A lot of us on here have probably gone through a phase in our lives when all there was musically, was metal. You couldn't really jam anything else on your MP3 player, it had to be metal, metal was the only thing that actually satisfied you through its intensity and superior song-writing.

Then you age a bit, and things pan out, you get more perspective. You start realizing there's other shit you really like too, and you listen to that other shit because it gives you something metal doesn't obviously.

What lacks in metal for you ? (musically, philosophically...)

I don't know about lacks, but it's always funny seeing a bunch of fags try and romanticize the 90s black metal scene and still pander to the quasi elitism that Euronymous liked to prance around with

I'd say it lacks imagination, but plenty of bands in the underground really help with that.

You could say that it lacks a real strive for innovation outside of the underground, as most of the fanbase is so hell bent on being anti unorthodox its saddening that when actual bands come up and try to do something new it's met with the same shitty backlash

This post is lacking the common sense to not use homophobic slurs, though.

Metal is too an umbrella term to lack something.

metal needs more batushkas

hmmm, back in the 80's nobody batted an eye when they heard someone use the derogatory "fag" slur but such is the sign of the times- and out of respect, I won't use it anymore either. So what lacks in metal? I can't say what lacks in ALL metal as there are still plenty of great bands out there but...its harder to wade through all the mediocrity and outright crap, to discover them. So I'll answer by saying what I hear a lot of bands lacking these days, and that is, great memorable songwriting and riffs. I hear a lot of really clinical sounding bands that "Check all the boxes" so to speak- heavy, aggressive, intricate- etc. But it sounds so soulless, so clinical, generic, and so on. The production is perfectly clean but yet ironically lacks the "grit" that would otherwise make a band sound aggressive. The riffs are either paint by numbers metal riffs, or too full of chugging open e-chords, or else, there might be a good riff or two but the overall song doesn't flow.

The other part- what many non-metal bands have that ALL metal bands lack- well, some feelings and vibes just don't lend themselves to metal. Or if a metal band tries to cover one of these bands, it often just sounds silly. Metal Bob Marley, for example, sorry but it doesn't work- I'd rather listen to genuine reggae. Or progressive rock like Yes- or psychedelic rock like Goat (Swedish band) or Tame Impala- the sound and feeling of some of those albums is mind blowing but with distorted metal riffs it wouldn't be the same.

.

It may be that nothing is lacking, just that the glory days of metal already took place (kind of like rock music, metal's older more sociable brother).

You have a period of boundary-shattering novelty when totally new subgenres and their attendant soundworlds popped up like mushrooms. Thrash, black metal, death metal, grind. Then after all these occurrences, slowly, you realize, everything you hear-- even very interesting fun things made by awesome dudes-- sounds monotonously familiar. Whether it's weird dissonant tech death, melancholic & dignified funeral doom or schizoid cybergrind... It just doesn't sound new the way Seven Churches or Scum did.

Or you get the globalization of metal re-packaged as innovation. Like, there's some intriguing lo-fi second wave black metal album that came out, it's just being made by Americans or Australians or something. Or "check out this new grind band! it's the same shit you've heard a million times, but they're from South East Asia!" "Check out this depressive atmospheric black metal from Egypt, "omg, can you believe someone in Egypt ripped off Burzum and mixed in bits of Mütiilation!"

The further we get away from the 70s/80s/90s, it seems like more and more repetition.

There can only be so many variations on a formula until we begin running out of the future.

I mean, how many waves of thrash metal have we had now?

Biggest thing for me metal lacks is songwriting. Obviously you can argue that bad songwriting is universal to all bad music, but I find songwriting tends to take a backseat to things like tone or just riff salads or being extreme or whatever, even with widely praised projects. Too many metal bands are content to sort of just meander from riff to riff and back again until the song ends, without any kind of hook, buildup and release or any other reason to remember the song. Maybe I'm just getting bored, but it just seems like the albums I end up liking the most aren't necessarily ones that are novel and are filled with riffs I've never heard before, but it's more about how it's all put together. Every subgenre kind of has it's way of doing this, even the noisy and less structured stuff does interesting things with textures, walls of sound, dynamics, etc... The new Abyssal is a great example. It's not catchy in the traditional sense, but it's put together in a very satisfying way that keeps you listening.

The other thing would be decent lyrics and the delivery. I'm not saying that metal needs to be like woke or conscious or even have a message at all, but I dunno... I just can't relate to a lot of the escapist stuff anymore. I still like a lot of the classic themes, but far too often its just meaningless, might as well have been algorithmically generated. The other part of this is vocal deliver.y/arrangements. Especially with harsh vocals, way too many bands have put seemingly zero thought or effort in the vocal arrangements, leading to song after song with the same vocal delivery/cadence. I think were a lot of the most popular extreme metal bands succeeded was having catchy vocal rhythms, something like Decade ov Therion by Behemoth is a good example (lots of hardcore bands are good at this too). Also, another pet peeve of mine with extreme metal is the having too many/too little syllables in the verse lines. It doesn't feel like a cohesive song with any identity when the vocalist is just doing whatever during the verses.

re: female perspective... that is true. I think it's getting better though, although the die hard punishers seem to want to fight it with all their might. I think more core adjacent/core related bands will be better for this: just an example, I had no idea the vocalist for Venom Prison was a woman. I think they do a good job of bringing a female perspective while still maintaining a metal aesthetic.

.

I find that metal isn't particularly useful if I want to just be passively listening to something, like if I want some relaxing background music. Though the same could be said of almost any genre that has vocals.

I've harped on this very thing, many times- that is a succinct way of putting it. One of the main things that turns me off of a lot of newer bands, actually.

I hear a lot of bands that, in terms of technicality, blow away pretty much anything from the classic death/thrash metal era I so often get nostalgic over, but it's exactly that and little else- technical, but at the expense of good catchy and effective (for me anyway) songwriting. And it seems like a lot of these bands simply do not know how to do transitions within a song, either between riffs or between shifting dynamics.

Thankfully not ALL newer bands are like this, don't get me wrong! Its just that- it gets frustrating because there is so much out there to wade through, and so many bands I check out that are really hyped - when I actually listen to them, it just turns out to be another "Meh." for me. Its like you got to dig deeper to find something that REALLY grabs you anymore, nowadays.

I approach this by asking what the constants of metal are - then, whatever metal lacks would be the contraries of these. And the only constants I can think of are the loudness and the electric guitars (or approximations to these, as in the occasional bassist-led band). I wanted to add percussion, but I think there's some drone metal that does without it...like long stretches of Sunn O)), maybe? I can't quite remember.

So, I'd say, if something is quiet and devoid of the usual metal instrumentation, then chances are it's not metal. Otherwise, I guess anything goes. Any mood, any ideology, any tempo, any amount of simplicity or complexity, any vocal style (or no vocals), any amount of studio polish and instrumental proficiency and music-theoretical expertise.

I'm not entirely sure if "quiet metal" is a thing at all, but I very much doubt it. Of course you can play a recording at the lower volumes, but I can't think of any metal that's "intended" to be listened to in that way - that just seems at odds with the spirit of the genre. Some metal is more minimalistic, sparse, fuzzed out, and low-energy than other metal, but it doesn't ever seem to be suitable for waiting rooms, I guess ("elevator metal?").

edit: I might've misunderstood the point of this thread, sorry. I took it more in the direction of what metal necessarily lacks, rather than which of the genre's possibilities seem to me underexplored. Maybe later.

.

The metal scene needs more bands called "Tyrant".

It's especially true in Goregrind, i know it's for fun but it's quite hard for women to get in with all the hardcore porn stuff

I have some problems with the hypocritical point of vue of blaming religions and at the same time using exactly their arguments against posers, and in the same way all the bunch of bands against christianism for more traditional than politic reasons (i mean, there is few bands against others religions, in most countries they are not the 1st problem, and when it's true i don't think mostly just blasphemous stuff can help)

It's not supposed to help. Worshipping Satan is not supposed to be political activism, it's supposed to be worshipping Satan.

Nailed it, I know exactly what you mean on all fronts. Glad someone pointed all this out. Vocal delivery is even more important than lyrics to me, like Venom can definitely "sell" their lyrics whereas a lot of the newer bands in that style sound like they're reading out of a cook book. Same type of lyrics, different levels of conviction in delivery.

Regarding the female perspective that some have pointed out: is simply having a token female member enough to warrant the term female perspective? Going from a more literary gender studies perspective, I don't think it's enough, in fact I feel that the female viewpoint is often dominated (either consciously or subconsciously) either by male band members (if applicable) or the influences and pressures of the largely male metal scene. Going back to Venom for a bit, is an all-female Venom cover band (or Venom-styled band) really offering a female perspective, or is it just women adopting a male perspective? FWIW, I think The Gathering for me came closest to a female perspective in metal since the vocals didn't emulate tropes that were established by males, or didn't sell the female sex image in metal which a lot of female fronted bands do. I guess what I'm saying is that if metal is to have a female perspective, it kind of has to be a fresh take, or else it's just copying trends from male dominated bands in a male dominated genre.

In my case, there is a clear difference between the two reasons why I listen to metal/non-metal artists. For metal, - it's almost always about a very high/interesting level of music and vocal quality, while for non-metal, - it's all about the lyrics. Unfortunately, there are very few metal albums that I very much enjoy musically and at the same time really like lyrically. Perhaps the problem is that I prefer extreme metal music/vocals in which most of the lyrics are about anger/aggression or depression/despair, and I should take a look at some traditional heavy metal artists...
For example, there are so many ''war metal'' albums in black/death metal genres, but it’s so hard to find some decent anti-war lyrics in any extreme metal genre.
Also, it would be nice to find some funeral doom songs/albums with 'uplifting' lyrics which say that things are not so bad / or with some tiny glimmer of hope.
I know it's very subjectively, but songs with sad music and ''a bit more positive'' lyrics work so perfectly for me, while it's kind of weird for me that there are many songs with 'happy-sounding' music (in any genre) and with scary/sad lyrics about violence/depression.. Well, I guess it really works for some people, and I'm just not really into black humor / not into humor in general.

If there's one thing that the old guard has on us newer bands, it's that they weren't afraid to be catchy. With a few exceptions, it seems like a lot of bands these days are afraid to have parts that you can sing along to or riffs that you can chant Beavis and Butt-head style. There are still bands like that but I'd really like to see more of them.

Going along with broadened perspectives, I think it'd also help if metal had more specific storytelling in the lyrics. A lot of emotionally charged lyrics end up sounding vague and topics like war and the occult end up looking nondescript. Not every band needs a Rhapsody-style sweeping narrative but I'd like more detail. Instead of a random song about killing, make it about a lion attack or something. Give me some lyrics that are fun to read.

Vocals like Dani had on Dusk...and her Embrace and Jon Kennedy on old Hecate Enthroned albums are definitely lacking. I would also like to hear more good DSBM and melancholic black metal albums.

.

Turntables and rap. That’s what metal lacks. It would be cool if someone could try and integrate those elements into it.

Diversity of sound/production on records.

I know I'm catastrophizing when I say there is NONE of the following, but how often do you hear a power metal record with retro thrash production? What about a tech death record that sounds like black metal? I know these exist in some forms, but some more crossover would be kind of neat to hear to keep things fresh. That Dream Troll record that came out earlier this year sounds just SLIGHTLY different than anything around its genre, and it's refreshing to hear. The Idle Hands record sounds like a weird blend of some different production styles, and I dig that A LOT.

Dream Troll was unique because of the guitar playing, which had a lot of interesting almost 70s-prog flourishes and a more happy, mellow vibe that a lot of power metal acts go for - it was fresh and that's kind of what I want to see, just more bands putting that kind of thoughtful songwriting. I'd like to see bands incorporating more diverse influences into a purely metal sound - so it doesn't just sound like they only listened to a few 80s metal acts for most of their life. Just a general sharp, intelligent writing sense is what I am looking for.

Actually, having thought about the thread's title properly. I can say that discos often lack metal.

As others have already pointed out, I think it lacks interesting vocal delivery and arrangements, as well as more thought out song strucutres and song writting. There is a serious lack of interesting chord progressions, build up of tension and resolution, etc., that you can find in other genres. Aslo, as I grew older, I often find the genre and the scene to be juvenile, elitist and close-minded, espcially when it comes to Black Metal.

For black metal I feel it lacks sincerity. Bands love to try and enforce there nietzche, pagan, satanist or whatever philosophies/relegion but its all just romantasized crap. Few bands actually live by the message.

Metal lacks more albums like Dolorian's Voidwards...

Metal lacks real life. I always realized that Metal can only be a part of my musical meal because it's most of the time over the top in every aspect. Life, especially when you're getting older, has just far more facets that need different sounds. I'm in a gritty, urban noir-mood? Please get away with Hell, Nifelheim or Middle-Earth. I'm in love? Maybe I'll find something more subtle than Whitesnake... or Porngrind ( just joking). We need some singalongs for drinking? Give me my Cock SParrer! Different stuff for different times. But I always come back.

SONGWRITING

You said it best.

Too much emphasis on HEAVY, STYLE, or TECH and not enough on GOOD

I don't think it's so much songwriting by itself (at least in power/prog, where my taste is). But the combination of good songwriting and then the ability to execute the songs properly is where it gets rare, especially in terms of vocals and melodies.

Yawn

In summary, metal is shit.

What metal certainly does not lack is bands. So much to go through these days, thanks to digital platforms, to find something good for your ears.

This takes me to eternal dilemma: Is it better to stay the same, or is innovation welcome? Metal has gone through mutations, for sure, and some work, some don't. But I am certain that some listeners do not want any innovation. And when musicians are not playing with new ideas, when is saturation point exceeded? I certainly think there are very non-innovative bands, who are trash. But the other way, too.

I'm babbling, so what metal lacks in general, then? I really cannot think of anything special here. It has multiple facets and yings and yangs. Cannot pinpoint anything particular what it lacks, really.

Not sure what I can add that hasn’t been said.
Meaningful/honest lyrics as opposed to repeating cliches and tropes.
Experimenting with sounds, scales, production styles, vocal deliveries, innovating. Granted, things are only new and interesting after the fact, before hand you can’t know what to invent.
I think there’s too much close-mindedness, when people do experiment it’s easily dismissed as non-metal, as opposed to broadening what metal is or could be. Perhaps there are grey areas there rather than lines drawn?
Definitely viewpoints and voices from females, non-Caucasians, non-western Europeans, and of course not just those people being pushed through the mould of the status quo to appear as a token novelty.

It’s also possible to sound very negative on this topic. I guess I go through waves alternating between “I love metal but at the minute I want to listen to goth/industrial/Nick Cave/jazz/hip-hop etc” and “I love metal and forget anything else exists.” which generally connects to how excited I am by metal at the time or whether I feel I’m familiar with it all and getting cynical and jaded.

I understood the thread the same way as you, what don't I get from metal that I get from other genres I listen to? And yeah there's a few things, that's why I listen to a bit of other stuff besides metal. But ultimately it's kind of a weird idea to read the thread this way even if it is originally meant that way, because the answer would boil down to something like "what's lacking in metal is that it isn't non-metal", and kinda really useless to think about because that way it's not really a lack. I mean I don't listen to other genres because metal lacks something because it's the same way that I'm a huge Star Trek fan, and when I watch Lord of the Rings for example it's not because I find that Star Trek lacks orcs and elves, but because I want to watch Lord of the Rings. What I'm trying to say is that I listen to certain non-metal genres for certain things they have to offer, but I don't feel like they are lacking in metal because they're simply not supposed to be there.

^
Yes, that’s so true but so sad at the same time.
..


I would say that drums/percussion play an important role in drone metal, but it's only because I very much enjoy some interesting/unusual drum rhythms in combination with heavy slow/mid tempo guitar music. For me, it would be great to hear more martial industrial- inspired themes (musically, not lyrically) in (funeral) doom or drone metal albums. Something like the beginning of this song: https://youtu.be/-6-ib_guo_Y

[Droneriot] What I'm trying to say is that I listen to certain non-metal genres for certain things they have to offer, but I don't feel like they are lacking in metal because they're simply not supposed to be there.[/quote]

Of course you are completely right and I didn't want to sound deprecating about anything. This was just the first thing that crossed my mind after reading the original post. "Lacking" can have a descriptive or a evaluating meaning.