Genres you'd like if it wasn't for...

I'm a little late for this, but speaking as someone who used to find it nearly impossible to listen to extreme metal, it's possible to acclimatise to it over time if you're willing. Indeed, for me the growlier the better when it comes to loud music - though I appreciate it more for timbre than melody, so the naysayers have a point on that one.

edited 17th Aug '11 8:11:05 PM by DarkDecapodian

Aww, did I hurt your widdle fee-fees?

For the most part, Death and Black metal.

My complaints are mainly that most of the times I've listened to them I've found msyelf bored. Either i can't distinguish between all the noise and it all sounds the same, or it actually is very one note, besides a few exceptions.

I would be more fond of 80's pop-rock if Journey never existed.

God that band sucks.

What do ya mean I ain't kind? Just not your kind...

The one thing I have against blues that keeps me from digging into it more is that, superficially, all of the songs I've heard are indistinguishable from each other. I can say the same thing about folk. I like a couple of songs from each of these genres, but they all tend to assimilate together in a way that suggests innovation is something to be discouraged.

edited 18th Aug '11 12:50:25 AM by KitsuneInferno

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt." - Some guy with a snazzy hat.

Blues is a strange genre that way. It seems homogeneous initially, but then you start to see the differences. Sometimes.

As for folk: Richard Thompson and Shirley Collins. Listen and learn.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

Pagad, you said metal has the most variety of singing voices.

I dislike most of them.

edited 19th Aug '11 8:45:02 AM by Erock

If you don't like a single Frank Ocean song, you have no soul.

It just seems odd that given the sheer variety of them that exist, overlapping most styles of singing in just plain old rock music.

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.

Thanks for the many recommendations over the last couple of pages, people - I have already listened to Devin Townsend's lastest album Ghost on a previous recommendation, seen as it's kinda ambient-new-agey and not really metal in the slightest. The rest of the recommendations I shall try and listen to over the weekend, I've been away a couple of days and not really had a chance to listen to anything. Thanks again!

Listen to Music with Tropers at The Troper Turntable!

The only stuff I'm fine with is power metal singing.

If you don't like a single Frank Ocean song, you have no soul.

A bit late, but...

About black metal, I think you should try Borknagar. I've never been a fan of black metal itself, but Borknagar is way far from the norm, I guess.

No regret shall pass over the threshold!

No Ray Alder? Ray Alder is my favorite non-metal metal singer, if you catch my drift. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4txMC0scaCA

"I could eat a knob at night" - Karl Pilkington

He's okay.

If you don't like a single Frank Ocean song, you have no soul.

I kind of like the really ugly end of metal vocals - at least where the lyrics are still semi-comprehensible, as in Khanate - for the fact that they are just so far from normal singing that I am no longer "required" to assess them technically as vocals. And that's fun. Plus, I just love hideous noises at unnecessary volumes.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

Obligatory.

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.

Funk.

The singing style urks me.

The smartest idiot you will ever meet.

This is why I love you, Inane.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

There are some funk bands that primarily do instrumentals, you know...

Thank you.

The smartest idiot you will ever meet.

Country - It used to be all depressing "my wife stole my trailer and cheated on me", now it all sounds like pop with an acoustic guitar..I always hated it because of both. I don't mind the country -sound-, I just hate what they sing about.

Radio rap = Let my clearify just so there is no misunderstanding, I mean the kind of rap that is played, and over-played, on the radio. They all rap about the same stuff, going to a club, getting drunk, sleeping with alot of women, having alot of money, and their cars. I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT! I love old school rap like KRS one, fu-shinckens, ect. and underground/horrorcore rap like gravediggas, tech n9ne, brotha lynch, hopsin, ect. because they rap about other things

most metal, I can't really say a single genre, but I hate the screamy metal that seems to be so popular now adays, I don't mind static-X, or older metal bands like black sabbath. But metal bands that scream at the top of their lungs about murder and death with voices that sound like they gargul battery acid..Just, horrible.

Gee never heard this before.

Isn't this mostly just Death and Black Metal (and any derivatives)? I'm not aware that they are particularly popular, though (and BMers would probably become furious if Black Metal ever becomes popular).

edited 16th Mar '12 2:58:29 AM by Nyarly

People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.

I don't know, but all the "metal heads" I know, thats all they listen too.

I don't share some people's hatred of metal growlings, but many times the lyrics are just comically terrible. Yes, popular music in general is not very poetically accomplished, and some of these can be Narm Charm for many, but still.

The words above are to be read as if they are narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Death metal and the horrible growl. I actually don't mind growling when used in conjunction with clean vocals, makes for nice variety... but growling only?

First of all, growling lessens the musical complexity of the work. It uses the vocals for a one-note-somewhat-atonal sound that cannot do any kind of melody. (and if someone can show me tonal growls, that would be interesting) Isn't musical complexity one of the biggest points of death metal? At least the technical death metal kind. This is most obvious when someone tries to do a death metal cover of a song that was not originally death metal. Like the Six Feet Under cover of "Smoke on the Water". That riff becomes FREAKING HUGE, the bass and guitars sound brilliant, the heavy sound pumps me up... and then they start growling and I realized that without clean vocals, the majority of the melody is missing. That instantly ruined the whole cover for me.

Second, it makes the lyrics virtually incomprehensible by swallowing all consonants. A vowel-only sound does not lead to good enunciation. There are a few vocalists who can somewhat fight this off, but they are very few and far inbetween.

Third, most importantly, it sounds stupid. The Narm kind of stupid. "Cookie monster vocals" is right — growling usually doesn't sound genuinely evil and unearthly. It sounds like someone is trying to imitate unearthliness by swallowing a frog. About the only growls that actually sound menacing by having the sense to not go completely over-the-top and at least apply some decent reverb are the Arch Enemy growls. Incidentally, this is about the only growl-heavy band whose vocals I can tolerate.

[/endrant]

EDIT: I just listened to a random song by Heaven Shall Burn (Counterweight, I think, or something like that) and the vocals were pretty good. The song itself bored me, though... which is sad.

edited 22nd Mar '12 12:36:57 PM by Muzozavr

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Few might share my opinion, but I see growling mostly as something not so different from rapping... As in its contribution to the music is adding rhythm to the piece, while giving an angrier, darker or killerer (lulz) tone than rapping would.

Of course, many growlers DON'T do that, adding only a shallow rhythm to the songs, and that's OK for me only if the growls are AWESOME.

And by the way... Muzozavr, you should try some more metalcore bands. Most harsh vocals are less "growly" than in death metal..

edited 22nd Mar '12 4:37:34 PM by NEO

No regret shall pass over the threshold!