Metal Bands For Non-Metalheads

You heard it here first: heavy metal music isn’t just for metalheads. There are a lot of metal bands that have crossover appeal to people who prefer other genres of music. This week on “Into the Pit,” I have compiled a list of metal bands for people who don’t typically enjoy metal. These bands aren’t necessarily stylistically accessible. These bands also won’t necessarily serve as gateway bands for people who want to start listening to metal. The bands listed below are simply one-of-a-kind groups that can be taken and enjoyed at face value by fans of other styles of music.

Deafheaven - Everyone went crazy for this group last year. Deafheaven’s most recent record, Sunbather, was highly enjoyed by fans of shoegaze and post rock. The band’s harsh moments are attempts to be emotional, not heavy. Those interested in shoegaze should definitely check the band out and see what all the fuss is really about.

Deftones - If The Cure was a metal band, they would take the form of Deftones--it’s really as simple as that. The band’s music is dark and influenced by new wave, trip-hop, dream pop and shoegaze. I particularly recommend the band’s newest album, Koi No Yokan, for new listeners. The side projects of the band’s frontman (Crosses, Palms and Team Sleep) may also appeal to people who don’t typically enjoy metal as well.

Body Count - This is Ice-T’s metal band. Do I really need to say more? Fans of rap music are bound to dig this group at least a little bit. 

Converge - Fans of hardcore punk go gaga over Converge. The group basically invented metalcore and are arguably the best band in the subgenre. Converge is a very creative group and really has never put out a bad record. The band’s newest material is probably the best place to start when listening to them for the first time. Then work backwards. 

Pelican - Pelican is recommended for fans of instrumental rock music particularly, but the group will appeal to almost anyone. Not having vocals can be considered a weakness, but to Pelican it’s a strength. The band’s music is dark and sludgy, but is really captivating and compelling. The way it builds on itself is absolutely awesome.

Alcest - Alcest is a pioneer of combining metal and shoegaze. The group’s frontman and musical composer, Neige, is immensely talented and has poured his heart and soul into Alcest’s music. Now the band is straying farther and farther away from metal, making them an easy recommendation for people who enjoy music that evokes tender and dreamy fantasies. 

Diablo Swing Orchestra - Metal has always needed more trumpet, trombone and cello. Diablo Swing Orchestra plays danceable, operatic metal. Fans of danceable orchestral music are bound to have an awesome time with Diablo Swing Orchestra. 

My Dying Bride - Those who enjoy sadness and sorrow will die for My Dying Bride’s music. It’s gothic, but beautiful. My Dying Bride is one of the most melancholy bands to ever exist, and it’s a crime to ignore their tortured souls. 

Nightwish - Do you like film soundtracks? Then Nightwish is the band for you! Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band that writes gloriously catchy music. The band’s most recent album, Imaginaerum, was written to go along with the band-produced film of the same name and is a great starting point for new listeners. Nightwish sweeps listeners off their feet with every song, and the band’s music is a testament to how much fun metal can be.

Boris - This is not a single person. This is a Japanese metal band that mixes sludge metal with noise rock, psychedelic rock, ambient, pop and droning music. Each album by Boris is fairly different, but if one can find the right album to suit their tastes, he or she will be instantly hooked. Check Boris out for something different and musically intriguing. 

The Early 1990s, The Rise of Grunge and Changing Tastes in Metal

In past blog posts, I have briefly mentioned how heavy metal’s popularity declined once grunge was introduced in the early 1990s. In this post, we are going to examine that era of heavy metal a little more closely.

In the early 1990s, the tastes of the American public began to change. In 1991, four very important albums were released. Metallica released The Black Album, which totally changed the mindset of thrash metal bands around the world. The Black Album took a more mainstream approach to Metallica’s music, incorporating elements of hard rock. The album was such an immediate success that record labels started pressuring other thrash metal groups to follow in Metallica’s example.

Certain bands managed to adapt and become more mainstream, but many bands could not keep up and were either tossed from the mainstream to the underground world of heavy metal, or were forced to break up. The success of The Black Album coincided succinctly with the rise of grunge. The American public was more interested in dark rock music than ever before. They wanted albums by bands that weren’t flashy with their music or image. Henceforth, thrash metal quickly lost popularity and no longer became supported by mainstream record labels.  

The disappearance of thrash metal left a void in the heavy metal mainstream. That void was kind of filled by groove metal bands such as Pantera, Machine Head and Lamb of God, but groove metal still struggled to maintain popularity, and only Pantera was really successful at first. Pantera was seen as an anomaly for the most part. The difference between Pantera and other groove metal groups is that Pantera's attitude was similar to those of grunge acts. Their angsty vibe was appealing to both fans of grunge and thrash metal alike. That was what made Pantera such an instant success in the eyes of the public.

Alternative metal took the place of thrash metal more fully. The genre became popular because of its similarities to grunge. Alternative metal artists (just like grunge artists) were down to earth and never tried to look flashy or play over-the-top music. The genre was mixed in terms of what was musically acceptable, but for the most part, the music was darker and filled with more angst. Alternative metal musicians were the first metal musicians to really not dress up or try and “look metal.” Most of them looked like average members of the American youth, but just so happened to harbor musical talents. This resonated with the audience in the 1990s and led to the fast paced growing of the genre. 

Alternative metal’s rise came very shortly after the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind, Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger and Pearl Jam’s Ten in 1991 (the three other important albums mentioned above). Nevermind, Badmotorfinger and Ten helped launch grunge and alternative rock into the world of mainstream rock music. The public fell in love with these acts that bridged hard rock and heavy metal in a way that had never been done before. 

As grunge rose, glam metal got totally obliterated. The images and music of the bands in these two scenes completely contrasted with one another. Grunge was down to earth, had more relatable lyrics and dark music. Glam metal, on the other hand, was based in a heavy metal wonderland and was a genre that focused on almost unrealistic dreams and desires. One genre definitely had to go, and it ended up being glam metal. 

With changing trends in the taste of the public, heavy metal became completely different within the scope of only a couple of years. The genre of music started to become an underground phenomenon as fans fell in love with grunge, alternative rock and more hard rock-based metal groups. Beneficial changes to the genre came from the grunge scene, and now metal is much more diverse and eclectic than it ever was before.

Fan Subculture

This week, let’s talk about the most important members of the heavy metal community: the fans. Metalheads come in many different varieties. There are the angsty teenagers who listen to bands that just “understand” them like Emmure and Suicide Silence. Then there are the big bearded men who seem intimidating but are real softies--they listen to bands like Amon Amarth and Lamb of God. And then you have the social recluses who worship Wolves in the Throne Room and Ihsahn, but have hardly ever been outside into the daylight to get some fresh air. There are tons of different types of heavy metal fans, however they all have more similarities than differences.

All metalheads tend to enjoy their favorite bands by jumping into mosh pits or headbanging in a crowded room. Heavy metal tours actually do surprisingly well due to the fans’ strong appreciation of live music. Metal is a genre that needs to be experienced in person. A lot of times, listening to a record simply doesn’t cut it.

When metalheads go to their favorite concerts, they tend to wear their favorite metal t-shirts. Fans wear metal shirts (at concerts and in public) as a way of showing off their good taste in music. Wearing metal shirts also shows that someone is active in the metal community. It is important for fans to buy merchandise at concerts because for a lot of bands, it is the only way they make significant money. Wearing a metal shirt means that a fan has liked a band enough to proudly wear their shirt and support their future musical endeavors. Additionally, wearing metal shirts can be a major unifying experience for fans, as it is a way for metalheads to identify each other in public and form an unspoken bond. 

It is common for metalheads to use the devil horns hand sign at concerts and in public. It’s a sign of respect amongst metalheads. At concerts, horns will be raised in the air, as a sign of appreciation for the music that is being played. 

Beyond those things, there is one other quality that is common amongst many metalheads. Heavy metal fans have a reputation for being intolerant of other musical genres. This can be frustrating for many bands who wish to step outside the boundaries of heavy metal music. Personally, I don’t like the stereotype that metalheads are intolerant of other types of music, although at times it can seem to be true. Still, I think everyone has their favorite genre of music, and it’s hard not to primarily support the musical genre that one is passionate about.

Metalheads are a passionate group of music lovers and appreciators. A lot of fans would die for their favorite metal group. Heavy metal fans form a strong community through their enthusiasm and similarities. This has kept a generally inaccessible genre of music alive for several decades. Heavy metal has a bright future ahead, and it is all thanks to the genre’s wonderfully devoted fans.

Selling Out

Back in the 1990s, grunge basically destroyed mainstream heavy metal. Tons of popular thrash metal bands and glam metal groups got thrown to the wayside in favor of this new angst-ridden style of rock music.

While glam metal bands all did fairly different things to survive, thrash metal bands were left with two options: sell out and get less extreme, or go underground and get heavier. Death metal and black metal gained underground followings that were devoted, yet not necessarily very large. A few thrash metal bands, most notably Testament, were able to switch over to a death metal style successfully. But a lot of other groups were left with no other choice but to sell out.

Selling out was seen as treason by metalheads across the world, who wanted their favorite groups to get heavier, not less intense. However, for thrash metal bands in particular, it was a business decision. Bands such as Metallica and Megadeth made the best of changing trends and managed to put out legendary rock records. Other bands didn’t have as flexible of an identity, and ended up forcing out terrible records.

Selling out is the worst form of sin that a metal band can commit. Getting less heavy to make money instead of staying true to one’s roots is seen as a terrible idea. For Metallica and Megadeth, it was more of a musical progression, even though a ton of fans still didn’t see it that way. Those musicians were getting old and they adapted to keep themselves comfortable and to keep their music close to their hearts. 

To me, selling out is when a band loses its identity and tries to force out records to make more money. Sure, Metallica and Megadeth wanted to make tons of cash, but they didn’t force anything out. It all came naturally, and that was fine. 

Nowadays, the term “selling out” isn’t really used anymore. It’s just not really necessary. With the invention of the Internet, music has become much more niche-based. Because of this, records don’t sell well and becoming popular is much more difficult. Furthermore, heavier and heavier bands keep gaining more mainstream exposure due to constantly growing Internet-based followings. For example, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Gojira are two bands that are signed to some of the best heavy metal labels and are headlining major tours, yet they are both extremely heavy groups. 

Mainstream metal has just changed. The tolerance of music lovers for less accessible styles is increasing. Furthermore, touring metal bands (even legendary ones) aren’t doing as well as they used to. Concerts aren’t selling quite like they once did. The economy is tight and people don’t have the money to throw away going to huge concerts anymore.

Does this mean heavy metal music is dying? Of course not, but there is no money in it anymore. At least, there isn't a large sum of money like there used to be. Bands have no need to sell out because it does nothing for them. By making one’s music more accessible, it just simultaneously isolates and welcomes in different listeners. It’s a pretty even trade off. 

So can the term “selling out” be used at all anymore? I think so. I think the term is changing meaning, though. Now getting less heavy is more of an artistic decision than it is a business one. Therefore, I don’t think the term can be applied in that context anymore. 

I think selling out is now when a band takes too much influence from other bands and starts adapting its signature style in order to sound like someone else.  For example, last year Avenged Sevenfold and Trivium both sold out in my eyes. Avenged Sevenfold’s newest record took influence from just a ton of different classic metal artists, which is fine to an extent. However, Hail to the King really didn’t sound that much like an Avenged Sevenfold record to me, and that’s how I think the line was crossed. Meanwhile, Trivium’s newest record sounds like a Disturbed album. The band didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but after hiring Disturbed’s lead singer to produce, the band should have been more self-conscious. 

So yeah, that is how I think the term “selling out” is starting to change. What do you think, metalheads? Is the term “selling out” changing its meaning? It’s all up for debate, but I think it’s a pertinent topic in metal to discuss. I urge you all to go to your favorite metal forum and discuss the topic because it’s an interesting one and something that is very relevant now in the heavy metal community.