Introducing Metal to someone new to Metal!

[Dairenn]

So, my wife grew up listening to east-coast hip-hop, and I grew up listening to stations like KMET, KLOS and 105.5 KNAC here in L.A.; suffice it to say, we've been schooling each other on the respective musical styles and their accompanying stories. It all got me to think about what songs I would put on a super sampler CD or dual-CD set, mixed full of music that more or less defined heavy metal as we remembered it in the 80s... Before the cookie monster, drop tuned, 7th string, wall of guitar, clickity-clackity drums, tinny digital pro-tools, auto-tuned era that pretty much ruined rock for me after 1992... Mid-tempo, heavy grooves that are strong on melody with plenty of guitar wizardry and operatic vocals. Not all of these tracks exactly fit that description, but I feel that each one of this hits their mark. This is what I came up with:

• XYZ - Inside Out
• YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN - Rising Force (the song)
• Y&T - Mean Streak
• WHITESNAKE - Children of the Night
• WINGER - Seventeen
• WHITE LION - Wait
• WARRANT - Uncle Tom's Cabin
• VAN HALEN - Man on a Mission
• TRIUMPH - Never Surrender
• TESLA - Modern Day Cowboy
• STYX - Love is the Ritual
• STEVE VAI - Erotic Nightmares
• SKID ROW - Youth Gone Wild
• SLAUGHTER - Desperately
• SCORPIONS - I'm Leavin' You
• QUEENSRYCHE - Empire
• QUIET RIOT - Metal Health
• MOTLEY CRUE - Dr. Feelgood
• MR. BIG - Green Tinted Sixties Mind
• METALLICA - Sad But True
• RATT - Lay it Down
• OZZY OSBORNE - The Ultimate Sin
• LOUDNESS - Crazy Nights
• LIVING COLOUR - Cult of Personality
• LITA FORD - Gotta Let Go
• KROKUS - Eat The Rich
• KISS - I Wanna Hear It Loud
• KINGDOM COME - Get It On
• JUDAS PRIEST - The Sentinel
• JOE SATRIANI - Summer Song
• IRON MADDEN - Two Minutes to Midnight
• GREAT WHITE - Lady Red Light
• EXTREME - Kid Ego
• ELECTRIC BOYS - All Lips and Hips
• EUROPE - More Than Meets the Eye
• DIO - Last in Line
• DOKKEN - In My Dreams
• DEF LEPPARD - Photograph
• DAVID LEE ROTH - Yankee Rose
• CINDERELLA - Save Me
• BULLET BOYS - Smooth Up In Ya
• BLUE MURDER - Blue Murder

I intentionally avoided most of the songs that get (or got) played to death on radio/satellite radio... For example, I know someone will try to tell me that a Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen song is probably blasphemy, heh. For a band like that, it's hard to pick JUST one song... (I could have easily taken a cross section of Unchained, Amsterdam and Little Guitars and been just as happy.) I wanted one song for one band, and one that I think would surprise even those that consider themselves fans of the genre.

What do you guys think of this list? What would be on yours? Are there any songs from this list that you disagree with? What would you add or change?

[Lord Grendel]

Great list Dairenn, I'll have to look it over later when I have more time.

One song I would add, "Van Halen - Aint Talkin' Bout Love". That is my all time favorite of theirs.(Not sure if it's fits within the parameters of your OP, but I love trumpeting that song anyway.)

[Dairenn]

Originally Posted by Lord Grendel Great list Dairenn, I'll have to look it over later when I have more time. One song I would add, "Van Halen - Aint Talkin' Bout Love". That is my all time favorite of theirs.(Not sure if it's fits within the parameters of your OP, but I love trumpeting that song anyway.)

It's probably has one of the most recognizable introductions in all of hard rock. I was at a Kenny Chesney concert once, and their guitarist, in between songs, played it to get the crowd fired up and it worked, heh.

[invader]

vinnie vincent invasion- shoot you full of love

can't go wrong.

[Magic]

Me, being a chick, I love metal ballads. I would make a playlist CD of ballads that would entice anyone into the realm of classic metal/heavy metal.

Give me a couple days and I will come up with a perfect ballad playlist, one that is not too female-ish.

[Dairenn]

Totally. Well, metal ballads were actually a favorite of mine before MTV exploited them to the point that they became cliche and really cheesy.

An EPIC metal ballad was Heading for a Heartbreak by Winger. A long, beautiful melodic guitar solo that plays you out of a hard rocking track with gorgeous harmony vocals and a great synth keys line in A#. Cinderella's "Nobody's Fool," I'm not sure qualifies, but it's at that tempo and has so much heart even though there's a hard rock sound in that track.

I can't wait to read your list.

[Cosmic Harmony]

Well while we're on the topic of metal ballads I personally believe Scorpions' "Still Loving You" is the gold standard for that.

[Magic]

Cinderella "Nobody's Fool" would be in my top 20 list...I would say it is a ballad. Another good ballad is White Lion "When the Children Cry", the solo in this song is pretty awesome.

I will get my list together and get it posted

[Dairenn]

"Still Loving You," yes. That pretty much defined what a metal ballad is, heh. Probably one of their greatest songs, too.

[Vic2010]

I think I'd probably make a CDr with 12-15 (or as many as I could cram onto a CDr) songs that represent the history of Metal. I'd trace the lineage up to whereever I think it stops (as I'm not too familiar with any of the modern groups today). Some of these groups wouldn't be considered heavy metal but to me they at least laid the foundation.

Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love
Jimi - Purple Haze
Led Zeppelin - Black Dog
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
Deep Purple - Space Truckin'
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock
Thin Lizzy - Emerald
Iron Maiden - Revelations
Metallica - Master Of Puppets (the song)
Soundgarden - Outshined or Black Hole Sun
Kings X - Mr. Wilson

... and a bunch others I'm probably forgetting. But that would be my idea of a Heavt Metal "Anthology" or "best of." Totally subjective but there ya go.

[Dairenn]

That is a very creative idea, and it's very clever. I like it and I'm tempted to try and make such a play list to hear that "evolution of the sound" for myself.

[MusicMistress]

I would recommend to someone completely new to the metal world something of a soft nature. Keep a new person completely away from anything too harsh, like growls and screams and extreme power chords and double thumpers. Ease them in with something like:

[Pixel]

Originally Posted by MusicMistress I would recommend to someone completely new to the metal world something of a soft nature. Keep a new person completely away from anything too harsh, like growls and screams and extreme power chords and double thumpers.

I have to respectfully disagree with this. I do understand your point, but while one person new to metal might only want to hear more gentle stuff, others might want to hear stuff from the opposite end of the spectrum, or not even know what they want to hear until they do hear it.

I once recieved a compilation tape containing songs from Dimmu Borgir and Arch Enemy, and the harsh vocals and extremely fast drumming completely blew me away; I went out and bought both band's entire discographies on the strength of the songs I heard on the tape. But at the same time, I also collected the discographies of lighter, more gentle bands featured, so to me, it was the best of both worlds.

Whenever I make a metal compilation for someone, I try and vary it as much as I can; harsh and clean vocals, male and female vocals, gentle melodies and fast chugging riffs. This gives someone new to the genre a bigger selection to choose from, thus increasing the likelihood of them finding something on there that they like. Some stuff obviously goes down better than others, but that depends entirely on the individual the compilation is being presented to. If you make such a varied compilation and present it to ten different people, you can guarantee that no two of those people will like the exact same songs or even dislike the exact same songs. We are all different, and this can only be a good thing

[Harkat]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Harmony Well while we're on the topic of metal ballads I personally believe Scorpions' "Still Loving You" is the gold standard for that.

Seconded, that is a particularly good song :3
One of my faves

[ComfortablyNumb]

Sabbath
Priest
Iron Maiden
Motorhead
Megadeth
Metallica
Slayer
Pantera
Lamb Of God
Death
Dream Theater
Mastodon
Down