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Define "Cheesy" metal


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Cheesy Metal to me would be bands that are based on gimmick over substance or actual musical merrit. Kiss compared to Led Zeppelin is extremely cheesy. Hair bands in general were very cheesy to me. It was all about the look and very few of those bands had a whole lot of substance or artistry to the actual music. It was very contrived.

This is what I would go with as well.

100% spot on imo.

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I hope I am not coming off as a jerk, certainly do not mean it that way. I have been told recently, by loved ones, that i am rude when I have a disagreement, but I am not doing it on purpose.
You come off more as opinionated here. I don't take it personally. We all have our opinions on music. Your feelings on power metal are probably very similar to mine on "cookie monster voice".
I honestly respect your stance on power metal. In my mid 20's I was really into it. In fact, I loved Kamelot, which you mentioned in a thread earlier. In fact, I have the albums, Epica, Karma, and Halo. I buy my albums also, and I only purchase the ones I really like.

If you like those albums, you should definitely get Ghost Opera. The title song is epically powerful (and I mean that in the strong sense rather than power-chords). I'd say it has a greater density of really good songs than those other albums (though I really did like Soul Society from The Black Halo).

See, this is funny. I certainly do not consider Megadeth cheesy in the slightest, lyrics nor music. But this is a great example of a difference of opinion. I think Megadave is great and hope they stick around for a few more years.

I don't know too much about them. For the most part, I'll listen to a band and decide whether or not I like their style early on. I don't even pay attention to the words or anything like that, usually, when giving a band a trial period. Just let the music soak in. and see if it resonates with me or not.

For me, personally, power metal brings in the balance of melody, vocals, upbeat tempo, and guitar prowess that I really like. Within the subgenre there are a very wide range of sounds from the epic symphonic type you get with Kamelot and Rhapsody to the quick and light you get from Axenstar.

However, this thread is about cheesy music, so I'll try to take any more conversation of that sort to the other metal thread. ;)

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See, this is funny. I certainly do not consider Megadeth cheesy in the slightest, lyrics nor music. But this is a great example of a difference of opinion. I think Megadave is great and hope they stick around for a few more years.

See now, in the Nixon vs. Kennedy election if you heard the debate Nixon won, if you watched the debate Kennedy won.

Apply this to Megadeth.

If you hear their songs they aren't cheesy in the least bit.

If you watch one of Dave's fantastic music videos, thats your explanation of how Megadeth is cheesy.

Still, I don't even watch music videos because I don't see the point so Megadeth isn't cheesy to me.

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Cheesy Metal to me would be bands that are based on gimmick over substance or actual musical merrit. Kiss compared to Led Zeppelin is extremely cheesy. Hair bands in general were very cheesy to me. It was all about the look and very few of those bands had a whole lot of substance or artistry to the actual music. It was very contrived.

Great example. I could not have said it better, in fact, I have not.

Cheesy = Down-tuning your guitars to sound more...I don't know...mean or something...

Cheesy = Making a greatest hits album. Any band who does this is instantly on the **** list.

I disagree with both of these.

Sometimes down tuning is necessary whether it be for the vocals or whether it is for accomplishing something you could not otherwise do on the guitar. I guess you are talking about a particular genre of music, in this instance (Korn), but alternate tunings of guitar have been around for years and they are not going anywhere. By this definition, Alice In Chains would be cheesy, and I just don't see that. Although, your opnion may be different. In fact, I hardly play in standard tuning anymore. It just does not fit what I am doing musically.

A lot of greatest hits albums come from bands that are trying to fulfill a record contract. The band itself may not feel like it is necessary, but they want out of that contract. So, they put out a quick album to fulfill that contract. It is better than putting out a new subpar record. I think SYL did this at the end with a New Black. Some songs were great and others you could tell they threw them together.

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You know, Rhapsody of Fire uses Christopher Lee as their narrator. So yeah, I kinda already knew he was in the metal scene :)

at 87, Christopher Lee's gotta be the oldest Metal singer ever.

I've never heard Rhapsody of Fire (at least I don't think I have; might've heard them in a friend's car or something), but the very fact that they have a narrator qualifies them as cheesy. It probably also makes them totally awesome.

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Your feelings on power metal are probably very similar to mine on "cookie monster voice".

I don't know too much about them. For the most part, I'll listen to a band and decide whether or not I like their style early on. I don't even pay attention to the words or anything like that, usually, when giving a band a trial period. Just let the music soak in. and see if it resonates with me or not.

For me, personally, power metal brings in the balance of melody, vocals, upbeat tempo, and guitar prowess that I really like.

Don't care for cookie monsters. I do like the occasional band. It usually takes me about three or four listens to really get into an album to feel what it is all about.

Being upbeat is one thing I hate about certain styles of music, and this may be part of the reason I think power metal is cheesy, is that it is upbeat. I know people in general like upbeat music, but to me it sounds disingenuine. I know not all of it is, but that is my perception. I really dislike it. I like darker, moody music. If it makes me feel happy, I typically dislike like it.

As far as me being opinionated, well I will have to show my family and friends that piece. They think I am a jerk, and I say that I am being opinionated. :ols:

If you watch one of Dave's fantastic music videos, thats your explanation of how Megadeth is cheesy.

I don't remember videos to well, don't watch them much. I do remember Peace Sells, and I don't think it is cheesy either. Now, if they did that song with a video similar to Primus's 'Wynona's Big Brown Beaver,' well then, I will say that is one cheesy video.

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Being upbeat is one thing I hate about certain styles of music, and this may be part of the reason I think power metal is cheesy, is that it is upbeat. I know people in general like upbeat music, but to me it sounds disingenuine. I know not all of it is, but that is my perception. I really dislike it. I like darker, moody music. If it makes me feel happy, I typically dislike like it.

THat probably explains why you like Kamelot but not most other power metal bands. I know rhapsody is considered cheesy and what not, but check out the song Reign of Terror from their latest album. Not exactly upbeat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frbE_lwc9QU

As far as me being opinionated, well I will have to show my family and friends that piece. They think I am a jerk, and I say that I am being opinionated. :ols:
Well to be fair, I only have to deal with you through the internet. :silly:
I've never heard Rhapsody of Fire (at least I don't think I have; might've heard them in a friend's car or something), but the very fact that they have a narrator qualifies them as cheesy. It probably also makes them totally awesome.

Rhapsody's cheesy in the dragons/warriors sense, but they don't just do a song for the hell of it and leave it at that. Their entire body of work takes place in the same world spanning two interconnected sagas. Much like LOTR in scope. Hell, you could say its like The Hobbit + LOTR in that you have two separate but connected stories with different main characters. Story line involves elves, dwarves, demons, angels, I think there's only one dragon (by the way, the album Power of the Dragon Flame is awesome, although they had one of the band members narrating because they didn't have Christopher Lee on board yet). Personally, I love the song The Mystic Prophesy of the Demon Knight, which is a 16 minute epic with some real kick to it.

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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWaLM-h5BrM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWaLM-h5BrM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

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There are some bands that can still pull off complex upbeat music, with a little bit of cheese... that can still hold my attention. Early Incubus is a good example. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. is a great album, as is their first EP... but there are definitely cheesy moments and subject matter within them. Red Hot Chili Peppers is another example. Sometimes cheesy but backed by a high level of musical credibility.

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Rhapsody's cheesy in the dragons/warriors sense, but they don't just do a song for the hell of it and leave it at that. Their entire body of work takes place in the same world spanning two interconnected sagas. Much like LOTR in scope. Hell, you could say its like The Hobbit + LOTR in that you have two separate but connected stories with different main characters. Story line involves elves, dwarves, demons, angels, I think there's only one dragon (by the way, the album Power of the Dragon Flame is awesome, although they had one of the band members narrating because they didn't have Christopher Lee on board yet). Personally, I love the song The Mystic Prophesy of the Demon Knight, which is a 16 minute epic with some real kick to it.

The definition of "cheesy"

Just as a warning, NSFW.

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Cheesy = Hair metal/poser bands of the 80's. People like Poison, Quiet Riot, Warrant, Motley Crue, etc. Basically if you want to know what metal wasn't cheesy in the 80's listen to metallica, megadeth, iron maiden, pantera, anthrax, slayer and others like them who weren't as big.

LOL, megadeth and metallica were "hair metal".

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There's a big difference between being a metal band with long hair, and being considered a hair band.

This is a hair band:

Poison_Cat.jpg

different look, different sound, different mentality... totally different fan base. Not even in the same ball park.

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I don't know that they qualify as metal, but here's some real cheese:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GylirgHFqeQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GylirgHFqeQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVxiHC9AJQw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVxiHC9AJQw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Oh, and I think they should put this on as warning labels for this kind of music:

MADE-WITH-REAL-CHEESE.jpg

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Lets see how to explain this to a guy who has no idea what "hair metal" refers to...

Hair metal:

DeeSnyder.jpg

Not Hair metal:

hetfield.jpg

Hair metal:

motleycrue_cruefest.jpg

Not Hair metal:

1984-87_3.jpg

Hair metal:

kevin_dubrow.jpg

Not Hair metal:

megadeth125_b.jpg

Long hair doesn't make a hair metal band. Dressing up like you're a woman and singing songs about having sex and how much you love your girl or how you're not going to take "it" anymore makes a hair metal band.

Now you can listen to the difference:

Hair metal:

0HHAzdNLdJ0

Not Hair metal:

ICKaVAbACek

Hair metal:

brqA2j8s8-0

Not Hair metal:

WEL6_SuQCu8

Hair metal:

GlN3oEjMpUQ

Not Hair metal:

omQl2UT-OFY

I hope I have made the point clear and obvious enough.

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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chiVMrWMHko&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chiVMrWMHko&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Haha, hey, that was Chasing Victory at the beginning! They're a pretty good band, though I wouldn't really consider them metal.

The visuals on the TV wasn't them though.

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allow me to break this down for ya there packer....it all comes down to one word "perspective"!!!!most in general think power metal is cheesy... but you seem to be a fan of it (im assuming..you seem to defend it soo) so you may think alot of the stuff like cannibal corpse is cheesy... Rock mentioned "cookie monster" vocals and too much double bass...

well sorry rock thats what talented drummers do, play drums. and that band for example has all the cookie monster vocals one can stand... but the musical talent they have is amazing! all though im sure most will happpily disagree....

as far as the hair metal thing...metallica didnt wear makeup and mascara like poison and all of them soo thats the difference....

the problem you have here is you have a lot of people commenting on metal that dont listen to metal...like fetus up there i dont like upbeat metal too much...i dont identify with it..but if thats what you like well then more power to ya....get it power.... power metal ! lol wah wah wahhhhhhh

oh yeah hey rock ddddddddddddiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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allow me to break this down for ya there packer....it all comes down to one word "perspective"!!!!most in general think power metal is cheesy... but you seem to be a fan of it (im assuming..you seem to defend it soo) so you may think alot of the stuff like cannibal corpse is cheesy... Rock mentioned "cookie monster" vocals and too much double bass...

well sorry rock thats what talented drummers do, play drums. and that band for example has all the cookie monster vocals one can stand... but the musical talent they have is amazing! all though im sure most will happpily disagree....

as far as the hair metal thing...metallica didnt wear makeup and mascara like poison and all of them soo thats the difference....

the problem you have here is you have a lot of people commenting on metal that dont listen to metal...like fetus up there i dont like upbeat metal too much...i dont identify with it..but if thats what you like well then more power to ya....get it power.... power metal ! lol wah wah wahhhhhhh

oh yeah hey rock ddddddddddddiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I never said that drummers who do the double kick are untalented but I think of it like this: Yngwie Malmsteen is infinitely better at guitar than someone like Keith Richards could ever hope to be. Unfortunately with all his talent all Yngwie produces is unlistenable dog ****. Sometimes less is more. Keith Richards with his lesser talent will always be infinitely more successful than Yngwie. The basis for listening to music shouldn't be talent alone, because it has no feeling or character.

Yngwie is also more technically proficient than Jimi Hendrix was. I also listened to Yngwie cover Red House and it was laughable because he had no feeling for a blues song like that.

Thats where I'm coming from with the drums thing. As difficult as I know it is to click a double bass perfectly for an entire song, listening to a double bass clicking like crazy doesn't sound interesting at all to me or a lot of people by my estimation.

As for screeching and cookie monster vocals, like I said, gargling scrotum sounds aren't appealing to me. I really only have one major standard and thats that the vocals from songs I listen to are constructed with real words containing syllables. I don't think such a thing is too much to ask.

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