ZeroSymbolic7188's Forum Replies

Thank you. We look forward to doing more soon..

What times work good for ya Pelle?

O nifty I will Migrate this.

OH wait a minute. I crossed up two diferent concepts. The idea isn't that Sabbath isn't metal-as in hard rock that shouldn't be here that's what I had in my tortured mind. This is just about moving it from Guardians to Fallen. I dunno man. I guess I don't feel strongly about either one.

At the risk of stirring the pot, because for the life of me I can't seam not to...

Genre classifications were developed for marketing, broadcasting, radio stations, and record store reasons. They served as a rough guide to what you might be getting from an unknown artist. In an era where streaming is the most common form of music consumption what purpose do such debates really serve, or even reviews for that matter? You can read my rating and review of an album sure, but in the same amount of time you could have queued it on you platform of choice and been 5 minutes deep into actually hearing it yourself. I'm obviously not against such things as I vigorously participate in this website, but the creative and restless mind keeps me wondering if we could look at music criticism in a new light and find something more constructive and fresh to do with this passion? 

I dealt with ignoring the entire first wave of Black Metal, but if were going to start saying that Black Sabbath isn't Metal that blows all credibility. 

I like that song a lot. Heftier than the "In Waves" material and it sounds like they got the cymbal-bleed cleaned up a little better. It's still got more treble in the mix than I'd go for but it's pretty good. 4/5

To me Lincoln Park is just a boy band in heavy metal costume.

Rex, I already found the exit door on this one bro.

If you're going for most influencial then you have to include Black Metal. Which IS a first-wave black metal album, and it gave the sub-genre it's name. Quite a lot of the first and second wave artists site it as a primary influence. 

Remember the first wave was little bit more relaxed in it's parameters than the second wave. Mercyful Fate is also considered a first-wave black metal band, and they are farther away than Venom from what became the "pure" template.

Quoted ZeroSymbolic7188

The difference is that the list is most influential black metal releases, not releases that were influential on black metal. If it was the latter, then Hellhammer, Mercyful Fate and Venom would be top of the list.

I'm sure you can find references online to Venom being labelled black metal (you can find anything online), but if the album doesn't actually contain the major components of black metal, then I see no reason to label it that way.

Not gonna argue with ya on your own site big dawg. Just showing where I'm coming from with my take. I sha'll say no more on the subject.

Im gonna go with Abbath, Nergal, Tom, and Grutle Kiellson on this, but ya'll do as you like.

If you're going for most influencial then you have to include Black Metal. Which IS a first-wave black metal album, and it gave the sub-genre it's name. Quite a lot of the first and second wave artists site it as a primary influence. 

Remember the first wave was little bit more relaxed in it's parameters than the second wave. Mercyful Fate is also considered a first-wave black metal band, and they are farther away than Venom from what became the "pure" template.

Every time I listen to Venom I think "a couple feet away from true black metal."  Maybe I'm being a little purist about it, but when I think "black metal," I think Mayhem, Immortal and Darkthrone.

That's 2nd wave Black Metal.

OK Big Dawg.

If you're going for most influencial then you have to include Black Metal. Which IS a first-wave black metal album, and it gave the sub-genre it's name. Quite a lot of the first and second wave artists site it as a primary influence. 

Remember the first wave was little bit more relaxed in it's parameters than the second wave. Mercyful Fate is also considered a first-wave black metal band, and they are farther away than Venom from what became the "pure" template.

Essential: absolutely necessary; extremely important.

To me this should be a pretty small  list. 25 seams like more than just the necessities. I'd be thinking along the lines of 

1. Venom-Black Metal

2. Mayhem-De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

3. Bathory-Under the Sign of the Black Mark

4. Immortal-Battles in the North

5. Darkthrone-Transylvanian Hunger.

Something like that looks about right to me. Essential to me, implies sparsity. There are other albums that are very good, but I feel like this is the bare minimum I can give a person to leave them with a strong idea of what the sub genre is.

I have to say by the way that I am 90% that Lurker of Chalice is a band name generated here: https://www.metalbandnamegenerator.com/

Venom - Black Metal

Bathory - Bathory

Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids

Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky

Burzum - Burzum

Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

Cradle of Filth - The Principle of Evil Made Flesh

Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse

Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane

Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst

Marduk - Heaven Shall Burn ... When We Are Gathered

Ulver - Nattens Madrigal

Gorgoroth - Destroyer

Satyricon - Rebel Extravaganza

Weakling - Dead as Dreams

Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape

Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness

Leviathan - Tentacles of Whorror

Xasthur - To Violate the Oblivious

Deathspell Omega - Kénôse

Enslaved - Isa

Deafheaven - Sunbather

Lurker of Chalice - Lurker of Chalice

Watain - Sworn to the Dark

Behemoth - The Satanist

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Above this line is for ease of users to copy and paste for individual perspective.

For now I will be giving a Rating of FUCK YES, YES, NO, and FUCK NO, which I will elaborate on if requested.

Venom - Black Metal YES

Bathory - Bathory YES

Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids NO

Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky FUCK YES

Burzum - Burzum FUCK NO

Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas YES

Cradle of Filth - The Principle of Evil Made Flesh NO

Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse YES

Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane NO

Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst NO

Marduk - Heaven Shall Burn ... When We Are Gathered NO

Ulver - Nattens Madrigal YES

Gorgoroth - Destroyer NO

Satyricon - Rebel Extravaganza NO

Weakling - Dead as Dreams NO

Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape NO

Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness NO

Leviathan - Tentacles of Whorror NO

Xasthur - To Violate the Oblivious YES

Deathspell Omega - Kénôse NO

Enslaved - Isa YES

Deafheaven - Sunbather NO

Lurker of Chalice - Lurker of Chalice FUCK NO

Watain - Sworn to the Dark NO

Behemoth - The Satanist FUCK NO

7/25, but what do you expect from Revolver.

Wifey and I like Industrial music which uses heavy sound bites/sampling and sounds like power tools.

My hatred for symphony, power metal in general, and opera soprano are well documented.... however.

I love this and you should check it out:

LOL I like most of those things Karl. 

Hello Sonny, Ben & Andi, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Zachary, you'll be pleased to hear that I gave The Call of the Wretched Sea a spin and I must say, I dig it quite a bit. Since I'm new to the band (and fairly new to funeral doom in general), it's going to take a fair amount of time & subsequent listens before I fully wrap my head around it. That said, I'm genuinely impressed with how cohesively they managed to execute the theme and the lyrics are top tier. What's more, I can already say that I have two personal highlights: The Sermon (when he goes My song forever shall record that terrible, that joyful hour... - man, shivers down my spine!) & Ahab's Oath (this one is soul-crushingly heavy and i really like the synth parts here). Curious to hear which one is your favorite.

It's one of my all time favorites, and I am glad that you enjoyed it!

Here is my review: https://metal.academy/reviews/34371/6530

No no, I mean I've literally fully developed one, it's not metal-specific or anything I just in general need it to be tested, and I remembered somebody had talked about TTRPG design (you). I was suggesting that if you had a table to try it with you might give it a go.

Manual
Factions
Character Sheet
Starter Kit Adventure
Skills and Talents

Thanks for the warm welcome fellas!

I'm looking through all these fresh threads on the forums. Compiling a list of heavy metal deal breakers? - this is exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking forward to.

Also, Hall of Judgement ? Man I like the idea. And I like the name even more.

did... did you say AHOY? Do you like nautical things?

• I'll never miss an opportunity to see a museum ship, if there is one in town I'm visiting.
• Whenever I travel by ship (which is not often, sadly) I feel nothing but a deep sense of joy and calmness.
  
• My dream vacation: From Europe to the States by sea (perhaps on a cargo vessel since these "hotel cruises" are certainly not my thing); and back the same way after a month or so.
  
• This one might be controversial - i have nothing against pirate metal!
  

One may conclude that I have a soft spot for nautical things  :-)

Good afternoon from Detroit MI. Karl. My name is Zachary, and I joined fairly recently. The site is pretty good but it does have a lot of moving parts, so if you need anything feel free to post questions right here, or DM me. Alternatively, the site is owned and adminstrated by brothers Ben and Daniel. Dan is usually a bit more forward, whilst Ben operates in a lower key behind the scenes. Sonny, Shadow, Rex, and Unhindered are all seasoned users. My wife (Kosie) and my guitarist (Max) are also members. Please enjoy yourself. 

\m/ 

did... did you say AHOY? Do you like nautical things?

Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)

Whilst listening to Tomb of the Mutilated this morning a revelation hit me. The reason I was so belated getting into death metal was the fact that the very first DM band I encountered was Cannibal Corpse (possibly even this album, I don't remember) and I made the error of believing them to be typical of death metal in general. So what, I hear you say. Well the simple fact is that I find CC to be incredibly boring and so took very little interest in death metal generally after that. The vocals are a dull monotone that exhibit no emotional context and although they are capable of throwing out the odd decent riff, they seem incapable of sustaining it for any length of time. Then there is the band's whole extreme gore and horror perspective. Like slasher movies they don't repel or cause me moral outrage, they just bore me because they have no connection to my life or thoughts and so are rendered completely meaningless. I understand that it may just have been a way of baiting the PMRC and the Moral Majority, which, if it is the case, I wholeheartedly endorse, but, I'm sorry, that's just not enough for me. The drumming is good, I'll give them that, but outside the odd riff that briefly hits the spot I can quite happily live out my life never listening to Tomb of the Mutilated again.

2.5/5

You make me sad good Sir, you make me sad. Seriously? "Hammer Smashed Face" riffs do nothing for you? Poor creature! 

With that out the way, I would encourage you to take a second shot at CC with "Eaten Back to Life" it is their debut and in my opinion most catchy album. If "Skull Full of Maggots" doesn't move you then you can dismiss CC.

I need no pity, unless I have to listen to this again!

Love it lol. \m/

Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)

Whilst listening to Tomb of the Mutilated this morning a revelation hit me. The reason I was so belated getting into death metal was the fact that the very first DM band I encountered was Cannibal Corpse (possibly even this album, I don't remember) and I made the error of believing them to be typical of death metal in general. So what, I hear you say. Well the simple fact is that I find CC to be incredibly boring and so took very little interest in death metal generally after that. The vocals are a dull monotone that exhibit no emotional context and although they are capable of throwing out the odd decent riff, they seem incapable of sustaining it for any length of time. Then there is the band's whole extreme gore and horror perspective. Like slasher movies they don't repel or cause me moral outrage, they just bore me because they have no connection to my life or thoughts and so are rendered completely meaningless. I understand that it may just have been a way of baiting the PMRC and the Moral Majority, which, if it is the case, I wholeheartedly endorse, but, I'm sorry, that's just not enough for me. The drumming is good, I'll give them that, but outside the odd riff that briefly hits the spot I can quite happily live out my life never listening to Tomb of the Mutilated again.

2.5/5

You make me sad good Sir, you make me sad. Seriously? "Hammer Smashed Face" riffs do nothing for you? Poor creature! 

With that out the way, I would encourage you to take a second shot at CC with "Eaten Back to Life" it is their debut and in my opinion most catchy album. If "Skull Full of Maggots" doesn't move you then you can dismiss CC.

My take on it is up. Didn't blow my mind, but was quite solid, above average even. https://metal.academy/reviews/34617/5352

On to Blood Stained Endurance... and pass. I love Catherine but the dude vocals just suck so hard.

So anyway I tracked down Lucid Fear: 

Now the band is better, but Catherine is worse. DAMN.

I'm Blasting In Waves right now. First album of Summer as school's out.

-I need to listen to "In Waves" I think you suggested that to me.

-I am aware of the vocal acrobatics of Will Ramos. I just don't care tremendously for the music that surrounds him. I do respect his talents though.

-I gave sincere consideration to Trail of Tears, because her voice is extremely captivating, but I was sad to see that she hasn't done any other bands. I'd love to see her in something a little more hefty.

I will have to give this a bit of thought, but one thing I do love is lyrics about history - especially WWI or WW2, but shit like Maiden's Alexander the Great is great too (although I do avoid the power metal historical epics).

Oh, and singers with gnarly, grizzled voices like Lemmy or Wino.

The cavernous sound of old-school death metal in the vein of Autopsy. The deeper in the earth it seems to emanate from, the more I love it.

*Bolt Thrower, Weedeater, Cryptopsy. BTW Autopsy bass tone on severed survival is fucking awesome!

Vocals play a massive part in music for me and are probably the thing most likely to get me hitting the off button, so:

1. Shouty hardcore-style vocals where the singer sounds like a three-year old throwing a tantrum in Tesco.

2. Power metal vocals where the singer thinks Bruce Dickinson is OK, but is far too restrained in his delivery.

3. Gothicy vocals where the singer wants you to believe that he really is a romantically melancholy vampire rather than some sad act in a leather trenchcoat. Chances are Andrew Eldritch has already done this ten times better.

4. Overtly technical or avant-garde stuff that exists to illustrate how superior the musician is to us plebs either intellectually or technically.

5. Excessive use of keyboards smeared over the music like too-thick marzipan on a nice cake.

There's probably more, but these are the ones that really twist my melon (man!).

-but if you don't allow shouty bro vocals how will you ever be inspired by Hatebreed (a guilty pleasure for me, I know it's degenerate as fuck but it's great for working out).
-I started laughing my ass off reading the Bruce Dickenson line. Pure gold, and I'm with you on the take. 
-Gothicy vocals where the singer wants you to believe he is a romantic melancholy vampire? I love him, he is me! We turn it on and play VtM:Bloodlines 2. You can send all that shit to my DMs.
-Agree on the Tech for Techs Sake
-Keyboards bad, Violin good. You really just need one Violin. 

Hidden tracks are NEVER a good idea. Thankfully they were related to the length of CDs, so hopefully are gone now.

I rarely ever enjoy cover tracks, unless they match the feel of the rest of the album. On that note, I dislike tracks that have a really different production to the rest of the album too.

Plus Daniel's right that cowbells have no place in metal.

I must say Zero, your hatred for female vocals or non-metal instrumentals seems very passionate. I really enjoy both of those elements if they're done well.

I like cover tracks if the band did them; things like Trouble doing Tales of Brave Ulysess, or Anthrax's take on Cowboy Song. I absolutely hate that youtube "what if this song that has no business being heavy was heavy? What if this super heavy song was acoustic" bullshit, but a real cover is alright. 
I don't hate female vocals I champion Stacey Savage, Maria Brink, and Angela Gassow all the time. I am also  a fan of Thunder Mother, Jex Toth, and Psychedlic Witchcraft. What I hate is that soft chanty opera soprano stuff. I swear there is a free usage sound bite that these bands put in there because they all do it. I think I have PTSD from growing up with that goddamn Titanic theme song. Seriously, scared me for life it did! 
Yes, I hate non-metal in my metal. Imagine that.

Punky one-two drum beats shit me. So does the use of cow bell, particularly when used in conjunction with groovy stoner metal riffs. Any sort of cheese sees me tapping out too i.e. a lot of European power metal.

So, no Powerwolf for Daniel. I'm with you on the power-cheese, yet I like ManOwaR, go figure.

I can't be the only member of this whole site that has these. What am I talking about? Deal breakers, Bad Omens, and Empending Doom (not the fun kind). The shit that makes you tap out, turn the dial, give ya the ick as the kids say.

LOL. I almost thought you were going to rant about two of my favorite Revolution bands there.

I'm going to start compiling a list. Here's what I got. Keep in mind we all have them, these are just mine. 

1) "Airy" female soprano... she's not in the band, it's a backing track. The same backing track every band that does this shit uses.

2) Track on the METAL album has no METAL elements. This shit pisses me off, I grew up very poor, deep in the country, in the bible belt. Getting Metal was a once a year oppourtunity. You just spent $20 on an album. The album has 9 tracks. One of them is a 3-5minute string and piano piece. BRINGS MY PISS TO A BOIL!

"Im going through changes..." Yeah Ozzy I wish you'd change to some shit I paid to hear. Tony Iommi is in your band. He's a pretty fuckin' good guitar player. Let him play it!

3) Beauty and the Beast Vocals-"Airy" female Soprano's evil twin. He says GRRRRR, she says "Ah--ahh-ah". Zero says fuck this shit.

Based on those three, symphonic metal will definitely never be the metal genre for you, Zach. I used to enjoy symphonic metal a lot 10 years ago, but then I started tapping out in favor of heavier, more modern metal genres. Still I enjoy some bands with symphonic elements. One of those bands is Trail of Tears which also has those 3 pet peeves of yours; female soprano (Helena Iren Michaelsen/Cathrine Paulsen/Ailyn), Beauty and the Beast vocals (when Ronny Thorsen growls alongside the female soprano), and a track with no metal elements (e.g. "Illusion?" from Disclosure in Red, "Countdown to Ruin" from Profoundemonium). The only album from that band that doesn't have any of your pet peeves and I would recommend to you is their fully metal male vocal-only 2005 album Free Fall Into Fear. Everything else from that band, NOT IN YOUR HOUSE.

Anyway, I have a few deal-breaking metal genres to show that my expanding taste in metal has limits:

The majority of black metal - I tend to avoid the Satanic bands of the genre and definitely the neo-Nazi NSBM. Though I've enjoyed some black metal bands before that never relied on Satanism for the most part.

Brutal/slam death metal - I'm not really into the gory violence of those two subgenres and some of the more notable bands of standard death metal. Though I still enjoy subgenres like melodic/symphonic/progressive death metal.

The more brutal deathcore bands - Same issue as brutal/slam death metal. Though just like death metal, I like bands that are more melodic/symphonic/progressive.

Drone/funeral doom - So slow, long, and depressing that it's hard for me to pay attention nor resist speeding up the tempo to 2x.

Grindcore - The total opposite of drone/funeral doom, fast and short, but that's also an issue for me, along with a lot of bands of that genre having highly offensive lyrics and band names (such as A.C.). I definitely say no to subgenres like goregrind/pornogrind. In fact, I've listened to and reviewed a few releases by grindcore bands (F*** the Facts, Gigantic Brain, Bologna Violenta, and PainKiller's debut), and they're a few of the only releases in which I've given each of them a rating of less than two stars. I pretty much had a similar "knock it after trying it" attitude to your half-star reviews when writing this one, Zach (keep in mind that almost every other review I've made that's currently up is much more positive and less rage-filled than this): https://metal.academy/reviews/28695/3144

I'll try them out. Fuck it. Why not? Yeah it's like sonic torture, but I actually like her voice. Her voice is pretty awesome-it's a little lower than what I'm talking about and it has a little bit of rasp on it which I dig, but the music and the male vocals-no thank you Sir. If she sings in a heavier band I would absolutely try that out.

-Black Metal that is all Satan all the time is usually all suck all the time. -AGREED
-I love Slam, it's turn your brain off music, the stupider the better. Bananaslama rules, Max and I want them to come play near us. I also dig Krocophile out of Lansing (go see their album cover for Slamzilla-the Return it's peak!)
-We gonna disagree about melo-death/brutal death. I'm on the opposite side of the tracks there.
-I don't get Drone, but really good funeral doom is just awesome, cathartic even.
-Grincore. I like it either in the completely fuck off variety (Anal Cunt), or the serious as a car crash variety (Brutal Truth). Brutal Truth-Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses is a must listen. Spin that. That Fuck the Facts stuff was awful your review of it is accurate as fuck.

Vocals that you can't understand. Cookie monster vocals. If I can't understand you then I assume you are not proud of what you say and it's not worth me hearing.
Down tuned extended range guitars. It's not the guitars but how these types of bands use them. The tone has become so generic and bland. Every production sounds the same.
Too much X -- IE: To many pinch harmonics, to many bends, to many notes.
Djent - Ther is no redeeming qualities to this genre.
Overly complicated leaps and jumps across the fretboard for the sake of seeming complex.
Thin flat drums / the overuse of cymbals
Dirty piss poor production. 

We've talked about this, and you knwo where I stand on all of it lol. long story short, mostly agree, but I love Fear Factory. Dino Cazarez can have as many strings and tune as low as he wants. Let him cook!

.. and with all that I think I'm caught up.

You ever heard Masters Hammer- Ritual?

it’s Czech Heavy Metal. One of the jewels in the first decade black metal list (good shit Dan+Ben)

Vocals that you can't understand. Cookie monster vocals. If I can't understand you then I assume you are not proud of what you say and it's not worth me hearing.

How about lyrics in a language you don't speak?

i personally think foreign language stuff is cool, but I do like having an English translation if it’s real good.

i know max super well, I’m not speaking for him, but he’s enjoyed non-English before. I think it has to do with diction. Even if it’s a foreign language he likes to hear clearly where words end and begin. Doesn’t like a guttoral that sounds like one rolling utterance.

Today is an exams day so I’m on hall duty and stuck on my phone. We’re gonna have some fun in here when I get home.

Hidden tracks are NEVER a good idea. Thankfully they were related to the length of CDs, so hopefully are gone now.

I rarely ever enjoy cover tracks, unless they match the feel of the rest of the album. On that note, I dislike tracks that have a really different production to the rest of the album too.

Plus Daniel's right that cowbells have no place in metal.

I must say Zero, your hatred for female vocals or non-metal instrumentals seems very passionate. I really enjoy both of those elements if they're done well.

i like them if they are done well and with conviction. Funeral doom has some of the most beautiful stuff out there with the symphonic. I also don’t hate women, I’m talking about a particular type of backing vocal that sounds like free-ware. 

Welcome to the Academy Max! (I fuckin' love this guy). 

Rehearsal space for pop-rock band,

and now TrencH is official: https://trenchoctopus.bandcamp.com/track/scratch-track-1

Jam Space for Jam Band. 

...and when I'm wrong I'm wrong. I'm also honest. Big Frank says Hard Rock (wifey reached out to him):  Well done Daniel!
*handshake*

Battle jackets look awesome, but all I can afford is band T-shirts.

Go to a thrift store, and get a cheap denim jacket. Then you order the patches seperately and sew them in. Patches are mostly cheap except for rare and tour patches. Authentic Bolt Thrower patches are very expensive and sought after.

It's got a bit of a psychedelic Velvet Underground/Lou Reed meets Americana feel to it. I like it. Well done mate.

Thank you Sir! I very much like Lou Reed, especially the Transformer Album! Glad you enjoyed it. I have more if you ever want it I can hook you up, but we don't sound like this all the time. I want to do this project this summer as TrencH. Just need to get the songs I've written tightened up and find me a metal drummer who doesn't want to play at 400bpm's lol

I got a bunch of T-Shirts too of course. Two closets and two drawers full of em. Rockin Obituary: Slowly we Rot T at the moment. Never owned a Motorcycle, you can only make use of em about 2 months of the year up here, and even then Detroit Drivers and Pot Holes!? Brother, I love my life lol.

That story about your old jacket sounds fuckin awesome though and I'd love to see that shit!

I'm familair with it. I've even weighed in on all the stuff I feel knowledgable enough to vote on. I'll give a lot more to that dynamic when we have 15 regularly activce members. Still, if I have 1st-hand access to an artist, as I do in the case, I will always differ to the artist over any online website, journalistic publication, or popular opinion.

Fair enough. I'm going to side with the artist themselves as the ultimate authority of their own music.

Well, yes there's a couple of metal tracks on the Bang album but I don't think the record as a whole qualifies as metal. It sits much more comfortably under hard rock for mine.

You probably just need to go back and relisten to it a couple of times. Give it time to soak in, also consider the time- 1972. Consider it's contemporaries, outside of Black Sabbath. I saw them live on October 25. 2014 at the Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids Michigan. They shared the stage with Radio Moscow and Pentragram. They were damn heavy that night I can tell ya that!

From Bang's Wiki: The group was formed by drummer Tony Diorio, bassist/singer Frank Ferrara, and guitarist Frank Gilcken and released three albums on Capitol Records, scoring one minor hit single with "Questions", which reached number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] They were strongly influenced by Black Sabbath,[5] and are considered forerunners to the doom metal genre.[6]

And here it is from the horses Mouth 
https://www.bangmusic.com/Story.html
"Back in the spring of 1972, heavy rock trio Bang were shaping up to be the proverbial Next Big Thing. Having signed a few months earlier to Capitol (home, of course, to the Beatles and the Beach Boys), the band’s first single, ‘Questions’, was nestling proudly in the Billboard Hot 100. With the enthusiastic support of their record label, their debut album, Bang, was also climbing the charts. Moreover, they had recently opened for their idols, Black Sabbath, and, by common consensus of opinion, stolen the show. With two band members, guitarist Frankie Gilcken and lead singer/bassist Frank Ferrara, still in their teens, Bang seemed to be unstoppable.

Somehow, though, it didn’t quite work out. Even as ‘Questions’ was charting, changes at Capitol saw the band’s supporters moving on, replaced by A&R men who had their own signings to promote. With the band’s producer also leaving the label, Bang’s support system crumbled. Their new producer engineered a change in personnel that left the band’s drummer and lyricist, Tony Diorio, out in the cold, while Capitol insisted that Bang develop a more mainstream, pop-oriented sound. They changed management companies, only to discover that they were being blackballed, leaving gigs hard to come by. By 1974 - just a couple of years after their initial success - a tired and disillusioned Bang had long since lost their direction, momentum and self-belief, and they went their separate ways."

Their idols were Black Sabbath, and they switched Management over lightening their sound. I'd say that's pretty Metal. Want me to ask Frank how he feels about it?


Here's what they got up to last year: 

The self-titled album from Philadelphia trio Bang was released in February 1972 & opened with this number that sits somewhere between heavy metal & hard rock:

Bang! is metal enough to open for Pentagram and  hold there ground. Frank Ferrara (Bass and vocals) is the salt of the earth and will talk to you on facebook if you reach out to him. All in on Metal here if you need it cemented check out the doomy offerings on the track "Last Will and Testament" or consider the odds of anything as dark as "The Queen" getting classic rock airplay-not a chance. Killer album

1st off. This thing fucks! 5/5 track!

For me everything about that riff and guitar tone are metal. It uses the Phyrigian mode of the major scale which can be though of as a minor scale with a flat 2nd. It's often chosen for it's threatening characteristic (think the Jaws theme).  Kicks ass! OHHHHH SCOTLAND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TRACK!