can create problems for intense finger picking and whatnot, according to the stuff I read.

Also piano players face different challenges based on the physiology of their hands.

It would make an interesting study.

So essentially it doesn't matter at all, as long as you practice and work at it enough it would make little difference in the long run.

Oh BTW I found perhaps the ugliest custom guitar I have ever seen in my search:

[DingDong]

Music is everything and without music world would be a mistake.

[Malus Rune]

Commander Loony, on 27 October 2011 - 05:58 AM, said:

Of course! And although Randy claimed he had writer's block in the writing of Sacrament, the lyrical content throughout the album is way up there with style and guts, very few can write like he can!

Aye. Lamb of God may not have the absolute most complex lyrical themes (not that they're not complex- just less complex than some), but Randy's lyrics drive them home better than anyone.

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Indeed, and I blame Bring Me The Horizon for this trend in image-related shock. Oli Sykes' clothing line was all about mutilated cats and savage animals and gore all detailed in a happy-and-rainbows cartoony style, and suddenly every 17 year old that likes Cannibal Corpse adopts this mentality. I hate it, it's a gimmick, a fad that should have died out long ago. But now it's becoming more socially acceptable for kids to sweep their dyed-black and straightened hair to one side of the face, getting neck tattoos and full sleeves, stretchers, and a "I don't care what you think (but secretly, I really, really do" demeanour. The young lads copy one another and the girls go wild over it, it all just looks generic to me.

Oh God, that's Oli Sykes's clothing? I knew that Sykes had his own clothing line, and I'd seen hideous shirts like that, but I didn't realize it was his. I hate it so, so, so, so much- not just as a music fan, as a member of teenage culture. It looks absolutely hideous. I hate having to see it when I walk into college- and speaking as a teenage male, I hate how pretty a lot of the girls would look dressed in something less disgusting.

I dunno, heavy music was (according to older metal fans) originally about finding an identify and a unity as "the weird kid." There isn't much I enjoy more than finding other weird kids. But when they all band together like that, it just becomes another normality, and then it stops being about being "weird" and about being weird in the way they like. It disgusts me that in this day and age I can be told by a kid in a T-shirt with a disembowelled spongebob squarepants that I'm creepy and strange.

/raeg.

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Image aside, the music itself is just one big regurgitation machine. I've seen more than a dozen big-time deathcore bands that all have the same guitar tuning, the same chugging riffs with the same breakdowns. Lyrical content is 90% about sluts, which bores the hell out of me. Though I sound butthurt, I'm just irked at how acceptable it has become to be mediocre. Only a small number of deathcore bands are decent, but the rest are a big steaming pile of meh.

I tend to find Deathcore annoying even when it's being self deprecating, but I will admit I do find this song absolutely hilarious. Skip to 00:25.

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I just like bands that aren't so uptight about being "the best band in the world" and more about "music's great isn't it?"

Agreed.

Oh, and Cheese- found something out recently. One of my favourite composers, Sergei Rachmaninov, is also notable as a virtuoso pianist. Apparently he had Marfan syndrome, a condition giving someone tall stature and extremely large hands, both of which are extremely useful as a piano player.

[Commander Loony]

Malus Rune, on 13 November 2011 - 01:43 PM, said:

Aye. Lamb of God may not have the absolute most complex lyrical themes (not that they're not complex- just less complex than some), but Randy's lyrics drive them home better than anyone.

Truly! I think the high point of lyrics in God of Lamb's career would be Ashes. But I go on about that album way too much Recently I've been giving Sacrament some proper love, and although the layered vocals don't match up to other albums (sounding more screechy and less balls), it still, of course sounds as great as ever. I <3 you Randylocks and the four bears! Haha

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Oh God, that's Oli Sykes's clothing? I knew that Sykes had his own clothing line, and I'd seen hideous shirts like that, but I didn't realize it was his. I hate it so, so, so, so much- not just as a music fan, as a member of teenage culture. It looks absolutely hideous. I hate having to see it when I walk into college- and speaking as a teenage male, I hate how pretty a lot of the girls would look dressed in something less disgusting.

I dunno, heavy music was (according to older metal fans) originally about finding an identify and a unity as "the weird kid." There isn't much I enjoy more than finding other weird kids. But when they all band together like that, it just becomes another normality, and then it stops being about being "weird" and about being weird in the way they like. It disgusts me that in this day and age I can be told by a kid in a T-shirt with a disembowelled spongebob squarepants that I'm creepy and strange.

Indeed, he is to blame! The generation of metalheads who just threw on whatever clothes they wanted (clothes being jeans or camo pants with a band shirt) and grew their hair out long seem to be going extinct. I know of a few people who used to be like that, but are now swinging towards short hair that is gelled up and styled with piercings, stretchers and shock-value clothing. These are dark times, my friend.

I need to properly collect my thoughts in regards to the females turning scene aswell before I start my rant on that subject!

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I tend to find Deathcore annoying even when it's being self deprecating, but I will admit I do find this song absolutely hilarious. Skip to 00:25.

How the hell does that have a million views, and yet venerable bands like Chimaira or Opeth get away with 500,000 or so? o.O

[Thunder]

I was at a Motörhead concert this thursday in my hometown. It was my first concert ever. It was pretty good. It good a little wild at times but I pulled through. Before Motörhead started up, a band called "Jorn" played a for a while first. I wasn't too impressed by Jorn. They weren't bad or anything, but they weren't that great either. On the other hand, my music tastes are pretty hard to please and that applies even to my favorite bands so it's no surprise Jorn didn't do it for me.

While Jorn was playing the crowding were I was at wasn't particulary bad, but once they were finished that changed alright. The crowding and crushing got much worse as more people started to show up and squeeze around all trying to get a spot in the front area. When Motörhead showed up and started playing, you really had to fight to keep your spot. Nevertheless, I soon lost my spot right behind the first row of people and ended up in the third row. I was pretty annoyed by that but things got even worse as an aggressive guy showed up and pushed me away so he could get more room. But I was NOT going to be pushed away again so I pushed him back. He then pushed me off once more and I responded by pushing him back again. By this time I was wondering if this was going to turn into the first serious fight in my life. But instead of starting a fight, he laid his arm around my shoulder and befriended me and it all ended well. Perhaps he realized I wasn't gonna be pushed around.

There was some more pushing here and there for a while but it calmed down after a while and remained calm for the rest of the concert. I don't know if that was just in the area I was at or if that went for all of the place.

The first song Motörhead played was one of my favorites called "Bomber". Then they played a couple of songs from their new album and some songs I haven't listened to much. The final was great when they played three of my favorites called "Iron Fist", "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill". When Ace of Spades was played the audience got pretty wild  

It was really cool seeing Lemmy himself in real life.

I took some pics, but they all sucked so I removed them all as soon as I got home. I also shot a couple of videos which I just uploaded on YouTube. The sound quality isn't the best, maybe because I was too close to the speakers or something, I don't know. But the video quality is alright I think, it's HD 720p.
Here they are:





To sum it up, it was an interesting and good experience and I will definitely go to more concerts.

[Malus Rune]

Thunder, on 16 December 2011 - 09:53 PM, said:

I was at a Motörhead concert this thursday in my hometown.

Nice! I almost got to see Motorhead at Bloodstock Festival this year, but I didn't have the funds.

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While Jorn was playing the crowding were I was at wasn't particulary bad, but once they were finished that changed alright.

Heh, reminds me of Metallica. When I saw The Sword and Machine Head, I was really comfortable, but by the time they opened the show I was being crushed from all sides by huge guys.

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The crowding and crushing got much worse as more people started to show up and squeeze around all trying to get a spot in the front area. When Motörhead showed up and started playing, you really had to fight to keep your spot. Nevertheless, I soon lost my spot right behind the first row of people and ended up in the third row. I was pretty annoyed by that but things got even worse as an aggressive guy showed up and pushed me away so he could get more room. But I was NOT going to be pushed away again so I pushed him back. He then pushed me off once more and I responded by pushing him back again. By this time I was wondering if this was going to turn into the first serious fight in my life. But instead of starting a fight, he laid his arm around my shoulder and befriended me and it all ended well. Perhaps he realized I wasn't gonna be pushed around.

That happens a lot at concerts. The physical violence doesn't necessarily mean that people are trying to push you around, it's just physical response to the music, and it's usually in good fun. When someone does start getting rude and overly violent, they tend to get shunned by everyone else. Someone pushing you hard one minute and thumping your back the next isn't unusual- at my most recent metal gig (Exodus, in Helsinki- I went with my Finnish Exchange Partner and had my first wall of death, although he did one better and actually got to go up on stage and play Lee Altus's guitar) I was being thumped on all sides by a woman one minute and arm in arm with her the next.

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There was some more pushing here and there for a while but it calmed down after a while and remained calm for the rest of the concert. I don't know if that was just in the area I was at or if that went for all of the place.

Pushing gets more intense in some places (normally), but some degree of it is more or less unavoidable in concerts.  

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It was really cool seeing Lemmy himself in real life.

I can imagine!

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I took some pics, but they all sucked so I removed them all as soon as I got home. I also shot a couple of videos which I just uploaded on YouTube. The sound quality isn't the best, maybe because I was too close to the speakers or something, I don't know. But the video quality is alright I think, it's HD 720p.
Here they are:





To sum it up, it was an interesting and good experience and I will definitely go to more concerts.

Nice videos Concerts have been a bit thin on the ground for this year. Exodus in Finland were fun, but there haven't been very many bands I like making an appearance (Iron Maiden were epic, though). Plus a lot of the ones that did come I wasn't able to make - Devin Townsend was at the local venue while I was in Spain, and Dimmu Borgir came the week before a major bit of history coursework was due in. Meshuggah are set to come next year, and they're good live, but I've already seen them and their pits are so intense I'm just not sure I've got the energy these days!

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Truly! I think the high point of lyrics in God of Lamb's career would be Ashes. But I go on about that album way too much Recently I've been giving Sacrament some proper love, and although the layered vocals don't match up to other albums (sounding more screechy and less balls), it still, of course sounds as great as ever. I <3 you Randylocks and the four bears! Haha

Ashes is great lyrically (hell yes What I've Become) but I think I prefer Sacrament and Wrath, as I kinda think that the political songs they do on those albums (Foot to the Throat, In Your Words, etc) tackle slightly more original political themes, and while I know plenty of great political lyricists, I've never heard anyone write a hate song like Randy. Plus that was when Randy really started getting poetic, really started paying attention to how his words sounded. The hope for something more, all that you wish for, a kick to the head and a boot to the door is a wonderful bit of assonance.

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Indeed, he is to blame! The generation of metalheads who just threw on whatever clothes they wanted (clothes being jeans or camo pants with a band shirt) and grew their hair out long seem to be going extinct. I know of a few people who used to be like that, but are now swinging towards short hair that is gelled up and styled with piercings, stretchers and shock-value clothing. These are dark times, my friend.

Indeed <.<

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How the hell does that have a million views, and yet venerable bands like Chimaira or Opeth get away with 500,000 or so? o.O

Yeah, always stamps on my plums, that V__V

[Thunder]

I also shot a video from when Jorn was playing. I couldn't post it together with the first two because of some stupid forum restriction that forbids you from posting too many videos in one post. Stupid Petroglyph.

Anyway, here it is:

[Commander Loony]

One's very first concert is always one of the greatest experiences ever! I can still remember seeing Machine Head for the first time more clearly than any other band. Except maybe DevilDriver for the first time, that was awesome as ^@!$!

[Thunder]

I would like to see Venom live. It would be really badass seeing them play songs such as "In League With Satan" "Black Metal" and "Antechrist". Also, I think I would like to see Soulfly as well just to see Cavalera perform. Just imagine the song "Refuse/Resist" live! Ultimate greatness that would be.

Edited by Thunder, 27 December 2011 - 05:09 PM.

[Commander Loony]

Cavalera and co are coming to Australia at some stage, but as Cavalera Conspiracy. The stupid thing is, they're playing an ultimately mainstream music festival alongside rappers, pop artists and soft rock bands, whose audiences wouldn't even know who the friggity frak Max Cavalera is.

[Malus Rune]

That sucks. We have similar problems in England, although it's a little more insidious. The big rock festival in Britain is Download Festival (the one I was planning to go to ages back to see Slipknot, Opeth and Meshuggah), while the big metal festival is Bloodstock (the one which I DID go to to see Opeth and Meshuggah, along with Sonata Arctica and Ensiferum, having become a less sizeable Slipknot fan). Although most of the Download festival attendees are fans of mainstream alt-rock and emo stuff, a lot of people go and get into metal once there, seeing performances like that of Opeth and Lamb of God. The trouble is, they end up going to Bloodstock and... eh. I hate to rant on metal purity (especially seeing as I like most kinds of music these days), but when Bloodstock was largely the realm of long time metalheads there was a general sense of unity, and the influx of former download attendees has kind of diluted the unity. I went last year and, while it was definitely very welcoming, my friends have told me stories of how fraternal it was at its inception.

Wouldn't mind seeing Cavalera Conspiracy, if only because Igor Cavalera is a huge influence on me as a drummer (probably second favourite after Keith Moon, even though I think Igor's work in metal sadly limits his critical reception - most really skilled rock drummers are jazz based, and Igor's base in latin american percussion styles is a wonderful twist). I don't like them as much as Sepultura or Soulfly, as the latin american influence which drew me to the Cavaleras is a lot weaker in Cavalera Conspiracy, but I'd say Mark Rizzo is the best lead guitar player the Cavaleras have worked with.

[Commander Loony]

I know what you mean. Soundwave is the country's BIGGEST alternative music festival and features bands you won't get in the mainstream festivals (Big Day Out), but just to cater for everyone who aren't devout metalheads carving "Slayer" into their body parts, they also have stages for the less metal and more mainstream bands, I think a few hardcore stages too (because that's now become a big thing).

I'm cool with diversity, but it's difficult to feel "one with your people" and all that when half the people surrounding you in a DevilDriver circle pit are metrofags oggling you because of your long hair and laughing at how lame you are for running around in a big circle. Unsophisticated monkies!

But all that matters not when in March the pilgrimmage begins anew! Lamb of God, Machine Head, Chimaira, Devin Townsend, Gojira, and Slipknot! So keen! And there's also Mastadon, Meshuggah, Hatebreed, Hellyeah, and a heap of others. I'd see Hellyeah just for Vinnie, as shallow as that is, but their music never really interested me. The headliners are Slipknot, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit and Marilyn Manson. Suffice it to say, the whole country has gone apesh*t.

[Thunder]

I have started getting into Six Feet Under lately. A friend of mine introduced them to me a few weeks ago. I tried listening to some of them and realized they are pretty good. So far my favorite album is their debut "Haunted".

I would love to see them live, just look at the video below, looks pretty wild. Plus Chris Barnes vocals are really badass. And the look in his eyes is quite crazy as well.

Edited by Thunder, 27 July 2012 - 04:05 AM.

[The Archon]

Last month I saw Roger Waters performing The Wall live.  It was spectacular.  All of the pictures I took are at http://www.facebook....=3&l=e451d7c0c5

Goodbye Blue Sky


Mother


In The Flesh


You can't have a Pink Floyd concert without a flying pig!

[Malus Rune]

Oh man, how did I miss this? The Wall is my favourite album of all time You're a lucky man, Archon.

Have you ever looked into Roger Waters's solo career, out of interest? I really, really like it (Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking and Amused to Death are definitely on the level of the better Pink Floyd albums, for me), but a lot of PF fans I know don't. I dunno, it suffers a little from a lack of Gilmour's songwriting input, but he ropes Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton in to do guitars, so there's no shortage of skillz.

Also, Thunder, have you ever listened to the early Cannibal Corpse albums? Chris Barnes performed on those. He's a real great death metal vocalist, seems like a pretty awesome guy, too.

Lately I've been really into Frank Zappa:



Love the pianos in the beginning, and how the electric guitar comes in Always kind of reminds me of Radiohead - I can just imagine Thom Yorke's voice doing the vocal line.