Metal..

[neoism]

hello,

currently i m much more into metal..

i wanna all aspect of metal..n i also would love to know about metal lyrics..how are they written...

[john]

hey

Vastly depends on the type of metal you mean... Motorhead? Seether? Nickleback ( )? Ramstein? Sound Garden?

Cheers

John

[Nightwolf]

get really mad and really drunk and it just kind of flows out

[neoism]

yesterday i doped for the first time..but nothing really happened..

[Retrosaurus Rex]

+1 for clean living...

It's true that sometimes an altered mental state lets you get to that place where you can release thoughts and emotions that make for powerful songs, but after a while (a short while for most), it actually takes the edge off the heart and mind... don't let a walking stick become a crutch...

One theme I've noticed running thru different metal genres is power. Obviously, the whole history of rock music is intertwined with the idea of rebellion against authority, but metal attempts to take this idea to an extreme. This can take different forms, like the straight ahead screed against unfair oppression, basically an aggro version of age-old rebellion. Sometimes this idea will be masked in mystical themes and Nordic mythology. One expression that is particularly metal is to write from the perspective of power, particularly an oppressive or evil power, whether realistic or mythical.

Aggression has to come thru in the delivery, as well as what's being said, so it's also important that the lyrics' phrasing encourage that. A lot of times that means putting an emotionally charged word on a strong beat at the end of a phrase.

Hope this helps!

[TaoMannaDon]

hello,

currently i m much more into metal..

i wanna all aspect of metal..n i also would love to know about metal lyrics..how are they written...

I wish I could offer some genre-specific help; but, if the "metal" was steel, my lyrics are more like aluminum foil.

Look at the lyrics you like and rewrite them in your own words until you get a feel for it. Forty-five years ago I got started writing by making up lines to my favorite songs when I didn't know all the words. That eventually led to writing whole songs. You might want to take a verse from a favorite song and try write more verses like it. The main thing is ....

Keep writing,

Don

[neoteric]

hey

Vastly depends on the type of metal you mean... Motorhead? Seether? Nickleback ( )? Ramstein? Sound Garden?

Cheers

John

Ugh, is everything metal to you? Seether? Nickelback? What weird ass definition do you have for metal John? No offence, but those bands don't even come close. If those bands are labeled metal then Britney Spears is metal. Another stereotype is that metal always has to sound heavy. Progressive metal destroys this stupid stereotype.

In fact, a lot of people ask me "hey this song has a heavy guitar riff at the beginning, so does that mean it's metal?" And I walk away in utter shame.

Edited January 10, 2009 by neoteric

[john]

Hi Neoteric

No everything isn't metal, however the term "metal" has described many related types of music from "metal" bands of the late 70s, now just absorbed into the larger heavy rock genre, to New Wave of British Heavy metal (Iron Maiden etc), through death metal, and the various different permutations that exist now as things have been rebranded.... so don't look down on me as a musical snob just because I don't have your definition... those bands I mentioned at various points would have been referred to as metal, thus the question. Add to that I had and still have no idea what neo considers metal which is more the point...

So smart ass, define "Heavy Metal" for me and stop being so condescending....

Cheers

John

[Chase]

Hey, Im also a metal head. Ive been in a couple of metal bands playin drums. What i notice when our singer used to write lyrics is that.....they really werent too much different from anything else you would hear. Its all about grooving the melody into the music. I suggest that you read a couple of poems and get some insight. Its a good way to start from scratch. Dont worry about "being hardcore" I listen to alot of metal i.e. It dies today, parkway drive, as blood runs black, war of ages.... when you actually read their lyrics you could almost imagine them being lyrics in any other type of music. Kinda like killswitch engage with holy diver. The band makes it metal...not the lyrics.

[neoteric]

Hi Neoteric

No everything isn't metal, however the term "metal" has described many related types of music from "metal" bands of the late 70s, now just absorbed into the larger heavy rock genre, to New Wave of British Heavy metal (Iron Maiden etc), through death metal, and the various different permutations that exist now as things have been rebranded.... so don't look down on me as a musical snob just because I don't have your definition... those bands I mentioned at various points would have been referred to as metal, thus the question. Add to that I had and still have no idea what neo considers metal which is more the point...

So smart ass, define "Heavy Metal" for me and stop being so condescending....

Cheers

John

I apologize if I came off as condescending in my previous post to you John. That wasn't the intent of my post. It was more of my frustration all pent-up being released from having to deal with people trying to label Staind, Nickelback, Seether, Slipknot as metal bands.

Ok, so I found a pretty good summary for metal:

1) Metal is known for, but not limited to: Long songs (not a rule, but it's not uncommon for metal bands to make several songs on an album more than five or six minutes)

2) Lyrical themes dealing more with history, fiction, etc. instead of love, sex, and other such things

3) Faster tempo than used by most rock bands

4) Complex song structures, including tempo changes and multiple riffs per song

5) Long instrumental sections, often with elaborate and lengthy guitar solos

6) More complex drumming than seen in rock, and often uses double-bass drumming (in most cases)

Metal is also much more focused on the sum of all parts than most rock songs. Rock tends to be more focused on the vocals and lyrics, whereas metal is focused more on the music as a whole.

So under these characteristics the bands you've listed don't even come close.

[john]

Hi

Np Thanks for finding a definition.

read back my post Andrew, I didn't try to label anything as anything. I have no idea of the music scene where Neoism is, or really what he listens to. He could apply the term Heavy Metal completely different to everyone else in the planet for all I know so I thought a frame of refernce would be good. Heavy Metal is a pretty broad genre so I was trying to find out what his understanding was. I guess in many ways the answer to Neo's question could be answered as Steve suggested, "do what you want", but I thought it worth delving further.

It's a pretty wooly definition definition (not your fault), partly because what is metal changes as time passes. Just as an example

In an interview in the 70s Jimmy Page was interviewed. The interviewer asked about the early days of Zep, and about their success playing heavy metal. Page said that were never just a heavy metal band. Now some classify them as glam rock, others as progressive folk rock, blues rock, or simply heavy rock or progressive rock.

When I was a teenager AC/DC were considered Heavy Metal. Along came the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" with bands like Iron Maiden etc. AC/DC were now classed as heavy rock, and metal grew into something else. Motley Crue etc, then it changed again. Over the years it has morphed with a blurry line between genres and sub-genres.

Personally I tend not to be keen label bands with any genre. Zep played songs that fit in most of the genres mentioned. Ok you might be able to say some bands are generally this or that (status quo being an example).

I'm honestly not trying to get at you, but just saying definition of many genres change with time. It's really not worth getting hung up on.

Anyways, peace out dude

John

[neoism]

lots of discussion happened..and i didnt notice..oopzziee..!

well, no offence. no need to fight on genre. when i was noob{still i m} i used to heart linkin park. but now they sorta sucks to me. I love underground stuff. grindcore to be more specific. but on the other hand i am a big time fan of melodic death metal. In flames, soilwork, norther to name few ! as well as i enjoy viking folk metal too ! Ensiferum for example. but then again when i took a look at ensiferum lyrics. Most of their lyrics' theme was sailing and stuff. Seas, fighing, journeys and stuff. where as most of the melodeath bands have lyrics themed pain, satan, despair and darkness and stuff.

But if i talk about Grindcore, they have crappy lyrics about sex and weird lyrics about sexuality, rape and sexual cheapness. for example band Dying Fetus..one of their song's name is "kill your mother, rape your dog. But i m quite sure that i am not willing to write any stuff like that..i want to write stuff that everyone can listen{read}. Something which make sense.

In short, creating no more misunderstandings, i'd like to know..HOW TO WRITE DARK LYRICS ?

Edited January 31, 2009 by neoism

[Retrosaurus Rex]

That really is a huge subject, dark lyrics. I guess the place to start would be stuff that makes you mad or sad. I'm not into metal sub-genres like grindcore etc. and have never made a study of their lyrics. I guess you start with stuff that makes you mad or sad, and decide what imagery you associate with those feelings, and decide whether you want to address those feelings directly or metaphorically. Seems like dodging the question, but I'm not sure where else to start...

[john]

Neo

I would turn the question around... for you, what makes a lyric dark? The way it makes you feel? The types of images? The subject? All of that? If you can define all that I think you will be a long road towards answering, for you, how do you write dark lyrics.

Cheers

John

[neoism]

retro,

thanks for dropping in your thoghts. i have written something..and posted up too..well to me dark lyric is despair, abomination, satan, hell and those kinda stuff..

Have i got wrong idea about dark lyrics or what..?