Best decade for heavy metal.

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No. Not shocking at all, and exactly what I suspected would happen. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything here. If you think that, you're missing the entire point of what I've posted. It's all a matter of opinion. A lot (a lot, not all, or even most) of listeners who prefer later decades, don't know much about the early development of metal. A lot (not all, or even most) come to appreciate discovering some of it. That's why I share it. No other reason. If it turns on ONE other person, it's worth it. If not, it's still worth it, 'cause I like sharing.

That's really the only point behind my posts and the vids. If you don't like them, that's fine. The 70's is my personal favorite decade, and the reasons for it are here. That's all, that's it. There's no reason to read any more into it than that. The "You're all wrong" remark wasn't meant seriously.

At the end of the day, metal is whatever you or I think it is. There is no true consensus.




It's there. Yeah, there's an acoustic bass there too in the background. The dirty sound is the guitar played on the busted amp.



*facepalm!*

I never said it was metal. Distorted guitar may very well be only one element of metal, but it sure as hell is the first and most important one. Without it, there IS no metal. Jeez guys, give it a rest!

I thought it might interest some users. If it doesn't interest you, fine. No need to get all critical.




Well that's your opinion. A lot of listeners wouldn't agree with you.

If it's any consolation, I agree with you, except for the positive happy aspect. There's no reason why metal can't be positive and happy. But it's still all just a matter of opinion.

Pete1061; Try power metal bands like Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Rhapsody of Fire or Kamelot, if metal with an epic twist is your thing. But if you want dark and depressing metal, then look up Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, 2 criminally underrated UK doom/gothic metal bands who are still going.

I guess it all comes down to how positive & happy are interpreted in music, which can be different for everyone. maybe it was a poor choice of words. I'm not good with words.

But there are not a hell of a lot of romantic love songs in metal, I can say that, can't I?

I suppose you could say that, Your All I Need by Motley Crue has a dark vibe to it even though it's lumped in as a power ballad.

I can't decide to be honest.

But for now, here's a song off my favourite Slayer album.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNFglDcW7dQ[/youtube]

I don't like the 1970-79, 1980-89, 1990-99,2000-2009 demarcation you gave; it just isn't fair.

My best guestimate to my favorite 'decade of metal:

1984 - 1993

The stuff was going incredibly strong through the mid to late 90's - you can talk about Metallica, Megadeth, Sepultura, Prong, Slayer, Ministry (you could haggle with Al whether he's really industrial but apparently he'd beat anyone up who called him that), crossover skater-thrash bands like Suicidal Tendencies, etc.. In that whole period, specifically through the late 80's and early 90's - along with Head Banger's Ball, metal just had an incredibly deep bench as a genre and an incredible pool of talent to pull from.

I'd actually say it had the kind of deep bench back then that many electronic genres have had over this past decade. From 1984 - 1993 it was essentially the dubstep of that time.

heh...I dunno if I'd place dubstep on such a high pedestal, but to each his own, I guess.

I dunno, I can't find much electronica that really agrees with me. But I'm more of an academic and artist than entertainer. For electronic, I even think 80s Kraftwerk is kind of that defining moment. Their music in recent years has only changed in the respect that it has gotten easier to perform, and I'd say that goes for any electronic artist/producer/entertainer. I don't think we've quite hit that magical "Golden Age" yet like we did in the 80s. But you do have some awesome guys out there like DeadMau5 and Skrillex. Once we get more electronic guys out there that make me really want to "Raise My Weapon," I'll be convinced that we're a lot closer to that kind of magic moment. I don't think we're there yet, but we're damned close.

Yee gads... I can see why you'd disagree. I don't know if I'm missing cogs upstairs but I have no comprehension, whatsoever, of how 'good' electronic narrows down to a two-man act of Skrillex and DeadMau5 at its pinnacle. Yeah, they're decent, but as for them being 'it' out above probably several dozen acts who IMO at least equal them if not pass in each of their respective genres, I'm utterly lost. For as much as I love electronic I don't have any songs by either of them either on cd or on my play lists.

Don't know if I can pin down a "best decade" for any kind of music; besides, at my core, I'm a hater of genre.

I do suppose you can consider my favourite kind of music metal, but that's just because the thinkers, the truly inspired ones, seem to only occur in classical and metal. People like Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon, Guilt Machine, Star One) and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) revolutionised my opinion of music.

Now, some people make metal for the sake of making metal. That's not the kind of music I like (even if it's okay). I listen to music made by real artists, the kind that will put sounds in their music without abiding by genre.

Dream Theater and Ayreon, Guilt Machine and Star One are the only 'metal' bands I really listen to at the moment. Dream Theater released their first album in '85, and Ayreon in '95, so you could consider 1985-1995 my 'best' decade for metal. Then again, my favourite albums by both bands were released in the 2000s, so that could be considered the 'best' decade too.

I'm gonna go ahead and say 2005 to 2015, just because I can.

I voted for the 1970s.

I voted 90's because these days there is too many metalcore/screamo around which sounds more like rock to me than metal.

There was some great stuff in the 90's. Machine Head debuted with Burn My Eyes, Pantera re-invented themselves and Sepultura peaked with Chaos A.D. and Roots. The Norwegian black metal scene also gained plenty of notoriety, while the UK showed off the doom/death hybrids of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. Oh, and don't forget Fear Factory, Demanufacture is a classic as is Obsolete.

Glam metal/hair bands are the best!

Until grunge came along But in all seriousness, glam and hair metal did take a massive beating from the grunge outbreak. Still, metal retreated back into the underground with death and black metal.

I voted '80s for the traditional metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Dio, and thrash, doom, early death and black, etc. That was the genre's best and most creative and productive decade IMO, and is also where most of the sub-genres started, and a lot of the "prototypes" for genres that would really take off in the underground in the '90s such as death and black metal. I like quite a bit of thrash, which really combined the more technical aspects of metal with a lot of the aggression and raw energy of punk. Megadeth is my favorite, they were lightyears ahead of the traditional thrash band in terms of technicality, songwriting, lyrics, and overall talent and quality. Metallica's first four albums were good as well, and bands like Slayer, Anthrax, Testament, Exodus, Overkill, Dark Angel, Annihilator, Kreator, Sodom, etc. all emerged in the '80s and most are still going strong today, each with their own unique style. Doom metal also took off as a sub-genre of its own, building from the thick, slow, heavy sound of early Black Sabbath and combining some other influences as well. Candlemass is my favorite '80s doom band. Bands like Saint Vitus also become well-known and older bands like Pentagram and Witchfinder General found their place during that decade. Bands like Possessed and Death played some of the earliest death metal, and Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost, and Mercyful Fate laid the groundwork for black metal, both of these genres evolving more in the late '80s and in the '90s and even spinning off into sub-genres of themselves, such as melodic death metal, but it all started in the '80s. There was also power metal, speed metal, progressive metal, neo-classical metal, hair/glam metal (which I personally can't stand most of, lol, but my point is the '80s was the most diverse), basically all sorts of metal. Nu-metal broke into the mainstream in the '90s, which brought in influences from popular '90s music such as grunge, alternative rock and hip-hop. It pretty much died in the early '00s. The '90s also had gothic, symphonic, and folk metal emerge, and progressive metal developed a lot more thanks to bands like Dream Theater. While these genres were more underground during the '90s, some of them and the bands which pioneered them have become more popular over the years. In the '70s the scene was a lot more monotonous, many of the bands were less distinct and metal didn't have separate sub-genres. There was just metal. Black Sabbath was the biggest band, usually credited as being the first true heavy metal band, forming in 1969 and releasing their influential debut album in '70 which was distinct from hard rock from its time. Motorhead and Judas Priest are two other metal bands who were influential in the '70s, though they continued to be throughout the '80s as well. If you look at metal today, what's popular and coming back now is thrash and hair metal, both new bands and the original '80s bands, while bands playing newer styles like nu-metal and metalcore usually fade out quickly, I can't see too many metalcore bands that are popular now having huge 30 year anniversary shows three decades from now like Metallica just did.

[Youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtMHHC5MgSs[/Youtube]
Had to post it.