What is your favorite music genre?

[F Horn of Valere]

I'm just curious to know what kind of tastes we have right now. If one is too hard, give your top two or three!

[Thane Vakarian]

I could simply say 'metal', but that wouldn't cover it.

 

I enjoy a healthy mix of melodic death metal (ex: Amon Amarth), true metal (ex: Iced Earth) and female voiced metal (ex: Lacuna Coil, Delain, Epica). I'm not excluding other metal bands, nor other music genres, but these are my prefered.

[Shad_]

Honest answer?  Post-black metal.  About ten years ago I had the foresight to predict that this genre would emerge, and watching it actually unfold and become a reality has been a delightful, maybe even enlightening experience.  In my heavily biased opinion, I think the fundamental mechanics of black metal house the capacity to explore a more dynamic range of expression than any other genre.  Only it took a bold leap to break away from the zero-compromise mentality that rendered bm's emergence possible in the first place.  Now that the barrier has been thoroughly torn down, bands are exploring all sorts of new territory and creating music that evokes a brilliant array of emotions and ideas.  I don't think there has ever been a time when more bands have played exactly what I want to hear than right now.

 

Indie and post-rock will always be special to me because I was actually there, going to the gigs and hearing a lot of those bands kick it in front of small audiences before they became (relative) superstars.  Folk/pagan metal is a style I can really connect to and I had a similar witness experience with it, though I couldn't see most of those bands live until well after they had grown a major following since the scene was centered in Europe.  Traditional black metal is something I used to be a junky for, and I can still enjoy way lower quality material of that variety than of most other genres.  I dig the aesthetic when it sticks to occult vibes and doesn't tip too far into serious misanthropy.

 

I can name a lot of artists that I like in most genres of music, but I'll stick to those five as my main gig.

[Shad_]

Oh, for goodness sake, I forgot videogame music.  It was my first love and something I've spent countless hours researching over the years.  My heart is in the chip era, and my interest wanes as the genre grows increasingly less distinguishable from film scores.  Changes in technology drastically altered the mentality that composers brought into the studio, and I listen to very little vgm from the 21st century.  (Although the chiptune movement and mobile gaming have produced some top-notch retro jams.)

 

Tim Follin is a god in human flesh, Nihon Falcom deserve way more love than the west will ever give them, Mockingboard is the only quality product Apple has ever created, and the Konami Kukeiha Club was arguably as prolific as Square's sound team in its day.  ^_^

[Shad_]

Also, I am keenly aware that most of what I said means absolutely nothing to anyone, and I have a habit of doing this more because I want people to ask and discover things I love than because I want to show off.  But the latter is fun too. 

 

I can't explain what on earth I mean by "post-black metal" shy of dozens of examples, but if it's any help, this might be the most historically significant song in the genre.  It's also particularly special for me for a wide range of reasons, and if I ever felt audacious enough to attempt a top 10 all-time favorite songs list it would have a guaranteed spot on reserve:

 

[Guest]

It is quite hard to link the bands i like with a special genre, so i'll say heavy metal lol

 

I loooooove Bullet for My Valentine's new album ; i am addicted to Avenged Sevenfold and to the OLD In Flames (that's gothenburg Metal lol) ; I also enjoy more gothic stuff like the OLD Nightwish, Epica, Kamelot, aso ...

 

 

 

and video games music rock! lol

[dicetosser1]

Rock. Especially the Hair Bands of the 80s.  their either hard rock or soft metal   take ure pick

 

 

 

 

also i grew up with a VERY eclectic musical upbringing.  Dad went to Beatnik parties so theres that plus Western plus gospel plus instrumentals plus Big Bands   then mums Country and Western Rock n Roll and a bit of Disco

 

 

so i was listening to stuff like kenny Rogers Dolly Parton Kahmal frankie laine marty robbins Beatles and Beach boys elvis suzanne prentice   all sorts   even gomer pyle lol   and then im a child of the 80s      no wonder im confused....

[Shad_]

The first concert I ever went to 'old' In Flames opened for Iced Earth.

 

/flex

[Guest]

wow... just ... wow ...

[Guest]

Epic Rock

 

It's gorgeous. Then... vocal epic, and epic. Epic is the kind of music they play in movie backgrounds.

[dawnflower8]

Right now I'm really into the music from the game Touhou (specifically Subterranean Animism.)

 

[Guest]

i'll check that out when Thane is done playing to his zombie game *nods nods*

[dawnflower8]

i'll check that out when Thane is done playing to his zombie game *nods nods*

I'll warn you - it's incredibly hard.

[F Horn of Valere]

I honestly can't choose a favorite, but I do get goosebumps whenever I hear Franz Straus, Into The West (end credits of LotR 3), and Misty Mountains (especially end credits).

 

But I also like top 40s from around 1997-2002.

[The Bard Babe]

Oh god...

 

Well, I love me some classical, obviously (though that really isn't a genre, just anything that wasn't written in the last couple of decades), not a big fan of atonality, or some of the weird stuff like new complexity and whatever, but it is really interesting. I'm a sucker for the romantics, and I love Shostakovich, Debussy, Elgar, and various others. Contemporary classical can be awesome, btw, love going to gigs of random new stuff by locals or people  I've never heard of before.

 

I also massively love musicals. Any musical. Every musical. Love it. And yeah, those two genres are possibly the two opposite ends of the spectrum in many ways, but eh.

 

Other than that, I'll listen to pretty much anything. Singer songwriter alternative sort of stuff I tend to love. Jazz. Love me some jazz.

[F Horn of Valere]

Funny you mention the atonal stuff. A relative of mine was apparently some semi-well known composer in the 60s and was the protégé of Paul Hindemith. I downloaded something he wrote for woodwind quintet... and absolutely hated it.

[Sooh]

Atonal music requires that you know it in order to find the bits that you like I think. At least that's my experience with it. I have played and sung some atonal pieces that I really like.

 

My favorite genre... I listen to just about everything. Pop and rock obviously, but also musicals. I can't pinpoint any one genre where I like everything or even most things, but at the same time I'm having trouble excluding a bunch of genres.

[The Bard Babe]

A protege of Hindemith's would certainly be interesting. And atonal is a little broad for my purposes I guess, I just find a lot of the experimental stuff when everyone discovered atonality a bit much. After it settles down a bit, it's alright. I played an early Hindemith cello piece this year, (Phantasiestuck) which was gorgeous! It was harmonically whacked and polymetrical, but subtly so, and no-one believed it was Hindemith XD

[Nikonis]

Don't really have a favorite and my taste varies with mood and season...  Currently Halloweeny music

[Zander?]

Metal- Everything Metallica and 80's Hair Metal!!!