New metal bands....a dime a dozen?

Smindas wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Nowadays it is so easy to hear before you buy.

It's pretty easy to hear which bands are worth giving a shot and which ones aren't. Songwriting seems to be a lost art and rarely gets talked about.

Actually, I pretty much agree with this sentiment. Increasingly I find newer releases just bereft of engaging song construction and I have no idea why that it is. The band could be the best of musicians but just don't have the songs to back it up. The amount of stuff I've had to review that falls in to that category is a bit heart-breaking. Good thing listening before you buy is so doable nowadays otherwise I'd have wasted a lot of money by this point.

I also agree with this.
Songwriting is much more important than misical skills in my book. There are thousands of super talented musicians out there, but not many good songwriters.
Having said that, i already own more music then i have time to listen to, so i really don`t need many new bands...

I need songs with cool chorus, no matter if its hard rock, heavy metal or thrash. Also i need the guys in the band to be 100% dedicated to their music, not only by playing with attitude but also by looking cool. A young heavy metal band should look (and sound) like a pure heavy metal band, not a modern look for exemple. PURE is the KEY WORD to everything.

Samples and suggestions are the way for me. On the occasion I will get a blind buy but only when the CD is cheap or on sale. I tend to stick with older bands and newer bands associated with older bands.

I only check out sludge/stoner, hardcore punk, screamo, and grind bands. Most of them are local or recommended to me by some friends. Not hard to check 'em out before I buy, I use grooveshark.com.