It's depressing

[Andromalia]

I just listened to Ride the Ligthning while finishing some work at home and it's still one of the best records ever 40 years after the fact.

I miss that "holy shit" factor, I almost never get that feeling with new music. The only band that does that kind of thing to me nowadays is Hypocrisy/Pain because the records sound pretty damn good.

 

[Demiurge]

I get this. While I've encountered music later on that I've technically loved as much as stuff I grew up with, there's that excitement of novelty which came with it that can't be reproduced. For instance, I'll always like heavy music, but I can't say the last time it thrilled me or scared me; instead, I'll hear it and maybe bob my head and say, "that's good".

 

[ArtDecade]

There are plenty of new gems being recorded every day, but they will never be attached to the memories of our youth. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

 

[MFB]

There are plenty of new gems being recorded every day, but they will never be attached to the memories of our youth. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

This.

It's not the Ride the Lightning is that good, it is but still, it's WHEN you listened to it that's imprinted it into your brain as a "holy shit" album. I wish I could find something techdeath wise that's like hearing Beyond Creation for the first time, but it's because I was listening to it when I first started getting really good at running so it has that connection. Thank You Scientist is tied to some of my most grueling days at work, but they're just burned into my brain because of how much I buried myself into them.

 

[nickgray]

Nostalgia can be powerful, but I still get that "holy shit" feeling with some of the new stuff or when revisiting old stuff I've never listened to near forgot or whatever (so it's new or near new at the point of listening).

There's also a massive issue with the fact that the more you listen to music, the harder it is to impress you, there's just nothing you can do about it. Especially if you're a musician. Especially if you even as much as dabble with composing because then you get a whole bunch of tools for analyzing music and it's just impossible not to do it, so it definitely changes your perception of music.

I'd also say that revisiting some of the older stuff can work in a weird way. Like, with some things I just scratch my head at why I thought they were good back in the day. Some I listened to so much that I just can't process it, like certain Death riffs or songs that I like to play on guitar and I've played them so much it's muscle memory now. Meanwhile, some stuff can actually hit harder and be more impressive. Or it can hit about the same as it did back in the day. Weird.

 

[KailM]

There are plenty of new gems being recorded every day, but they will never be attached to the memories of our youth. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

True, but I find that there are some bands that can release new music that in a way still triggers the same nostalgic feelings— and I can’t put a finger on why/how that occurs. In any case, those are the bands that I follow pretty closely.

To the TS, sometimes you’ve got to branch out and explore other genres/sub genres. For example, I’ve never been into slow tempo metal such as sludge, doom, funeral doom, etc — but I recently bought Ahab’s “The Call of the Wretched Sea” and was honestly blown away. Like it is now in my top 10 albums of all time:

 

[wheresthefbomb]

There are plenty of new gems being recorded every day, but they will never be attached to the memories of our youth. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

I saw a YT comment on one of my favorite jams that put this as perfectly as I've ever seen: "I wish I could hear this song for the first time again." That shit hit me in the gut. I also often think of the phrase, "pain of nostalgia," especially in the context of music. It's truly bittersweet.

The wow's are still there but it's different now, it comes from repeated listenings where I am not quite getting that feeling but can sense the potential, then they'll have their moment (or sometimes not). Most recent was Year of No Light's Consolamentum, now closer to two years old. The first couple listens, okay yeah that's YONL. Last month I took it for a walk with my headphones one dark, snowy night and it was like I was hearing it for the first time again, but that deep enjoyment was predicated on having built up a passing familiarity such that I was able to appreciate the subtle intricacies in their proper context. The "wow" was more of a "wow, so that's what they were doing!"

The world isn't as fresh anymore, I have to try a little harder and dig a little deeper for novelty, it's exceedingly rare that a piece of music (or literally anything) excites me on the very surface like it did when I was a kid. That's just life.

EDIT: Just throwing it out there, this passing moodiness combined with musical boredom seems a perfect excuse to plumb the depths of moody, hair-flopping, eyelinered goth/darkwave/postpunk.

 

[ZXIIIT]

True, but I find that there are some bands that can release new music that in a way still triggers the same nostalgic feelings— and I can’t put a finger on why/how that occurs. In any case, those are the bands that I follow pretty closely.

To the TS, sometimes you’ve got to branch out and explore other genres/sub genres. For example, I’ve never been into slow tempo metal such as sludge, doom, funeral doom, etc — but I recently bought Ahab’s “The Call of the Wretched Sea” and was honestly blown away. Like it is now in my top 10 albums of all time:

+1 on this, I don't use Pandora at all anymore, but it came up on a related things playlist and had to get that album asap as possible.

 

[CanserDYI]

My best friend spent $1500 on Pokemon cards this month. "Nostalgia is a hell of a drug." Is no joke.

He has them next to his signed Jason David Frank power rangers poster (RIP), our friend went to see a karate demonstration from JDF and ended up catching a nunchuck in the ear. We still make fun of him for it (my friend, not JDF bless his sexy tormented soul)

 

[Bodes]

That is the reason when I actually hear a "holy poop" song that hits me in the feels, I deliberately don't go and seek out similar artists. I just don't want the first band of a (sub)genre that I hear become just another band who plays xxx genre.

Also the reason I don't have Spotify, or similar, music service. I don't want the algorithm to fill my head with all the flavour of the month genre bands.

 

[Jonathan20022]

There are plenty of new gems being recorded every day, but they will never be attached to the memories of our youth. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

This is literally the only acceptable answer, I'm consistently blown away by new talent and the sounds I hear but I have lots of friends who indulge in metal and try new music on a regular basis. Just don't get into that obsessive loop of overindulging in like 10 of your favorite bands and branch out, there is an insane amount of music dropping every single day. Not everything is a gem, but it's all worth at least a skim through/attempt.







Some of my favorites over the years/recently mixed in there.

 

[Seabeast2000]

That is the reason when I actually hear a "holy poop" song that hits me in the feels, I deliberately don't go and seek out similar artists. I just don't want the first band of a (sub)genre that I hear become just another band who plays xxx genre.

Also the reason I don't have Spotify, or similar, music service. I don't want the algorithm to fill my head with all the flavour of the month genre bands.

Man Spotify Playlists can be absolute turdfesfs.

 

[Hollowway]

Yeah, I feel the same about RTL. But, I do occasionally still get the same feeling. Off the top of my head, I remember a few years ago feeling the same way when I first hear Car Bomb.

 

[OmegaSlayer]

At 12-13 I listened to RTL and Kreator's Coma Of Souls the same day, as they were on the same tape that was lent to me.
I always thought Coma was far superior
Sure it's also a record that is "younger" than RTL and someway derivative, but yeah, I don't have the nostalgia factor for Metallica

Also I want to praise some Spotify playlists, the 80s Metal Classic is pure gold for example

 

[STRHelvete]

I don't have that issue. I often hear stuff I really like. The Midnight, Greg Puciato, Kristeen Young, The Darkness, Yeruselem, etc. Then there's the vast wealth of old stuff that I have yet to discover. I remember finding Ministry's first two albums and being wowed, or when I got Erykah Badu's discography and fell in love, same with W.A.S.P.

You just need to keep digging around and you're bound to find things.

 

[jonsick]

I just listened to Ride the Ligthning while finishing some work at home and it's still one of the best records ever 40 years after the fact.

I miss that "holy shit" factor, I almost never get that feeling with new music. The only band that does that kind of thing to me nowadays is Hypocrisy/Pain because the records sound pretty damn good.

I really empathise with your sentiment on newer metal albums and music. I am a huge black metal fan and the main reason is that I have heard more albums from this genre that did remind me how great metal can be than I have almost any other. Enthroned's "Sovereigns" album was just fantastic, Au Dessus "End Of Chapter" was another belter, Naglfar and And Oceans have both released some stupendous albums recently.

I think black metal is one of those last bastions of metal, along with grindcore to some degree, that still profits on the "use what we have" sentiment in terms of gear and doesn't completely rely on studio trickery and gridding the hell out of everything to make it artificially tight. I could be totally wrong, but the sonic impact is one worth noting. I just picked up a couple of releases by a band called Hellbomb out of Russia, there's some proper raw energy in there. Another band in the UK I really like a Djinova, their Apocalypse Infinitum release is epic.

But rather than me sitting here listing off albums I think are cool, why not be the change yourself? I am certainly attempting it with my own projects. Whether I am being successful in that or not is really in the eye of the beholder. Personally I tend to stick to recording amplifiers and real drums for our releases rather than relying on amplifier sims and modellers. OK I have been recording guitars for decades so I have some semblance of technique down. On the plus side, it sounds different to almost everything, on the down side it sounds different to almost everything. The world today is not built on things being different, the biggest market forerunners are the things that sound the same as something else that's a market fore-runner. It's a recipe that labels and producers alike go for almost uniformly and it's what we have. So yes, doing the same gridding to hell and same modeller patch as everybody will get you something that sounds great. But is it unique? Not really.

All I can say is be the change yourself. When enough people do it, the more normal it becomes.

 

[mpexus]

Not only Nostalgia plays a big factor but getting older is also another huge reason.

We dont get impressed as much when we grow old because it's almost the case of been there done that, or in this case, already heard it. Doesnt matter if the new bands and their new material is good or not, you will always have the notion that you have heard it all before... because you have. Also what we loved as teens doesnt really stay with us forever, we evolve. What stays is the Nostalgia for the things that made an impression on us. I'm also sure there are bands or albums you listened back then that do nothing at all for you nowadays.

 

[Open Lane]

That was a "holy shit" album for me. So was Yngwie's Odyssey, which I picked up at bestbuy sometime in the early 2000's.

Joe Stump's Speed Metal Messiah did for me, too. So did Vinnie Moore's the maze. I would say the last time I felt that way was Cattle Decapitaton's latest album.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

This is literally the only acceptable answer, I'm consistently blown away by new talent and the sounds I hear but I have lots of friends who indulge in metal and try new music on a regular basis. Just don't get into that obsessive loop of overindulging in like 10 of your favorite bands and branch out, there is an insane amount of music dropping every single day. Not everything is a gem, but it's all worth at least a skim through/attempt.







Some of my favorites over the years/recently mixed in there.

Turbid North are from the town I live in, saw them lots of times in my early 20s.

 

[beerandbeards]

I love heavy music as much as the next person but it can feel monotonous at times. I do my best to branch out of my comfort zone as frequent as possible. Some music I’ll never get into but, there’s plenty out there to explore.

I’ve been really getting into John Prine lately. It’s folky/ country singer songwriter type stuff but it’s pretty dark and melancholic. Whatever it is, it amazing and fresh to my ears.

Try exploring entire discographies as well. There could be an album in there somewhere from the past that hits you just right.