Delphic Reason
Wrong about what?... I never said anything about "Ride the Lightning" not being thrash...
Sorry, it was long post, lots to look at and think about, made a mistake. For some reason I decided to type your name. I meant that Shannon was wrong about Metallica not being Thrash. My apologies.
Delphic Reason
Genre defining is not an exact science, and is quite complicated... Just because something has a few elements of a particular genre, does not make it fit into that genre necessarily... Furthermore, some genre's are less clearly defined (ala Alternative, industrial, etc....) which tends to cause a lot of confusion...
I seem to be the only one here that likes genre-defining.
I think it's interesting, and I love gaining knowledge about those sorts of things.
Also, the reason why Industrial and Alternative are so "badly defined" is the fact that they are very general concepts. Industrial is just experimental, kind of avant-garde, music, usually mixing different styles with electronics. Alternative was first used to place most of the semi-rock music that were impossible to define properly, and that didn't fit into the normal mainstream genres. Bands like REM and The Cure, for example.
Emohawk
I don't think alternative is a legitimate classification.
Read above. The reason why it seems pointless today is because many people just throw bands into the genre because they have been too lazy to fit them somewhere. If a band doesn't sound directly like another genre, they seem to be thrown into Alternative.
Event Horizon
So, what really is the difference between Hard Rock, Metal, and Hevy Metal? Is Metal more based off of wicked guitar riffs, while Hard Rock is really heavy, but with fewer big riffs and Heavy Metal a combination of the two? Cause I never thought Godsmack to be Heavy Metal.
Metal isn't really a genre. It's just a general term.
Heavy Metal is basically loud, heavy music, with distorted guitars, hard drumming, and hard, loud vocals. It usually doesn't break down into softer singing. Heavy Metal can also depend on the lyric content, and what they speak of. I believe half of the reason bands like Iron Maiden got the title was because of what they sang about. I'm not saying, however, that they don't sound like Heavy Metal (in those days).
Hard Rock is loud and heavy, but the guitars aren't as distorted, the drums are as hard hit, and they usually have a rock-beat/rhythm to them, and the vocals aren't necessarily shouted, rather they are just a bit heavier than typical rock vocals.
It's hard to accurately describe general genres like these though. It's a case of "I know it when I hear it", or something like that. Explaining general genres is harder than defining genres in my opinion.
Event Horizon
BTW, what is System of a Down considered? They call themselves Nu-Metal.
Nu Metal. They are close to general Heavy Metal, but they have too many different outside influences, thus they are Nu Metal.
Silverzone
Blink-182 is a punk band who has lost sight of what punk is. Wait, this is the metal thread, why are we talkin about Blaink and Green Day?
That's what I want to know. Quit the Punk-talk!
Event Horizon
Thats what I thought, but Matt says Soil is Hard Rock. Soil is extremely heavy, but I guess it doesn't really have many big riffs.
Soil are Hard Rock. Hell, they even call themselves Hard Rock.
Shannon
Hell, the band name is even the title of an Alice In Chains song, "God Smack".
They claim it's strictly not named after the Alice In Chains song...
The name "Godsmack" did not come from an Alice in Chains song though popular rumor deems it so. It came from the lead singer insulting one of his band mates for having a cold sore on his lip. The next time he came in for practice, he had one too. Sully Erna, the lead singer and practicing Wiccan believes in Karma, and his making fun of his band mate was the way in which he was repaid... His band mate told him that that was a "godsmack."
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There's another long post for you, sorry guys.