Music: Spiritual Effects of Rock/Metal Music

[Monica]

I don't know if this is good or bad but since beginning to awaken, a lot of music I used to like, I can't listen to anymore.. it just feels too negative, but moonsorrow and burzum and hexvessel and pink floyd still reign supreme!

Same here. I'm not a fan of Burzum but that might be a bias due to Varg's actions. I've heard that he did some melodic music while in prison which I might like were I to listen to it, but I draw a distinction between an artist having a negative image and actually engaging in negative, violent acts. There are very few artists that I have this bias against. Normally I prefer to judge the music on its own merits. But I admit to having a bias against Varg's music.

'Classic' rock bands, prog, and heavy bands from the 70s are all positive, in my view. Pink Floyd is so brilliant that I would never dream of outgrowing them. There's nothing negative about Pink Floyd! I consider them the most brilliant and innovative band ever.

ps Monica, I LOVE that you love moonsorrow

Sometimes the vocals get too harsh for my taste, but the music is so incredible that I overlook it. And the experience I had when I saw them live, was by far the most profound spiritual experience I've ever had at any concert, except for Peter Gabriel. (No one can top Peter Gabriel! )

Ps Windir is awesome too, and Falkenbach! And Agalloch..

My son turned me on to Agalloch and I like most of what I've heard. I'll have to ask him about those others.

pps! Anyone that thinks metal is mindless noise needs to obviously listen to more of it! The music I like is so finely layered and detailed it still boggles me and I still hear new things in it every time..

Heh, I agree about the finely layered part. I've often wondered why some of us resonate with heavy music. There is something about it that nourishes me. It also seems to remind me of my home planet for some inexplicable reason. When I was a child and too young to be a part of the hippie movement, I always felt a yearning, like the hippies were all part of a family or tribe, and I felt that I belonged too, even though I was too young. I've never been able to quite put my finger on what it is about rock/metal that is so powerful for me (which is part of the reason I started this thread...to explore this). It's about way more than just personal taste. It's more than that.

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This is my sort of thread! While I happen to be a very peaceful and spiritual person my musical roots and preferences lie in the realm of extreme metal; black metal, death metal, doom metal, such bands as Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord, diSEMBOWELMENT, Weakling, Corrupted, Inquisition, (V.E.G.A.), Immolation, Gorguts, Grand Belial's Key, Mgla, Monolithe, Taake, Windir, etc.

I've never heard of any of those!