Mutual Understanding: T*rash Metal
Hello there ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to rock? It’s time for me trolling yet another thing that I don’t quite understand. Look on the bright side however. I’m actually searching for enlightenment rather than just petty name calling or pigeonholing. So hit the jump and enlighten my ignorant ass.
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Thrash Metal is indistinguishable from toddlers banging pots and pans together with angry tigers in the background growling because someone is standing on their tails.
This is today’s topic. For those of you who don’t know, I do not like music. It’s rather an odd thing, I know. That’s not to say I hate music. I’ve carved out a section of early to mid-90s rock that I will listen to until I die. I grew up learning to play musical instruments and can appreciate the amount of work goes into most music. So what am I missing here?
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- How long can someone stay that angry?
Most of my peers gravitated to thrash metal because of the speed and aggression. Thrash metal hit big in the 80s and 90s, right about the time we were hitting puberty. I can see the appeal to kids whose bodies were going through radical changes and who were angry all the time. However, now that we’re older, is it still that appealing? Do you still enjoy thrash metal, or is it nostalgia that connects you to your younger self that refuses to grow old? I used to listen to Punk, but now that I am older, I’ve stopped. I still like a few songs here and there but I will not search out new artists as I feel I’ve left the genre behind. Do any of you feel this for Thrash?
- Can someone give Satan a lozenge?
This is where the angry tigers come in. Those throaty growls can make for some interesting sing-alongs. Generally to me, lyrics are supposed to be understood. I know that is a very hypocritical thing to say when being a fan of Pearl Jam, however;
- I am fluent in Vedder and can understand them and
- The sounds made are at least distinctly human
I get that this is more towards the death metal end of the spectrum. For the uninitiated, there is little to no difference between to the two. How big is the divide between them? Do the lyrics even mater? Or are they just an accompanying instrument that goes along with the flow of the music?
- How do you spot the difference between bad thrash metal and good thrash metal?
I am reminded of a question I often pose to music fans, especially ones with knowledge of the 80s. How come all of The Cure’s songs sound the same, but they aren’t all good? The closest thing I’ve gotten to a coherent answer is that it comes down to familiarity with the catalog. The more songs you know, the more you listen to them, the more you can pick up on the difference between the songs. I assume this is also true of Thrash Metal? How long does it take to decide if something is good or not? What sets good thrash apart? Is it speed? Shredding? Lyrics? Or is it overall cohesiveness?
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As a (former) musician, I can appreciate the amount of coordination needed to do things even as simple as keeping time. It takes a decent amount of time to develop the muscle memory required to play. So how wrong am I that it seems to take very little skill to shred a guitar and scream into a mic? [1]