How to Appreciate Authentic Death or Black Metal
Start at the beginning., Listen., Do your research., Remember that artistic, high quality music is never fully understood and appreciated at first listen., Read the lyrics., Learn about your roots., Buy albums., Ignore fashion and trends., Transcend...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Start at the beginning.
Look into the classics of the genre first:
Morbid Angel's "Blessed are the Sick," Deicide's "Legion," Obituary's "Cause of Death," and Amorphis' "the Karelian Isthmus" should get you started with death metal.
Some black metal classics include:
Burzum's "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss," Darkthrone's "Under a Funeral Moon," Emperor's "In the Nightside Eclipse," and Mayhem's "De Mysterious Dom Sathanas." -
Step 2: Listen.
This is the most important, yet oft-neglected step of all.
Metal is not background music
- it is structurally (and at times, technically) complex music
- don't expect to hear the hooks and melodies present in
99.99% of popular music.
Analyze the music and learn to tell the difference between quality art and vapid crap.
Few artists belong to the former category, but these are the ones that are worth your time. , Read reviews and interviews, and learn about the history of the genre.
Find out why and how your favorite releases came to be, and what influenced your favorite artists.
Learn about why an album is contextually important.
A great place to start is the Dark Legions Archive, at http://www.anus.com/metal.
Consult the sections on Philosophy, History, and Styles first.
Make sure to bring a dictionary., Listen thoroughly, at different days, not five times in one sitting.
It's really important.
Your mind will gradually become acquainted with the narration, structure, and melodies of the music.
Only then can a full appreciation of the spirit of Metal come to realization. , They're really not that bad
- in fact, some metal lyrics are surprisingly literate, such as those penned by Nile, Emperor, Absu, and Shining.
If a CD doesn't come with lyrics, look them up on http://www.darklyrics.com. , Many bands take direct influence from Classical / Romanticist composers such as W.A.
Mozart, Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, and Edvard Grieg.
Others borrow from neoclassical groups like King Crimson, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, and Vangelis.
Some bands were inspired by the world of literature as well:
Bathory and Gorgoroth were avid readers of Nietzsche.
As well, metal is deeply connected with other genres such as hardcore punk (Napalm Death), ambient (Burzum), and industrial music (Godflesh). , You don't have to grab everything you can get your hands on (in fact you shouldn't), and you don't have to be a collector either
- but buying albums helps the genre to live by demonstrating public interest in the music.
Only buy releases of known quality
- try to listen to the album several times before you purchase it. , Whether you have long hair or not is of little importance in the long run.
However, wearing an Immortal or Autopsy shirt in a public place is a good way to meet other Metalheads, and also a good way to shove the reality of metal and its message into the consciousness of the sheep-like public. , Whether an album is technically simple or complex; whether it was recorded in a basement or in a professional studio does not matter
- context, composition and artistic content do. , There is no underground when any band can get thousands of fans overnight just by having a page on Myspace.com.
Most so-called "underground" music is imitation
- not innovation. , Sounds out of place, but think about it
- spend two decades with drugs, alcohol, fast food, TV, and loud music, and you won't be able to tell the difference between Burzum and Britney. , Metal's not quite finished yet
- there are still new directions to explore and new techniques to employ.
If you are a musician
- stick with what you do, but don't rush.
Make sure your music is of (very) high quality before even thinking about releasing anything.
We don't need anymore bedroom black metal or tech-metalcore bands
- these aren't worth the plastic cases their CDs come in.
If you are not a musician, do what you can to promote quality metal
- join a message board and talk about the bands that matter and why they're important. -
Step 3: Do your research.
-
Step 4: Remember that artistic
-
Step 5: high quality music is never fully understood and appreciated at first listen.
-
Step 6: Read the lyrics.
-
Step 7: Learn about your roots.
-
Step 8: Buy albums.
-
Step 9: Ignore fashion and trends.
-
Step 10: Transcend aesthetics.
-
Step 11: Don't "support the underground."
-
Step 12: Live a Healthy Lifestyle.
-
Step 13: Finally
-
Step 14: do what you can to push the genre ahead.
Detailed Guide
Look into the classics of the genre first:
Morbid Angel's "Blessed are the Sick," Deicide's "Legion," Obituary's "Cause of Death," and Amorphis' "the Karelian Isthmus" should get you started with death metal.
Some black metal classics include:
Burzum's "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss," Darkthrone's "Under a Funeral Moon," Emperor's "In the Nightside Eclipse," and Mayhem's "De Mysterious Dom Sathanas."
This is the most important, yet oft-neglected step of all.
Metal is not background music
- it is structurally (and at times, technically) complex music
- don't expect to hear the hooks and melodies present in
99.99% of popular music.
Analyze the music and learn to tell the difference between quality art and vapid crap.
Few artists belong to the former category, but these are the ones that are worth your time. , Read reviews and interviews, and learn about the history of the genre.
Find out why and how your favorite releases came to be, and what influenced your favorite artists.
Learn about why an album is contextually important.
A great place to start is the Dark Legions Archive, at http://www.anus.com/metal.
Consult the sections on Philosophy, History, and Styles first.
Make sure to bring a dictionary., Listen thoroughly, at different days, not five times in one sitting.
It's really important.
Your mind will gradually become acquainted with the narration, structure, and melodies of the music.
Only then can a full appreciation of the spirit of Metal come to realization. , They're really not that bad
- in fact, some metal lyrics are surprisingly literate, such as those penned by Nile, Emperor, Absu, and Shining.
If a CD doesn't come with lyrics, look them up on http://www.darklyrics.com. , Many bands take direct influence from Classical / Romanticist composers such as W.A.
Mozart, Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, and Edvard Grieg.
Others borrow from neoclassical groups like King Crimson, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, and Vangelis.
Some bands were inspired by the world of literature as well:
Bathory and Gorgoroth were avid readers of Nietzsche.
As well, metal is deeply connected with other genres such as hardcore punk (Napalm Death), ambient (Burzum), and industrial music (Godflesh). , You don't have to grab everything you can get your hands on (in fact you shouldn't), and you don't have to be a collector either
- but buying albums helps the genre to live by demonstrating public interest in the music.
Only buy releases of known quality
- try to listen to the album several times before you purchase it. , Whether you have long hair or not is of little importance in the long run.
However, wearing an Immortal or Autopsy shirt in a public place is a good way to meet other Metalheads, and also a good way to shove the reality of metal and its message into the consciousness of the sheep-like public. , Whether an album is technically simple or complex; whether it was recorded in a basement or in a professional studio does not matter
- context, composition and artistic content do. , There is no underground when any band can get thousands of fans overnight just by having a page on Myspace.com.
Most so-called "underground" music is imitation
- not innovation. , Sounds out of place, but think about it
- spend two decades with drugs, alcohol, fast food, TV, and loud music, and you won't be able to tell the difference between Burzum and Britney. , Metal's not quite finished yet
- there are still new directions to explore and new techniques to employ.
If you are a musician
- stick with what you do, but don't rush.
Make sure your music is of (very) high quality before even thinking about releasing anything.
We don't need anymore bedroom black metal or tech-metalcore bands
- these aren't worth the plastic cases their CDs come in.
If you are not a musician, do what you can to promote quality metal
- join a message board and talk about the bands that matter and why they're important.
About the Author
Cheryl Walker
Writer and educator with a focus on practical DIY projects knowledge.
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