Modern Heavy Metal Sucks

In the end, a good song is a good song. No matter the style or where/how it was recorded.

My .02

James B. wrote:

In the end, a good song is a good song.  No matter the style or where/how it was recorded.

My .02

Yes, but you can still make a good song sound pretty boring with amplifiers and production that are mind-numbingly stock.

Don't forget the over-compression and loudness of the new records.

I mentioned it before in another thread, but I also blame the sterility of the studios these days. They're built to be scientifically sonically perfect. And bland.

Long gone are the days when bands would record in castles or banquet halls in old mansions like the Stones or Zeppelin. Even the old sound studios of the 70's with wood paneling and egg cartons on the walls. Those albums had personality.

A lot of good points here.

I also think the greatly tightened music market encourages conformity & music that is easy to categorize/genre-ize.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I mentioned it before in another thread, but I also blame the sterility of the studios these days. They're built to be scientifically sonically perfect. And bland.

Long gone are the days when bands would record in castles or banquet halls in old mansions like the Stones or Zeppelin. Even the old sound studios of the 70's with wood paneling and egg cartons on the walls. Those albums had personality.

Great point! You don't have Judas Priest banging trays of cutlery on the counter to simulate giant metal robots walking anymore. Haha.

Temple of Blood wrote:

A lot of good points here.

I also think the greatly tightened music market encourages conformity & music that is easy to categorize/genre-ize.

True. I would also add that something akin to this happened in the late '80's and early '90's where it all became cookie cutter with look, sound, and subject matter for hair/ glam Metal. I know we always talk of the "over polished and sterile '80's production" when reviewing or describing albums. There was probably a lot of copying and passing down of techniques then too. Just a thought.

the sentinel wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

A lot of good points here.

I also think the greatly tightened music market encourages conformity & music that is easy to categorize/genre-ize.

True. I would also add that something akin to this happened in the late '80's and early '90's where it all became cookie cutter with look, sound, and subject matter for hair/ glam Metal. I know we always talk of the "over polished and sterile  '80's production" when reviewing or describing albums. There was probably a lot of copying and passing down of techniques then too. Just a thought.

Every new production development in technique or technology gets adopted by producers/artists along the way. The main difference in the 80s is that the bands were all clamoring for platinum status so the labels were scooping up bands and molding them to fit the trends in look, sound and production. Now, there is no such think as platinum status for metal unless you are Metallica or Slipknot. The bands in the underground these days are essentially traditionalists...like younger people who pick up blues or jazz....it'll never make them rich, but it keeps the style alive.

the sentinel wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I mentioned it before in another thread, but I also blame the sterility of the studios these days. They're built to be scientifically sonically perfect. And bland.

Long gone are the days when bands would record in castles or banquet halls in old mansions like the Stones or Zeppelin. Even the old sound studios of the 70's with wood paneling and egg cartons on the walls. Those albums had personality.

Great point! You don't have Judas Priest banging trays of cutlery on the counter to simulate giant metal robots walking anymore. Haha.

Precisely. You don't have that kind of creativity anymore.

"You want clanky robot sounds? We have a sound library with 5,000 robot sounds available. Take your pick".

Another thing - some modern metal / production - 
it's hard to blast on your car stereo -
you have to screw with the knobs - etc -
60's - 70's - 80's - it just blasts - no problem !