Who are your favourite lyricists, metal or otherwise, and what do you enjoy so much about their words?


Some of my own are:

Skyclad's Martin Walkyier.



Walkyier has just about the cleverest lyrics around and at times, like in the above song, they can be deeply wise and moving as well. I just hope that we haven't heard the last from him as we need great poets now more than ever. As quoted from Finnish folk poetry in the liner notes of his last album with Skyclad and echoing my own feelings, "Of what use are we singers, what good we cuckoo-callers, if no fire spurts from our mouths, no brand from beneath our tongues and no smoke after our words."


Townes Van Zandt.



Van Zandt's lyrics combine the beauty and the sadness that so often make up life. He wrote some of the greatest love songs and some of the bleakest songs of desperation all with his witty and elegant turns of phrase.


Alan Averill (Nemtheanga) of Primordial.



When it comes to social commentary I haven't heard a more damning indictment of modern Irish society, or western European society more broadly, than the opening line of the above song and throughout his body of work he has many of these cutting criticisms and insights into our darkening world. At times the form of his lyrics can leave something to be desired but the when he get it right he gets it right.


Andy M. Stewart of Silly Wizard.



Silly Wizard were the finest interpreters of Gaelic folk songs and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. They also had in Stewart as great a song writer as the tradition has ever known. He died a few years ago and I feel his loss sharply.


I could name others but I don't want to strain your patience, I want to hear from you! So what say you?

I agree with you on Skyclad and Primordial, although Walkyier's over reliance on puns can get very tired at times. First four Skyclad albums are lyrically indispensable though, as is much of Primordial's work.

I've always thought Butler's lyrics on the first six Sabbath albums (and also Dehumanizer) are very underappreciated. Lots of critics seem to pour scorn on the lyrical merit of Sabbath, but I don't think I've heard any band write lyrics quite as profound and contemplative like A National Acrobat.

Jaz Coleman always writes interesting lyrics, although they're something of a mix between very accurate observations and outright conspiracy thinking.

Dylan always writes great lyrics and songs in general, the main issue is that he's not really a performer so all his stuff tends to sound best when covered by someone else.

Spitballing...

-Justin Sullivan (New Model Army)
-Ice Cube
-Chuck D
-Matt Bellamy (Muse)
-Johnny Cash
-Warrel Dane (Nevermore, Sanctuary)

Absolutely agreeing with Van Zandt and Walkyier

Tom Waits has the ability to paint images in my head with his words. He's both capable to write meaningful love songs and stuff that belongs in the filthiest, shadiest docksides of the world... If this does not make sense a single listen and read at Rain Dogs should convince anybody

I don't know so well Springsteen's music, but the lyrics on Nebraska are hard hitting and deeply bittersweet american stories of simple people. I loved reading those and think about how life was, it's like a movie playing in my head

I too also love a great number of lyrics by Justin Sullivan of New Model Army fame. Often sad stories of defeated low class people and street life that resonate a lot with me. I really love the lyrics on Ballad of Bodmin Pill and i heard that he was an influence on Walkyier

Italian only, but still incredibly important for me is Fabrizio De André. He was a master storyteller of the human condition and an incredible narrator of the life of the less wealthy and of the italian countryside

Dax Riggs is a weird one because even if can't say that i understand the meaning of most of his lyrics i'm very fascinated by his creative, harsh and macabre use of words. Pagan Terrorism Tactics becomes even more a trip when you start to read it

Dani Filth, hands down.

Agreed.



I must check out Killing Joke. I keep hearing them mentioned favourably and my former band was described as having a KJ-esque aspect as well. As for the the content, people do conspire so it would make sense if some conspiracy theories were correct. I don't have the time or energy to be researching that stuff but it can be fun too.



Yeah. Tom can pen a tune. I'm more a fan of the first album than most of the weirdness he went on to write but he can really bring a scene to life.




New Model Army are new to me but I'm liking what I'm hearing so far. What would be a good album to start with?



There's a divisive one. His lyrics don't do much for me but he certainly has his own style.

My introduction to New Model Army was Thunder and Consolation, and i think it's their most diverse and overall best. Other good ones are Vengeance and Ghost of Cain

Black Thought

Chris Barnes, Tomb of the Mutilated era.

I'll jump on the Justin Sullivan bandwagon, Thunder and Consolation is one of my favorite non-metal albums of all time. Elvis Costello is another favorite of mine, especially on his first three albums.

I like a lot of Joni Mitchell's lyricism. She seems to know her way around matters of the heart and always comes across as wise and sincere

I'm into what Fall of the Leafe wrote about. Quite unusual for a metal band, since they were basically doing poetry about boring things, such as looking out the window.

Varg (early), Dead, Shatraug, Hoath Torog, Nemtheanga, Nattramn, Kvarforth.

Yeah. The lyrics of Both Sides Now are a good example of that; a lot of wisdom there. I find a fair amount of her music too sad to listen to terribly often anymore. I'm more sensitive to that kind of thing than I used to be. It's probably a lot to do with associations I've built up there too.



Having a look through some of their lyrics and yeah, they're interesting. Reading some from Vantage and I like how they're seeing the profound in the mundane. Interesting indeed. The music really isn't doing it for me though!

Great band, too. Their "Vantage" album is one of my favorites ever.

As far as metal goes , I'm a big fan of lyricists who are good at coming up with lyrics that fit the sound of their music and it's immediately old school black/speed/death metal that comes to mind ...

Cronos , Tom Angelripper , the Cavalera brothers , as well as anyone and everyone who had a hand in penning lyrics for the timeless classics that fit this particular sub genre are amazing lyricists IMHO ...

Especially those among them whose knowledge of English was poor and yet still managed to come up
with lyrics that very much fit the sound of their music ...

It goes without saying that penning intelligent/thought provoking lyrics was not the strong suit of these fellows , however that aspect is by far not the most important quality when it comes to this particular brand of metal music .