What bands would you consider to be challenging or difficult to listen to, but ultimately worth it?

Listening to Dopesmoker is a pretty cool experience if you're a music nerd. Trying to understand all the lyrics is doable but it takes a couple of tries.

Also I dont need to tell the people here that theres something about knowing when your favorite bone crunching riff is coming that makes it that much more enjoyable when it drops. Dopesmoker not only is a great record but listening to it and "becoming a disciple of it" makes you apprecfiate other metal in a new way.

The more you listen the more you recognize and isolate riffs from other riffs, and you know when solos are coming. Also, once you start to pick up the lyrics, you piece together the narrative of the song as the caravan journeys to the city.

The whole religious aspect of it- the biblical imagery, matt pike's weird psuedo-chanting- makes you feel like your listening to an old gregorian chant or something. A gregorian chant with lots of weed and a tuned down guitar. And to get into it you kind of have to study it the same way you would have to study a hymn or a religious text.There's also really interesting stuff going on with the drums- they have an almost processional rythmn and when it changes you notice.

It forces you to listen and think about the music on multiple levels, its so multifaceted that you don't even need to be stoned to get it. I think the whole point of it is that the interplay between the narrative, the imagery, the riffs and the chanting makes you think in a way that mimics being stoned even if you're not. Its a meta-commentary on heavy,slow, music and why people like it so much.

TL;DR: I will say anything to justify getting high and listening to a 40bpm song for an hour and a half.

/r/doommetal Thread Parent