non prog metal vote

Dragon Phoenix wrote: None of the listed. I'd go for Rammstein.

 NOOOOOO!!!!

Pixel, I had my fair share of Heavy Metal, listening to Sabbath and Sepultura. I used to take some Cds to the Hospital and while operating over the late hours, these bands kept me from sleeping while doing surgery. Since I dont work that much anymore, I keep these records locked up in the basement.

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Lunar

To me,metal is all about spirit,artistic vision and a certain kind of philosphy and I haven't heard any band outside of the Norwegian black metal bands who have that spirit,all "ordinary" metal are just entertainment and that's definitely not what metal is about for me. That's why I could never get into it before the black metal scene started to develop here in Norway in the early 90's. I could never take working class yobbos like Maiden and Priest seriously or California airheads like Metallica,it was all so juvenile and intellectually unfullfilling,not to mention too much in common with straightforward rock'n'roll,which I absolutely hate. Norwegian black metal sounded,and has continued to sound,very different from that. It's all to do with cultural and historical background,you can't do metal properly if you come from Hawaii. Or California for that matter. Scandinavia,and Finland and Germany,are the ideal places for TRUE metal to spring from,and a large part of it is because of geography and climate. Long dark winters,big brooding forests lend themselves very naturally to metal. It's difficult to hear Reggae springing forth naturally from the Norwegian cultural and historical soil! To me,metal is not a form of music,it's a state of mind and it's not enough to be agressive and loud,that's only tiresome. Metal done without the proper philosophy is just a hideous noise,and I believe only the Scandinavian and Finnish bands,and possibly the German ones,have that philosophy. Metal is music that is totally reliant on the proper spirit behind it or it simply becomes mindless noise for teenage boys and the feeble minded. When I saw an interview with Lars Ulrich by his Californian mansion,sitting beside his pool,I didn't have to hear a word he said,just by seeing what context he presented himself within told me he didn't have the proper metal spirit. But then again,being brought up in California,how could he? Metal drummers don't play tennis!

I love Metallica. They might not be progrock but they have influenced all these new progressive metal bands like dream theater.

James Lee wrote: Pixel Pirate wrote: When I saw an interview with Lars Ulrich by his Californian mansion,sitting beside his pool,I didn't have to hear a word he said,just by seeing what context he presented himself within told me he didn't have the proper metal spirit. But then again,being brought up in California,how could he? Metal drummers don't play tennis!  There's a pic of Metallica next to the dictionary entry for 'sellout' Though a lot of good metal has come out of California...remember, Northern California is nothing like LA...life can get pretty cold and dreary at times.

It's true that we Europeans have a tendency to think that California is LA and that's it. It's a common mistake for those of us on the other side of the world and I make it too from time to time.

I don't know that it's possible to be a successful metalhead, any more than one can be a successful punk. It's necessary to grow, and it's possible to evolve without damaging your past in the process, and Metallica hasn't really done that...they want their protest and their riches, the celebrity lifestyle and the 'doing it for the fans' attitude...it's a contradiction that has ruined better and smarter bands.

And given the lyrics to many of their songs, it's impossible not to think of them as hypocrites now. All that's left is for Hetfield and Ulrich to join the PMRC...

But I agree, Metallica has been the single most influential metal band since Sabbath...in fact, most of modern heavy rock owes its sound and mainstream acceptance to how ubiquitous Metallica (along with Nirvana) became in the late 80s & early 90s.