Metal sub-genre phases/cycles

[NAD]

+1 to the above 2 posts. So I guess that's +2 then?

I love a lot of those 2000 releases but the 1986 list absolutely destroys it.

My list of 10/10 albums is very, very short these days. In fact even my Top 10 Whatever lists are typically filled with mostly 9/10 releases.

 

[SonOfNun]

i'm not saying this is a universal truth but for me it has historically gone a little bit in phases like this:

1. discovery

this is where you are now because you've discovered a whole new world of music and you're buying every doom metal album ever and everything sounds fresh and exciting and omg there's just so much great music!!!

2. realization

this is where you've been listening for a while, peeked behind the curtain, learned all the tricks, and you finally realize that not all of it is actually that great and about 80% of it is just imitating better stuff. but you still kind of keep buying the 7/10 albums because it's still good-ish and you're still kinda-sorta expanding your horizons

3. withdrawal

this is where i am with almost all metal. when all the mediocrity makes you tired and angry and you make a conscious decision to weed out everything that's less than 10/10 some of the best the genre has to offer because you have way past enough music to listen to, and life is too short for sub-standard tunes


so i'm well, well into the end phase with just about every style of metal except for some things that still sound fresh and interesting to me like weird off-kilter 80's demotape metal and some of the japanese scene for instance. yes i still love metal and think it has immense potential as a medium. but no i don't ever need to listen to a bunch of random bozos ripping off saint vitus or darkthrone.

i don't see myself returning to being enthusiastic about exploring death, thrash or doom metal, like, ever -- because i really really feel like i know every trick these guys could possibly have up their sleeves and everything is just more of the same. so for the most part i listen to things that are not metal now, things that still feel inspiring. lately i'm all about classical minimalism and 70's prog rock. i'm sure i will eventually get disillusioned with these things too.

I agree with your general outline here, though I suppose it differs from person to person as everyone has different listening habits and standards. What you've described is a largely linear process where your interest in certain genres or sub-genres exhausts itself (perhaps after several cycles) in an almost complete manner. I think my listening interests are more cyclical than that. Perhaps I haven't gone through enough cycles with each sub-genre, but each time I come back to them I still have a high degree of enthusiasm and enjoyment. I had explored black metal with great vigor years ago and then came back to it about two and half years ago with a similar excitement, dug deeply in the unblack scene, and still consider it my favorite sub-genre (or at least in close competition for that status). I think part of this is just that I'm more basic as a music listener. I understand the importance of innovation and creativity, but a lack thereof doesn't hamper my enjoyment. I can truly enjoy bands that just play music that I like really well even if they aren't breaking any new ground at all.

I can go weeks without listening to a single metal riff. The thing is, I exposed myself to a pretty wide array of styles very early on, more than I could handle really (not to mention my wallet), and with every game-changing discovery I felt that I had found my calling. But now I suppose that I have a fairly balanced grasp of all the genres I enjoy, so whenever I'm in a classical music, 70s folk or raw BM spree, I never burn myself out on these, and just switch naturally to the next cycle after a couple weeks.

And I still enjoy digging for new bands from time to time, with moderate success, but not as compulsively as before, because yeah, after a while you don't need ages to spot whether something is plain rehash or will have extremely limited replay value.

I think this more accurately describes the place I'm in (or arriving at). I think Doom Metal is the final frontier when it comes to being able to obsessively dig in with everything being shiny and new. We'll see what place it settles into for me when it enters the rotation with the other sub-genres. My experience has been that when my mood changes to another sub-genre, I move on and enjoy it until the time comes to shift again. I spent a lot of time listening to non-metal (a variety of genres at that), but nothing grips me the same way. I'd imagine that I'll continue to shift through the metal subgenres over the years (as my primary form of music, but with an appropriate admixture of whatever non-metal I enjoy).

That's why it's so much more fun/better to discover all of the older shit that you never gave a chance/haven't gotten into yet that has proven itself to survived the test of time. Nowadays, we tend to live in a ridiculous culture where every.fucking.thing is disposable and only interested in the newest shiny thing or, even better yet, being the first one to discover said shiny thing and putting it on display. Most of the FB music groups I am a member of are like this and it's the constant posting of good-ish albums that were just released that must be listened to a few times and disposed of for the next shiny thing.

I have really enjoyed going back and discovering the classics that I ignored previously (even in subgenres that I particularly enjoy). I tend to assume that older is better and that a bands early works are better than their later (although this is not always the case). However, like I said above, I just appreciate music that is done well in a style that I enjoy so I'm open to new stuff that fits that criteria for me. I'm always chasing new music, but I'm not always chasing something that pushes the boundaries and does something new and I think that works in my favor when it comes to avoiding genre fatigue.

 

[spikes77]

i'm not saying this is a universal truth but for me it has historically gone a little bit in phases like this:

3. withdrawal

i don't see myself returning to being enthusiastic about exploring death, thrash or doom metal, like, ever -- because i really really feel like i know every trick these guys could possibly have up their sleeves and everything is just more of the same. so for the most part i listen to things that are not metal now, things that still feel inspiring. lately i'm all about classical minimalism and 70's prog rock. i'm sure i will eventually get disillusioned with these things too.


another observation i have real quick is that surprisingly, all of the super depressive mega misanthropic stuff that i traditionally have been into kind of loses its attraction when you're not a super depressed mega misanthrope anymore

so that leaves me in a weird position where A LOT of the stuff i think is 10/10 extremely important and great Art is also stuff i'm not really ever in the mood to listen to

Generally agree with all of what you're saying here---especially with doom for me--I really feel like the genre has run it's course, and I used to be super into finding new stuff ---I still feel like I can discover some bm releases that are least trying to push things in different directions. I would also agree with being happier, different commitments, being in different phases of one's life doesn't lend it self to seeking out specific sub genre's as much anymore. Although I would say a lot of my very favorite doom releases that have stood the test of time really almost transcend the generic "depressive" quality--skepticism, unholy, dusk -etc.

Regarding your last point Erik, that's usually the case with great art in most mediums --movies (I love apocalypse now, synecdoche, and fitzcaraldo, but those are exhausting and only watchable every once in a blue---same with books--krasznahorkai and bernhard have some amazing works--that are a mentally draining experience that I will read rarely.

I can go weeks without listening to a single metal riff. The thing is, I exposed myself to a pretty wide array of styles very early on, more than I could handle really (not to mention my wallet), and with every game-changing discovery I felt that I had found my calling. But now I suppose that I have a fairly balanced grasp of all the genres I enjoy, so whenever I'm in a classical music, 70s folk or raw BM spree, I never burn myself out on these, and just switch naturally to the next cycle after a couple weeks.

And I still enjoy digging for new bands from time to time, with moderate success, but not as compulsively as before, because yeah, after a while you don't need ages to spot whether something is plain rehash or will have extremely limited replay value.

Definitely agree with most of this Bertrand---over the last 5-6 years I have gotten much more into electronic, and it definitely creates a nice balance. It definitely helps with cycling through genre's and making some nice discoveries once you really start getting into some of the more underrated stuff of each genre--I still feel i'm missing out on some jazz album that will blow me away or an industrial band that completely went under the radar but released a classic mixing stles. Some days it seems like I could just listen to auctechre for the rest of my life, and that would be fine.

That's why it's so much more fun/better to discover all of the older shit that you never gave a chance/haven't gotten into yet that has proven itself to survived the test of time. Nowadays, we tend to live in a ridiculous culture where every.fucking.thing is disposable and only interested in the newest shiny thing or, even better yet, being the first one to discover said shiny thing and putting it on display. Most of the FB music groups I am a member of are like this and it's the constant posting of good-ish albums that were just released that must be listened to a few times and disposed of for the next shiny thing.

All of this Ken---definitely has gotten soo much worse with the rise of social media--everyone must be the first to review something, have a 1000 album top ten list, and proclaim every album a "landmark of the genre" i've seen some bullshit reviews on bandcamp about something being the greatest thing and it came out last fucking month--come on! I also notice this with a lot of review sites (not just metal) that read like these people have spent 0 time exploring the genre---like that one band mizmor---they make good funeral doom but let's not pretend they have released a masterpiece of the genre----please see Finland in the 90's for doom-then get back to me.

I generally read the same 4-5 metal review sites, and by the end of the year I can find some really enjoyable releases, and one or two every other year, that will most likely stand the test of time (no doubt Sweven will from this year)---

 

[swizzlenuts]

I have more thoughts about all you old men bitching about clouds, but i'll share my thoughts when I get some more time.

I find that whatever I'm working on is the main driver of what I'm listening to, so I go through huge phases. When i'm reading/writing (black/ambient and prog) compared to coding (death/black metal) compared to general data upkeep/analysis (heavy, trad doom, or TVshows). Now that I'm not working, I'm listening to more rock/heavy/speed/power metal.

 

[Krilons Resa]

#getoffmylawn!

 

[Reign in Acai]

I never suffer the concerns and burn out that most of you lads do. For the past half decade my music listening was primarily relegated to commuting/gym. Hell up until 6 months ago my stereo wasn't even connected. Pretty sad state of affairs. So you can all see where my eagerness lies with the tournament. I haven't been overturning the rocks that you have been overturning. In the back of my mind there's a sense of FOMO. Surely, there's at least a dozen master works that I have missed.

 

[zerostatic]

As I get older and my responsibilities and obligations increase my time to listen to music seems to decrease. I struggle to find a balance to listen to new music and old favorites. It has made me more selective about what I purchase and what I spend time with.

 

[Krilons Resa]

I have more thoughts about all you old men bitching about clouds, but i'll share my thoughts when I get some more time.
.

We're still waiting.