So... METAL... your opinions?

[Master Ray]

... and, please, no 'jokes' about how you like 'iron' more than 'copper' or some such bullshit... 

I was watching Metallica at Glastonbury on TV last night and I was wondering how you lot thought about the musical genre that was and is called 'heavy metal'...

For me... I was about 9 years old when the late 70's movement called the NWOBHM happened... Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Motorhead, The Scorpions, Judas Priest, Diamond Head, etc..

Loved those bands ( had those two Axe Attack albums...)

During the 80's, I drifted away from the metal scene but in the 90's, I fell in with some great metal heads (still some of the best friends I ever had) and subsequently got into bands like Paradise Lost, Sepultura, Megadeth, Slayer, Fear Factory, White Zombie, Machine Head, Type O Negative, Anthrax and, best of all, the magnificent Pantera...

So, do any of you lot like Metal?

 

[Bunny]

God yeah. Started late and found Lizzy in the 80s. Listened to Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer amongst others. Everyone else I knew liked Rick bloody Astley. Then veered towards Suicidal Tendencies, New York Hardcore (more punky I guess)., Manowar, RATM, Bizkit, Linkin Park  Those were the main bands. Not to keen on much from the mid 2000's. Seems too many genres that are virtually the same. More recently Amon Amarth

[szmurf]

Liked bands like KISS and AC/DC in grade/high school, but could never get into Maiden or Slayer.  Not sure why, but think it was the long guitar solos.  Liked the odd Metallica and Black Sabbath tune, but couldn't listen to an entire side of an album from either band.  Still like KISS and AC/DC.

Absolutely hate the bands where the lead singer tries to sing really high, then melodic, and then growling/screaming.  HATE that crap.

[Bunny]

God yeah. Started late and found Lizzy in the 80s. Listened to Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer amongst others. Everyone else I knew liked Rick bloody Astley. Then veered towards Suicidal Tendencies, New York Hardcore (more punky I guess)., Manowar, RATM, Bizkit, Linkin Park  Those were the main bands. Not to keen on much from the mid 2000's. Seems too many genres that are virtually the same. More recently Amon Amarth

How could I forget ACDC. Huuuuuuge fan of their 70's stuff and some of the later songs.

[Heno]

i've a fair appreciation of this stuff. mate of mine is big into it. from the allman brothers to ac/dc, rose tattoo, lynyrd skynyrd and all that stuff. i love pink floyd and led zeppillin and some early metalica and gnr.

but it down to friends interest, not my own

[Pol]

Was never a metal fan growing was always a punk then got into the alternative 80s scene, meteors,cramps ,sisters, cult, pogues etc etc and of course the mighty nma
The first real metal stuff i liked were the amebix and Metallica (master of puppets,black album)
The only two metal bands that am really into are Rammstein and tool.l do love the debut ratm lp though i don't really class this as metal and i wouldn't class the amebix as metal either. I do listen to planet rock at work and do enjoy most of the stuff they play but haven't rushed out to buy it.l think stuff like ac/dc motorhead maiden Sabbath have some excellent tunes

[luckyjack]

Swing over to All that is heavy (.com) and start working through the alphabet. They focus on lesser known/underground stuff as well as obscure oldies. I've been a big fan of Skeletonwitch and Black Pyramid lately but the groove end is covered nicely as well. Lots of Kyuss influenced bands if that's your bag.

[luckyjack]

Or if you'd like a more direct list of the good stuff on my shelf...there's way more but here's a start.
Atomic Bitchwax, Bad wizard, Bison, Black angels, Barn Burner, Cancer bats, Clutch, Coliseum, Company band
Dead meadow, Doomriders, Earthless, Electric Wizard, Entombed, Ghost, Hermano, High on Fire, Mastodon, quest for fire, Red fang, the Sword, Turbonegro, Zebulon, Zeke.

Sorry for getting all listy- I just love it when I get good suggestions.
Metal is kinda like Science Fiction, you have to wade through a lot of crap to find the gems.

[Amandistan]

I never did care for it much. Though I am not close-minded to the idea of any genre and some metal artists are good. However most That i have heard, I don't care for.

[Bunny]

Can only see Cradle of Filth I d see and maybe some Paradise Lost. But OMG The Neph. Not since 1989 at The Hummingbird in Brum :-)

[Master Ray]

Yay, some good feedback there!

I have to say that I need some input in the whole metal thing nowadays.  Kerrang used to be a fine indicator of what was going on, but nowadays..?

My fave metal bands nowadays are Rammstein, Paradise Lost and Lacuna Coil.  All of whom have been going since the 90's and who I'm familiar with live.  Luckyjack, the only band you mentioned that I know are Entombed (saw them supporting someone back in the day, think it was Type O, but I'm not sure..) but you've given me many names to look into, thanks!

I might be getting on a bit nowadays, age-wise, but I still love the sound of a VERY loud guitar!!!

 

[Tony S]

Yep, the whole NWOBHM thing was going on just as I was getting into music. Tommy Vance's Friday Rock Show on Radio 1 was like my audio bible ! From that I learnt to appreciate a lot of the older, classic rock and heavy rock that I was too young to remember at the time, such as Zep, Purple, Hendrix, Sabbath and much, much more of course. Tommy was great because he played just whatever he felt like, so you got lots of new stuff and older stuff too. Ah, I miss those days !

[Bunny]

I used to love the Friday Rock Show. Forgot about it too. First heard Phantom of the Opera by Maiden on it 

[rick a.]

My issue with Metal was when so many of the bands suddenly had vocalists that were screaching away in high voices and dressing like extras in a Monty Python middles ages comedy. I loved a lot of the "hard rock" of the late 60's and early 70's but lost interest quickly. I love Sabbath and used to listen to groups like atomic rooster, The Move(anyone ever listen to "looking in"?), mid period Groundhogs, Uriah Heep,Mountain, and other loud blues based rock groups.
Punk made rock interesting again for a while and I still listen to a lot of the groups from the 67-77 period. I did see Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth a few years back and love dtheir live shows. But they really could have fit in with some of the late 60's hard rock bands.
Now when I want volume I listen to KMFDM, the best unknown band around. While labelled "industrial", they  manage to combine Metal,electronic,and techno in a fascinating way.

[Bunny]

Check out Volbeat if you havent heard em. Danish band. Bit of allsorts going on. Pretty good