The Sound

Members the older generations of music lovers might say, "there's nothing like the crackle of vinyl." Some of them refuse to enjoy their tunes via mp3 or CD. Some of them profess that kids don't appreciate what was once simple.

Well, I say, "there's nothing like the rumble of old school death metal." As a member of the generation y, that sometimes feels a bit odd.

Just as all music fans have preferences when it comes to what they want hear, I love to take my metal a certain way at times. Yes, I definitely enjoy the newer bands, but I'm sort of partial to the oldies. There's something specical about the older stuff. My admittance is linked to the 80s and early 90s.

It's a known fact that the production of all heavy metal music was of a low quality in the past. With the apparent technological advancements over the decades, what people hear has become a little enhanced and sharpened. That's not necessarily an improvement to me. In fact, it appears to be bit of a set back.

The messages of older heavy metal, which usually involve terror,fictional hauntings, and other circumstances, seem to be conveyed better when there was poor sound quality. This may be taking a vague asthetic approach, but the atmosphere allows one to see what is being portrayed is more thorough.

Mercyful Fate instantly comes to mind. 1984's "A Dangerous Meeting" challenges my perception of the instrumentation and lyrics. It's just more real. The roar of just about everything on Suffocation's Effigy of the Forgotten is absolutely beautiful. Let's not forget Morbid Angel's 1989 masterpiece. Altars of Madness is my go-to album when I want to appreciate earlier metal.

So, who says younger folks don't sink their teeth into low quality stuff and actually embrace the taste. They just may not be looking down the path that some music lovers take.