Canonical Metal Collection

[scourge]

A canonical collection furthers the purpose of Hessian studies and cements the group as an identifiable culture.

[TC]

...and cements the group as an identifiable culture.

how so?  to whom?  

[0113581321345589]

A canonical collection furthers the purpose of Hessian studies and cements the group as an identifiable culture.

I agree. But that is also the reason I disagree with Admin's most recent post and still leaning towards what Planetary Eulogy is saying.

If I was asked to define the 'laws' of metal in words, I might say something like "Death metal is growls. Black metal is screams." - overly simplified but it holds as mostly true. Now how would we define metal in terms of albums and not words?

- this is what I think we achieve by creating a list of canonical metal, we define metal. In doing so we pick the best representations which coincidentally are the best of the genre (on the most part).

[Thamuz]

A canonical collection furthers the purpose of Hessian studies and cements the group as an identifiable culture.

Elaborate, please.

[scourge]

http://www.anus.com/metal/hall/YaBB.cgi?board=metal_talk;action=display;num=1153285618

In the modern world black and death metal affirms the realism of mortal existence as was generally more the case in the ancient world. The modern world gives us distractions like everlasting life, 640 porcine virgins and eternal salvation, with the rigid, often ill logic of morals forced on us as a prerequisite means. Black and death metal are manifestations of an ancient heroic spirit within (western) man and like modes of thought that preceded modernity.

It is a little difficult to articulate the worship of power as rejection of herd blindly following morality. Some more ideas along these lines may birth a ~500 word essay.

[Stranger]

The people that we should be directing this towards are those in positions of influence. I'm thinking about Academia and Media-heads.

If Metal is taken seriously as something to be learned and taught, like Classical, Jazz, and Rock are, it would be a great first step in the right direction. In the end, if there isn't a demand for it, Metal won't go anywhere.

I'd suggest that a comprehensive report on Metal be made, that will show the amount of people who are interested in Metal, and how many of them would enroll into these programs if given. Most of the work has already been done by SRP, so it's really only a matter of organizing the material into something presentable.

I seriously don't find this that difficult to acheive. Horror films, X-rated material, and similiar topics are already taught in college, and Metal has an advantage in that it's not vapid and empty.

[scourge]

Most of the work has already been done by SRP, so it's really only a matter of organizing the material into something presentable.

Metal music has gotten exhaustive attention. The rare people that enjoy this music and the surrounding cultural movement beyond the music has not gotten as much detail.

[Thamuz]

Thanks for the reply, Lupus. But that does not really answer my question, I apologize for being so vague. I think what I am trying to articulate is that a 'canonical list' alone cannot be expected to achieve much without some kind of framework on which to base itself. Stranger may be onto something, but in all reality understanding a culture involves participating in it, not reading essays or sifting through lists of albums. This takes years, not hours or days.

[0113581321345589]

In reply to the last few posts, try searching Google for :

Metal Culture

hessian.org seems highly placed. :-)

[Thamuz]

Excuse me for being oppositional, but how is that at all relevant?

[Nile577]

Good lists, I think. In my opinion, Gorguts’ Obscura is the best album in all of Metal and mandatory in any list.

I also think either Black Seeds of Vengeance or Amongst the Catacombs should be included.Outside of the huge drag factors of being listened to by retards as a 'novelty,’ having several rainforests of hype around them and being filled with quite egotistical people, the first two albums from Nile are genius and easily better than much on the above lists. AOTW is also a very strong effort.

While I like Suffocation, I would honesty rate Deeds of Flesh higher on a purely qualitative basis. Obviously Suffocation have been the far more influential band.

Finally, in my view Diabolical Conquest > Onwards To Golgotha; though the latter is still excellent and is a little less cringeworthy in some areas (e.g. song-title length).

[Dylar]

Incidentally, Obscura and Diabolical Conquest were the two I had the hardest time leaving off, the former because it is such an outlier and I really think there's only space for one album totally outside the basic evolutionary tree, and Nespithe (by a hair the better album) was the choice.  Diabolical Conquest I left off because it is six of one/half dozen of another when comparing it qualitatively to Onward to Golgotha, but the latter was a landmark of the genre and absolutely a formative release.

Nile, on the other hand, is neither particularly oustanding nor even historically significant.

[Stranger]

Nile weren't innovative at all. They took what was already done, and tweaked it with Egyptian imagery. It's well-executed death metal, but it didn't help shape the sound, nor add, upon death metal's growth.

[Nyogtha]

The atmospheric percussive death metal style of Nile had already been introduced by Incantation's early works; that framework was infused with middle-eastern influences in sound and research towards an ancient egyptian lyrical setup. But archaic-sounding, occult death metal had already been done.

One more point to add Incantation in a canonical metal collection; it spawned one of DM's mainstream acts besides being important NYDM.

[Atma]

I think canonical collection of metal is a pack of albums, which would be just enough for listener to fully comprehend, appreciate and enjoy the Metal. Perhaps, even no other metal albums are needed to be heard aside from this collection. Collection of masterpieces and originators simultaneously:

Heavy Metal:
Black Sabbath  - First 6 LPs
Judas Priest  - Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Glass
Iron Maiden  - First 5 LPs
Motörhead  - On Parole, Motörhead, Bomber, Overkill, Ace of Spades
Angel Witch  - Angel Witch

Hardcore Punk:
Discharge  - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
The Exploited  - Let's Start a War...

Speed Metal:
Slayer  - till Seasons in the Abyss
Sepultura  - Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation, Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains
Metallica  - Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets

Thrash:
Cryptic Slaughter  - Convicted
D.R.I.  - Dirty Rotten LP, Dealing with It!

Death Metal:
Death Strike  - Fuckin' Death
Possessed  - Seven Churches
Necrovore  - Divus De Mortuus
Autopsy  - Severed Survival, Mental Funeral
Obituary  - Slowly We Rot, Cause of Death
Deicide  - Deicide, Legion
Morbid Angel  - Altars of Madness, Blessed are the Sick
Atheist  - Piece of Time, Unquestionable Presence
Infester  - To the Depths... In Degradation
At The Gates  - Gardens of Grief, The Red in the Sky is Ours
Dismember  - Like an Ever Flowing Sream
Entombed  - Left Hand Path
Grave  - Into the Grave, You'll Never See, And Here I die...
Necrophobic  - The Nocturnal Silence
Therion  - Of Darkness, Beyond Sanctorum, Symphony Masses Ho Drakon Ho Megas
Unleashed  - Where no Life Dwells, Shadows in the Deep, Across the Open Sea
Cadaver  - Hallucinating Anxiety, In Pains...
Asphyx  - The Rack, Crush the Cenotaph, Last One on Earth, Asphyx
Pestilence  - all
Atrocity  - Hallucinations, Todessensucht
Massacra  - Final Holocaust, Enjoy the Violence
Amorphis  - The Karelian Isthmus
Demigod  - Slumber Of Sullen Eyes
Demilich  - Nespithe
Morpheus Descends  - Ritual Of Infinity
Suffocation  - Effigy of the Forgotten, Human Waste, Breeding the Spawn, Pierced from Within
Incantation  - Onward to Golgotha
Immolation  - Dawn of Possession, Here in After, Failures for Gods, Close to a world Below, Unholy Cult
Gorguts  - Obscura

Grindcore:
Terrorizer  - World Downfall
Napalm Death  - Scum, From Enslavement to Obliteration
Godflesh  - Streetcleaner
Carbonized  - For the Security

Black Metal:
Hellhammer  - Apocalyptic Raids
Bathory  - Bathory, The Return..., Under the Sign of the Black Mark Blood Fire Death, Hammerheart, Twilight of the Gods
Mayhem  - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Darkthrone  - Under the Funeral Moon, Transylvanian Hunger
Burzum  - Burzum, Aske, Det Som Engang Var, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, Daudi Baldrs, Hlidjskalf
Immortal  - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism, Pure Holocaust, Battles in the North, Blizzard Beasts
Emperor  - In The Nightside Eclipse
Enslaved  - Hordane's Land, Vikingligr Veldi
Gorgoroth  - Pentagram, Antichrist
Ildjarn  - Der Frysende Nordariket, Forest Poetry, Ildjarn-Niddhogg 2003
Sort Vokter  - Folkloric Necro Metal
Dimmu Borgir - Stormblast
Beherit  - Drawing Down the Moon
Graveland  - In the Glare of Burning Churches, Carpathian Wolves, The Celtic Winter, Thousand Swords, Following the Voice of Blood
Summoning  - Lugburz, Minas Morgul, Dol Guldur, Oath Bound
Varathron  - His Majesty at the Swamp
Mütiilation  - Remains of a Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul
Antaeus  - Cut Your Flesh and Worship Satan
Sacramentum  - Finis Malorum, Far Away from the Sun
Havohej - Dethrone the Son of God
Averse Sefira  - Battle's Clarion, Homecoming's March, Tetrasymmetrical Astygmata
Demoncy  - Joined in Darkness

P.S. For complete canonical collection of Music, classical and prog-rock, and some electronic should be added to this list, but let it be for metal only, as asked by topicstarter.

I think, any non-Metal people out there could just take this list of albums and anticipate for a great joy of discovery..