The Heavy

[linebaugh]

Maybe the least dissensus friendly concept by my estimation. I think there are other ways to be heavy beyond the metal/industrial/hardcore route but Ill leave that up for discussion. Do not post videos with no explanation please

 

[linebaugh]

What I think is interesting about the heavy is how immediate it is; immediate in the same way the emotional impact of a pop song is but typically left out of pop music. I think the bassline of this kate bush song is traditionally heavy but I cant think of many examples

 

[linebaugh]

the key aspect of the heavy is a sense of movement. thats why the baseline for the kate bush song counts. when it starts you feel a physical sense of something dropping. the god flesh song feels like theres a little factory in your chest, a piston turning slowly over and over.

 

[linebaugh]

Its different from the groovy or the funky because the movement of the heavy is felt entirely in the chest. If you dont feel it in your chest, its not heavy.

 

[shakahislop]

one of the most overpowering things to see in the flesh for me is doom metal. not much point in posting links here because it doesn't work if it's not loud. but that trance state is quite an enjoyable affect. there's a weird way that for what is in a lot of ways a harsh sound, its also a big welcoming quilt. very physical experience i find, that kind of heaviness. its mostly bass as well, i don't think its totally divorced from the early dubstep feeling of getting pounded by bass. ok i will post a link:


...to show how it doesn't work on record.

all this stuff has a horrendous offputting aesthetic. every aspect of the visuals in that youtube background is just awful but is also representative; the mountainsides; the 60s psychedelic thing; the way that they look like a nice group of young men rather than demons.

 

[version]

the key aspect of the heavy is a sense of movement. thats why the baseline for the kate bush song counts. when it starts you feel a physical sense of something dropping. the god flesh song feels like theres a little factory in your chest, a piston turning slowly over and over.

There's a heaviness that can come from a lack of movement too. There's some stuff - Earth, Sunn, some drone - that can sound more like a humming slab than anything really moving.

 

[shakahislop]

its really hard to forget how silly the screaming is with most of this as well

 

[Leo]

humming slab

excellent heavy band name

 

[shakahislop]

the exception to the above is electric wizard which, again, the aesthetic is embarrassing, i mean look at that fucking thumbnail, the name is embarrassing, the audience is a bit embarrassing sometimes, big real ale men with big bushy beards wearing band t-shirts is not a good look, like fair enough but in a big crowd of them you're never going to feel cool. but they were good enough for that trance-inducement thing to work on record. particularly with the bass being at the forefront and the drums being low in the mix. forces your ears into a new place if you can be bothered. it has most in common with arty drone and noise in that respect. same thing as Dream House when you see it in person.

 

[linebaugh]

I think the electric wizard name/aesthetic works because theres no denial of the silliness

 

[Leo]

Sleep were the kings of heavy for a number of years before doom became a thing. "Jerusalem" is from '98.

 

[version]

I was surprised at how heavy The Fall could get at times. It's not the suffocating heaviness of Earth or Electric Wizard, but there's some weight to it.



Same with something like The Birthday Party's 'King Ink'.

 

[shakahislop]

then you get the totally grooveless heavyness of noise. really most of it is shite but merzbow is the don. which is in most situations the most aggravating sound in the world. unignorable. you can't play it anywhere or in any situation except sitting by yourself in the right mood. and half an hour is plenty. excessive even. there is a way in though about one in ten times that i try, its definitely the kind of thing where you have to pay attention, and then its absorbing, you follow the flows of static up and down, its not dissimilar to 'difficult' jazz in respect of how you listen to it, and then there's a nice effect sometimes where you turn it off and anything else you try to play sounds wet, and you end up noticing the sound of the boiler or the air conditioner or whatever, after getting absorbed in this essentially hostile sound

 

[pattycakes_]

Saw Electric Wizard live twice. V much hits you in the chest and at the first gig, which was in a smaller room so the spls were fucking insane, it felt like an invisible cloud of electric energy projected from the amps into the center of the room was trying to lift me off of the floor. Was on some exceptional weed which helped

 

[linebaugh]

then you get the totally grooveless heavyness of noise. really most of it is shite but merzbow is the don. which is in most situations the most aggravating sound in the world. unignorable. you can't play it anywhere or in any situation except sitting by yourself in the right mood. and half an hour is plenty. excessive even. there is a way in though about one in ten times that i try, its definitely the kind of thing where you have to pay attention, and then its absorbing, you follow the flows of static up and down, its not dissimilar to 'difficult' jazz in respect of how you listen to it, and then there's a nice effect sometimes where you turn it off and anything else you try to play sounds wet, and you end up noticing the sound of the boiler or the air conditioner or whatever, after getting absorbed in this essentially hostile sound

Im not sure this is the same heavyness were talking about here. like with what you said this stuff is a mental exercise like jazz. doesnt register physically in the same way and doesn't have the same immediate entrancing affect

 

[shakahislop]

Sleep were the kings of heavy for a number of years before doom became a thing. "Jerusalem" is from '98.

thanks @Leo, you've really narrowed it down, that's two thirds of their discography there

 

[pattycakes_]

Oh yeah and one of my heaviest acid experiences ever featured E. W. Come My Fanatics and Kyuss Blues For The Red Sun. Was the first time hearing both and, well... let's just say I was never quite the same


🤘

 

[Leo]

those were the two heavy touchstones for a long time.

 

[version]

There are different textures of heaviness too. You take something like the above or that Fall tune and there's a grit and growl to it that emphasises the weight but then you can also get a rounded, spongey sort of heaviness, e.g. Hokusai - 'Black Rose'.

 

[linebaugh]

There are different textures of heaviness too. You take something like the above or that Fall tune and there's a grit and growl to it that emphasises the weight but then you can also get a rounded, spongey sort of heaviness, e.g. Hokusai - 'Black Rose'.

theres a definite connect with hip hop here. been quite a few instances of cross contamination between hardcore and hip hop the last decade. I had a buddy whose entire thing was selling xanax and making beats who had never listened to guitar music his entire life but absolutely loved electric wizard when he caught me listening to them once.