I've noticed that the best way for me to listen to Heavy Metal/Hard
Rock bands such as Black Sabbath, Motorhead, AC/DC, etc. is
on a single track basis (usually on mix tapes and their ilk). Entire
albums tend to bore me. Does anyone here feel the same way?
It's odd, because in theory Metal is the ultimate albums medium
(in fact, some of the behaviour that passes for "Rockist" here
could actually be more correctly defined as "Metallist"- since any
erudite Rock fan knows about the virtues of singles bands, from
Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps to The Buzzcocks...)
― Daniel_Rf, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
Looking at metal in the past 20 years, very few bands actually released singles. Even in the 80s the major metal bands didn't...Metallica didn't release singles or had "hits" until 1989, Slayer never did, Megadeth didn't until the 90s, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction didn't. The only exception was probably Iron Maiden, which is pretty much indicative that "metal as singles music" was pretty much a 70s phenomenon and died out after the NWOBHM. After that, circa 1982/83, the old bands still released singles but new bands didn't.
It depends on the kind of music anyway. The more rock 'n roll/blues based hard rock bands of the 70s/early 80s like AC/DC, Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, Scorpions, Merciful Fate etc tended to write big "stadium anthems", which naturally tend to be more interesting as singles rather than ten of them lumped together (cfr Queen, etc), whereas the extremer, more purely "metal" with less rock elements tend to work better in the album format.
But except from the case of album-length songs or drone-music, there's not that many bands around whose better songs do not hold their own when heard in isolation. One could easily make a Yes or ELP compilation tape out of even their most expansive albums and credibly assert that even this band "works" as a "singles" band.
― Siegbran Hetteson, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
yeah, as much as I like metal, I do find it hard to listen to whole
albums. Where as I can put other stuff on as background, no probs.
Once I could've listened to several Iron Maiden albums in a row, I
doubt if I have that sort of stamina now.
― jel --, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
Slayer never did
Except that on 9/11/2001 they did release a single. It was called "God
Send Death." I know, because I went into the local Corporate CD Place
on that day, and they'd marked 'em all "FREE" with a bright blue Sharpie.
― John Darnielle, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
OK, but you've got to take into account that the Slayer anno 2001 is quite firmly in the nu-metal camp (which *would* be a prime example of a singles-driven genre) as opposed to their "relevant" years in the early/mid 80s.
― Siegbran Hetteson, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
While I'll concede that all Slayer post-
Seasons in the Abyss is
a shadow of their younger selves, I still wouldn't call what they're
doing nu-metal except by a very long stretch. "God Send Death" sounds
like a
Seasons outtake.
― John Darnielle, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)