Great/ Average/ Bad Bands...

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Nah, MTV and Rolling Stone did. They were calling those bands the "new metal," and then to make it cooler they purposefully spelled "new" wrong (since spelling mistakes are SO feckin kewl) and thus it became "nu-metal." It actually did the diehard metal community a huge service, as they could then flat-out say "nu-metal isn't real metal" instead of saying "these rap/rock groups aren't metal."

 

IMO, what makes a nu-metal band is to have a small basis in metal, but follow the pop songwriting style* at all times unless the song is a cover. As my friend Crawford said it best when explaining to his ex-girlfriend as to why he hated nu-metal (which she loves): "It's a bastardization of my music meant to appease the masses by toning everything down."

 

*Pop songwriting style is as follows:

-The song must be under 5 minutes in length.

-The lyrics must not include any words that are hard for the average person to sing along to.

-Introduce the hook of the song within the first 30 seconds.

-The song order will be Intro (usually doubles as the chorus riff), Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus (usually twice), End riff (optional).

-Band members must do their best to look like hardcore badasses but cleaner and more corporate/accessible.

[Slayer 0]

With the exception of the last one, there's a lot of not-mainstream metal bands that follow that formula as well... hell, if anything, most nu-metal songs that I know eschew choruses all together and use the same riff for nearly the entire song.

 

I hate mallcore, don't get me wrong, but there're other arguments to run with

[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.

 

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.

Last time I was there was a Smackdown in April '03. Parking was expensive, the seats were really uncomfortable, sight lines were bad, ushers/event staff were fucking cocksuckers like I've never seen before, concessions were even worse than usual, quality- and price-wise. Maybe it's good for concerts, I dunno if the wooden roof makes it better or worse, but it's shitty for wrestling, and just not a pleasant venue to go to. I like the Bradley Center up in Milwaukee a lot better. SO POLITE.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Anything good on the card, Czech?

[The Czech Republic 0]

Um I think I remember Lesnar-Matt Hardy and that's it. Seriously what the fuck happened that night? The Raw before it was good though, I started a "we want Shark Boy" chant and Kevin Nash came back

[NoCalMike 0]

Skip all those bands and go see Nile/Hypocrisy. Saw 'em last week and the crowd tore me a new one. It was excellent. Not as fun as Suffocation was, but still a great time.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

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

 

 

Damn right. Everyone else just needs to shut the fuck up and die. However, Converge will probably take care of that for all of us. Dammit, it's just music.

[The Czech Republic 0]

[MrRant 0]

What the fuck is fashioncore? I'm familiar with scensters and they irritate me enough but this sounds horrible.

[Guest J0bber]

Skip all those bands and go see Nile/Hypocrisy. Saw 'em last week and the crowd tore me a new one. It was excellent. Not as fun as Suffocation was, but still a great time.

 

Nile is decent. I like how they have sort of an Middle Eastern vibe on their new album. Pretty original for a death metal band. Have you ever heard of November's Doom? If not, check them out. Very beautiful, yet heavy doom death metal.

 

Czech, I go to to the Allstate Arena mostly for Chicago Wolves hockey games, wrestling, or concerts. Ushers were rather pleasant to me, but maybe that's because I know some of them. The concession stands are a bitch though when it comes to prices. I can't say anything about the parking since I live very close to the Allstate Arena and often times just park my car at a friend's house who lives by there.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

What the fuck is fashioncore? I'm familiar with scensters and they irritate me enough but this sounds horrible.

It's dumbed-down metal and hardcore with a lot of emo to it. As I Lay Dying, Bullet For My Valentine, It Dies Today, every single band on Trustkill...yeah. A lot of the bands that Metal Blade and Century Media have been signing for the past 5 years are extremely fashioncore, as well. Walk through a mall and be sure to pass by the Spencer's Gifts and Hot Topic areas, as well as the food court (usually near the Sbarro's or the closest door to go out into the parking lot), and just look at the majority of the bands that the kids in all black (ie. mallgoths) have on their shirts. Every now and then there'll be a Metallica, Black Label Society, Slayer, or obscure death metal band, but most of the time it's some fashioncore group that is "so brutal and hardcore" until the end of the week.

 

And J0b, all of Nile's albums have the Middle Eastern feel to them. That's their gimmick: Egyptian death metal from North Carolina.

[MrRant 0]

What the fuck is fashioncore? I'm familiar with scensters and they irritate me enough but this sounds horrible.

It's dumbed-down metal and hardcore with a lot of emo to it. As I Lay Dying, Bullet For My Valentine, It Dies Today, every single band on Trustkill...yeah. A lot of the bands that Metal Blade and Century Media have been signing for the past 5 years are extremely fashioncore, as well. Walk through a mall and be sure to pass by the Spencer's Gifts and Hot Topic areas, as well as the food court (usually near the Sbarro's or the closest door to go out into the parking lot), and just look at the majority of the bands that the kids in all black (ie. mallgoths) have on their shirts. Every now and then there'll be a Metallica, Black Label Society, Slayer, or obscure death metal band, but most of the time it's some fashioncore group that is "so brutal and hardcore" until the end of the week.

 

And J0b, all of Nile's albums have the Middle Eastern feel to them. That's their gimmick: Egyptian death metal from North Carolina.

 

Back in my day, we called them posers.

[Guest J0bber]

What the fuck is fashioncore? I'm familiar with scensters and they irritate me enough but this sounds horrible.

It's dumbed-down metal and hardcore with a lot of emo to it. As I Lay Dying, Bullet For My Valentine, It Dies Today, every single band on Trustkill...yeah. A lot of the bands that Metal Blade and Century Media have been signing for the past 5 years are extremely fashioncore, as well. Walk through a mall and be sure to pass by the Spencer's Gifts and Hot Topic areas, as well as the food court (usually near the Sbarro's or the closest door to go out into the parking lot), and just look at the majority of the bands that the kids in all black (ie. mallgoths) have on their shirts. Every now and then there'll be a Metallica, Black Label Society, Slayer, or obscure death metal band, but most of the time it's some fashioncore group that is "so brutal and hardcore" until the end of the week.

 

And J0b, all of Nile's albums have the Middle Eastern feel to them. That's their gimmick: Egyptian death metal from North Carolina.

 

I haven't heard any of Nile's stuff before their new album so I wasn't sure. The only true death metal band that I listen to frequently is Deicide so I'm far from an expert when it comes to that genre.

 

Speaking of fashioncore, at the mall the other day, I saw this midget high school kid who could be no taller than 4 foot wearing baggy black pants and a Bleeding Through sweater.

 

Some nu metal isn't that bad. I have no problem with bands like HED pe or Snot. Their music may not be brilliant, but it is catchy and funny.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Which is why they're successful: show little talent but write somewhat catchy hooks, and you've got yourself a winning band. Just ask Jon Davis, Fred Durst, and Aaron Lewis.

[Red Baron 0]

Disturbed and SOAD could be classified as nu-metal. You could argue Tool, but we all know that isn't true.

[snuffbox 0]

It appears any band from 1998-2002 with melody is nu-metal.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Any band that plays hard rock with a little more distortion than normal and isn't playing punk and had some mainstream success between '96 and '02 is, pretty much, nu-metal. I wish I could describe it better, but it's one of those things where you need to listen to it and you can hear the difference.

[Slayer 0]

There's about as much melody in nu-metal as there is hair on Devin Townsend's head

[snuffbox 0]

I thought Relative Ash, Workhorse Movement, nonpoint, Liquid Gang, endo and probably some others I cant remember (the turn of the millenium was a blur) seemed to have meldoy to their songs.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

The only nu-metal band I can think of that incorporates melody, really, is Disturbed. I refuse to call System of a Down a nu-metal band simply because of how different they are than most other bands (and the fact that you can hear that Darian was listening to black metal before writing some of the guitar parts to Mezmerize).

[Guest Bammey]

Disturbed and SOAD could be classified as nu-metal. You could argue Tool, but we all know that isn't true.

 

SOAD has grown to develop their own sound while Disturbed and Staind have followed the same trend in their last 2-3 albums.

 

As for the topic I'll have to say Trivium is the best metalcore band right now. Many bands on the scene sound the same. Trivium has those aggressive vocals which can change into a more upbeat tone with nice straight out singing. Plus their a band who still utilizes the long guitar solos which seem lost in todays music. "Like Light To The Flies", "Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr", "Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation", "Dying in Your Arms", and "Rain" are all awesome tracks off Ascendancy.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

"Gunshot" is great from the chorus ("Open fire..." etc.) on. The intro is good as well, but the verses I don't really care for. Singer's voice needs a lot of work, because his SINGING is pretty decent, but his screams sound terrible. Plus, Trivium kicked ASS when they opened for Bodom in December up here in MA (the random "Walk" cover, while both guitarists play Dimebag Specials, was a concert highlight for my life).

 

That said, Trivium should vary up how their songs are put together. Every song has the screamed verses and the sang choruses, and then the overly long guitar solo (which is a breath of fresh air considering few metalcore bands even bother to solo) followed by a reprise of the chorus. Gets sorta boring when you listen to the album all the way through.

 

And I cannot stress how much I hate the new Bleeding Through album, The Truth, enough. Trustkill's hyping of it as "the most important album of the year" is fucking ridiculous.

[snuffbox 0]

Am I a poseur for digging Staind's first cd?

 

Am I retarded for thinking Marcus Harrington was/is a better vocalist than Chino Moreno? (taking absolutely nothing away from Chino)

 

Where did One Minute Silence fall into categorization? Nu-metal as well?

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

No, you're not a poseur for owning the first (although it's probably Dysfunction, so it's TECHNICALLY the second) Staind CD.

 

No, because Chino's voice is annoying and grating.

 

They're sorta weird because the vocalist used to rap, but then he started just singing and screaming, so nu-metal sounds like a good placement. Doesn't take away the fact that they were a good band, though.

[The Czech Republic 0]

The only nu-metal band I can think of that incorporates melody, really, is Disturbed. I refuse to call System of a Down a nu-metal band simply because of how different they are than most other bands (and the fact that you can hear that Darian was listening to black metal before writing some of the guitar parts to Mezmerize).

SOAD is Trans-Caucasiancore

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

...where do you get half of the avatars you have? The one you have now and the one before the porn that Alexis Laree did.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Active av: Amanda Wenk with her face against a windshield

Retired, from left:

1. Alexis Laree doing porn with a guy's head vice-gripped between her legs

2. Some porn from the "blackzilla" variety, linked from TSM

3. Some random guy who popped into the frame of a Facebook picture that my friends were in

4. Jelena Dokic mid-serve

5. My cat

6. Google Image Search for "don't-mess," I think

7. The Hilary Duff weight loss thread

[skullman80 0]

Mastadon owns just about any band on the OP's list....

 

I do dig LOG, one of my favorite bands, although New American Gospel is the best out of the 3 LOG records(not counting the Burn the Priest Album), and they tear shit up live, especially in a smaller setting.

 

I wouldn't consider LOG metalcore though, just straight up metal.

 

Slipknot isn't really metal, I really don't know what to call them. They are terrible, although the self title album wasn't THAT bad....their live show though is just a jumbled mess and does nothing for me.

[snuffbox 0]

No, because Chino's voice is annoying and grating.

 

My old 'band' recorded an acoustic cover of Change (House/Flies). If it works to put song files on here I could attach it and folks could judge that as well...maybe its not as annoying/grating. Or I could email it if thats not an option here.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

See, that's the thing with the songs I've heard off that album (White Pony, IIRC): the songs are actually GOOD, it's just Chino's voice sorta ruins it. Very fucking good live, though.

 

And skull...you'd get along with those fashoncore faggots in TDR perfectly.