When it comes to heavy metal, I agree that it depends on your taste in music. Some like pop and techno, and others may opt for a heavier tune. My personal genre is heavy metal. As a child, I was rocking Twisted Sister when all the other kids were rocking the Mickey Mouse Club. I was seven years old listening to the likes of Cinderella, and all the other rock bands on Mtv. Madonna isn't heavy metal, but I love her, too. It all really just depends on your listening style. I listen to it because I like real drums and guitars. As for the screaming, there are really good bands out there that don't scream. They don't need to. I'm not a personal fan of screamers because I can't understand the lyrics. But if there is some screaming with the singing, I can handle that. But I'm not going to sit here and trash a band just because they're screamers. There's other people that like that sort of thing, and my musical knowledge runs from opera to heavy metal.

I like to wave the horns and head-bang just as much as another fan. I like the beats because you can still dance to them. Maybe not altogether clean dancing, but still. I love to dance, and I find that I can dance to a really heavy engaging beat. I can find that in metal. Metal runs way back. Think of the Beatles and Elvis. Metal isn't the only form of rock music. Look at the Beatles. Back in the fifties and sixties they were considered heavy. The Monkees, too. I grew up with all of these. Elvis Presley was really big in my life, too. These early bands lead up to my love for heavy metal. If you ask a metal artist, they will tell you that these artists inspire them.

What is good metal? How can we rate the whole genre? We can't. From Emo to Thrash, there are really good bands out there. There are so many, that I can't like just a few. But my personal favorite is Rob Zombie. He's worked so hard to get to where he is. But then you have to look at Metallica. I'm not going to trash them, because I still love their music. Disturbd is another one of my favorites. Korn, too. There's just too much good music in metal. I love it all. The bass, the guitars, the drums, the vocals. There some really good new bands out there, too. Like Bipolar. They're slightly Emo, with a song called As I Bleed. It's true if you've ever had a truly broken heart. Priestess is also another good band. They're new here in the U.S. They definitely are not afraid to use their drums and guitars to their fullest sound. They play fast and hard. That's why I like them.

It really all depends on your taste. In metal, there is a song for everything I've ever felt. I relate to it. I love how it sounds, how it feels, and it's in my soul. I would love to learn how to write it.

Learn more about this author, Chey Robinson.
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