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+--- Thread: Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? (/showthread.php?tid=694)
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - kvincent5555 - 28-01-2009
Saying that metal is for kids is like saying country is for rednecks, AC is for soccer moms, progressive is for geeks, jam is for hippies, etc. As with other things, you have to separate the good stuff from the noise, and not let trends, stereotypes, or demographics distract you from doing so.
Classic is classic. Albums like "Ride the Lightning", "Rust in Peace", "Number of the Beast", "Diary of a Madman", and so on are as good as the best of any other music category. I'm still listening to that stuff in my 40s, as are others, and a lot of those artists are still doing well.
Your tastes may change, but I wouldn't say there's any kind of music you necessarily grow out of. If anything, what you grow out of is some of the silliness and fanatical loyalty that came with being in the metal "crowd" as a youth. For example, I no longer do the goat head sign, except when I hear a really rocking speech at a PTA meeting; and I no longer wear my painted jean jackets, except to weddings and funerals.
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - OutofDate - 09-03-2009
I would have said it has something to do with the overall anger of the genre, but then again, grunge and alternative rock bands create a lot of angry material as well. Maybe it's the speed of some of it? Or just that metal is much more popular now than grunge or alternative rock is (in my area anyway) because of bands like Slipknot, Dragonforce and so on.
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - JonG - 10-03-2009
kvincent5555 Wrote:I'm still listening to that stuff in my 40s, as are others, and a lot of those artists are still doing well.
I hope you come back and post some more, Vincent (if that is your name). I have a question for you.
Do you think you'd listen to metal now if you had not in your youth? Maybe you listen to metal now partially out of nostalgia? I guess my bigger question is does anyone start listening to metal at a more mature age?
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - ernieBob - 18-03-2009
Interestingly enough, I don't think metal appeals to the young only. I feel that if you grow up listening to certain type of music and have fond memories attached to them, you are more likely to keep listening to that genre well into your old age, regardless of what that might be. I know for certain that not all people that attend Iron Maiden, Sabbath or Metallica concerts are what I may tag as "young" (I am 24).
Secondly, not all metal is fast. I started off listening to Maiden due to the fact that they sounded melodic and heavy at the same time. They had songs that were fast (The Trooper, run to the hills) but they also had comparatively slow, melodic ones. Then I discovered Dio and Sabbath and that opened my ears to a whole new range of new bands. I went through a depressed teenaged stage too and listened to Slipknot, Pantera etc. but I don't see any reason why I wouldn't listen to them now (I am a happy person most of the time now and I do enjoy Slipknot's "Surfacing"). Metal, like most other genres, has subgenres and only some of it is "fast".
Thirdly, it is very rare to find mainstream metal bands now that have a diverse range of sound. The "metal" artists that are promoted on TV are mostly going for the "metalcore" style (fast, heavy riffs, melodic chorus etc.) and that probably does appeal more to the younger masses.
Sorry for the long post but I felt like I needed to clear up something that is important to me. To everyone their own!
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - goth metal raver - 19-03-2009
I'm 33 and I still like metal.
But it's the older metal I like. The stuff from the 70s, 80s and early 90s.
I still like bands like Obituary and Morbid Angel. So I probably always will like the extreme stuff.
And bands like Metallica, Slayer, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath are just classic, classic bands and I think I'll always feel that way.
I don't like much that goes on in metal these days. But maybe I just don't know enough about it to know what I'll like.
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - kvincent5555 - 19-03-2009
JonG Wrote:Do you think you'd listen to metal now if you had not in your youth? Maybe you listen to metal now partially out of nostalgia? I guess my bigger question is does anyone start listening to metal at a more mature age?
It's hard to say whether I'd be listening to it now if I hadn't started back then. In my experience, it seems to be an acquired taste, and there seems to be an addictive quality to it. It doesn't start with Slayer, but perhaps with hard rock, or some of the catchier "hits" like "Paranoid", "Enter Sandman", etc. Some people get hooked, and some "grow out of it", so to speak.
In that sense, I think you may have a point, and you may not see many 30+ soccer dads turning into hard-core metal heads, because their ears are too old and settled-in.
In my case, it's not a matter of nostalgia. Most of the metal I listen to now isn't what I listened to back then. And I certainly have no desire to recall the horrors of high school.
This discussion inevitably gets into the definition of "metal" and what makes a metalhead. My original point was only that we ought not to get too hung up on genres, and perhaps in doing so I was missing the heart of your question, and getting caught up in the definition of metal vs classic rock--as goth pointed out--since the term "classic rock" transcends all genres. Are you a metalhead just because you crank "Fade to Black", "War Pigs", or "Over The Mountain" when they come on your favorite CR station? Perhaps you just like them because they're good tunes, and you have no shame cranking the Elton John or Billy Joel tunes either.
Interesting discussion, and lots of good comments.
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - Conrad - 09-04-2009
I'm a teenager myself, and it appeals to me mainly because it expresses many emotions, because i am a person that listens to music depending on what mood i'm in, when i'm happy and in a good mood i'll listen to punk rock, but when i'm angry (which happens a lot as a teen) i'll listen to metal, ranging from how angry, annoyed or disappointed i am to how heavy the music is.
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - GPoplopavich - 01-12-2012
I wonder this myself. Having listened to all those "alternative" bands back in the day. im not 100% on what i dont relate to anymore
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - SteveO - 02-12-2012
If I hear it and I like it that's the deal for me regardlesss of the genre and I've been listening to music for over 45 years on a serious basis !
Why Does Metal Appeal to Younger Peeps ? - Mrrusty1 - 02-12-2012
well I started listening to metal at about 15 years old and all I can say is it has a certain excitement and In a way you feel like you are part of an underground elite , for want of a more specific acronym.