is there 'race-specific' metal?

[MassOfKthulu]

This question popped into my head out of nowhere when i read bigfootkit's post about that Graveyard song-it occured to me that there is a better chance of finding a living dodo than a British fan of US metal.
and i started thinking further..There is virtually zero chance of finding a doom fan from Spain..Japanese people love neoclassical music but are not too much into doom or US metal either..us Greeks are notorious for loving US metal to the point of redundance..Germans will listen to anything..The British are big into punk and doom and their own scene but not much besides..
i realise i generalise too much but singularities do not alter the rule.i'm not after writing an essay,but does any of you think race/where/how you grew up has anything to do with taste in music/metal? was it embedded on our dna helix that we would grow up to love a certain metal genre and not care about another? is there metallic darwinism?

[Warbus]

There is virtually zero chance of finding a doom fan from Spain..

I don't think that's true. There are some decent (new) Spanish doom bands (Moho, Orthodox), I'd reckon those guys also listen to doom.

[The Knell]

I guess it's for a big part a culture thing
British love the punk and HC because it all started there, as well as NWOBHM which also took roots on the aforementioned
greek are big into US metal because their fellows bootleg every single release of that genre (ok I dont have a clue)
south american sound is all fucked up because it's not really nice there for the most part and they need to put the aggression somewhere
japanese metal is all ultra flashy because it's strict, sincere and work/career orientated there and they need some release as well I guess
i guess it depends what/how most people grow up with/like, and it affects their taste

punk was also big here (still rather strong I think) and my mom was into it when it was the high time here in late 70ies/early 80ies while my father was the heavy metal guy at that time, so i got educated / introduced in both of course

[King Zombie]

I guess it's for a big part a culture thing
British love the punk and HC because it all started there, as well as NWOBHM which also took roots on the aforementioned
greek are big into US metal because their fellows bootleg every single release of that genre (ok I dont have a clue)
south american sound is all fucked up because it's not really nice there for the most part and they need to put the aggression somewhere
japanese metal is all ultra flashy because it's strict, sincere and work/career orientated there and they need some release as well I guess
i guess it depends what/how most people grow up with/like, and it affects their taste

punk was also big here (still rather strong I think) and my mom was into it when it was the high time here in late 70ies/early 80ies while my father was the heavy metal guy at that time, so i got educated / introduced in both of course

Yeah but a social psychologist or sociologist could and should give us a more insightful and propper approach. I think it is very reasonable The Knell says, tough empirical I think many of us here share his opinion.

Here in South America, we have constant political turmoils, political elites are deaf to the demands of the poor and else and yeah Japanese society is a really constrained one, always giving higher emphasys in mildness, politness and correctness which can be and is a factor contributing to highly stressed individual without much escape valves. Brits no doubt, altough half of that NWOBHM loves come from bands like Led and so.

I think it would be very interesting to see a professional study in the subject.

Ambient plus genes plus culture are what defines us 75 or 80% of times so it isnt a matter of free will.

[bigfootkit]

This question popped into my head out of nowhere when i read bigfootkit's post about that Graveyard song-it occured to me that there is a better chance of finding a living dodo than a British fan of US metal.

I wouldn't go along with that at all, if anything, amongst the general Metal populace here, i'd say that U.S. Metal bands have often been held in higher esteem than many of the more worthwhile homegrown bands.
European Metal has had a far harder time being embraced here at the hands of the media and the fans. With the exception of Accept, Helloween and Scorpions, the '80's were pretty hard on European acts trying to garner attention here. The fact that many of these bands sang in English, but with very obvious accents seems to have been a stumbling block for many UK listeners. Kreator, Entombed and Baron Rojo also made minor breakthroughs back in the day, but i'm hard pressed to think of any other bands who made a big impact.
It's changed nowadays with people getting greater exposure to bands through the net etc. Opeth, for instance, are probably the most popular Swedish band here since Abba.
Bet you never thought you'd see Abba mentioned in "Into Battle" eh?
Please don't ban me DaN!

[nightsblood]

Yeah, my understanding is that Brits have a long history of ignoring the local acts while swooning over US bands, while Europeans swoon over the British bands

I hoped that the 'Swedish Death Metal' book would delve into metal psychology a bit more, as I've often wondered why swedes developed a brutal DM scene. The book didn't seem to touch on it much though, and some of the interviewees seemed to dismiss it as "eh, we were just kids wanting to do somethign extreme sounding with shock value".

And while banning is too harsh, some form of disiplinary action is called for against 'kit for mentioning 'THEM' in these here parts

Genetics-wise, I do blame my father for my record collecting habit, as he's collected vinyl for almost 50 years now. Needless to say, his collection is much better than mine and includes no heavy metal

[ION BRITTON]

I guess it depends on many things...Don't know if it's genetic though. My parents do not listen to any kind of music at all, especially my dad who used to hate heavy metal... It seems pretty unlikely to have ''inherited'' something from them.
I think it has to do more with you really are, your beliefs, your ideals, your character, your idiosyncrasy. Of course all these are shaped from various different things, some of which are more important than the others, but definitely all of them play their role eventually. Your education in and out of school, your social circle, your friends etc.
It's quite complicated in fact. And all these exceptions just prove that everything depends on who the listener is.

[Black Axe]

And while banning is too harsh, some form of disiplinary action is called for against 'kit for mentioning 'THEM' in these here parts

You've just insulted Them and King Diamond.

[King Zombie]

I think it has to do more with you really are, your beliefs, your ideals, your character, your idiosyncrasy. Of course all these are shaped from various different things, some of which are more important than the others, but definitely all of them play their role eventually. Your education in and out of school, your social circle, your friends etc.
It's quite complicated in fact. And all these exceptions just prove that everything depends on who the listener is.

Yes thats why i said psychologist could give us a better persperctive.

[MEXDefenderOfSteel]

historical movements and the social environment has lots to do with the kind of music here and there, probably one of the best escapes for the youth from the different forms of oppression....

[Helm]

A lot has to do I think with what 'scenes' you are introduced the earliest to in each country. For example when a wiser older friend played me my first real HM (after having listened to Metallica) he played me Sultan's Ransom, King of the Dead, Control and Resistance and I think Tysondog?! He just played me what was considered excellent - and still is excellent - but also what was considered 'serious' heavy metal, in greece. Not Gammaray and Iced Earth (wait, back 15 years now, Iced Earth were very respected in Greece too!) I like US metal because I listened Omen seriously before I listened to Iron Maiden seriously. I don't think there's anything race-specific as in genetic, it's just that specific trends (and yes, that is the word) keep propagating themselves. Metalheads from Norway are doomed to forever listen to norwegian black metal primarily because of how saturated their scene history is with it. Greek HM people will eventually stumble into the almost autistic adoration for all things US Power here eventually and so on...

I think most people really into HM eventually break the mold and stop caring how much the rest of the scene of their country love their pet genres and just listen to what they like.

[bigfootkit]

Well, you've done it again Helm, hit the nail on the head and summed the whole thing up in a well balanced fashion. I'm often left wishing you could translate my thoughts into words for me, as you seem to do a better job of summing up what i would like to say than i'm capable of.
Fancy a job? I'm afraid it doesn't pay much.
Your musical educator sounds like he knew his stuff, although he may have spoiled you by introducing you to music of such a high standard at the beginning of your musical journey.

[Helm]

man, I'll take that job.

[The Erlking]

I never had a metal-mentor so I educated myself. Along with few big mainstream bands like Iron Maiden, Manowar and Accept I first got into Japanese metal and it's still kinda special scene for me and I feel very nostalgic too when I listen to something like X, 44 Magnum or first three Seikima II albums. But that's not saying that I enjoy jap scene the most nowadays. I'm just very excited when I find something cool I haven't heard (or something I've wanted to hear for ages) from there. I think that this whole Heavy Metal mapping (exploring different scenes, experiencing how they affect me etc.) is a very complex and ever changing thing for me.

[sovdat]

Perhaps some German members of the board can reveal how the fuck they love all those ultra shitty bands like J.B.O. so much?!?! Does it go well with beer and sausages or what?? I still have to meet one non German person that'll say something positive about those German party "metal" bands, yet on the other hand many German metalheads, no matter how big fans of real metal they are, praises them so much ...

Another "German" thing, from the festivals: sitting in front of the van / camp place all day long with a beer in the hand, sausages and beloved Bohse Oknelz (or whichever band) in the car stereo, and they only go inside to see some main bands in the evening???

Of course not all Germans are like that, don't get me wrong, but from my experiences from various German metal festivals (and there were quite a few of them during the years + I've meet quite a few German people there too) there's a lot of that kind of people and definitely a lot more than in the other places ...