My tastes have wimped out...

I'm not into a lot of the death metal like I used to me, but I really enjoy death/doom like Katatonia, Paradise Lost, and Crematory.

I still like some thrash, but the weird thing is I'm enjoying my music a lot slower these days. I'm really getting into funeral doom, and gothic americana like Sons of Perdition and Those Poor Bastards.

I can't say my tastes have really changed, eventhough I do like more melodic "wimpy" bands nowadays.

What's that? That doesn't make sense? Well, what I mean is that those bands that I originally liked (ie. thrash mostly, like Slayer), are still up there as my favourites. But the new bands that I discover are more likely to be in the classic metal or melodic metal mold. So I haven't narrowed down my tastes, I've expanded them! Just in a specific direction.

However, there is that extreme and black metal scene which I left a long long time ago in the mid 90's already. Thinking back at it, that whole thing was teenage angst and more about being "evil and kvlt" rather than about music. The music was just noise. Yes, you can enjoy a wall of noise if you really really try hard, are in the right mood and set your mind to it, but it just doesn't work that well anymore when you compare it to songwriters that don't limit themselves to being just extreme.

Cool topic.

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

mc666 wrote:

Sounds like everyone else at this forum...congratulations!

negative, sir  

Give me:

power
heavy
progressive
prog
thrash
speed
black
doom
death
drone
even some 'core



I want it allllllll

 
 
 
I would go with this list except:
 
Black in small doses....and I'm not sure I am even familiar with drone.

Lari wrote:

I can't say my tastes have really changed, eventhough I do like more melodic "wimpy" bands nowadays.

What's that? That doesn't make sense? Well, what I mean is that those bands that I originally liked (ie. thrash mostly, like Slayer), are still up there as my favourites. But the new bands that I discover are more likely to be in the classic metal or melodic metal mold. So I haven't narrowed down my tastes, I've expanded them! Just in a specific direction.

However, there is that extreme and black metal scene which I left a long long time ago in the mid 90's already. Thinking back at it, that whole thing was teenage angst and more about being "evil and kvlt" rather than about music. The music was just noise. Yes, you can enjoy a wall of noise if you really really try hard, are in the right mood and set your mind to it, but it just doesn't work that well anymore when you compare it to songwriters that don't limit themselves to being just extreme.

Cool topic.

Hi Lari,

Great reply there! You have pretty much nailed it - it's exactly how I feel.

I just don't relate to extreme metal anymore. I feel that was part of my younger adult years when I felt a bit angrier and less concerned with the musical experience, though had you asked me at the time I would have said otherwise. I just feel like I can rock out better to the classics and actually delve and listen to the music note for note as opposed to just something fast and heavy only for the sake of headbanging to it.

In addition, I also don't want to have any satanic / dark evil stuff in my collection anymore. Perhaps I have gone off the deep end but I really don't like listening to blasphemous music anymore. I don't like this violent and excessively demonic, vile imagery of some of these bands that I used to listen to in the past.

Thought I'd give an update...

I have now sold off pretty much all my 'extreme' metal albums. I think the only ones I have kept are from the more melodic bands like Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, In Flames, Soilwork and the like. I guess the 'softer' sounding extreme metal bands. I have also kept my Immortal albums because I love Immortal especially from Blizzard Beasts onwards and they are easily the one (and only for me) black metal band that have managed to make something cool (for me) of the black metal genre.

As of late however I have been mostly listening to Classic Rock and some Classic Metal. Mostly been spinning Zeppelin, Van Halen, and ZZ Top. I have also started getting into AOR quite a bit, which I know around here is a dirty word lol but stuff like House of Lords, Giuffria, and some newer bands like H.E.A.T., Place Vendome, Pride of Lions, Sunstorm.

So yeah I'm really enjoying a mix of classic rock, glam, southern blues/country at the moment.

Alex Dee Rokket wrote:

Thought I'd give an update...

I have now sold off pretty much all my 'extreme' metal albums. I think the only ones I have kept are from the more melodic bands like Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, In Flames, Soilwork and the like. I guess the 'softer' sounding extreme metal bands. I have also kept my Immortal albums because I love Immortal especially from Blizzard Beasts onwards and they are easily the one (and only for me) black metal band that have managed to make something cool (for me) of the black metal genre.

As of late however I have been mostly listening to Classic Rock and some Classic Metal. Mostly been spinning Zeppelin, Van Halen, and ZZ Top. I have also started getting into AOR quite a bit, which I know around here is a dirty word lol but stuff like House of Lords, Giuffria, and some newer bands like H.E.A.T., Place Vendome, Pride of Lions, Sunstorm.

So yeah I'm really enjoying a mix of classic rock, glam, southern blues/country at the moment.

Since you're coming around to the more melodic side of rock I'd highly recommend Pink Cream 69. Stupid band name I know, but you can't beat them for melodic rock/metal IMO.

I know PC69 and I do like most of their stuff. I have a couple of their newer albums in my collection but would like to check out their older stuff as I heard good things about those albums

Thing is I have always been into the more melodic side of metal and rock - it's just that for a while I also dabbled into the more extreme side too. The difference is that the melodic metal / hard rock stuff has stuck while the extreme stuff hasn't. It was fun for a while but in time it all kinda started sounded like one big mess. I also don't relate to it anymore - the 'aggression', the angst etc. don't really have anything in common with it anymore. The period of time when I felt lets say... disillusioned with reality seems to have faded.

Well when you want to get into the glam/sleaze side of things, you know who to ask.  

And since you're from Aussieland, I'm sure you're already familiar with my favorite band The Angels.

Speaking of glam/sleaze - have you heard Crazy Lixx? really good band especially if you like the first 2 Skid Row albums.

Crashdiet is also very good in a similar style. I believe you mentioned these guys before on here which is how I checked them out

Alex Dee Rokket wrote:

Speaking of glam/sleaze - have you heard Crazy Lixx? really good band especially if you like the first 2 Skid Row albums.

Crashdiet is also very good in a similar style. I believe you mentioned these guys before on here which is how I checked them out

Yep.  Have albums by both those bands.  Check out Hardcore Superstar's S/T and Distorted Wonderland's S/T (some of their members sang on Hardcore Superstar's albums and decided, "Hey, we can do this too.")

Toh turned me onto Distorted Wonderland through one of the comp swaps. Real good stuff. I'm also a big fan of Lipstixx N Bulletz.

Glad you're hanging onto the Immortal albums. One of the few "off the shelf/pick up and play" black metal bands I don't need to be totally in the mood for to enjoy.

jstate wrote:

Toh turned me onto Distorted Wonderland through one of the comp swaps.  Real good stuff.  I'm also a big fan of Lipstixx N Bulletz.

Glad you're hanging onto the Immortal albums.  One of the few "off the shelf/pick up and play" black metal bands I don't need to be totally in the mood for to enjoy.

Lipstixx N Bulletz is very good. A band made up of members of LNP and Gemini Five called Toxic Rose is also a lot of fun:

Since i started listening to metal and hard rock i listen and buy everything from glam hard rock till black metal always with a tradicional sound, not modern alternative influences. When you listen to so many styles in metal than you can not get boring. Playing only death metal would not be something i like to do. I like to play one day heavy metal and the next some thrash/black for exemple. Try that, to play all kind of metal. Now you sold your death and black metal cd´s and started buying more classic heavy metal and thats cool but if you only listen to classic heavy metal and rock from now on, you will get bored again.

I'll just leave it here... Best album of 2013, it contains some melodeath within.

krokus wrote:

Since i started listening to metal and hard rock i listen and buy everything from glam hard rock till black metal always with a tradicional sound, not modern alternative influences. When you listen to so many styles in metal than you can not get boring. Playing only death metal would not be something i like to do. I like to play one day heavy metal and the next some thrash/black for exemple. Try that, to play all kind of metal. Now you sold your death and black metal cd´s and started buying more classic heavy metal and thats cool but if you only listen to classic heavy metal and rock from now on, you will get bored again.

Perhaps I may come around to liking extreme metal again but I have grown quite tired of growling/raspy vocals. That's the part I don't really connect with anymore. I much prefer listening to clean melodic vocals where you can understand the lyrics at the same time. It is not that I didn't like that before, I have always preferred the more melodic (be it classic, power, prog) side of metal, and at that hard rock generally as well, than death/black metal. I have simply lost interest in the more aggressive side of music.

It's hard to explain but you know, some people like listening to depressing sounding music, which has an opposite effect they see it as therapeutic as something that speaks to them. Some like the aggression and brutality in music - it's what they define as being heavy.

For myself, I have always preferred bands with a classic feel - bands that can withstand the test of time - a prime example is Rainbow. You can listen to Rainbow at any time and it still sounds as fresh and as interesting as it did in the 1970s. More to the point, for me a band like Rainbow takes me to places. Much like with Rush or Led Zeppelin, I feel transported into a different dimension. It is great escapism music and that's what I like - I want to visit a different reality, a happy, magical, mystical place with rainbows and waterfalls lol - you get my point.

When I was younger, I loved extreme metal because it was just about headbanging. Now I love the whole headbanging style of music but that's what I find thrash is for. Interestingly, a big reason why I like thrash music is because I connect it (much like glam) to the 80s. It's another form of escapism for me but I have watched so many 80s music documentaries and it clicked with me, that whole scene, the way people reacted to music and had built a whole partying infrastructure around it - I really wish just but for a moment to have lived in that period.

Alex Dee Rokket wrote:

krokus wrote:

Since i started listening to metal and hard rock i listen and buy everything from glam hard rock till black metal always with a tradicional sound, not modern alternative influences. When you listen to so many styles in metal than you can not get boring. Playing only death metal would not be something i like to do. I like to play one day heavy metal and the next some thrash/black for exemple. Try that, to play all kind of metal. Now you sold your death and black metal cd´s and started buying more classic heavy metal and thats cool but if you only listen to classic heavy metal and rock from now on, you will get bored again.

Perhaps I may come around to liking extreme metal again but I have grown quite tired of growling/raspy vocals. That's the part I don't really connect with anymore. I much prefer listening to clean melodic vocals where you can understand the lyrics at the same time. It is not that I didn't like that before, I have always preferred the more melodic (be it classic, power, prog) side of metal, and at that hard rock generally as well, than death/black metal. I have simply lost interest in the more aggressive side of music.

It's hard to explain but you know, some people like listening to depressing sounding music, which has an opposite effect they see it as therapeutic as something that speaks to them. Some like the aggression and brutality in music - it's what they define as being heavy.

For myself, I have always preferred bands with a classic feel - bands that can withstand the test of time - a prime example is Rainbow. You can listen to Rainbow at any time and it still sounds as fresh and as interesting as it did in the 1970s. More to the point, for me a band like Rainbow takes me to places. Much like with Rush or Led Zeppelin, I feel transported into a different dimension. It is great escapism music and that's what I like - I want to visit a different reality, a happy, magical, mystical place with rainbows and waterfalls lol - you get my point.

When I was younger, I loved extreme metal because it was just about headbanging. Now I love the whole headbanging style of music but that's what I find thrash is for. Interestingly, a big reason why I like thrash music is because I connect it (much like glam) to the 80s. It's another form of escapism for me but I have watched so many 80s music documentaries and it clicked with me, that whole scene, the way people reacted to music and had built a whole partying infrastructure around it - I really wish just but for a moment to have lived in that period.

Thanks for the explination, was a nice read i understand what you are saying.

I don't think your taste have wimped out, just got broader that is all

All these years, my appreciation to 90's Grunge music (the genre that I loathed the most) has gone stronger and has been listening into Smooth Jazz guitar (heavily) for the past 3 years or so with a lil' bit of Robben Ford-esque blues/jazz type of music

Death Metal : Still picky, I listen only to late 80's early / mid 90's stuff

Power  Metal : Only The classic stuff

Thrash : Everything

Heavy Metal : Early 80's - late 90's

RE: New wave of glam/sleaze, I just can't get into them (altho I'm a fan of the classic sleaze era myself), I guess I'm a bit of a nostalgist, even though the music is good, my brain tells me the opposite because it isn't *old* enough for me to like it

I've got to say it. I haven't really thought about music in terms like 'wimping out' since I was about 16.

But I did reach a point (mostly with death & black meta)l where I realised that the music had gone beyond what I wanted to listen to.

My tastes as far as day-to-day listening have most definitely changed.

I still love my Prog/Power/Thrash/Doom Metal...and of course the masters still do it for me (Priest, Maiden, old Queensryche, Dio, Sabbath, etc).

But day-to-day listening, I don't reach for these much anymore. When I get in the mood, I dial up my Pandora stations and within a couple hours, that itch is scratched and I can go back to The Beatles, U2, King's X, Cheap Trick, Rick Springfield, Jellyfish, Power Pop, Pop Rock, etc...

I can't take Rick Springfield in any way seriously since his awesome run on Californication  

I go through phases. Sadly, when my tastes first began changing, or evolving, I jettisoned a lot of albums. Years later I regretted that decision.

As I got older, I realized I still liked everything I liked before, only now my tastes change day to day. One day I'll want to listen to Emm Gryner, Sarah McLachlan, Tara Maclean, and stuff like that; while the next day it'll be Obituary, Twilight Ophera, Bloodbath, etc. That's just how it goes.

My taste for music has always been Rock but nothing to heavy. The Thrash/Death/Black Metal that a lot of you listen too on this board is what I call Garbage/Noise. That being said, I know that there are a lot of you that like that stuff. Nothing wrong with that, variety is the spice of life. I'm sure I could get many of you to say why you hate Country music as much as I do. Why do I hang out here? I just love reading you guys & gals thoughts on music. And you do hit upon bands that I do like. Has my taste changed or mellowed through out the years? No I don't think so. I still enjoy Kiss, Cheap Trick, Zeppelin, Deep Purple like I did back in my younger years of the 70's.Once a Rocker, always a Rocker. Everybody just does it different than I do.

Short-Fuse wrote:

Huey Lewis and the Reverend Horton Heat

I wish this was the name of a single band. Like Huey Lewis and the News.

Boris2008 wrote:

I can't take Rick Springfield in any way seriously since his awesome run on Californication  

I recently discovered his Mission Magic album. Jeez, one of the absolute most fun albums I had never heard of.

I love powerpop and this fits the sugary side of the bill to a T.