Tag Archive for revoltons

Unlike many genres of music these days, the metal community is still making music videos with as much fervor as ever. By and large, metal video features some of the same common traits. Here’s a list of things you need to make sure you put in your metal video so that people instantly know it is a metal video, without even listening to the song:

1. All members of the band must be wearing black. Color is not an option.
2. Band members are required to headbang, scream, shred, look angry, act violent.
3. Under no circumstances, should any band member look happy. Smiling is acceptable only if it is, in fact, a maniacal grin in response to a grotesque and heinous crime.
4. Video location is key. Consider a mountain top, boiler room, abandoned industrial park, hell, motorcycle rally, graveyard, bar, cave, crime scene, the woods, car accident, prison or desert as your backdrop. Really, anywhere dark will do.
5. The more closeups of band members playing their instruments the better. Except the bassist. No one cares about the bassist.
6. Bonus points for covering props in blood and/or setting them on fire. This is metal to the max.
7. For solos, it’s best to focus the camera on the performer of said solo. This is just good manners.
8. When considering video themes, stick to war, vikings, violence, politics, sacrilege, inclement weather conditions (e.g. snow, rain, thunderstorms), evil, zombies.
9. Rapid camera changes make for a more extreme video so switch up the camera angle whenever possible. Shake the camera if need be.

Obey these rules to ensure your video is as metal as it can be. Follow all nine of these rules, and you have probably created the most metal video in the history of music videos. Now that we’re clear on the precepts of metal videos, let’s check out some awesome OurStage examples that may (or may not) abide by these rules:

On a side note, check out this post from Away-team.com giving some press to the current Hard Rock and Metal number ones!

“Run to the hills, run for your lives.”

Imagine that lyric sang by say, the singer of Coldplay instead of Bruce Dickinson (of Iron Maiden fame). Not quite the same “oomph” huh? In some styles of metal, it is all about the power and gusto in which a singer delivers their lines. Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Matt Barlow, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, Hansi Kürsch, — these are some of the singers who have mastered the art of true heavy metal delivery. Whether it is wailing falsettos or sinister cries, a metal vocalist must keep in mind his voice has to reach to the farthest corners of whatever venue the band is playing at, as well as make a connection to each and every audience member. More so than any metal styles, heavy metal is about emotion. Standing up and fighting for rights, feeling the pain of oppressed people (albeit real or fictional), the woe of a lost lover, epic battles – these are the types of things heavy metal bands sing about, things that cannot be aptly expressed without an apt enforcer on the microphone.

Here at OurStage, we have some talented heavy metal bands, many of which are strongly influenced by greats such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc. (some even were around back then). After scoring through the ranks of metal here at OurStage, I’ve compiled a list of eight powerful songs featuring vocals that best exemplify the spirit and energy captured in true heavy metal.

Mystery

by:

Letter 7

Underwater Bells

by:

Revoltons

Exile

by:

Introspeccion

Gunslinger

by:

Forever Storm

Raptors

by:

Winters Dawn

Shadow

by:

Sixty 8

Possessed (We Are One)

by:

Dark Empire

Going Through Changes

by:

Fires of Babylon

Share and Enjoy:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

New to OurStage this year, Kris Norris is a fifteen-year veteran in the metal community. He floated around from obscure metal band to obscure metal band until he landed with Darkest Hour in 2001—his first successful gig. Recently he parted ways with the band to pursue a solo project (The Kris Norris Projekt) and production ventures as well as make instructional videos for JamPlay. Back in May he landed among the Top 10 in the OurStage metal channel. We recently caught up with Kris to ask him a few questions. Here’s what we got:

Kris Norris, master of shred

JM: You have worked on a few different projects in your career as a guitarist, which was your favorite?
KN: Probably the Undoing Ruin CD with Darkest Hour. Having Devin Townsend as producer really expanded my guitar playing and brought me to a new level.

JM: How about at an engineer/producer?
KN: I really haven’t done too many at this point, but so far doing the Kris Norris Projekt getting to produce myself was an interesting and fun experience.

JM: Are you working on anything big in the studio these days, either as a producer or a musician?
KN: Not really. Doing my full time job and doing side work for James Murphy at his studio doing drum editing work. Not many bands have come to ask me to produce their stuff yet, but I think that’s because  I have yet to prove myself as a producer.

JM: If you could have a solo face-off with any guitarist— alive or dead—who would it be?
KN: John Petrucci definitely. I know he’d kill me but it would be such an honor to lose to my idol.

JM: Who is your favorite artist/band these days?
KN: My favorite band these days is still and always will be Dream Theater— they never cease to excite me in their records.

JM: What’s the strangest fan interaction you have ever had?
KN: People getting the same tattoos that I have then showing them off to me. Always strange.

JM: If you were forced to work under a pseudonym, what would you choose for a name?
KN: I actually have one and it’s Kaiser Rune [laughs].

JM: What was the most influential album for you while your music taste blossomed?
KN: Probably Lunar Strain by In Flames.

JM: Any good, young, bands you think we should keep an eye on?
KN: There’s a band from [New] Jersey called Mutiny Within. Just awesome melodic power-metal-ish stuff.

JM: How about some advice for young, aspiring guitarists?
KN: It’s so cliché but never give up. In my teens I worked at Wendy’s with the drummer from Darkest Hour in our early teens. Who would have ever thought that we would tour all over the entire world later on playing music together?

JM: If you could only eat and drink one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
KN: Hmmm… Well porterhouse steak to be exact for food and I know I couldn’t live on it- but Vanilla Coke. Always stocked in my refrigerator!

As the perfect accompaniment to this feature, check out the playlist of Kris’ best songs here on OurStage, as well as a few other face-melters from similar artists.