This week on “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog” we are going to delve further into the underground realm of heavy metal music by discussing the stoner metal subgenre. Stoner metal is simply a more intense version of stoner rock music, and is a combination of heavy metal, psychedelic rock, and blues rock.
Stoner metal is in many ways very similar to both stoner rock and sludge metal, and bands that are given one label are frequently given the others as well. Sludge metal usually tends to avoid the heavy use of psychedelia though, which is very prominent in stoner metal.
Musically, stoner metal is characterized by its use of guitars that make use of psychedelic effects, such as feedback, wah wah, and fuzzboxes. The guitar sound is also almost always heavily distorted. Song structures are usually very complicated and often consist of unusual time signatures, extended instrumental jams, as well as drone sections.
Several bands such as Hawkwind, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and The Blue Oyster Cult helped to set the tone for the development of stoner metal. The biggest precursor to stoner rock though was the band, Blue Cheer. Blue Cheer was prominent during the 1960s and 1970s, and with their monumental debut, Vincebus Eruptum, they managed to really influence the onset of the stoner rock/metal movement of the 1990s.
Many metalheads around the world consider the first real stoner metal album to be Blues for the Red Sun by the band, Kyuss. Kyuss came out of the Palm Desert scene and shocked the world with their innovative sound. Kyuss put out several other legendary stoner metal albums such as Welcome to Sky Valley and …And The Circus Leaves Town. The band was led by guitarist, Josh Homme, who is now the frontman of the extremely successful hard rock band, Queens of the Stone Age. Homme has also recently participated in the band, Them Crooked Vultures, with Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters and John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin. Kyuss has recently reformed without Homme and is touring under the name, Kyuss Lives!
Another major force during the 1990s stoner metal scene was the San Jose metal band, Sleep. Sleep was more heavily rooted in doom metal than Kyuss, and they are highly regarded for their very influential albums such as Sleep’s Holy Mountain, Jerusalem and Dopesmoker. Sleep eventually broke up and their guitarist, Matt Pike, received the most post-Sleep success with his highly acclaimed sludge metal band, High on Fire. In 2010, Sleep reunited and have played several shows since.
Stoner metal remained popular during the 1990s with other bands such as Monster Magnet, Goatsnake, and Orange Goblin building off of the success of Kyuss and Sleep. Today, stoner metal remains a very prolific scene, but has a large following of many devoted fans.
Showing posts with label acrn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label acrn. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Black Metal (Part 1)
Over the past couple of weeks, “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog” has casually mentioned the black metal subgenre when talking about the band, Venom. For the next two weeks, we are going to take an in-depth look at the subgenre and its dark history. This week we will focus on the first wave of black metal bands to arise.
The black metal subgenre really did all begin with Venom. Their album titled Black Metal is where the genre received its name. Venom was a large mixture of subgenres though, and later bands would further cement the genre into existence.
Black metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is primarily characterized by high-pitched guitar tones that feature strong distortion. The music is usually very fast, using dissonance to create dark and "scary"-sounding tones. Bass is usually very minimal within black metal music, and drumming is characterized as being very fast and using blast-beats. Black metal vocals usually consist of shrieking, growling, and other experimental styles. The production of black metal music is also commonly very raw and lo-fi.
Black metal also contains unique and dark imagery. Many black metal bands have very theatrically vicious stage performances. Throughout the history of black metal, many extremely controversial and disturbing acts have occurred during concerts, particularly by the musicians themselves. Impaled animal heads, mock crucifixions and the covering of the musicians in animal blood have all been parts of black metal performances in the past, particularly during the second wave of black metal in Norway. Today, black metal performances are much tamer and less controversial than they used to be.
It is also common for black metal performances to be very atmospheric and grim. Corpse paint is commonly worn to try to make the musicians seem more cold and emotionless. Many black metal musicians furthermore choose to create pseudonyms in order to appear mysterious.
One of the earliest pioneers of the black metal genre was a band called Bathory. Bathory was essentially the one man project of Tomas Forsberg, more commonly known as, Quorthon. Bathory had a revolving line-up of other musicians until its demise in 2004 that coincided with Quorthon’s death.
Bathory’s debut self-titled album is known by many as the first true black metal album. However, Bathory’s most famous album is undeniably Under the Sign of the Black Mark, which would become a massively influential record on all subsequent albums within the black metal genre. Bathory eventually started to dabble heavily in viking metal, and never managed to return to their black metal roots.
Hellhammer is also an important early black metal band. Hellhammer only released one EP, but that EP titled Apocalyptic Raids would prove to be influential in the development of black metal.
After Hellhammer disbanded, several of the members went on to form Celtic Frost, which would prove to be an influential and successful black metal band as well. Albums such as Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion are considered very significant black metal records.
Recently, Celtic Frost permanently disbanded while frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer went on to start a new band known as Triptykon.
Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, and Celtic Frost were the most noteworthy bands of this first wave of black metal.
Next week will be the darkest and most disturbing post on “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog;” as, we will discuss the second wave of black metal. Stay tuned!
The black metal subgenre really did all begin with Venom. Their album titled Black Metal is where the genre received its name. Venom was a large mixture of subgenres though, and later bands would further cement the genre into existence.
Black metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is primarily characterized by high-pitched guitar tones that feature strong distortion. The music is usually very fast, using dissonance to create dark and "scary"-sounding tones. Bass is usually very minimal within black metal music, and drumming is characterized as being very fast and using blast-beats. Black metal vocals usually consist of shrieking, growling, and other experimental styles. The production of black metal music is also commonly very raw and lo-fi.
Black metal also contains unique and dark imagery. Many black metal bands have very theatrically vicious stage performances. Throughout the history of black metal, many extremely controversial and disturbing acts have occurred during concerts, particularly by the musicians themselves. Impaled animal heads, mock crucifixions and the covering of the musicians in animal blood have all been parts of black metal performances in the past, particularly during the second wave of black metal in Norway. Today, black metal performances are much tamer and less controversial than they used to be.
It is also common for black metal performances to be very atmospheric and grim. Corpse paint is commonly worn to try to make the musicians seem more cold and emotionless. Many black metal musicians furthermore choose to create pseudonyms in order to appear mysterious.
One of the earliest pioneers of the black metal genre was a band called Bathory. Bathory was essentially the one man project of Tomas Forsberg, more commonly known as, Quorthon. Bathory had a revolving line-up of other musicians until its demise in 2004 that coincided with Quorthon’s death.
Bathory’s debut self-titled album is known by many as the first true black metal album. However, Bathory’s most famous album is undeniably Under the Sign of the Black Mark, which would become a massively influential record on all subsequent albums within the black metal genre. Bathory eventually started to dabble heavily in viking metal, and never managed to return to their black metal roots.
Hellhammer is also an important early black metal band. Hellhammer only released one EP, but that EP titled Apocalyptic Raids would prove to be influential in the development of black metal.
After Hellhammer disbanded, several of the members went on to form Celtic Frost, which would prove to be an influential and successful black metal band as well. Albums such as Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion are considered very significant black metal records.
Recently, Celtic Frost permanently disbanded while frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer went on to start a new band known as Triptykon.
Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, and Celtic Frost were the most noteworthy bands of this first wave of black metal.
Next week will be the darkest and most disturbing post on “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog;” as, we will discuss the second wave of black metal. Stay tuned!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Speed Metal and Thrash Metal
Over the past couple of weeks, “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog” has covered the earliest subgenres of heavy metal music. These subgenres were the early beginnings of this heavier style of rock music, and they helped lay the foundation for what was to come in the 1980s.
During the 1980s, heavy metal music started to get faster and more aggressive than ever. New metal bands of the time were all trying to be more vicious than the next. That resulted in the rise of speed metal and thrash metal.
We have already briefly mentioned speed metal in the past few weeks when discussing bands such as Motörhead, Accept and Venom. Speed metal was developed during the 1970s, and it eventually evolved into thrash metal music.
There is some debate amongst heavy metal listeners as to whether speed metal is a legitimate subgenre. The people who argue that it is tend to say that speed metal is generally cleaner and more intricate than thrash metal music, which relies more heavily on long, wrenching rhythmic breaks. Personally, I do consider speed metal to be a legitimate subgenre of heavy metal music, though I believe it soon became indistinguishable from thrash.
Thrash metal is generally characterized by its fast tempos, double bass drumming, low-register vocals, intricate guitar riffs, and high register guitar solos. Thrash metal also usually consists of melodic singing or shouting vocals. The genre is heavily influenced by the NWOBHM and speed metal bands of the 1970s.
There were many “proto-thrash” songs of the 1970s, such as Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil?,” Judas Priest’s “Rapid Fire,” and even Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy,” but the first real thrash metal bands were formed in the early 1980s. The most notable thrash metal bands in the US were known as “The Big Four” bands of thrash metal, and they consisted of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. These bands were the initial pioneers of thrash, and they are four of the most popular and prominent metal bands of all time.
Metallica was the first of the four bands to be formed, and are without a doubt the most popular metal band in the world today. Their first album, Kill ‘Em All, was released in 1983 and was one of the first real thrash metal albums.
One of Metallica’s most legendary albums was its third release, Master of Puppets, which has been hailed by some critics as the best metal album of all time.
The band really became a worldwide phenomenon, though, when they released their fifth album, titled The Black Album (also known as their self-titled release). It has been certified 15 times platinum in the US and is one of the most successful rock albums of all time. Since the album’s release, Metallica’s popularity has just kept growing, and today they are considered to be the most commercially successful metal band of all time.
It’s easy to spend three blog posts just talking about the significance of Metallica, but there are many other important thrash metal bands that deserve to be addressed here.
Megadeth, the second out of the “Big Four,” was formed by ex-Metallica guitarist, Dave Mustaine. Megadeth is the second most successful band of "The Big Four,” releasing landmark metal albums such as Peace Sells…But Who's Buying?, Rust in Peace, and Countdown to Extinction.
The last two bands of “The Big Four” are Slayer and Anthrax.
Slayer is the most inaccessible out of the four bands because of their controversial lyrical topics, intense speed and their vocalist’s harsh shouting vocals. Slayer has strongly influenced the development of death metal, and other underground metal subgenres. The band is most well known for their highly successful album, Reign in Blood; however, they have several other very highly acclaimed albums, such as Hell Awaits, South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss.
Anthrax is the least successful of “The Big Four” but they still have a solid and devoted fanbase. They are the most musically consistent out of the four bands, and are known for their more melodic vocals. Anthrax’s most famous albums are Spreading the Disease, Among the Living and Sound of White Noise.
In the US during the 1980s, the San Francisco Bay Area was a very popular region for up and coming thrash metal bands. Several very popular thrash metal bands from this area include Testament, Exodus, Vio-lence, Forbidden and Death Angel. This blog is actually named after Testament’s song “Into the Pit.” Similarly, on the east coast there was also a strong thrash metal scene that led to the formation of Overkill, Whiplash, and Storm Troopers of Death.
Thrash metal also became popular worldwide. Germany was notable for their Teutonic thrash metal scene that sprouted many very popular thrash metal bands. The “three kings” of Teutonic thrash metal are Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction, as they were the most well known bands to come out of this scene. These bands heavily influenced the pioneering of death metal that was to come later in the decade.
One final thrash metal band that is extremely necessary to mention is Sepultura, who is from the Brazilian thrash metal scene. Led by the Cavalera brothers, Sepultura became one of the most popular thrash metal bands around the world for their albums, Beneath the Remains, Arise, Chaos A.D. and Roots.
Similarly to Slayer and the “three kings” of Teutonic thrash, Sepultura heavily influenced the development of death metal. The Cavalera brothers eventually left Sepultura during the 1990s, and now the band is led by long time guitarist Andreas Kisser, and longtime bassist Paolo Jr.
In the mid-1990s, grunge started to take over, and thrash metal became an exhausted genre of music. Many famous thrash metal bands changed their sound or experienced radical line-up changes. In particular, Metallica has been accused of having sold out around this time, as their style transformed into commercial hard rock.
Since then, thrash metal has seen a slight resurgence in popularity, which was fueled by newly-created thrash metal acts such as Municipal Waste, Warbringer, Lazarus A.D, Evile, and Skeletonwitch. Many famous thrash metal bands have also seen line-up reunions, and have reverted to their old musical habits of the 1980s. Recently, “The Big Four” played together for the first time ever, and have since done several subsequent shows together.
Thrash metal has been revived for now, and will hopefully stay popular during times to come.
During the 1980s, heavy metal music started to get faster and more aggressive than ever. New metal bands of the time were all trying to be more vicious than the next. That resulted in the rise of speed metal and thrash metal.
We have already briefly mentioned speed metal in the past few weeks when discussing bands such as Motörhead, Accept and Venom. Speed metal was developed during the 1970s, and it eventually evolved into thrash metal music.
There is some debate amongst heavy metal listeners as to whether speed metal is a legitimate subgenre. The people who argue that it is tend to say that speed metal is generally cleaner and more intricate than thrash metal music, which relies more heavily on long, wrenching rhythmic breaks. Personally, I do consider speed metal to be a legitimate subgenre of heavy metal music, though I believe it soon became indistinguishable from thrash.
Thrash metal is generally characterized by its fast tempos, double bass drumming, low-register vocals, intricate guitar riffs, and high register guitar solos. Thrash metal also usually consists of melodic singing or shouting vocals. The genre is heavily influenced by the NWOBHM and speed metal bands of the 1970s.
There were many “proto-thrash” songs of the 1970s, such as Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil?,” Judas Priest’s “Rapid Fire,” and even Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy,” but the first real thrash metal bands were formed in the early 1980s. The most notable thrash metal bands in the US were known as “The Big Four” bands of thrash metal, and they consisted of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. These bands were the initial pioneers of thrash, and they are four of the most popular and prominent metal bands of all time.
Metallica was the first of the four bands to be formed, and are without a doubt the most popular metal band in the world today. Their first album, Kill ‘Em All, was released in 1983 and was one of the first real thrash metal albums.
One of Metallica’s most legendary albums was its third release, Master of Puppets, which has been hailed by some critics as the best metal album of all time.
The band really became a worldwide phenomenon, though, when they released their fifth album, titled The Black Album (also known as their self-titled release). It has been certified 15 times platinum in the US and is one of the most successful rock albums of all time. Since the album’s release, Metallica’s popularity has just kept growing, and today they are considered to be the most commercially successful metal band of all time.
It’s easy to spend three blog posts just talking about the significance of Metallica, but there are many other important thrash metal bands that deserve to be addressed here.
Megadeth, the second out of the “Big Four,” was formed by ex-Metallica guitarist, Dave Mustaine. Megadeth is the second most successful band of "The Big Four,” releasing landmark metal albums such as Peace Sells…But Who's Buying?, Rust in Peace, and Countdown to Extinction.
The last two bands of “The Big Four” are Slayer and Anthrax.
Slayer is the most inaccessible out of the four bands because of their controversial lyrical topics, intense speed and their vocalist’s harsh shouting vocals. Slayer has strongly influenced the development of death metal, and other underground metal subgenres. The band is most well known for their highly successful album, Reign in Blood; however, they have several other very highly acclaimed albums, such as Hell Awaits, South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss.
Anthrax is the least successful of “The Big Four” but they still have a solid and devoted fanbase. They are the most musically consistent out of the four bands, and are known for their more melodic vocals. Anthrax’s most famous albums are Spreading the Disease, Among the Living and Sound of White Noise.
In the US during the 1980s, the San Francisco Bay Area was a very popular region for up and coming thrash metal bands. Several very popular thrash metal bands from this area include Testament, Exodus, Vio-lence, Forbidden and Death Angel. This blog is actually named after Testament’s song “Into the Pit.” Similarly, on the east coast there was also a strong thrash metal scene that led to the formation of Overkill, Whiplash, and Storm Troopers of Death.
Thrash metal also became popular worldwide. Germany was notable for their Teutonic thrash metal scene that sprouted many very popular thrash metal bands. The “three kings” of Teutonic thrash metal are Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction, as they were the most well known bands to come out of this scene. These bands heavily influenced the pioneering of death metal that was to come later in the decade.
One final thrash metal band that is extremely necessary to mention is Sepultura, who is from the Brazilian thrash metal scene. Led by the Cavalera brothers, Sepultura became one of the most popular thrash metal bands around the world for their albums, Beneath the Remains, Arise, Chaos A.D. and Roots.
Similarly to Slayer and the “three kings” of Teutonic thrash, Sepultura heavily influenced the development of death metal. The Cavalera brothers eventually left Sepultura during the 1990s, and now the band is led by long time guitarist Andreas Kisser, and longtime bassist Paolo Jr.
In the mid-1990s, grunge started to take over, and thrash metal became an exhausted genre of music. Many famous thrash metal bands changed their sound or experienced radical line-up changes. In particular, Metallica has been accused of having sold out around this time, as their style transformed into commercial hard rock.
Since then, thrash metal has seen a slight resurgence in popularity, which was fueled by newly-created thrash metal acts such as Municipal Waste, Warbringer, Lazarus A.D, Evile, and Skeletonwitch. Many famous thrash metal bands have also seen line-up reunions, and have reverted to their old musical habits of the 1980s. Recently, “The Big Four” played together for the first time ever, and have since done several subsequent shows together.
Thrash metal has been revived for now, and will hopefully stay popular during times to come.
Friday, February 10, 2012
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal
In the late 1970s, heavy metal records were not selling as well as they did earlier in the decade because of the rise of punk, disco and mainstream rock acts. Therefore, the popularity of early traditional heavy metal bands had begun to decline. However a new heavy metal movement was on the horizon. This movement would forever change the world of rock music and be known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).
The NWOBHM was musically characterized as having toned down the blues influences of early heavy metal groups while incorporating punk elements into the music: having faster tempos, and adopting a tougher sound. Most NWOBHM bands also more heavily utilized power chords, soaring vocals, and fast guitar solos.
NWOBHM bands reached the peak of their popularity during the 1980s. Some of the most famous NWOBHM bands were Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Def Leppard, Venom, Saxon, and Angel Witch.
We discussed Motörhead in depth last week; however, we did not talk very much about the major significance of Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden is quite frankly one of the most important and successful heavy metal bands of all time. The band has sold over 85 million records to date despite their having received little radio support. Iron Maiden has an iconic image that is represented through their mascot, "Eddie the Head."
Furthermore, they broke many boundaries through their landmark album, The Number of the Beast. That classic heavy metal album contained artwork and other evil references that made many accuse the band of being satanic.
Of course, the band was not actually satanic, but the release of the album still fueled the fire behind those who claimed that heavy metal was a sinister genre of music.
Another extremely important NWOBHM band was Diamond Head. Diamond Head never had much success; however they are notable for having influenced famous thrash metal acts such as Metallica and Megadeth. Metallica would go on to cover many songs from Diamond Head’s debut, Lightning to the Nations.
Similarly, Venom influenced many more extreme heavy metal acts. Venom came along late into the era of NWOBHM, but they were very important; as, they particularly influenced the onset of black metal, thrash metal and death metal. Venom was not the stereotypical NWOBHM band, and their genre is actually pretty heavily debated among critics.
Nevertheless, their first two albums Welcome to Hell and Black Metal influenced millions of heavy metal bands around the world.
It is important to note, however, that Venom has always been criticized for their lack of musical skill. Many claim that Venom chose to play their faster music because they did not have the musical technicality of the other bands around them. Most critics do note though that their musical skills have gotten better with age.
The final NWOBHM band that we must discuss is Def Leppard. The band had major worldwide success throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. They have sold over 100 million albums to date, and their song “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” would become one of the first heavy metal videos to be featured on MTV. Def Leppard has made the lists of many critics who consider them to be one of the most notable hard rock and heavy metal acts of all time.
In the 1990s, NWOBHM began to decline. Many of the bands went through musical shifts because the interest in NWOBHM was simply not as strong as it was in the 1980s.
Def Leppard notably had the most success with their musical shift which targeted the American hard rock audience and achieved renewed popularity. Some other major NWOBHM acts such as Iron Maiden and Motörhead just drifted towards traditional heavy metal, which wasn’t an extremely far leap for both of the bands, but they still did not receive the success or the acclaim that they did in the earlier part of their career.
In the 2000s however, NWOBHM bands received renewed popularity. Many bands have since reformed with classic line-ups and have reverted to old musical habits. The NWOBHM revival continues today with many bands touring and performing around the world.
The NWOBHM was musically characterized as having toned down the blues influences of early heavy metal groups while incorporating punk elements into the music: having faster tempos, and adopting a tougher sound. Most NWOBHM bands also more heavily utilized power chords, soaring vocals, and fast guitar solos.
NWOBHM bands reached the peak of their popularity during the 1980s. Some of the most famous NWOBHM bands were Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Def Leppard, Venom, Saxon, and Angel Witch.
We discussed Motörhead in depth last week; however, we did not talk very much about the major significance of Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden is quite frankly one of the most important and successful heavy metal bands of all time. The band has sold over 85 million records to date despite their having received little radio support. Iron Maiden has an iconic image that is represented through their mascot, "Eddie the Head."
Furthermore, they broke many boundaries through their landmark album, The Number of the Beast. That classic heavy metal album contained artwork and other evil references that made many accuse the band of being satanic.
Of course, the band was not actually satanic, but the release of the album still fueled the fire behind those who claimed that heavy metal was a sinister genre of music.
Another extremely important NWOBHM band was Diamond Head. Diamond Head never had much success; however they are notable for having influenced famous thrash metal acts such as Metallica and Megadeth. Metallica would go on to cover many songs from Diamond Head’s debut, Lightning to the Nations.
Similarly, Venom influenced many more extreme heavy metal acts. Venom came along late into the era of NWOBHM, but they were very important; as, they particularly influenced the onset of black metal, thrash metal and death metal. Venom was not the stereotypical NWOBHM band, and their genre is actually pretty heavily debated among critics.
Nevertheless, their first two albums Welcome to Hell and Black Metal influenced millions of heavy metal bands around the world.
It is important to note, however, that Venom has always been criticized for their lack of musical skill. Many claim that Venom chose to play their faster music because they did not have the musical technicality of the other bands around them. Most critics do note though that their musical skills have gotten better with age.
The final NWOBHM band that we must discuss is Def Leppard. The band had major worldwide success throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. They have sold over 100 million albums to date, and their song “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” would become one of the first heavy metal videos to be featured on MTV. Def Leppard has made the lists of many critics who consider them to be one of the most notable hard rock and heavy metal acts of all time.
In the 1990s, NWOBHM began to decline. Many of the bands went through musical shifts because the interest in NWOBHM was simply not as strong as it was in the 1980s.
Def Leppard notably had the most success with their musical shift which targeted the American hard rock audience and achieved renewed popularity. Some other major NWOBHM acts such as Iron Maiden and Motörhead just drifted towards traditional heavy metal, which wasn’t an extremely far leap for both of the bands, but they still did not receive the success or the acclaim that they did in the earlier part of their career.
In the 2000s however, NWOBHM bands received renewed popularity. Many bands have since reformed with classic line-ups and have reverted to old musical habits. The NWOBHM revival continues today with many bands touring and performing around the world.
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