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Death metal music inspires joy not violence
31–40 of 112 posts
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#32That's death metal though. Other forms of extreme metal can have lyrics that, far from toying with splatter-gore themes for the shock value, express terminally anti-social politics. I'm thinking of black. Sometimes I'm just happy that a few of the bands I listen to sing in Swedish or Norwegian etc that I don't understand, so that I can't tell what they're singing about. Although the imagery can often give a bit of a…
Black metal is way sillier than death metal. In the early days, sure, there were a group of people who took the imagery of metal seriously or at least tried to. But black metal is so theatric and cartoonish these days. It'd be like being afraid Count Chocula will inspire a generation of cannibals.
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#33So here's a thought that just occurred to me. For context, I've never understood death metal or anything in that realm. The screaming in particular... but I realize that's just my personal preference. No judgment intended. Just opinion, not objective fact. So only recently I discovered the ASMR phenomenon. And it seems like ~10% of the population (estimated) get a particular response to those sounds. Other commenters…
As I understand it music is something you can train your brain to like and the choices are heavily influenced by other people around you, society, culture. On its own metal music is equally as likable as kpop, for example. But you don't necessarily learn to have that attitude towards music and limit yourself trying to fit in, etc.
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#34That's death metal though. Other forms of extreme metal can have lyrics that, far from toying with splatter-gore themes for the shock value, express terminally anti-social politics. I'm thinking of black. Sometimes I'm just happy that a few of the bands I listen to sing in Swedish or Norwegian etc that I don't understand, so that I can't tell what they're singing about. Although the imagery can often give a bit of a…
I'd just like to point out that, as someone who mainly listens to black metal, I do not share these opinions.
Concerning the lyrics, I generally categorize them into two groups (with non-empty cut set):
* Intellectual lyrics, which criticize some part of society or human behaviour, or they deal with personal issues (e.g. http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/todtgelichter/angst.html#1)
* Theme lyrics, which try to fit a core concept of the bands music, like satanism or some war/Third Reich theme (e.g. Graphic http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/behemoth/thesatanist.html#1 Graphic). Also, note that a having a certain theme does not automatically imply endorsing it.
Usually, the music as well as the lyrics are cold and cynical, which can make their actual meaning hard to place or even ambivalent at times.
Concerning the neonazis: Personally, I do not see a trend towards the worse, but there are a few sketchy bands out there (the ones I know of are usually older, from the 90s or so).
Oh, P.S.: while the black metal fans may be not as teddybear-y as death metal fans, we are usually quite a nice bunch :)
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#35That's death metal though. Other forms of extreme metal can have lyrics that, far from toying with splatter-gore themes for the shock value, express terminally anti-social politics. I'm thinking of black. Sometimes I'm just happy that a few of the bands I listen to sing in Swedish or Norwegian etc that I don't understand, so that I can't tell what they're singing about. Although the imagery can often give a bit of a…
Black metal is way sillier than death metal. In the early days, sure, there were a group of people who took the imagery of metal seriously or at least tried to. But black metal is so theatric and cartoonish these days. It'd be like being afraid Count Chocula will inspire a generation of cannibals.
It'd be like being afraid Count Chocula will inspire a generation of cannibals.
Years ago, there were the fundamentalist types who would've thought that the vampire/occult theme was a cutesy backdoor into pulling kids into satanic occult stuff. Same sort of people who tried to stigmatize D&D and video games. Same sort of people who wanted to censor books, music, movies, etc.
In 2019, we have a new kind of fundamentalist running around trying to de-platform wrongthink. I see them as just the 2019 version of the same people.
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#36Just to note: Some death-metal bands have positive lyrics[0,1]... (Though, whether they can really be called a death metal band is possibly a point of contention.) [0] - https://youtu.be/lk2-bgwA0Ro [1] - https://youtu.be/Nh10gL_GP_w
Some examples with science-themed lyrics (not all "death metal", though):
Avenged Sevenfold - Fermi Paradox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl8rofNa0tI
Avenged Sevenfold - Exist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntgOlFbGWLY
Nightwish - The Greatest Show on Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJb3xwtpmmc
Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUb1p8fm7Ag
Dream Theater - The Great Debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z6vpiXQJNA
Allegaeon - Gray Matter Mechanics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu-NvEec8y8
Allegaeon - All Hail Science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONPMWHP8AZ4
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#37That's death metal though. Other forms of extreme metal can have lyrics that, far from toying with splatter-gore themes for the shock value, express terminally anti-social politics. I'm thinking of black. Sometimes I'm just happy that a few of the bands I listen to sing in Swedish or Norwegian etc that I don't understand, so that I can't tell what they're singing about. Although the imagery can often give a bit of a…
Black metal has troubled origins, but honestly it's just a parody/joke now. Black metal these days is to the world what heavy metal was 30 years ago, when Dee Snider had to appear before the US senate because of the "Parents Music Resource Center" to defend Twisted Sisters lyrics because "think of the children!".
I don't really see any difference between your comment and claiming death metal listeners are violent. It's not true. Black metal doesn't make someone a neo-nazi. Neo-nazis are already neo-nazis.
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#38Great to see research coming to a conclusion I think most metalheads intuitively know. I love walls of sound, I love intensity that feels like it takes a surplus of cognitive bandwidth (ADHD) and gives it a little bit of resistance to tug against, almost like those various rubber stress toys. I think most metal fans hear lyrical gruesomeness as something between fantasy and a cause for more empathy than anything else…
A great deal of metal is prima facie ugly, and I find that most of the people attracted to this aesthetic have emotional issues, abuse drugs, or self-harm, etc. I enjoy hanging out with some of these people, but it's an observation I can't ignore.
As you point out, there are a number of subcultures, some of which are generally wholesome and aesthetically sound. For example, Manowar fans are usually intelligent, driven, and extremely muscular.
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#39Key takeaway: music is not about what it looks like on the cover. It can also be a way to shield yourself from the people you're trying to get away from, and a way to differentiate yourself. Almost every one of the ultra-kind but non-mainstream people I know who are into outwardly weird or off-putting (anti-mainstream) stuff are into the culture community for the boundaries they provide. Juggalos are about the community, metalheads are about the community, otakus are about the community, furries are about the community.
Re: Death metal music inspires joy not violence
#40Metal music is cathartic the same way a movie, a videogame, a book or a theater performance are.
You experience intensity, highs and lows, tension and release. You expose yourself to a harsh emotional rollercoaster, to digging deep into one's psyche, and come out on the other end hopefully invigorated and refreshed.
If metal music inspires violence, so do the Odyssey, Star Wars, Othello and many many others.