Growl! Grumble! Mumblemumblemumble! Growl! Huh?

[Mr Mystery]

Warning - old fart mode engaged.

All this growly metal nonsense. I don't get it. And I'm an international man of metal as well as mystery. The guitars are just played as heavily as possible, the drummer just goes mental 'ad the lead singer just sorts of....growls into the mic. Why? Why is this popular? I mean angry music is hella cool. But it's nice to know why the singer is angry.

And there's even weirder stuff out there. Went into a pub in Brighton, and there was what I am assured was an 'Anglo doom' band on. Sounded more like some poor sod locked in the bog after a particularly fractious curry being visited by the bumshee. No rhythm. No tune. Just occasional shrieks and growls. Oh, and LOTS of posers pretending to 'get it'

What the hell ever happened to Maiden and Motörhead. They still rule! Even 'nu-metal' beats this growly pish hands down. Having a punk and indie streak means I appreciate lyrics, be they drivel (oh hello Sham 69) darkly witty (Pulp) or inspirational (Stiff Little Fingers). But the growlers (Fnarr) could well be just reading of their Nan's shopping list......

[Up The Walls!]

I'm gonna second this, mostly because a lot of bands I've seen do this tend to have bits in their song where the lead singer's singing more traditionally too, and almost universally, they're actually quite good at the conventional stuff. It's like being a really good novel writer and spending your life writing advertisements for sofas.

[Psychosplodge]

I think some of it works really well, if the band can pull it off (the likes of Amon Amarth, or cradle of filth) but then you have the awful racket (stuff like bring me the horizon)