UPdate- Check out my In Flames Tribute page!- click me
NOTE- If pictures do not load, try refreshing
Well, here it is. I've been talking about putting up a page that pays tribute to some of my favorite bands for sometime now, so I figured it was time to just do it. Since I'm very inexperienced at making web pages, I'm going to basically use this page as a "music homepage" of types, containing links to my individual band pages.
So anyway, on to the music. I'm a pretty big fan of most metal and rock bands. I'm a huge fan of classic heavy metal, but I'm also an avid listener to power, speed, thrash, death, and even some black metal bands.
I'm going to state right off that I'm not a big fan of MTV, or a lot of the other trendy music or music broadcasting of today. If you don't like that...I don't care, just leave and we'll both be happy. If you are into some of the same styles of music that I am, don't like a lot of bullshit marketing propaganda of the music industry today, and/or you are just open- minded, you might actually enjoy this site. Also, because of my "lack of website experience" this site will not be overly creative looking, have alot of fancy HTML, or contain many pictures for quite some time. Again, if you don't like this...just leave :-)
Now I'm going to break down, and briefly define a lot of the types of metal that I listen too. I will be the first to admit that I am leaving out countless types/genres of heavy metal...and honestly...too bad:-)This is my site, so it will pretty much revolve around the stuff that I listen too. However, I won't be a complete dick about this. If there is, by some chance, a type of metal that you are interested in that I did not mention, try checking out http://www.geocities.com/metallurgy44/genres.html
Metal masters Iron Maiden (right)
-Thrash Metal-
Slayer pentagram logo (left)
-Power Metal-
Finnish power metal band Stratovarius (above)
-Death Metal-
Ah, one of the best for last. Now before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I've decided to lump "Gothenburg Metal" (bands of Gothenburg, Sweden, or bands that play similar to bands that originated in Gothenburg, Sweden) into this category. Some people feel that those bands deserve their own category, but to me they play the same melodic death metal as everyone else, and...o yeah...my site heh.
Annnyyywayy, this type of metal started as, and will mostly likely always be, and underground type of music. This genre is by far the heaviest and most chaotic style of music there is. It is lacking in most forms of structure, and lacks anything "catchy". The guitars may be, and often are, down-tuned to create a deeper sound, and the vocals are almost undistinguishable because of the fact that they are basically just guttural growls. There is really nothing else to mention about this genre of metal, except for the "splinter" group it generated, known as melodic death metal...which I may or may not go into detail in. I'll decide later. Some death metal/melodic death metal bands include; Death, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, In Flames*, Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, Angel Corpse, and the late At the Gates.
* indicates that an individual tribute page to that band is/will be available
-Classic Heavy Metal-
The beginning of it all so to speak. The genre of music that was the detonation device for controversy, mayhem, and headbanging worldwide. Spawned from classic rock'n'roll bands of the 60's and 70's, heavy metal had many of the same characteristics as it's predecessors. The changes, however, were as unique as they were welcomed. Distorted guitar riffs and solos, higher ranged vocals, galloping rhythm sections of bass and drums, an upbeat tempo, and soaring memorable choruses accompanied the genre that was most notably created by such bands as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, and a host of others.
A genre of metal that reached its popularity in the mid 1980's, thrash metal is less listener friendly than your classic heavy metal bands. Thrash metal does not focus as much on individual song structure, as it does on a very tight, intricate, and often times fast rhythm guitar section. The rhythm section of drumming and bass are also sped up, and the vocals move from mid-range, to a "scratching" type voice. Less emphasis is put on melody, as the guitar soloing and basic song structure are bumped up "X" bpm in thrash metal. Some thrash metal bands worth mentioning are; Exodus, Testament, Metallica, and Slayer (some people will disagree with that last one...tough...I think Kerry King's playing is best described as thrash...my site, I win :-))
One of the more popular forms of metal being played today, power metal could basically be described as the Classic Heavy Metal for the next generation. It contains many of the same characteristics (i.e. the focus on guitar work and the harmonic, catchy choruses). However, power metal is played much faster than the classic heavy metal bands of the 1980's. Despite the fact that there is still obvious bias to guitar work (as well there should be), most power metal bands also focus heavily on other individual playing in the group, such as drumming, singing, bass, etc. Keyboards, as well as even work with symphonies and orchestras, are very common in this genre, as are fantasy themed epics, usually dealing with mythology or literature (Dragons are always popular :-)). The ryhthm section is clean and tight, the vocals are identical to that of classic metal, and the overall package is delivered cleanly, making this genre very listener friendly. Some great power metal bands include; Helloween, Hammerfall, Rhapsody, Jag Panzer, Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Blind Guardian, and Sonata Arctica*.
Death metal band Dark Tranquillity (left)
