Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Difference between revisions

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 # Most [[Thrash Metal]], and heavier forms of [[Power Metal]] along with some classic metal. Lyrics are usually very dark at this point. Vocal style is usually a snarl, but clean singing is also common. Occasionally [[Harsh Vocals|growls]] and [[Metal Scream|screams]] will be employed. The harder side of hardcore punk is here, and [[Metalcore]] (fusion of thrash metal and hardcore punk) starts to predominate. Whether purists want to hear it or not, the lighter and more atmospheric side of [[Black Metal]] also starts here. You'll also find yet more viking/folk metal populating this region. Most Groove Metal is here. This is pretty much as heavy as you can get with radio airplay (with a few exceptions).
 # Lighter [[Death Metal]] (especially [[Melodic Death Metal]]) or harder [[Thrash Metal]]. You'll also find a lot of the less abrasive 'true' [[Black Metal]] here. Here is about where you start to get singers [[Harsh Vocals|growling]] or [[Metal Scream|screaming]] for most of the song (This is also probably the highest level that can be attained with only clean singing). Lyrics may be very violent or just generally extremely dark. This is the last zone where you are likely to find hardcore punk that doesn't have a substantial metal or noise infusion. This is also about where [[Metalcore]] starts to transition to [[Deathcore]] (which also begins around this level). Most viking/folk metal that has a significant infusion of [[Black Metal]] or [[Death Metal]] falls here. A lot of the heavier side of [[Groove Metal]] is found here.
-# Most [[Death Metal]] and [[Black Metal]]. Lyrics start to get positively [[Nightmare Fuel|disturbing]] and/or [[Gorn|gorny]] and the singer will always be growling or screaming. The hardest variants of [[Thrash Metal]], [[Melodic Death Metal]], and viking/folk metal can hit this point, but that is quite uncommon. At this point hardcore bands become indistinguishable from metal to anyone who's not a loyal fan of both genres. Grindcore starts here. While it is possible for a metalcore band to get this high, it's very rare. [[Groove Metal]] at this level usually has a lot of Death Metal influence.
+# Most [[Death Metal]] and [[Black Metal]]. Lyrics start to get positively [[Nightmare Fuel|disturbing]] and/or [[gorn]]y and the singer will always be growling or screaming. The hardest variants of [[Thrash Metal]], [[Melodic Death Metal]], and viking/folk metal can hit this point, but that is quite uncommon. At this point hardcore bands become indistinguishable from metal to anyone who's not a loyal fan of both genres. Grindcore starts here. While it is possible for a metalcore band to get this high, it's very rare. [[Groove Metal]] at this level usually has a lot of Death Metal influence.
 # [[Up to Eleven]]: [[Anal Cunt]] is here, along with the harder side of [[Grindcore]] especially the subgenres of pornogrind, noisegrind and goregrind. The most extreme [[Death Metal]] (a good portion of the brutal death metal and slam death metal subgenres end up up here) and [[Black Metal]] also lies here. The very heaviest mathcore (technical, chaotic hardcore) can also reach this level. Growling or screaming will start sounding almost inhuman, and often pitch-shifting or other computer-aided effects are used to drive the vocal range beyond what could normally be sustained during singing<ref>(astoundingly though, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ObHhRnvCqk not always]</ref>). Significant elements of this class are [[True Art Is Incomprehensible|experimental]] in nature, although [[Stealth Parody|Stealth Parodists]] commonly make their way up here as well.
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 * Sometimes, songs with symphonic elements can be at a lower level of hardness than they would be without the symphonic elements. It depends on how the elements are implemented in the song, however; some more extreme artists use symphonic elements to provide a contrast between blast beats and the like, and manage to be just as heavy as other conventional death/black metal bands. Similarly folk elements work much the same way. Sorting these songs out on a case-by-case basis is the best solution.
 * Melodic tendencies can play a part in the song's hardness. Similar to the above note regarding symphonic elements, melody can decrease the hardness of a song, but it depends on how it's used, and as such the songs will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
-* [[Your Mileage May Vary]]: What's extreme to you may sound accessible, even ''catchy'' to the next person, so level assignments are highly subjective. For example, many tropers place metal ballads in level 6. On the other hand, seeing as how metal ballads typically interconnect softer acoustic/piano passages with harder electric guitar/percussion driven passages (that may otherwise reach into 8 to 9 range), one could just as easily assign them to level 7 or 8, depending on how far one felt certain passages removed the music from a level one felt was enjoyable. This is especially true in the case of [[Technical Death Metal|progressive death metal]], where extended [[Symphonic Metal|symphonic]], [[Jazz|jazzy]], [[Progressive Rock|proggish]], or [[Folk Rock|folkish]] passages are commonly interlaced with full-on level 10 blasting. Consider [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DlWQr8wYvY The Lair of Purity by Augury] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvVf1C8tGlc&hd=1 The Lotus Eater by Opeth] by way of example: are these songs brutalising extreme metal, or are they lighter and gentler progressive metal?
+* [[Your Mileage May Vary]]: What's extreme to you may sound accessible, even ''catchy'' to the next person, so level assignments are highly subjective. For example, many tropers place metal ballads in level 6. On the other hand, seeing as how metal ballads typically interconnect softer acoustic/piano passages with harder electric guitar/percussion driven passages (that may otherwise reach into 8 to 9 range), one could just as easily assign them to level 7 or 8, depending on how far one felt certain passages removed the music from a level one felt was enjoyable. This is especially true in the case of [[Technical Death Metal|progressive death metal]], where extended [[Symphonic Metal|symphonic]], [[jazz]]y, [[Progressive Rock|proggish]], or [[Folk Rock|folkish]] passages are commonly interlaced with full-on level 10 blasting. Consider [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DlWQr8wYvY The Lair of Purity by Augury] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvVf1C8tGlc&hd=1 The Lotus Eater by Opeth] by way of example: are these songs brutalising extreme metal, or are they lighter and gentler progressive metal?
 * Even within each level, there are varying degrees of heaviness. For example, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMCLXZJc8Uk Voices of the Dead] is ''definitely'' a heavier and more aggressive song than [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bGzWyHbu0 Nightmare]. But "Nightmare," thanks in no small part to lines like [[Precision F-Strike|"Your fucking NIGHTMARE!"]] and brief moments of Metalcore screaming, is ultimately heavy enough to be an 8. While "Voices Of The Dead" is ultimately too melodic for a 9.
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 == Level 2 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfWEPu0w-7w Nowhere Man] ([[The Beatles (band)|The Beatles]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0 Never Gonna Give You Up] ([[Rick Astley]])
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 == Level 3 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOUqRZkR8dE Pinball Wizard] ([[The Who]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc9k3-fwwYM Everywhere] (Michelle Branch)
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 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBszC40uvdQ Black Hole Sun] ([[Soundgarden]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuP8VBroyyg B.I.T.C.H.] (Meredith Brooks)
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi8XTvhwF1U Stirb nicht vor Mir] ([[Rammstein]]}
+* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi8XTvhwF1U Stirb nicht vor Mir] ([[Rammstein]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btEpF334Rtc Combine Harvester] (The Wurzels)
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYEfyk2SMx0 My Love is a Stapler] (Afterschool Tea Time; ''[[K-On!]]'')
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 == Level 4 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a7cHPy04s8 Satisfaction ] ([[The Rolling Stones]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJsQSb9RFo0 Hound Dog] ([[Elvis Presley]])
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 == Level 5 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDhTumGxB2w Now I'm Here ] ([[Queen]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arpZ3fCwDEw Smoke On The Water ] ([[Deep Purple]])
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 == Level 6 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQEgZNqa8jE 2112: Overture/Temples of Syrinx] ([[Rush]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3szPRF3gaM The Hitman] ([[Queen]])
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 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiPFttKbSiI Mutter] ([[Rammstein]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPbYEeCLB-Q Consequences] / [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ6hG7XX6zI The Melancholy] ([[Iced Earth]])
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGmAmJFUvzM The End] ([[The Doors]])<ref> Pretty hardcore for 1967.</ref>
+* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGmAmJFUvzM The End] ([[The Doors]])<ref>Pretty hardcore for 1967.</ref>
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1IReGYKsyM God Save The Queen] ([[Sex Pistols]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsONzEqrr6w I Wanna Be A Drug Sniffing Dog] (Lard)
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 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYTzcubws7Y Assistant to the Regional Manager] ([[The Devil Wears Prada (band)|The Devil Wears Prada]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmvj96NyVN0 Replace Me] (Family Force 5)
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jj5bzkBQ0 Life After Death and Taxes] ([[Relient K]])<ref> Would be bordering on 8 if not for the soft sections.</ref>
+* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jj5bzkBQ0 Life After Death and Taxes] ([[Relient K]])<ref>Would be bordering on 8 if not for the soft sections.</ref>
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vAtLMyba5 Treason] (Kutless) <ref> If the instruments were any lighter, it would border on a 5 or 6.</ref>
+* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vAtLMyba5 Treason] (Kutless) <ref>If the instruments were any lighter, it would border on a 5 or 6.</ref>
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kTBbTSjZpI I Am (All of Me)] ([[Crush 40]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdmhFhxJIXQ&feature=related Ultra] ([[KMFDM]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ien0GEn2Bio Criminal] (Attack Attack!)
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN0SNk3P3a4 Ride] (Presence) <ref> Ignore that bit at the beginning, obviously</ref>
+* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN0SNk3P3a4 Ride] (Presence) <ref>Ignore that bit at the beginning, obviously</ref>
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW8UIW8eXCk California Uber Alles]<ref> LP version</ref> ([[Dead Kennedys]])
+* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW8UIW8eXCk California Uber Alles]<ref>LP version</ref> ([[Dead Kennedys]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYpWjaCdsPs Yours] (Toby Mac)
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_UwEap5TDA Carry On, Wayward Son (Kansas Cover)] (The Showdown)
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 == Level 8 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJdBl0_e-I Endless, Nameless] ([[Nirvana]]) [The quiet parts keep it from earning a 9 or 10]
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksutNW3HFT8 The Donkey-Headed Adversary of Humanity Opens the Discussion] (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum)
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 == Level 9 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6_zsJ8KPP0 Angel of Death] ([[Slayer]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTrevt0rP74 Beneath The Remains] ([[Sepultura]])
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 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EbkKnkMnmA Killing You, Killing Me] ([[Ill Niño|Ill Nino]])
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLk75fFXqH4 Under and Over It] ([[Five Finger Death Punch]])
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfvRzJY6a7E Eyes of a Criminal] (Chimaira) <ref> The clean vocals before the bridge keep it from getting a 10.</ref>
+* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfvRzJY6a7E Eyes of a Criminal] (Chimaira) <ref>The clean vocals before the bridge keep it from getting a 10.</ref>
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEvMWirqRQ0 Evil in You] (Kalmah)
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y693S_DI-PY D.O.A.] (The Haunted)
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 == Level 10 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktps-BGhKw0 Rape Song] (Strapping Young Lad)
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r97e1ooniyI Becoming God] (Augury)
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 == Level 11 ==
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx5aaDbKi6I Skinned] (Mortician)
 * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8yjFSjcCb0 You're Pregnant, So I Kicked You in the Stomach] ([[Anal Cunt]])