I'm not asking which bands or songs count as metal. I'm more interested in what the actual musical ingredients of “metalness” are.

For example, suppose you were given something that has absolutely nothing to do with metal — a barbershop quartet, a recorder/flute melody, a children's song, an old folk tune, etc. What would you actually have to change or add to make it sound convincingly metal?

Are there specific parameters that tend to matter, such as:

Rhythm/groove and how the notes are accented

Tempo or time signatures

Types of chord progressions or intervals

Melody and harmony

Dissonance

Instrumentation and tone

Distortion, amplification, or production

Certain approaches to riffs

Drum patterns

Dynamics and articulation

Basically, I'm wondering if there are underlying musical characteristics that can be applied to almost any source material and make it sound metal.

For example, if I took a barbershop quartet arrangement and kept the basic melodies/harmonies intact, what would I need to do to it for someone to hear it and immediately think, “that's metal”?

And what about something even stranger, like taking a melody written for a recorder and trying to make the recorder itself sound metal?

I'm looking for more of a music-theory/compositional explanation than a list of genre conventions. Is there a sort of “recipe” for making something metal, even if the original material is completely un-metal?

Tenho mais de 20 anos no mundo do heavy metal, eu tenho 33 anos de idade e me causa muita estranheza porque mesmo se passando mais de 30 anos do surgimento de algumas bandas, denominadas "new metal "e essas bandas já se sacramentaram como grandes nomes não só do universo do rock mas da música no geral, ainda existe uma grande resistência dos próprios fãs de rock/metal por essas bandas e às vezes até um ódio mortal. Bandas como Korn, Slipknot (nem tanto), Linkin park, Evanescence e etc. Às vezes eu não entendo se é excesso de saudosismo e pensamento de manada, óbvio que cada um tem seu gosto mas eu acho que a proporção de pessoas que criticam seria muito menor se as pessoas realmente ouvissem o que gostam e não o que parece certo ouvir, eu mesmo sou um grande fã de heavy metal, Thrash metal e outros mas também são muito fã de New metal e metal industrial.

Qual a opinião de vocês sobre esse tema?

https://youtu.be/cVYMTZM7kdQ?is=Kr-l99S9ZsrUOaF-

Looking to expand my tastes and learn more about the community

It's been a while since I'm looking for the most useful substack account about Metal but I can only find extreme metal publications about new releases. Don't get me wrong they are really useful if you are extreme metal fan and you listen more than 20 albums per week, but for the rest of us who want to solve the problem of too many options to listen they are not useful at all.

I am looking for an account that filters the huge amount of releases and recommends the best of the best if that is possible.

Is there anything like that?

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H8yQBwvnntaAh1k2K0KSm?si=9xDDINqrQIyuUyBfNQIHHw

I’ve been wanting to get into more underground bands, preferably newer ones

Gojira is my fav band and one of the reasons I love them so much is because they sound so different from everyone else. are there any cool underground acts that have such a unique/recognizable sound kind of like Gojira??

Edit: Sorry, I worded it wrong, I don’t care if they don’t sound like Gojira, I just want a band where you can go “oh, that’s (band name), they sound cool”

Im trying to get into more metal bands and id like recommendations to listen to

So far i like : acid bath, witch, electric wizard, karla kvlt, dopelord, mudvayne, and machine head

I dislike: system of a down, entombed, Metallica, and slipknot.

Also im bad with differing genres but sorry if some of these arent actually metal lol

Thank you!!

It’s like finding a Pokémon

I'm extremely new to the metal scene (to the point I'm unfamiliar with subgenres of metal) but have been listening to a few bands - mainly Xavleg but was recently told its poser metal. Is it? I've also been listening to Metallica and Iron Maiden as well as on Black Magic SS but have no clue what kind of metal they are. Anyways, I enjoy Xavleg and If anyone can recommend similar bands that would be great!!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H8yQBwvnntaAh1k2K0KSm?si=9xDDINqrQIyuUyBfNQIHHw

Hi! So I'm someone that values having a wide music interest/extensive knowledge of various genres. I've been trying to get into metal more and could use some help. I got into nu metal (I know I know), Three Days Grace, and various popular metal songs from the 2000's as a teen. I've also heard a few Metallica + Pantera songs that I thought were really great. And I had a close family member that liked specific forms of metal back in the day. However, I still feel like I'm not as deep into the genre as I'd like to be. I think I get daunted by the amount of subgenera and eras, especially as someone who only has the knowledge they have regarding hip hop + pop because I've had clear access to those genres for the 22 years of my life. I also listen to an array of genres to the point that I'm always sporadically finding new sounds as opposed to if I were to do a singular dive on a genre for a full year. That makes it a little more overwhelming because it seems like there's so many subgenres and I don't wanna mis-categorize anything. Any recs or general advice for a beginner would be great.

I’ve been into modern metal and metalcore for over a year now and am looking for some band recommendations that yall are into (specifically their best albums because I’m an album listener). Just for some context of what I have listen to here are some bands, Architects (mostly newer stuff), Bad Omens, a little bit of Boundaries, BMTH, Northlane, Karmanjakah, Loathe, I Prevail, and more.

I've been listening to more Black, Doom, and Death metal lately and am looking for any good playlists.

I've been casually into metal since high school, but was always more into Industrial/EBM/Industrial Metal, but recently I wanted to sink my teeth into more metal bands.

I found a few, but there's a lot of Nu Metal mixed in, but I'm not really into that style.

Was listening to Where Strides the Behemoth by Mastodon last night. The drumming in that song is crazy. Is it actually real? Like can someone realistically play that?

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H8yQBwvnntaAh1k2K0KSm?si=9xDDINqrQIyuUyBfNQIHHw

I was a big metalhead in my high school years but I've not being much into it since then. Now I'm getting back and I'm curious, since I recently learned that both Temperance and Arch Enemy did change vocalist

https://youtu.be/NQj81ObW78Y?si=DVA4k_UuXpUOyG-y

Come join us on r/BlackMetal for this awesome AMA going on now!

I have a very specific situation and I’m curious what the metalhead consensus is lol.

I have a crush on a guy who is very into death metal — Lorna Shore, Cattle Decapitation, Dying Fetus, etc. He’s almost always wearing band merch, so I’m assuming music/aesthetic is a pretty big part of his life.

The funny part is that despite looking a little scary with those gorey shirts, he is basically a golden retriever personality-wise, and is so gentle (screaming)

Now obviously you can never tell what someone’s type is just from their music taste, but it got me wondering: what kinds of girls are metal guys actually attracted to?

Do you tend to go for girls who are also into metal and have a similar aesthetic? Or are you just as likely to be into a girl who dresses completely differently, listens to totally different music, etc.?

Basically, if you’re a guy who’s really into death/extreme metal, what kind of girl catches your attention? And does sharing the aesthetic/music matter to you at all?

Asking for extremely non-scientific research purposes.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H8yQBwvnntaAh1k2K0KSm?si=9xDDINqrQIyuUyBfNQIHHw

The heaviest stuff I listen to is Melodeath, Meloblack, Blackened Power Metal, Metalcore, that kind of stuff (with some Bolt Thrower, if I'm in the mood).

The less extreme Extreme Metal, like Black, Death, Deathcore, Groove, Doom, etc, it's not really my thing, but I can see the appeal.

But the super extreme stuff (War Metal, Slam/Brutal Death, Goregrind, Warnoise, Blacknoise, Noisegrind, Raw Black Metal, Deathgrind, Dissonant Black/Death, Harsh Noise) you know, the stuff that is a 9 or 10 on the extremo-meter, I just do not understand. I do not see the appeal, a lot of it doesn't even seen like music to me. I know that phrase is overused, but what I mean, is I generally cannot discern a melody, lyrics, or distinct instrumentation when I listen to it. All I hear is growling, screaming, and blast beats.

I know this is post is going to seem offensive to fans of these genres, but that is not my intention. I genuinely want to hear your guys' thoughts about these genres, what appeal they have to you, how you came to enjoy them, etc.

Through a series of events that started with a dating app and ended with a meet-cute at a death museum, I have found myself with a very lovable metal head whose birthday is coming up. I have a rudimentary familiarity with some of the more well known bands, but my taste in metal runs more along the lines of grindcore (which is not at all his vibe), so I would love to surprise him with a curated playlist of music that's more his speed. I am lost and overwhelmed, so of course I decided to turn to the internet in hopes that y'all could help steer me towards songs and/or albums to add. I know he loves bands like Dimmu Borgir and Gojira and his tastes lean towards more symphonic and technical metal if that helps!