The topic of guilty pleasures has come up quite a bit on the heavy metal forum I frequent. I really do not listen to anything besides metal and I am quite upfront about everything I listen to. Nevertheless, there are some bands that are often not well-received that are metal bands on that forum. Here's a few bands I listen to that are not well-liked in most metal circles.
MACHINE HEAD:
The problem with Machine Head is that they constantly alter their sound in order to stay relevant. They were groove metal when Pantera was the be-all, end-all of metal. They were nu metal when Korn was making waves. They were metalcore when Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God struck it big. Now they are thrash. They have always been gifted with the ability to write memorable songs though.
CRADLE OF FILTH:
I have no idea why this band is so hated. I enjoy them quite a bit. My particular favorite aspect of the band is Dani Filth's lyrics. They are like something out of gothic horror poetry. It's pretty amazing. The music matches the lyrics, bringing dark images to mind.
TRIVIUM:
They were lambasted when they changed their sound on The Crusade to sound like Metallica, leaving behind their metalcore sound. Now they have put some more of those metalcore aspects into their style from that album. Trivium has had a knack for truly infectious melodies and choruses. They are extremely gifted musicians. Sure they want to be Metallica, but they have some good stuff.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE:
Another band that is just infectious as hell. I listened to a couple of their albums recently and was reminded how impressed I was with the band at one time. I have not heard their newest album, nor do I plan to, but their earlier material is still a decent listen today.
LAMB OF GOD:
They want so badly to be Pantera. Nevertheless, they have put out some memorable albums. Randy Blythe's voice is powerful and intense. Unfortunately, they seem to have run out of ideas now.
DEVILDRIVER:
I always enjoyed Dez Fafara's voice, even when he was in Coal Chamber. I'm glad to see he started a real metal band, and yes DevilDriver has much more in common with melodic death and groove metal than nu metal. Dez has resorted to only using the demonic vocals and that is just fine with me.
I used to listen to nu metal. I admit it. I have been to see Sevendust, Static X, Staind, Godsmack, and Cold in concert. But, my music tastes have changed. I don't listen to those bands anymore. I just wanted to clear the air.
-It's fucking annoying when younger metalheads like to try to show off by claiming they never "got" Metallica. It's even worse when they try some revisionist history claiming Metallica was never really all that important. Metallica's early albums were some of the best ever in metal. Case closed.
-No one really cares what music you listen to. Covering up the fact that you listen to some of the above bands or claiming you listen to really deep underground bands is pointless and impresses no one. I have been forthright with the bands I listen to here. Yes, I hate false metal bands, but I listen to stuff that is not exactly "cool" in metal terms. My previous post was about Nitro. There you have it.
-No one really cares about this post. No one wants to read the ramblings from a lawyer about music he likes and doesn't like. Nevertheless, it's my blog. I don't care what my readers (all two or three of you) think about my listening habits (other than my fiancee of course, whose opinions I take into consideration but don't really change my habits much). My goal is to hopefully turn some people on to good music. If I am successful, great. If not, so what?
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