Interesting Question

I was doing an online quiz at 2 A.M. (don't ask, it's a summer week-end...) titled "Which metal sub-genre are you?" which I found a link to from an Iron Maiden forum. The quiz was surprisingly good, realistic, and to the point, but equally surprising was that my result was doom metal. This is strange because I've never listened to that particular sub-genre of metal; my only venture in that direction has been early Black Sabbath, which heavily influenced the sub-genre (it is even said that the name for it came from Black Sabbath's "Hand of Doom"). Maybe I should give it a try some day.

However, that was not the point of my post, and as you can see, I haven't presented an interesting question yet as my title promises. The question in question (pun not intended) was a question in the quiz, "What quality do you value most in a band?" A hard question in itself, but the options presented (especially options in such an online quiz where usually one option is the definite answer and the rest are rubbish) should help you answer that, right? Apparently not in this case:

• Artistic integrity, insulation from trend.
• Technicality, the proficiency of the musicians.
• Atmosphere, where the music takes you.
• Energy, killer live shows, music which invigorates or empowers you. The intensity of the music.
• Depth of lyrical content, and what emotions the music evokes.

The first two are perhaps less important for me, though they matter too, as I discussed a few weeks ago. The last three, however, are for me, completely impossible to choose from. Even in the most neutral conditions, it would be hard for me to choose, and on top of this, it can depend on my mood a lot.
Sometimes I'm all for the underground, "insulated" (as the quiz puts it) feel of metal, and this is truest with those less-known (to the mainstream) bands. It is sometimes great to talk with another metalhead and the other people around you have no idea of what you're talking about. Artistic integrity is also important, which is one of the reasons I still don't consider myself a Metallica fan; I can't accept what they did in the 90s and 2000s.

I'm not a huge fan of progressive metal and all the skill and proficiency that's needed for those hour-long solos. Or to clarify, I don't think that sheer skill and uniqueness alone makes a good band. It's when mixed with other good characteristics that skill plays a role. Just look at Hangar 18 by Megadeth. The song has 11 solos, most of them very short (the song is only 5 minutes long), but they are excellent solos and performed with great skill. Especially the final two minutes, the epic guitar duel between Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman (or other guitarists later on) shows another side of metal that is rarely even associated with the whole genre: skill.

Atmosphere is a huge factor in my music, though the term is quite abstract. But in the end, metal is all about atmosphere to me. Even the hard rockers have atmosphere, it's just of a very different kind. However, the best songs in terms of atmosphere are usually long, mid-tempo, and progressive. It's those songs that really take you away, but they're also the hardest to define. I am generally of the opinion though that the best songs are the most atmospheric.

If atmosphere shows the deep, meaningful side of metal, then the energy and killer live shows show the other side. If going to church is the highest form of worship for religious people, then a live metal concert is the highest form of music for a metalhead. And yes, I just compared music to religion, please don't flame me just for that; I personally value music above religion, but that's a topic for another day. But back on the topic, it was the energy, heaviness, and intensity of metal which first drew me in, and only then I discovered the deeper side. And it's still the heaviness and energy which makes live shows so good.

The final one, lyrics and emotion, are quite hard to separate from atmosphere. Lyrics can greatly contribute to atmosphere, whereas emotion and atmosphere are very hard to separate. But I like emotion on all levels in metal; a song doesn't have to have amazing emotion (most metal doesn't) but it's a definite bonus when it's there.

That question sort of helped me on my quest of discovering why I really love metal so much. I can't properly single out any of those options; they're all reasons why I like metal. There is no one reason and even those five probably aren't enough. But they did help to quantify and rationalise some of those reasons and put them to words, which I myself couldn't have done.