A Beginner Metalhead's Top 5 Transitioning Songs

“Turn that god forsaken crap off NOW!” 

This is a sentence I’ve come to be familiar with from my dad as I am savoring a good metal song. 

The common first impression of metal is that it is this harsh, angry music listened only by headbangers and troubled teens. However, I listen to metal because it pumps me up and gets my adrenaline going. No matter my mood I can switch on some metal and feel the emotions radiating from the song. Metal is a type of music with a broad range of subcategories. Regardless of the subcategory metal is known for its lively pace, breakdowns, use of electric bass and guitars, heavy drumming, brutal lyrics, and overall boisterous sound. 

These elements are what a good metal song is constructed around. Most ‘metalheads’ (those who listen to metal) did not submerge into this genre of music, but were eased into it. 

There are five top songs I recommend for an amateur metal listener. The metal focused on in these songs derive from various types of metal so that a new listener can adequately get a sense of metal.

      IMPORTANT NOTE: Though not all metal songs posses a breakdown it is usually the key to a good, hardcore metal song.

 A breakdown is basically a climax in the song where the guitar riffs and drumming are rhythmic and time seems to slow. Usually during a breakdown the listener feels inclined to physically move with the rhythm by either

 a.) throwing up a ‘rock on’ sign,

 b.) head banging, 

c.) failing their body in a downward movement, 

or d.) all of the above. 

If the hopefully future metalhead does not feel up to these physical activities while sampling a song it’s perfectly acceptable. 

Also side note: I messed up the order of my blog so this is where you start and whoever is reading this should scroll down to the 1st song (Underoath) and then work their way up. 

That is all.