One of their more popular songs is entitled "I Am No One,"" and the lyrics are very intricate and even compelling. Though one may not agree with the band's views, the listener will find it hard to deny that the song writing is smart and to the point. There are other bands that do not fit the "all noise and no brains- stereotype. One that stands out, perhaps even more so than the aforementioned, is Skinlab.
Skinlab's lyrics are about war, pain and human suffering. They are not particularly offensive, and give some insight into the tragedies humans experience everyday, such as suicide, racism and war in general. The lyrics are opposed to conformity (a fairly common theme within the Metal culture), as the song "So Far From the Truth- states. The final line of the song is repeated multiple times: "Stay true to yourself- (Disembody: The New Flesh). .
However, Grindcore is only one genre that can fit the stereotype. Death Metal, infamous for its gory and violent lyrics, includes many performers with great musical talents, but their literary knowledge is not plainly noticeable. Though most Death Metal bands tend to have exceedingly large vocabularies (mostly dealing with the macabre), most artists do not showcase their intelligence in their music. There are several notable exceptions, including Cannibal Corpse, Mortician and Exhumed, whose members have divulged that they read a lot and are not just psychotic musicians ("Metal FAQ-).
The last major style that fits the "no brains- stereotype is Thrash. Popular in the 1980's, Thrash is quite possibly the best example of stereotypical Metal. For a brief period in the mid-1980's, Thrash made its way into the mainstream, with bands such as Testament, Guns N' Roses and Life of Agony leading the pack. The goal of Thrash bands is often to play music as loud, fast and heavy as they can. Since during this period Metal came into the mainstream, people may have heard Thrash metal and generalized the sound to that of the whole genre.
