08-08-2009, 11:36
Back in the day, almost all metal was melodic, and it was good. Sabbath, Priest, Ozzie, Maiden, and others had good riffs and good melodies.
When metal split off into thrash, glam, and progressive during the 80s, the glam and progressive bands worked with cheap, formulaic melodies so teenyboppers would watch their videos. Not long after, lots of cheesy death metal bands also used melody in a bad way.
Hence today, many metal listeners, including myself to some extent, are skeptical of melody in metal, due to these bad experiences. We associate melody with commercialism and mediocrity, and tend to prefer the more groovy, rhythmic approach of Pantera, Megadeth, etc.
I have nothing against melody per se in metal. But over the years, it's earned a bad name for itself. One possible exception is Rotting Christ. Despite the cheesy name, some of their songs are very melodic and riffy in a good way.
When metal split off into thrash, glam, and progressive during the 80s, the glam and progressive bands worked with cheap, formulaic melodies so teenyboppers would watch their videos. Not long after, lots of cheesy death metal bands also used melody in a bad way.
Hence today, many metal listeners, including myself to some extent, are skeptical of melody in metal, due to these bad experiences. We associate melody with commercialism and mediocrity, and tend to prefer the more groovy, rhythmic approach of Pantera, Megadeth, etc.
I have nothing against melody per se in metal. But over the years, it's earned a bad name for itself. One possible exception is Rotting Christ. Despite the cheesy name, some of their songs are very melodic and riffy in a good way.
