This probably has been asked a million times before, but I just kinda want a straight answer for myself...

When is music metal? I mean, does it really have to meet certain criteria, or does it just have to be really heavy? I kinda fail to see when music is really considered metal, uhm I mean, I have listened to Suicide Silence, Avenged Sevenfold and those kind of "(insertrandomnounhere)core" bands, of course the majority of their songs are either extreme mainstream faggotry, or just pure shit, but it kinda sounds like metal to me...

Same's with the early Soulfly albums, they sound pretty metal to me, but they're not really considered metal at all here...

Is it pure because of the genre? (Metalcore, Deathcore, Nu-Metal) Or does it have a certain thing that doesn't meet metal?

Deathcore and metalcore are more often than not too far on the hardcore side of the line without enough metal in the sound. Over time you should develop an ear for it. I'm not great at knowing where the exact line is drawn but I do recognize that early Soulfly, Avenged Sevenfold, and Suicide Silence are not metal without much difficulty. Nu metal I find easy to know where to draw the line.

listen to some hardcore punk, then listen to the kind of stuff you mentioned again and compare

Also can't help noticing S.O.D. is on the board...

If Suicide Silence isn't metal, and isn't on the board as a result, then how is S.O.D. metal?

S.O.D. = Side project rule.

S.O.D. is crossover?

Hahaha. I don't know either, bro. Its all metal if its aggressive heavily distorted guitars but I think that whole "-core isn't metal" is a biased prejudice. I mean some people do like mallcore or phonecore or sexcore or meatcore as much as they like post neo modern national socialist anti Semite lactose intolerant black metal, its all a matter of personal taste.

I don't even listen to them, but I'm like 98% sure that S.O.D. is *not* a non-metal project that was granted entry as a relevant side-project. The side-project rule doesn't even matter when the band play metal anyways...

OP: we get these threads a lot. The general consensus is that once you've listened to enough material on both sides of the fence to be able to trace each band's influences and hear the role that the guitar plays in the band's music, you'll understand the difference between bands that are metal and bands that happen to sound relatively sonically intense.

no, it isn't. the lack of both or either also doesn't mean it's not metal


it has absolutely nothing to do with taste, or liking or disliking something - why on earth would you think that?

that second sentence is completely true... until you associate it with the first, in which case it's fucking moronic

You are probably right. None the less they are more hardcore in a Sick of It All kind of way than thrash in Slayer or Anthrax way. If they were not linked to Anthrax through Scott Ian, or MOD through Milano, or Nuclear Assault they may not be on here, but who knows really. Some exclusions and inclusions are a little strange. No matter though as Suicide Silence definitely isn't metal.

Meh, guess i'm still pretty much a mallcore kid then I always thought the "(insertrandomnounhere)core" genres WERE metal, how wrong was I?

I guess it's more the sound that make bands metal, rather than the genre they (or their fans) claim to be, otherwise Terrorizer wouldn't even be on the board