My story of a
metalhead started when I discovered the Finnish metal band Nightwish. I simply
fell in love with their music, which made me more curious about other metal
bands. That's how I
discovered metal.
There was,
however, one particular sub-genre which captivated my attention the most:
symphonic metal. It had everything I loved - heavy riffs, orchestra, and catchy
melodies (although sometimes too catchy to my liking as I love complex
compositions, which symphonic metal bands' songs don't always have). I still
love these elements in music, but the more symphonic metal bands I knew, the
more I actually realized that most of these bands are pretty much the same in
some aspects, and as I grew up and discovered more bands and sub-genres, the mutual
similarity of some bands started to get boring (maybe I could even say it
started to be annoying).
But don't get
me wrong - I haven't given up on the symphonic metal, I have only become a bit
picky (well, maybe more than just a bit). Of course, there are also great
symphonic metal bands which are really original and unique, but most of these
bands are not strictly symphonic metal - they use elements of other genres or
subgenres and they do not restrict themselves to the metal genre only. What
makes them stand out is that they're not afraid to do some experiments. There
are, however, a lot of absolutely stereotypical symphonic metal bands that
sound really the same and that's what I want to dedicate this article to. So
let's see what bothers me about this metal subgenre the most...
1. Lyrical
themes
If you want to play in your own symphonic metal band, you have to find
some good lyrical themes for your music, otherwise you can't simply catch
people's attention, which in other words means: no fans for you, loser! A good
choice of lyrical themes for a symphonic metal band's music is usually a
combination of any dark themes like sorrow, anger or hate, pain, death, loss,
loneliness or sins (possibly all the seven deadly sins) and, of course, also
darkness itself. It simply has to be dark. Get it? DARK!
And if you want a little change sometimes, you can also choose from less
dark themes, like for example: love, innocence and maaaayyyybe (but just maybe)
nature and wilderness. But don't change themes of your music too often. If you
do feel the pressure still because you want your songs to be a bit varied,
combine the less dark themes with the darker ones like this for example: A song
about love can be combined with death, loss, loneliness, sorrow and pain, so
the story line of the song could be "I lost my beloved one, because he
died and now I feel lonely, sad and psychically hurt". Emotions are
desperately needed. And don't forget to make it sound really poetic.
2. Melodic
themes and composition
As someone with a symphonic metal band, you definitely have to use
elements of classical music. It is absolutely vital that you compose at least
one more-than-seven-minute long song for each album. And forget melodic schemes
and clear arrangements - it's OK in case of shorter songs, but when it comes to
long songs, it gets boring with every minute. So make it long and melodically
various (put the song together from a couple of different melodies). Yes, it's
necessary, because it will remind people that are difficult to compose, so to
compose something that difficult people will think that you must be very
intelligent and talented. In other words, if you compose something long and
varied, it means you are very talented and intelligent (Even if you're not, but
who can judge you? It's not like a regular symphonic metal fan understands
music enough to be able to tell...).
Of course, since you want to have your own SYMPHONIC metal band, you
must use a SYMPHONIC orchestra in your songs - it will sound emotional and
epic.
And it will definitely sound artistic. Because, you know, whoever has
something to do with orchestral music must also be a very well educated and
great artist after all, so why not make yourself such an artistic image too?
And don't worry, if there is no orchestra to record some orchestral
accompaniment for your songs - key boards can do the job just as well! It won't
sound that epic, of course, but it will do the job.
And of course, if you want to compose emotional and regretful songs, you
better use minor keys (like a-minor) in your songs. That's actually pretty
logical and reasonable - songs in a minor key usually sound more sad and
dramatic.
Oh, and I've almost forgotten about the intro and interlude.
Well, it must be in Latin, four-four or three-four time and each word or a syllable should be
possibly timed on a crotchet or a quaver (quaver is just perfect). The
intervals between notes should be one prima to make it more epic.
And of course, shorter songs must be as catchy as possible. Or
melancholic and dark so as to sound progressive (so if someone said that the
song is a piece of sh*t, you could just say: "It's just too difficult for
someone like you to understand..."). But they always have to sound
melancholic and dark. Did I mention mysterious? Definitely mysterious...
Oh, and don't really bother with making your songs complex and
interesting - composing complex songs is difficult and it takes a lot of time.
Instead you can just make it chaotic - people won't be able to tell the
difference! And it's not even important, because the most important thing is to
compose epic songs. Maybe the complexity is not even that good - some people
would probably appreciate it, but most people prefer catchy tunes.
3. Vocals
Now this is very important! Most symphonic metal bands have a female
vocalist, meaning you need to get yourself one too. It's also necessary for her
to sound like an opera singer and it doesn't really matter if she's actually an
operatically trained vocalist. Again, people won't be able to tell the
difference. But if you find some lady who studied operatic or classical singing
(There is a difference, but it hardly matters, right?) at least for a year (Or
a few months... Or one month … or half-drunkenly read a Wikipedia article),
then good for you! At least you'll have an argument for those who'd say that
your singer can't sing (even if your vocalist is clearly out of tune). But you
can always use this argument (even if your vocalist is not trained at all) because
whoever sounds like an opera singer can't be bad.
Oh, I almost forgot (quite a habit actually)! Your female vocalist has
to be a soprano! Possibly a dramatic soprano because they sound, you know, more
dramatic and dark. No one likes lyrical sopranos because they don't sound dark
and dramatic enough. Lyrical mezzo-sopranos are even worse because they are too
soft and can't hit the highest tunes. On the other hand, dramatic
mezzo-sopranos aren't good either - yes, they sound dramatic and dark but just
like the lyrical mezzo-sopranos, can't hit the highest tunes which is of grave
importance for a good symphonic metal band! Yes, the pun was intended.
There is also one more thing you have to know: people don't actually care
about ranges and vocal types because they consider anyone who can hit high
tunes a good singer. The poor souls who can't hit the high tunes are simply bad
singers and have no place in the musical industry as they don't obviously have
a good vocal range. To most people there are no vocal types so altos,
mezzo-sopranos and sopranos should be able to hit the highest tunes - altos
should be able to hit the same high tunes as mezzo-sopranos and mezzo-sopranos
should be able to hit the same high tunes as sopranos. And even
"better": altos should be able to hit the same high tunes as
sopranos. And I don't even mention the coloratura vocalist (who can hit even
higher tunes than sopranos)! That's because most people don't actually know
anything about vocal types and ranges so to them mezzo-sopranos are worse than
sopranos and altos are absolutely the worst... This is why you have to pick a
(dramatic) soprano singer - people won't make fun of her singing and your band.
Remember: She has to be able to hit the high tunes and sound dramatic and dark
(hence the dramatic soprano)!
As for your male vocalist (because it's always good to have one), the
options are almost endless. If you want your band to sound really dark and
heavy, so much so that even the black/death metal fans had no doubts about the
quality of your band and its music, you can find a growler and ask him to join
the band. However if you dislike growling, you can always hire a tenor singer
who can hit even the highest tunes since to satisfy the popular demand. It might
sound a bit like power metal but who cares? Or maybe you could find a singer
with a really deep dark voice for your band - someone who could sing in a doom
metal band because these bands are pretty dark. Just don't let him sing any faster
and more dynamic songs - it'd spoil the feeling.
4. Name of the
band
Just like the lyrics, even the name of your band must be poetic and
dark. It helps if the name only consists of one word but be careful - many of
the good names are already taken and you want to be at least a bit original! If
you can't find any, then you can make up some.
On the other hand, very long names are quite good as well. A recommended
pattern should go something like this: *Something* Of *Something*, for example
"Tears Of Ophelia", "Tale Of Night" or *Adjective* + *Noun*
like for example "Mirror Lake", "Crystal Rose" or
"Dark Paradise".
As you probably understand, it has to be poetic and dark. And there are
only two languages you can use: English or Latin because Latin is cool!
5. Visual
aspects and image
I'll try to make it short and brief: Long hair is necessary and females
should dye their hair. Black, red or light blond are just perfect but dark blue
or purple are just as fine too. Having the natural colour of your hair is out!
As for clothes, it must be dark and gothic - men should wear dark coats, black
(long-sleeved) shirt, and black trousers (jeans are tolerated, but they're not
as good as simple black trousers). Women should go with either a black top that
resembles a goth corset with laces, some nice shirt/top and an underbust corset
or a corset and a skirt (black skirt with lots of layers and laces optional). A
Black dress is fine too.
Ah yes, and don't forget boots, metal accessories and eccentric make up!
We make qulity metal accessories for your dream house project
OdpovědětVymazatMyCopperCraft metal wall decors look stunning and it have a softness in it, while still being a wonderful bold and shiny accent. You can explore the Copper Art work here - http://mycoppercraft.com/
Poker Room Las Vegas - Cherokee City Casino
OdpovědětVymazatThe largest 카카오스포츠 poker room in Las Vegas. The best in Vegas! Enjoy 토토 가입 머니 a wide range of 188 벳 poker nextbet tournaments, live games, bet365 korea and a relaxing spa.