Heavy Metal

What is heavy metal TO YOU? What does a song/album need to be in order to be "heavy metal"? What are the key ingredients in your opinion?

I'm not looking for a fight here, just looking for people's opinions.

Quote :

Heavy metal is dark, powerful, guitar riff-based hard rock music. This was true in 1969 and is still true in 2011. It didn't change. This can be expressed in many different ways (with many different types of guitar, drum, and vocal stylings) but the basic hallmarks of the genre did not change.

In order for a band to be properly termed a heavy metal band, the majority of their songs should be heavy metal songs. If Seals and Croft released a metal song they still would not be a metal band because the majority of their output is not heavy metal.

Always liked this definition:

Quote :

Heavy Metal: acks of speakers and high voltage amps; deep, thunderous, surging sounds from the bass; screaming lead guitars emitting doomsday warnings; pumped up percussion; instruments (and minds) being demolish on stage. There is no subtlety in Heavy Metal; it's the hardest of hard rock with electric shock treatments and vibrating air churning right before your eyes.

Power chords, catchy riffs, crunchy distortion, epic lead guitar, thumping bass and hard hitting drums.

I would add to the current definitions that Metal lacks irony. It's not welcome in Heavy Metal.

Personally, the first thing I always listen to is the drums. I think the way the drums are played and help to guide the almighty riff really makes it heavy for me or not. Watch those early 1970 concerts of Black Sabbath and look at Bill Ward just hammer away and make Iommi shine.

Crunchy guitars, good riffs, awesome guitar solos, hard drumming, and strong vocals. Keyboards are welcome but shouldn't outshine the guitar elements (i.e. even many pop metal bands with a glossy, over produced, keyboard soaked sound, at least had great guitar solos).

If it's heavy, it's Heavy Metal.

I gotta agree with TOB on this one.Hes summed up the essence of Metal.

POWER is the key word. To be really heavy metal it can not have modern influences, no alternative sh.it. Its should be played with passion and attitude, no wimp sh.it.

Thrasher73 wrote:

I gotta agree with TOB on this one.Hes summed up the essence of Metal.

Yes, i agree

A perfect blend of melody, attitude, and crunch.

Fat Freddy wrote:

A perfect blend of melody, attitude, and crunch.

That sounds like a definition of anything I like. And I'm not a metalhead.

tohostudios wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

A perfect blend of melody, attitude, and crunch.

That sounds like a definition of anything I like. And I'm not a metalhead.

I was originally gonna say "the sound of overgrown adolescents destroying their instruments in a fiery testosterone fueled cataclysm," but decided that sounded too negative.

DallasBlack wrote:

Crunchy guitars, good riffs, awesome guitar solos, hard drumming, and strong vocals. Keyboards are welcome but shouldn't outshine the guitar elements (i.e. even many pop metal bands with a glossy, over produced, keyboard soaked sound, at least had great guitar solos).

I would go with this.

tohostudios wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

A perfect blend of melody, attitude, and crunch.

That sounds like a definition of anything I like. And I'm not a metalhead.

+1 on both quoted posts here

Ok, on another note, what crosses the line and makes something not heavy metal and just "hard rock"?

}{Iron~Maiden~}{ wrote:

Ok, on another note, what crosses the line and makes something not heavy metal and just "hard rock"?

Ult can answer this one.

DallasBlack wrote:

}{Iron~Maiden~}{ wrote:

Ok, on another note, what crosses the line and makes something not heavy metal and just "hard rock"?

Ult can answer this one.

please don't get him started again.

mc666 wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

}{Iron~Maiden~}{ wrote:

Ok, on another note, what crosses the line and makes something not heavy metal and just "hard rock"?

Ult can answer this one.

please don't get him started again.

I almost want him to start ranting now, I remember reading that thread with his argument with TOB. It was entertaining to say the least.

mc666 wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

}{Iron~Maiden~}{ wrote:

Ok, on another note, what crosses the line and makes something not heavy metal and just "hard rock"?

Ult can answer this one.

please don't get him started again.

someone needs to post a sign: Dont Feed the Bears

here are some albums I regard as "borderline", just for the sake of discussion.

Almighty- Powertrippin'
Blitzspeer- Saves
Capricorn- s/t (thrash & roll- highly recommended!)
COC- Deliverance
Danzig-How The Gods Kill
Fireball Ministry- The Second Great Awakening (etc)
Kyuss- Welcome To Sky Valley (etc.)
Obsessed- The Church Within
Overkill- I Hear Black (no others by them that I know of)
The Sword- Age of Winters (etc.)
Trouble- Manic Frustration (s/t too? That's a tough one for me, not sure)

Power, Speed, Riffs, Tough drumming, Solos, aggressive vocals...

I think the heaviest heavy metal can be is if the focus is on the 'density' of the music rather than how loud or fast it is.