iv been really listening to metal for a few years now, and along the way iv found my self opening my musical perspective alot since i started back in 8th grade. before guitar hero, i listened to alot of trend songs from alot of different nu-metal, industrial, gothic metal, and pretty much the kind of stuff you could find at walmart, because i could listen to them in fan made videos for anime, this is when i was going through my big anime phase. but once guitar hero came out, i started listening to the bands in the games, and eventually moved into Metallica. since then iv listened through several genres, from melo-death, to black metal, to symphonic black, to folk and viking, and to almost every other genre out there at some point, but iv also found my self listening to several non metal genres, starting with neo folk and classical of course, but also into psychedelic rock, noise, punk, ambient, screamo, and even back to r&b in some instances. i think metal has opened my mind to new genres of music outside of metal, and i was wondering if it has done the same for anyone else here?

Pretty much Ambient and Noise because of the cross pollination.

Metal got me into metal.

??

I don't see how you can meaningfully get "into" another genre outside of that genre's own merits.

Are you being deliberately obtuse?

Metal got me into bands like Smashing Pumkins, Pavement, Sublime, KMFDM and Wu Tang Clan 'cause I got so sick of listening to fucking metal all the time.

i guess im asking has metal broadened your musical spectrum in some cases? are you more open to more styles from being into metal compared to before you were into metal

I'm pretty much stuck between '70s hard rock and early '90s death/progressive metal. Never was big on grunge, alternative, rap, country, pop, blues, techno, R&B, etc.

Yes, but only because before I listened to any metal at all, I was like 12 years old and had no interest in exploring music. I could've primarily explored classical orchestral compositions at that point, for all I care, and it still wouldn't have enticed me to listen to any other styles of music by itself. Most of the genres I picked up outside of metal were found by chance encounters.

You have to take into account that Metal is an incredibly diverse genre and incorporates multiple influences from other genres within it. So sometimes you could be exploring Black Metal, discover Coldworld, go "those ambient parts were really cool" and feel compelled to check out pure Ambient because of it.

Yeah, but I don't think the OP was drawing a straight line from black metal with ambient sections -> ambient; he seems to be suggesting that metal, literally by its own inherent nature, has drawn him into different genres of music. I find that highly unlikely, as most of my dabbles in other genres were caused by chance encounters that had very little, if anything, to do with metal, as I said before. To literally hear a genre for the first time within a metal song (and then deciding to pursue it further because of its use in that song) would require a very unexploratory attitude to music in general.

Anyways, I still maintain that branching out into other genres is bound to happen to anyone listening to any genre of music, through hybrids or otherwise, be that genre noise, No Wave or progressive house.

Maybe I was reading too much into it. And I disagree with you to a certain extent. To keep going with my Ambient example, maybe that person heard some Ambient at an earlier date, found it boring, and didn't explore it further until the Black Metal connection. When a genre you know little about or have little interest in is combined with something you enjoy, you're more likely to explore it. That's all I'm saying, as my personal new music discoveries usually have very little to do with Metal.

I honestly believe metal has helped me appreciate other styles. There are several reasons. Yes, certainly because you need variation after listening to something for a long time. I think the biggest reason is that it is complex. There are so many subgenres that full under the umbrella, each being unique and interesting. It is ultimately difficult music to listen to. Prog metal could turn casual music fans off because of their use of non standard and odd times, conceptual work, different song structures and lengthier pieces. Black metal can be difficult to get into because its inherently abrasive, not to mention the ideology often promoted by the artists. Death metal often has violent imagery and is the most intense. If you can appreciate these extremes, sometimes the polar opposite is not a far stretch. I can appreciate something that is complex, yet not abrasive like Michael Hedges, to awesome modern bluesy players like Joe Bonamassa and something as simple as the Beatles.

Granted, metal has had very little to do with how I stumbled upon all these artists. I simply believe that it has helped me appreciate certain qualities in music, and to know that good music does not know a genre.

In addition to being my gateway to metal, Fear Factory was also my gateway into industrial music. Yeah I had heard "Closer" but FF really made me want to explore further, which led to Front Line Assembly naturally and then on to Skinny Puppy... I am by no means versed in industrial but I still like what I know a good deal.

Yeah, same here. Definitely got me to pay more attention to industrial music.

Can't really think of much else. But certainly, listening to some subgenres of metal got me interested in other subgenres.

Metal hasn't necessarily inspired me to delve into other genres. Rather, it kindled a love I have for music. It would be foolish of me to say that I got into Glitch through Heavy Metal.

Metal got me into prog rock via prog metal. Prog rock got me into everything else I listen to, as it showed me that there are many, many interesting types of music outside of what I had listened to that far (i.e., metal and a tiny bit of classical) and that they could all be incorporated into something I'd really like.

Hmm, for me I think it'd be post-rock. Back when I used to listen to nu metal, I used to wonder what the fuck was the point in such long, drawn-out, spacey songs, then I started got into metal and eventually started checking out post-black stuff like Amesoeurs and Dopamine. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

None really. I'm with Soleil here, metal got me into metal. I got into other genres because of the properties of other genres....can't see the relationship here. I like noise for a lot for a lot of the same properties as metal...but the latter certainly did not get me into the former.

Metal has really opened my eyes to ambient music and to punk - although I still prefer the latter when it's got a healthy dose of metal mixed in. I've listened to more classic rock and things of that persuasion too.

Metal got me into jazz, then post-rock and some electronic, yeah

Being a creative person, I've always had a penchant for seeking out other creative works I enjoy. I stumbled across metal, and I also stumbled across other great music works, too.

hm .. I don't know that it's opened the door to other genres so much as given me a deeper appreciation for the skill involved in classical music and opera. After listening to riffs and metal arrangement, I'm able to follow classical music a lot better without getting confused or burned out, and I'm more likely to track the subtleties of theme and tone. Bluntly, I'm extremely impressed by the vocal skill of opera singers. They make it look so easy. More metal vocalists should take singing lessons. It doesn't have to be clean to have good technique, and the strength in classical training could improve pitch, support, and, ultimately, sheer power.

Metal got me into deathcore, the elitist attitude of a lot of metal heads turned me off to the entire metal scene so I opened my mind to something else. That's not to say that I don't like metal anymore, but that factor caused me to focus my attention into a different direction.

Brah, you decided not to listen to a genre of music because of the attitude of very few fans? That's some dumb shit.

I don't think I would like punk and hardcore as much without metal especially metallic hardcore which I'm just recently getting into. Also stuff like screamo, indie rock and even some post-rock.

Although I can't really say that Metal got me into any other form of music directly, I can say that certain non-metal bands (most notably Cocteau Twins) I like because of visiting this forum and reading about non-metal bands that folks on MA enjoy.

This isn't specifically because of metal itself, but rather a couple of metal bands, but the bands Akercocke, Drumcorps and particularly Ted Maul have had a massive part to play in the shaping of my music taste. When I got into metal I ended up in a bit of a dead end, moving further into ever more heavy and brutal death metal stuff but not really discovering anything new, just variations on the old. Then I discovered these bands, which take influence from electronic styles such as jungle and dnb music and incorporate it into their sound. I'd never really been exposed to electronic music before so these sounds and influences were all new to me, and I loved them. Shortly after finding these bands I began to investigate more into drum and bass music, which eventually led to me getting into other electronic music styles such as grime, garage and dubstep, which now make up the majority of my listening. One other way in which metal has affected my tastes is that it's opened my mind to heavier, faster and darker music in other genres which would otherwise put off the majority of fans, which I'm grateful for as this sort of music is great fun to listen to.

I still listen to plenty of metal, I just felt that the deathcore scene is more relevant to my life and my thinking than the metal scene is at this point in time.

Huh, I could've sworn your username always meant "someone who decimates deathcore", not "a decimator who happens to enjoy deathcore"...

I guess the closest thing metal got me into was hardcore and punk with thrash bands and their influences. I got into other styles of music by seperate means

The only "metal" band that ever made me investigate other genres was Painkiller. Sure, they weren't a metal band per se, but the additions of blastbeats and the screaming vocals to the jazz formula made it easier for me to digest compared to something like John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" (which I checked out later on).

Back in '92 metal got me into Tom Waits. I was heavy into Ministry at the time and I read a review of Tom Waits' newest album that compared it to Ministry. I got hooked after listening to the album (it was Bone Machine) and have been a Waits fan ever since.

Jazz. I was told that some metal is influenced by jazz, so I went and looked up Count Basie and I found that his music sounded really awesome.

Some industrial but then again even if i discovered it without having discovered metal I probably would have liked it anyway.

Story of my life.

Lets say that before metal I was into some Deep Purple, Toto, some Beatles, some Metallica, some Israeli rock yet not a music fan. Then I sink into some metal and it was for a few good years when I realized what really music is and why do I like it. It didnt stop be exploring nu-metal that started developing, dance music like Prodigy. So I always was after a lot of music simultaneously along metal. Later on the people who I was chilling with were not metal heads so I had to make a choice do I stay home when they go to a party that plays "Coldplay" or do I join them and suck it up and try to enjoy what they are listening too. For me exploring other music was more of a social interaction because I see that people around me listen to a lot of music that I dont know.

I knew metal but I didnt like the limit it imposed on me because now I could talk only about metal with metal people and somewhat I felt left out around people who didnt listen to metal, which is the majority of the society in most countries. I discovered many bands through MA randomly and I'm happy because its again a part of a social interaction I have.

I somewhat in a process to discover the classics now days. Zeppelin, Beatles, Floyd, Hendrix, Clapton, Springsteen, all that era because I know so little about it. I dont really find it attractive because its somewhat slow and simple in a way. Then I try to get all the 500 best albums of all time by Rolling Stone. I try to discover everything I can in a way.

From black metal to coldwave, synth pop, minimalist electro, etc.

I also enjoy classical music but I don't know if it's because of metal or simply because every human should enjoy it

Some examples of how metal broadened my musical horizons:

1. Discovering shred artists like Malmsteen and Petrucci paved the way for my interest in classical music, particularly from the Baroque and early Romantic eras, and eventually paved the way for me actually studying 18th and 19th century music in college.

2. It took a while, but eventually my exposure to Burzum and Ildjarn paved the way for me listening to ambient and drone/minimalist music.

3. Listening to Dream Theater and a few other progressive bands got me into Rush, Yes, and a number of other prog. rock bands.

4. Thrash metal, and particularly crossover bands like D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies finally got me to soften my anti-punk rock stance a bit (I grew up in an area that was saturated with pop punk knockoffs in the mid 90s and found most of the local hardcore alternatives to be even more revolting).

Used to only listen to Nu-metal and Hard Rock in elementary school. Got into metalcore in middle school. Discovered Opeth when I was like 14, got big into them. Like BIG. Then I got into Folk Metal, which led me to Agalloch. I heard about Mastodon and over the next few years I now listen to a lot of prog rock, indie, and post rock thanks to Opeth, Agalloch, and Mastodon.

I can totally relate to your first and third examples! I studied classical guitar in college because of Malmsteen, Randy Rhodes, and Jason Becker. I was immersed in Bach and Paganini.
Also, listening to Dream Theatre, Symphony X, ect. got me into prog rock like Mars Volta and that got me into 'krautrock' like Can and Kraftwerk. Don't you just love cool musical journeys?

Hm, for one thing, it opened up my interest to classical music, and with me taking a music appreciation class at the college, I get to listen to many composers. Also, my interest in folk metal has me researching, basically folk music and strangely enough, national anthems from countries around the world. And, somehow, bands like Galneyus have gotten me hooked to Jpop.