The HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL Thread Continued

 

Track#3

Iron Maiden - Remember Tomorrow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMkQYt3u2ac

(RIP Paul Di'Anno, 17 May 1958 – 21 October 2024)

I listen to more Heavy Metal music these days than when I was younger, when the music was newly released. For example, Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell is in heavy rotation, especially with my RAAL CA-1a phone and the VM-1a tube headphone amp. My uber rock and roll setup. I never paid too much attention to it back in the day though it got a lot of radio play.

@yyzsantabarbara  I remember driving around in a 86 Pontiac Sunbird (barely legal to drive once upon a time) with "Die Young" from that album turned all the way up as much as the crappy stereo in that car would let me. Imo, Dio's vocals just gelled better with Iommi and Ozzy was better off with his solo works.

I listen to many genres, but, my playtime with this genre has gotten more as the rigs/rooms got better.

Is Deep Purple considered heavy metal? If so Lazy’ on Machine Head is my nominee. Agreeing with the poster above that Deep Purple might have given the genre a kick start.

@baconboy I would classify deep purple as mostly hard rock...

I think it is a combination of 70's Sabbath/Iommi style of riffs and Ian Gillan's vocal style (Example Track: Child In time)  that paved the way for a lot of modern metal. I wouldn't classify Ozzy Osbourne as too much of a metal vocalist.

In fact, here's an example of a track from Sabbath's 'Born Again" album, where Gillan was the vocalist....call it Purple Sabbath maybe.... 

 

Black Sabbath - Disturbing The Priest

(Don't be the soundguy that played this on the church PA and disturbed the congregation )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OXLRuu8YQY

 

@simonmoon 

I can see what you're saying...

Here's a breakdown of "the drapery falls" by a classical guy (that you may appreciate).

Personally, i myself am a violin player...who went plugged in for a few years because a couple of my buddies back in the days had a metal band. It is harder to insert oneself as a violin player into that scene, but, i tried for a few years. In my head though, i have a similar thought process to the gentleman in this video when i am breaking down tracks i run into.

Track breakdown

https://youtu.be/Iujfijfnej4?si=YFDkhkXWAEisLNrj

Track

Opeth - The Drapery Falls

https://youtu.be/YeTNkPXRrVY?si=QJeQPGIQ1kDs8ptH

 

Those attributes I love in music are (no particular order): very high levels of musicianship, complexity, deep and broad range of emotional and/or content conveyed, (usually) long form song structure, no need to have "catchy" melodies, no need for verse>chorus>bridge song structure. 

For me, the above attributes supersede any specific genre. Once the above attributes are met, I am almost genre "agnostic".  

The metal bands I like have most or all of the above attributes. 

Progressive metal - Haken, Pain of Salvation, Riverside, Wolverine, Opeth, Caligula's Horse, Lemur Voice, Suncaged, and others.

Not necessarily true, here's an example of Diamond Dave being just a funny guy....

 

Van Halen - Everybody Wants Some

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EI8JN-fSLo

 

 

 

P.S.

If you walk like this (adopt this gait pattern), your confidence levels shall rise with every step you take.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iPYl1Vp6rgU

 

Why the obsession among the Hard Rock/Metal genres with themes of pain, death, fear, insanity, etc? I simply do not relate.

Iron Maiden - Trooper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VZbjrDwQ28

 

Essentially reads me to me as a anti-war message, based around true life events from the 1854 Crimean war.....an anti-war message which is much needed in the current world of warlords who are about to nuke the world soon, i suppose.

 

(can’t quite sing flower gardens, kissing roses or how a gal broke yer heart into a million different pieces to this one....i suppose)

 

 

 

@stuartk Many metal bands are not unidimensional...For example, Opeth (swedish progressive metal) is quite heavy by all standards within the metal genre, though there’s a lot of melody sprinkled in all over.. even with some of their heaviest tracks.

But, out of nowhere, they released an album, "Damnation", which is quite unlike any of their heavier works.

The entire album’s gold, but here are a couple of tracks from that album,

Opeth - Hope Leaves

(the recording/studio master if you can get your hands on it is admirable too...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGPRoszjnWA

I noted that one of the highest rated comments on the YT video is a guy talking about how he was homeless & suicidal, but, pulled through listening to this album

 

Here’s another track from the same album.

Opeth - Weakness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1BIcwJDy5c

Not the happiness song on earth (for sure), but, the guy is singing about some personal loss.

Diana Krall sang about personal loss in one of her high quality audiophile recordings, but, i just fell asleep when i heard it (that's just me, not speaking for everyone, of course). This guy sang about personal loss, i was wide awake and it touched the depths of my soul somewhere.

There are many audiophiles talking about how they couldn’t emotionally connect with the music in spite of having high end gear n all...You listen to something like this on a bluetooth speaker late at night and it might still get ya (no high end rigs are necessary)....Emotional connection is not even a question when the artist himself is something special.

 

 

 

@deep_333

I don’t think there are actually that many stories/ themes/topics, be it music, visual art or literature. It’s not the what, so much as the how.

The Iron Maiden tune is very pumped up -- unrelentingly so. there’s not really any contrast -- it’s just balls out, pedal to the metal, from start to end. Personally, I find this gets monotonous very quickly. Compare it, for example, to Led Zep’s "What Is and What Should Never Be" -- way more contrast and variation in textures, dynamics, timbres. Not saying one is better -- just trying to explain what my preferences are.

it’s not that I don’t enjoy rockin’ out -- "Warrior" and "The King Will Come" from Wishbone Ash’s Argus are examples of what I like. Notice how they vary more hard driving riffs with more lyrical passages.

All three tunes display the influence of British Folk music. I like this, but no doubt there are those for whom this just comes across as "light-weight". Fair enough. Each to his/her own.

Masterpiece

Pantera - Cemetery Gates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSZf8ZYHV7o

 

 

 

 

 

Much of Maiden’s more wonderfully melodic stuff always struck me in a similar way to Wishbone Ash, with the guitars intertwining in and out....

Can you recommend a particular album that exemplifies the above?

@stuartk

If you’re looking for melodic riffs, etc, here’s some stuff

 

James Murphy (from "Testament") - Touching the Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrTh2Sw8Dms

 

Whitesnake - Sailing Ships

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS4VxVFAmvQ

 

Whitesnake - Is this love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrIYPZjhMfk

Many a times, i’ve wished i had Coverdale’s voice.

 

 

Or , if looking at Maiden specifically...a few of these come to mind

Iron Maiden - Strange World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fkD-jzgMXE

 

Iron Maiden - Revelations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRqPFEb3CLs

 

Iron Maiden - Afraid to shoot strangers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeFLAALpThU

 

Iron Maiden - Wasting Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO0D1makMq0

 

 

 

Satriani, IMO, is perhaps the best guitarist & composer... of the ones who're still alive today.

I went to a deep purple concert back in the early 2000s and he opened for them. It was complete WTH moment watching him live, what he can do with a guitar. 

 

Here are some heavier tracks...

Joe Satriani - The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAD7JJGIJEw

 

Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfMK3F08-ho

 

Here are some more melodious ones, some have electronic elements mixed in, etc

 

Joe Satriani - Lights of heaven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAWP-OTelyU

 

Joe Satriani - Turkey man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF9fTGOYw30

 

Joe Satriani - Engines of creation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UrLSxcVOTY

 

Joe Satriani - Why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4H_iwRb4yA