Great/ Average/ Bad Bands...

[Guest J0bber]

Hey everyone,

 

Although it is not my favorite genre of metal, the blending of metal and hardcore elements has exploded into popularity. Granted, there aren't as many metalcore bands during the current explosion as there was in the nu-metal boom, but there still are a lot. What are all your opinions on the many metalcore bands?

 

Here is my list by quality:

 

Great Metalcore:

-Leach era KSE: One of the bands that really popularized metalcore. Leach can scream and sing with such intensity it's not funny.

-Lamb of God: Some may consider this death metal or thrash, but they are often labeled metalcore. Their singer is a bit one dimensional, but he is still good. Also one of the most popular metalcore bands.

-Candiria: Great blending of jazz, rap, hardcore, and metal. Their music is unbelievable. I don't understand why they're not very popular.

-Diecast: Sure, they may be a product of the "MTV Headbanger's Ball" hype machine, but they still are remarkable. They have a decent drums and riffing. Their vocalist has a very unique singing voice. Just listen to "Mideval" and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Other(s) of note: The Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die

 

 

Average Metalcore:

-Jones era KSE: More popular than Leach's KSE. A bit overrated, but still good. I would rate them higher if Jones can actually growl and sing.

-Shadows Fall: I know a lot of you probably like them, but I see them as just an average band. Their guitar sound is very signature, and their vocalist is a powerful singer. The only negative thing about them is that their vocalist has an annoying growl.

-Throwdown: I like this band, but they don't do anything to keep you listening for more than four songs. Their songs are very similar with "tough guy" vocals and predictable breakdowns. Good fight music though. Sound too much like Hatebreed

-Darkest Hour: Good band, but their singer stays in the same signature growl most of the time that it gets annoying after a few tunes.

-Other(s) of Note: Hatebreed, Sinai Beach, Demon Hunter, Bleeding Through, Trivium and The Black Dahlia Murder

 

Bad Metalcore (won't discuss them as they are just bad):

-Avenged Sevenfold

-Atreyu

-Bullet for My Valentine

-Mastadon

-Underoath

-Bury Your Dead

 

Those are pretty all the metalcore bands I heard of. Keep in mind, this is a thread for opinion, not facts.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Mastodon is better than everyone else on that list, and you're selling them horribly short by pigeonholing them into "metalcore.'

[snuffbox 0]

So 'metelcore' is like 'nu/rap metal' of a few years ago? Where no matter what the band sounds like... if its heavy, its metalcore? I still laugh when people call Slipknot 'rap metal'. Brilliant.

 

Oh, another fun analogy...Seattle is to grunge what Boston is to metalcore.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

This guy just went on my ignore list.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

1. I agree entirely with Agent in that Mastodon owns every band on that list. Including my beloved Shadows Fall.

 

2. Yes, snuff, Boston is the base for metalcore. There's a few good reasons for that, but it all comes down to the Boston hardcore scene pretty much dying out because the bands involved started listening to Iron Maiden more than they did Black Flag.

 

And Jobber, this is the actual way to write this list out...

 

GREAT METALCORE:

-Shadows Fall: The only metalcore band, as far as I'm concerned, that shows any diversity in songwriting. Only a handful of their songs feature the standard "chugga chugga" breakdown bullshit, and you can clearly hear the band's influences in their music (80's Metallica, Iron Maiden, At The Gates), and considering their influences are some of the greatest heavy bands ever...then yeah, that's a good thing. One of the only metalcore bands with a distinct sound. BTW, Brian Fair (vocalist) isn't the one doing the growls, more often than not. Jonathan Donais (lead guitarist) does the majority of the death growls, and he and Matthew Bachand (rhythm guitarist) trade off who does the clean singing (though it's usually Jonathan).

-Unearth: Yes, their breakdowns usually fall into the "chugga chugga" bullshit, but they have one thing over most of the competition, and that is sheer energy in their music. You cannot, honestly, listen to "Zombie Autopilot" and not be impressed in you're even slightly into heavy music. Trevor's voice shines through despite his one-dimensional style, and the guitar work is just perfect in that one guitarist will be doing some insane metal sweeps and the other some generic hardcore backing, leaving us with a damn good sound.

 

Average Metalcore:

-God Forbid: Borderline metalcore. A lot of their stuff is pretty damn thrash-y, but due to the overusage of the "chugga chugga" breakdown, I'm going to have to call them metalcore. Byron's screams are sorta lame, but the musicianship for half of their songs is great. The songs often stretch on for far too long, also, which hurts them.

-Killswitch Engage (all eras): All of their fucking songs sound identical to each other it isn't even funny. I own the Leach version of Alive or Just Breathing, and the only songs I can tell apart are "My Last Serenade" and "The Element of One," and that's because I heard them before buying the album. Every other song is pretty much the same with two notes and/or riffs being different.

-Bleeding Through: This is Love, This is Murderous is a terrific album. Brandon's voice sounds amazing as he growls and screams his way through the majority of the tracks, and when he actually DOES sing on "Love Lost in a Hail of Gunfire" and "On Wings of Lead" he sounds reminiscent of Phil Anselmo (and that's DEFINITELY a good thing). It's just too bad that Portrait of the Goddess is overly redundant and their new album, The Truth, is glorified emocore in the vein of As I Lay Dying.

-Avenged Sevenfold: "Chapter Four" is their best song, hands-down. Waking the Fallen is a decent album with some standout tracks, and they're fucking incredible live. Plus, they don't take their music too seriously, which definitely helps them in my eyes since I can't take their singer seriously (at least now that his voice is blown out, as his voice on "Chapter Four" is VERY good). Like I said, fucking INCREDIBLE live.

-Darkest Hour: A lot of their songs are good for bashing people's fucking skulls in, but the newest album...I'm just not feeling. Haven't seen them live yet (which will hopefully change come the next New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, assuming it's not 80% shitty hardcore bands like it was in '05), so I can't talk about much there. "Oklahoma" is a good tune, and Hidden Hands of the Sadist Nation has gotten a few plays in my stereo when a friend of mine let me borrow it.

-Trivium: Great musicianship here, and a few songs really stand-out songwriting-wise (namely "Gunshot..." and "Ascendancy"). The singer is terrible, though, and he needs to learn to vary up the vocalwork more than just growl/scream through the verses and sing during the chorus. That's every song they have in a nutshell right there, and it gets annoying three songs in. Very good live band, though.

-Every Time I Die: Most of their work is great, honestly, but it gets boring after a little while. "Ebolarama" is good, as is "Kill The Music" and that one song whose title escapes me right now (but the first line is "what we're doing is so wrong"), but a lot of their other songs just strike me as filler. Good sarcastic take on the style as a whole, though, which I dig.

-The Deepest Remorse: Well, for when they had me as a vocalist, and that's no just my ego stepping in, it's pretty much true. The new singer, Scott, ruined "Oceana" to the point where I can't even listen to it. The kid can't sing and has little sense of timing, and their reliance on "chugga chugga" to fill in the void between verses and choruses annoyed me a whole lot during practices.

-Watch Them Die: With vocals that are borderline black metal screeches half the time, and music that goes fluently from hardcore to metal within one song, they earn the right to be called "average" until they either improve to be "great" or start writing lame songs and become "bad." Hopefully they'll improve, as I can hear some definite potential in them.

 

terrible metalcore:

-Sinai Beach: Lameness in musical form. Heavy for the sake of being heavy with no real feeling behind the music at all.

-Lamb Of God: Mix the worst elements of Pantera with guitars that sound like the tech guy from KoRn tuned them and produced their albums, and just, in general, write annoying songs, and you've got Lamb of God. Part of my hatred for them comes from them being the favorite band of a few people I want to bash with the claw-end of a hammer, but most of it comes from them writing incredibly awful music.

-As I Lay Dying: Yay for glorified emo with some growling during the verses! That's all they are: emo with some death growls thrown in here and there.

-Scary Kids Scaring Kids: See above.

-Atreyu: See above. Plus, they dissed Black Sabbath by saying they didn't influence hardcore at all (when, you know, heavy music wouldn't have been the same with Sabbath innovating metal in the late 60's/early 70's), so they lose points even more besides the fact that they absolutely suck and their fans are faggots.

-Diecast: Nu-metal repackaged for nu-metallers that don't like nu-metal anymore and have moved onto metalcore.

-Chimaira: See above.

-Demon Hunter: See above.

-

 

Aside:

-Hatebreed, Bury Your Dead, and Throwdown aren't metalcore, they're straight-up sXe hardcore (AKA the worst kind). I've never heard any of these bands referred to as metal besides by people who use the term "metal" for anything remotely heavy.

-Underoath and Bullet For My Valentine are glorified emocore.

-Candiria is just fucking terrible and should never be listed on any list as anything but fucking terrible. Wow, you can play jazz bass and write off-time shit and your singer can growl and then sing and then rap, good for you! Now write a fucking song that doesn't make me want to murder the lot of you.

[snuffbox 0]

Lamb of God, Chimaira (who Im pretty sure were around before I ever heard the word 'metalcore'), and Hatebreed all seemed fun when Ive seen em.

 

Uh...whats the difference between 'sXe' hardcore' and...uh...whatever the other hardcore is?

 

Oh, and btw....damn you typed alot.

[Guest J0bber]

1. I agree entirely with Agent in that Mastodon owns every band on that list. Including my beloved Shadows Fall.

 

2. Yes, snuff, Boston is the base for metalcore. There's a few good reasons for that, but it all comes down to the Boston hardcore scene pretty much dying out because the bands involved started listening to Iron Maiden more than they did Black Flag.

 

And Jobber, this is the actual way to write this list out...

 

GREAT METALCORE:

-Shadows Fall: The only metalcore band, as far as I'm concerned, that shows any diversity in songwriting. Only a handful of their songs feature the standard "chugga chugga" breakdown bullshit, and you can clearly hear the band's influences in their music (80's Metallica, Iron Maiden, At The Gates), and considering their influences are some of the greatest heavy bands ever...then yeah, that's a good thing. One of the only metalcore bands with a distinct sound. BTW, Brian Fair (vocalist) isn't the one doing the growls, more often than not. Jonathan Donais (lead guitarist) does the majority of the death growls, and he and Matthew Bachand (rhythm guitarist) trade off who does the clean singing (though it's usually Jonathan).

-Unearth: Yes, their breakdowns usually fall into the "chugga chugga" bullshit, but they have one thing over most of the competition, and that is sheer energy in their music. You cannot, honestly, listen to "Zombie Autopilot" and not be impressed in you're even slightly into heavy music. Trevor's voice shines through despite his one-dimensional style, and the guitar work is just perfect in that one guitarist will be doing some insane metal sweeps and the other some generic hardcore backing, leaving us with a damn good sound.

 

Average Metalcore:

-God Forbid: Borderline metalcore. A lot of their stuff is pretty damn thrash-y, but due to the overusage of the "chugga chugga" breakdown, I'm going to have to call them metalcore. Byron's screams are sorta lame, but the musicianship for half of their songs is great. The songs often stretch on for far too long, also, which hurts them.

-Killswitch Engage (all eras): All of their fucking songs sound identical to each other it isn't even funny. I own the Leach version of Alive or Just Breathing, and the only songs I can tell apart are "My Last Serenade" and "The Element of One," and that's because I heard them before buying the album. Every other song is pretty much the same with two notes and/or riffs being different.

-Bleeding Through: This is Love, This is Murderous is a terrific album. Brandon's voice sounds amazing as he growls and screams his way through the majority of the tracks, and when he actually DOES sing on "Love Lost in a Hail of Gunfire" and "On Wings of Lead" he sounds reminiscent of Phil Anselmo (and that's DEFINITELY a good thing). It's just too bad that Portrait of the Goddess is overly redundant and their new album, The Truth, is glorified emocore in the vein of As I Lay Dying.

-Avenged Sevenfold: "Chapter Four" is their best song, hands-down. Waking the Fallen is a decent album with some standout tracks, and they're fucking incredible live. Plus, they don't take their music too seriously, which definitely helps them in my eyes since I can't take their singer seriously (at least now that his voice is blown out, as his voice on "Chapter Four" is VERY good). Like I said, fucking INCREDIBLE live.

-Darkest Hour: A lot of their songs are good for bashing people's fucking skulls in, but the newest album...I'm just not feeling. Haven't seen them live yet (which will hopefully change come the next New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, assuming it's not 80% shitty hardcore bands like it was in '05), so I can't talk about much there. "Oklahoma" is a good tune, and Hidden Hands of the Sadist Nation has gotten a few plays in my stereo when a friend of mine let me borrow it.

-Trivium: Great musicianship here, and a few songs really stand-out songwriting-wise (namely "Gunshot..." and "Ascendancy"). The singer is terrible, though, and he needs to learn to vary up the vocalwork more than just growl/scream through the verses and sing during the chorus. That's every song they have in a nutshell right there, and it gets annoying three songs in. Very good live band, though.

-Every Time I Die: Most of their work is great, honestly, but it gets boring after a little while. "Ebolarama" is good, as is "Kill The Music" and that one song whose title escapes me right now (but the first line is "what we're doing is so wrong"), but a lot of their other songs just strike me as filler. Good sarcastic take on the style as a whole, though, which I dig.

-The Deepest Remorse: Well, for when they had me as a vocalist, and that's no just my ego stepping in, it's pretty much true. The new singer, Scott, ruined "Oceana" to the point where I can't even listen to it. The kid can't sing and has little sense of timing, and their reliance on "chugga chugga" to fill in the void between verses and choruses annoyed me a whole lot during practices.

-Watch Them Die: With vocals that are borderline black metal screeches half the time, and music that goes fluently from hardcore to metal within one song, they earn the right to be called "average" until they either improve to be "great" or start writing lame songs and become "bad." Hopefully they'll improve, as I can hear some definite potential in them.

 

terrible metalcore:

-Sinai Beach: Lameness in musical form. Heavy for the sake of being heavy with no real feeling behind the music at all.

-Lamb Of God: Mix the worst elements of Pantera with guitars that sound like the tech guy from KoRn tuned them and produced their albums, and just, in general, write annoying songs, and you've got Lamb of God. Part of my hatred for them comes from them being the favorite band of a few people I want to bash with the claw-end of a hammer, but most of it comes from them writing incredibly awful music.

-As I Lay Dying: Yay for glorified emo with some growling during the verses! That's all they are: emo with some death growls thrown in here and there.

-Scary Kids Scaring Kids: See above.

-Atreyu: See above. Plus, they dissed Black Sabbath by saying they didn't influence hardcore at all (when, you know, heavy music wouldn't have been the same with Sabbath innovating metal in the late 60's/early 70's), so they lose points even more besides the fact that they absolutely suck and their fans are faggots.

-Diecast: Nu-metal repackaged for nu-metallers that don't like nu-metal anymore and have moved onto metalcore.

-Chimaira: See above.

-Demon Hunter: See above.

-

 

Aside:

-Hatebreed, Bury Your Dead, and Throwdown aren't metalcore, they're straight-up sXe hardcore (AKA the worst kind). I've never heard any of these bands referred to as metal besides by people who use the term "metal" for anything remotely heavy.

-Underoath and Bullet For My Valentine are glorified emocore.

-Candiria is just fucking terrible and should never be listed on any list as anything but fucking terrible. Wow, you can play jazz bass and write off-time shit and your singer can growl and then sing and then rap, good for you! Now write a fucking song that doesn't make me want to murder the lot of you.

 

I can't say anything about Unearth, The Deepest Remorse, Chimaira, or As I Lay Dying since I've not heard much of their stuff. Although I can say that my cousin is a diehard Deicide fan, and the only metalcore band he enjoys is As I Lay Dying. I don't know why since I believe As I Lay Dying are Christian.

 

I forgot about God Forbid. You can add them to my average list. If you count Heaven Shall Burn as metalcore and not just all out German melodic death metal or hardcore, then you can add them to my average list as well.

 

After purchasing Bleeding Through's new CD, you can add them to my great list.

 

Also, there is no problem with being sXe. I consider myself to be straight edge and can really relate to a band like Throwdown that sings(or yelps) about it. I will agree with you that Bury Your Dead, Throwdown, and Hatebreed sound EXTREMELY alike.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Just listen to Jane Doe by Converge and grow some nuts.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Converge is boring. BHC is all about Toxic Narcotic as far as I'm concerned.

 

And snuff, sXe hardcore differs from others because EVERY SINGLE SONG IS THE SAME. Whereas your average hardcore band will have a lot of songs that are sarcastic, some about drinking, and others about politics, every single sXe hardcore band uses the same Drop-C tuning and generic double-kick drum style, and their lyrics are always about self-empowerment and honor. The words "destiny," "honor," "family," "friends," and "blood" appear in the majority of sXe hardcore.

As for Lamb of God, Chimaira, and Hatebreed...yes, they are good live. I've seen Hatebreed live four times, three of which they were opening for Slayer and one time at WAAF LocoBazooka '02, and they do have an aura to them onstage that few bands can replicate...it's just too bad that they're awful. And yeah, Chimaira's been around since the mid 90's at least, but back then they played nu-metal, and now that metalcore is popular they play metalcore.

 

And you're right, J0b, there's nothing wrong with being sXe. There's just something wrong with you as a musician if all you do is write the same song over and over again with little to no variation.

And don't worry about never hearing of The Deepest Remorse. That's the metalcore band I fronted from August until earlier this month, and outside of the whole band having some good chemistry...they're not worth much. "Nation of the Dead" and "Oceana" are really the only songs, musically, that stand out, and that's because they don't sound identical to the other tunes (and I won't get into how Scott butchered "Oceana" anymore than I did in my earlier post).

And really...how can you consider new Bleeding Through to be "great"? It's lame and Brandon's voice went from being good to being emo, and it's overproduced to all hell. The "gothic hardcore/metal" style they once had has become just generic metalcore, bordering emocore, with some small hints of ambience here and there. The Truth is the reason I don't even care if I go see them when they come back to MA in a month or two, and considering I used to kick myself if I missed them...yeah, that means something.

[Brocklock 0]

Converge is boring. BHC is all about Toxic Narcotic as far as I'm concerned.

 

Bah, listen to Heaven In Her Arms by Converge and still say that. That song is my all time favorite mixture of melody and brutality.

 

Although, they are partially metalcore, I'd consider Between The Buried And Me to be great metalcore. Their new cd Alaska pretty much abandons most of the emo sound they had on previous albums and replace them with more proggy and jazzy shit and it just sounds awesome.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Dude, I've been to a handful of BHC shows. I've heard a lot of Converge. I've hated it all. I repeat: BHC is all about Toxic Narcotic as far as I'm concerned.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Have you ever seen Converge live? That's the opposite of boring.

[Red Baron 0]

Calling Mastodon bad is just wrong. In every sense.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

EVERY hardcore band puts on a good live show. I've yet to see one that doesn't. It's the emocore bands that call themselves hardcore who are boring-as-fuck live. The music, itself, is boring.

[Guest J0bber]

Converge is boring. BHC is all about Toxic Narcotic as far as I'm concerned.

 

And snuff, sXe hardcore differs from others because EVERY SINGLE SONG IS THE SAME. Whereas your average hardcore band will have a lot of songs that are sarcastic, some about drinking, and others about politics, every single sXe hardcore band uses the same Drop-C tuning and generic double-kick drum style, and their lyrics are always about self-empowerment and honor. The words "destiny," "honor," "family," "friends," and "blood" appear in the majority of sXe hardcore.

As for Lamb of God, Chimaira, and Hatebreed...yes, they are good live. I've seen Hatebreed live four times, three of which they were opening for Slayer and one time at WAAF LocoBazooka '02, and they do have an aura to them onstage that few bands can replicate...it's just too bad that they're awful. And yeah, Chimaira's been around since the mid 90's at least, but back then they played nu-metal, and now that metalcore is popular they play metalcore.

 

And you're right, J0b, there's nothing wrong with being sXe. There's just something wrong with you as a musician if all you do is write the same song over and over again with little to no variation.

And don't worry about never hearing of The Deepest Remorse. That's the metalcore band I fronted from August until earlier this month, and outside of the whole band having some good chemistry...they're not worth much. "Nation of the Dead" and "Oceana" are really the only songs, musically, that stand out, and that's because they don't sound identical to the other tunes (and I won't get into how Scott butchered "Oceana" anymore than I did in my earlier post).

And really...how can you consider new Bleeding Through to be "great"? It's lame and Brandon's voice went from being good to being emo, and it's overproduced to all hell. The "gothic hardcore/metal" style they once had has become just generic metalcore, bordering emocore, with some small hints of ambience here and there. The Truth is the reason I don't even care if I go see them when they come back to MA in a month or two, and considering I used to kick myself if I missed them...yeah, that means something.

Corey,

 

I can't blame Bleeding Through for changing their sound by adding more melody. They are evolving as a band and apparantly making money. Hot Topic has really endorsed those guys and girls. There CD already has 50 reviews on iTunes despite it being released for just two weeks. Brandon's voice isn't overly emo. It sounds more like a wimpy singing voice like that fag from Twisted Method, but the growls are still intense. Yes, it is overproduced to the moon, but at least they are getting some attention now.

 

I am currently pondering on whether I should see Bleeding Through with Every Time I Die or The Black Dahlia Murder with Throwdown. I have seen neither live. I am afraid that if I go see Bleeding Through with Every Time I Die their will be too many tight-jeaned emo queers and whiny girls.

 

Seeing as you front a metalcore band, how hard is it for you to change your voice from growling to singing so suddenly? The only vocal power I can ever stream out is an annoying Wednesday 13 esque rasp.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Corey,

 

I can't blame Bleeding Through for changing their sound by adding more melody. They are evolving as a band and apparantly making money. Hot Topic has really endorsed those guys and girls. There CD already has 50 reviews on iTunes despite it being released for just two weeks. Brandon's voice isn't overly emo. It sounds more like a wimpy singing voice like that fag from Twisted Method, but the growls are still intense. Yes, it is overproduced to the moon, but at least they are getting some attention now.

All the more power to 'em for getting some attention. This is Love... is, like I said, a very good album (though I believe my exact wording used the word "terrific" in there somewhere), and though Portrait blends together too much it's still a good listen. I just can't get into The Truth in the least bit because it sounds like an album that a band makes not to please themselves as musicians or their fanbase, but to make money. It basically strikes me as a sell-out album, with the band holding onto their roots (the gothic-backed metalcore style they perfected on This is Love) but losing grasp of it. And I think "wimpy singing voice" and "emo voice" are rather synonymous when it comes to heavy music in general, because if you have a good scream and a lame singing voice...then you should stick to the scream and figure out the right spots to sing (slower breakdowns, preferably clean). I'm glad a band I've been into for the better part of the past year, back when few knew of them, is getting press, but I just wish they would get press along the same lines as my hometown favorites Shadows Fall did by touring extensively and working their asses off to create an album that doesn't sound like everything else that's popular at the time. Bleeding Through went from standing out in the crowd to blending in. Hopefully Watch Them Die, who sound slightly reminiscent of early Bleeding Through (only MUCH better), don't do the same.

I am currently pondering on whether I should see Bleeding Through with Every Time I Die or The Black Dahlia Murder with Throwdown. I have seen neither live. I am afraid that if I go see Bleeding Through with Every Time I Die their will be too many tight-jeaned emo queers and whiny girls.

Bleeding Through/ETID will be filled with fashioncore scenesters, for sure. However, Black Dahlia/Throwdown will have a blend of metalheads and hardcore kids and fashioncore scenesters. I'd say that if you're looking for a good show where you can possibly lose a tooth or two, maybe get some swelling under your eyes, go to Black Dahlia/Throwdown. If you just want to enjoy the show, go to Bleeding Through/ETID, as I hear ETID is pretty damn solid live.

Seeing as you front a metalcore band, how hard is it for you to change your voice from growling to singing so suddenly? The only vocal power I can ever stream out is an annoying Wednesday 13 esque rasp.

Well, I fronted a metalcore band. And it's not that hard, surprisingly. I don't think my singing voice fits metalcore, though, as I patterned it after James Hetfield and Michale Graves more than I did, say, Brian Fair and Howard Jones (or even Leach), so having somebody growl and scream like Johann from old-school Arch Enemy and then try to croon like Sinatra didn't exactly fit the tunes.

...and don't insult Wednesday 13. Transylvania 90210 is so catchy I love it. Then again, I've been listening to almost nothing but horrorpunk and other horror-themed bands lately, so I may just like it because of that. No, I also liked The Murderdolls, so it's probably because I dig Wednesday 13.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

Mastodon is the very best of the predictably wacky metal bands, particularly out of Relapse Records and their ilk. I've soured on them a fair bit

[Guest J0bber]

Bleeding Through/ETID will be filled with fashioncore scenesters, for sure. However, Black Dahlia/Throwdown will have a blend of metalheads and hardcore kids and fashioncore scenesters. I'd say that if you're looking for a good show where you can possibly lose a tooth or two, maybe get some swelling under your eyes, go to Black Dahlia/Throwdown. If you just want to enjoy the show, go to Bleeding Through/ETID, as I hear ETID is pretty damn solid live.

 

I will probably go to see Every Time I Die/Bleeding Through since I have yet to see a concert with a lot of fashioncore people. I've attended two metal concerts. One, was Dope, who put on an exciting show for about the 100 people there. Dope drew mostly trailer park metalheads or normal looking people. The pits weren't that intense. It could of just been for the fact that Dope was the only known band out of the five bands, and they played in this dinky little theatre in a small town outside of Rockford.

 

Another was Slipknot/Lamb of God/Shadows Fall at the Allstate Arena. Slipknot and Lamb of God are very OVERRATED when it comes to live quality, but Shadows Fall put on a decent show. Pretty intense pits with many metalheads. Some lunatics were even diving off the balcony.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Allstate Arena is a shithole now. I assume you're talking about the former Rosemont Horizon, unless there's a smaller Allstate-named venue I don't know of.

[snuffbox 0]

Mastodon is bad metalcore...and Slipknot is overrated live? Wow.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

1. Dope isn't metal.

 

2. Slipknot isn't metal. In fact, I don't see how people can call them METAL, really, considering they have more in common with hardcore and industrial than they do actual metal.

 

3. Lamb of God was good live when I saw them, but I just fucking hate their music. And of course Shadows Fall was good live: that's how they earned a reputation and the following they have. One of the only metal/metalcore/whatever bands these days that earns their reputation solely through touring and playing good shows.

[snuffbox 0]

Slipknot seems to fit any genre people want to call it...rapmetal is the best (funniest) description of them. That one guy here with a euro mark in his name probably thinks theyre a jamband. Maybe theyre 'radio rock' since some of their songs have decent melodies.

[Guest J0bber]

Allstate Arena is a shithole now. I assume you're talking about the former Rosemont Horizon, unless there's a smaller Allstate-named venue I don't know of.

 

Yes, I am talking about the Allstate Arena that was formerly the Rosemonth Horizon. It isn't a shithole. It is quite decent as I have been there many times.

[snuffbox 0]

I'll have to take Czech's word on this one...jobber lost any credibility he might have had with this thread.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

2. Slipknot isn't metal. In fact, I don't see how people can call them METAL, really, considering they have more in common with hardcore and industrial than they do actual metal.

 

No, they are certainly metal, just incredibly bad metal.

[snuffbox 0]

Dont forget 'overrated live'.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

Never seen them live, but from the live clips I've seen, they're very typical of the style. Frantic motion and "weird" gimmicks replacing tight performance and masking (lol!) their music. Perhaps deep down they don't trust the quality of their own music?

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Of course they don't. The only two talented members of the band, Joey and Mick, are the ones who don't put on much of a live show beyond what most other bands do (Mick headbangs like a motherfucker, and Joey just goes spastic on the kit).

 

And, to me, calling Slipknot a metal band is thus calling KoRn and Limp Bizkit metal.

[Steviekick 0]

I'd say that Slipknot is metal, but definitely not a good example of one.

 

Kinda off topic, but where did the name "nu-metal" come from to describe rap-rock bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit?

[snuffbox 0]

Corey Taylor probably made it up.