jonjonc (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jonjonc) wrote,@ 2006-07-13 00:47:00 |
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In praise of 80's metal
It seems that everywhere you go these days, every metalhead is playing doom or death or "progressive melodic neoclassical gothic death doom"... Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of much of this style of metal, but it is rather annoying when every band under the sun is trying to sound like Opeth. And so, these days I seem to dig deeper into my metal collection. Not so deep that I hit Judas Priest, but deep enough to hit the leather lunged lyricists. Deep enough to get to the point where it just wasn't a guitar solo if it wasn't at least tapping 64'ths. Deep enough to reach a time when "Nu Metal" did not exist, when hair was big and songs were meant to make you feel good. I speak, of course, of the 80's. Sure, bands' names were meant to sound scary and tough but the songs were still rather happy. For instance, one might imagine a band called "Helloween" to advocate doing naughty things to cats at the next full moon, but instead their lyrics say things like:
"One day you'll live in happiness
With a heart that's full of joy
...
You'll say you love your life
and you'll know why"
Yes, I can see why today's angsty metalheads may not like those lyrics. It's just too hard to maintain a cool enough level of depression when listening to such things. Let's fast forward to more recent times. "Children of Bodom" may not sound all that scary until you realise that it is named after a brutal multiple homicide. Ok, we're already a bit meaner it seems, after progressing from bad puns to bad deeds. Digging slightly into their lyrics, instead of cheerful wishes for a happier world, we instead find:
"I was born in ashes of molten hatred
Raised by demons in abodes of the end
The reaper's scythe I fall upon to light my path
Wrecked by mangled wounds of life"
Yipes! Of course, the lyrics are hidden behind a wall of catchy keyboard riffs, cookie monster vocals and, let's face it, a brutalisation of the English language rarely seen outside of the Sunday paper. All of this makes the song good fun to bang your head to, but may leave the happier metalheads amongst us longing for more. And so I say step out from In Flames, toss aside your Soilwork and take your Cradle of Filth to the cleaners. Dare to be different. Dare to see past the big hair. Dare to fly the flag of 80's metal!
It seems that everywhere you go these days, every metalhead is playing doom or death or "progressive melodic neoclassical gothic death doom"... Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of much of this style of metal, but it is rather annoying when every band under the sun is trying to sound like Opeth. And so, these days I seem to dig deeper into my metal collection. Not so deep that I hit Judas Priest, but deep enough to hit the leather lunged lyricists. Deep enough to get to the point where it just wasn't a guitar solo if it wasn't at least tapping 64'ths. Deep enough to reach a time when "Nu Metal" did not exist, when hair was big and songs were meant to make you feel good. I speak, of course, of the 80's. Sure, bands' names were meant to sound scary and tough but the songs were still rather happy. For instance, one might imagine a band called "Helloween" to advocate doing naughty things to cats at the next full moon, but instead their lyrics say things like:
"One day you'll live in happiness
With a heart that's full of joy
...
You'll say you love your life
and you'll know why"
Yes, I can see why today's angsty metalheads may not like those lyrics. It's just too hard to maintain a cool enough level of depression when listening to such things. Let's fast forward to more recent times. "Children of Bodom" may not sound all that scary until you realise that it is named after a brutal multiple homicide. Ok, we're already a bit meaner it seems, after progressing from bad puns to bad deeds. Digging slightly into their lyrics, instead of cheerful wishes for a happier world, we instead find:
"I was born in ashes of molten hatred
Raised by demons in abodes of the end
The reaper's scythe I fall upon to light my path
Wrecked by mangled wounds of life"
Yipes! Of course, the lyrics are hidden behind a wall of catchy keyboard riffs, cookie monster vocals and, let's face it, a brutalisation of the English language rarely seen outside of the Sunday paper. All of this makes the song good fun to bang your head to, but may leave the happier metalheads amongst us longing for more. And so I say step out from In Flames, toss aside your Soilwork and take your Cradle of Filth to the cleaners. Dare to be different. Dare to see past the big hair. Dare to fly the flag of 80's metal!
