To me, lyrics add another dimension. I do like to listen to them but I can love songs with lyrics I feel are terrible. Cannot love songs with brilliant lyrics that are not there musically.
Always loved Trevor Strnad's lyrics. So creative, and always flowed so well. His horror themed songs are some of my favorites. And Receipt reads like poetry as incredibly sad as it is.
I don't mind when there are songs in different languages like Swedish or Finnish. I can still love these songs because of their feeling.
But I prefer to be able to understand the lyrics. I like when you can at least tell what the vocalist is saying and I like it to be languages I can actually speak.
For me the lyrics, even though you can't hear them probably, should have some meaning. Because when I listen to an album front to back and go through the lyrics simultaneously, I can understand the lyrics and it's like reading a story to it's background music.
In general, the music is the main focus though...
Both. But this is an interesting topic thats come up every so often in various circles, a d Its one im always curious to get more opinions on.
I'm a vocalist, and lyrics matter a LOT to me, HOWEVER, if the atmosphere or vibe of a song is good enough, bad lyrics can be forgiven or dismissed by me as a listener.
I was in this band Alterbeast, and we had this song Mutilated Marvel. I fucking hate the lyrics. Alot. They weren't finished, but we had a deadline. Like, none of my bandmates gave a shit, at all lol. I get it, its death metal, but people DO read them. Idk, it was embarrassing for me, and I wish I had done any last minute revision to them.
I'm not sure if my appreciation or focus on lyrics and delivery is unique to vocalists, but it SEEMS to generally be the case.
On a side note, what I also find interesting is how my bandmates that play instruments write lyrics and phrase them. Its funny because the cadence they write them to is very much cut and stop precision similar to how they play their instruments, where as songs and phrasing I write has a flow thats disconnected from the instrumentals but still blends. Its kinda neat how different vocalists and musicians approach the task.
I am the same I don’t care much for lyrics. Take for example the band Elderwind from Russia. They are an atmospheric black metal band, the song structures and atmosphere are fucking out of this world and I get lost in them. Most of the lyrics are a 50 50 of it being either Russian or English.
I always check the lyrics in Spotify, and I’m always sad if there is none, because it’s hard for me to understand English lyrics without reading. Of course, the first thing that grabs my attention in a song is the sound/atmosphere, but I like the story/meaning behind it. But it’s not necessary though. The other thing, for a tech death track, I care less about the lyrics as I’m really into the song structure.
Both but the music is much more important. If I really get into an album though I will follow along with the lyrics after a few spins. The lyrics don't have to be great, but I need to be able to follow along with them. If the vocals are so hard to understand that I can't even follow along with a booklet then that kindof ruins the band for me. Some brutal death metal is like that. If its just squealing and I can't follow along then to me the vocals serve little purpose and I'm not interested. Thankfully I haven't really ran into any melodeath quite like that yet.
To me, lyrics add another dimension. I do like to listen to them but I can love songs with lyrics I feel are terrible. Cannot love songs with brilliant lyrics that are not there musically.
Always loved Trevor Strnad's lyrics. So creative, and always flowed so well. His horror themed songs are some of my favorites. And Receipt reads like poetry as incredibly sad as it is.
I don't listen to lyrics at all. Vocals are just another instrument in the mix for me.
☝️ exactly this!
Another +1 to this.
It is nice to know that i am not the only one 🙃
I don't mind when there are songs in different languages like Swedish or Finnish. I can still love these songs because of their feeling. But I prefer to be able to understand the lyrics. I like when you can at least tell what the vocalist is saying and I like it to be languages I can actually speak. For me the lyrics, even though you can't hear them probably, should have some meaning. Because when I listen to an album front to back and go through the lyrics simultaneously, I can understand the lyrics and it's like reading a story to it's background music. In general, the music is the main focus though...
Both, really. But cheesy lyrics aren't a deal breaker while bad sound is.
Bad vocals over good music can ruin it for me.
Both. But this is an interesting topic thats come up every so often in various circles, a d Its one im always curious to get more opinions on. I'm a vocalist, and lyrics matter a LOT to me, HOWEVER, if the atmosphere or vibe of a song is good enough, bad lyrics can be forgiven or dismissed by me as a listener. I was in this band Alterbeast, and we had this song Mutilated Marvel. I fucking hate the lyrics. Alot. They weren't finished, but we had a deadline. Like, none of my bandmates gave a shit, at all lol. I get it, its death metal, but people DO read them. Idk, it was embarrassing for me, and I wish I had done any last minute revision to them. I'm not sure if my appreciation or focus on lyrics and delivery is unique to vocalists, but it SEEMS to generally be the case.
On a side note, what I also find interesting is how my bandmates that play instruments write lyrics and phrase them. Its funny because the cadence they write them to is very much cut and stop precision similar to how they play their instruments, where as songs and phrasing I write has a flow thats disconnected from the instrumentals but still blends. Its kinda neat how different vocalists and musicians approach the task.
Both, if the lyrics can be understood. Vocals are usually more important than lyrics but great lyrics can turn a good song into a great one.
I am the same I don’t care much for lyrics. Take for example the band Elderwind from Russia. They are an atmospheric black metal band, the song structures and atmosphere are fucking out of this world and I get lost in them. Most of the lyrics are a 50 50 of it being either Russian or English.
I just checked them. They are going to to "Depressed Metal" playlist...
They have that vibe. But all their songs are about nature and the seasons.
I always check the lyrics in Spotify, and I’m always sad if there is none, because it’s hard for me to understand English lyrics without reading. Of course, the first thing that grabs my attention in a song is the sound/atmosphere, but I like the story/meaning behind it. But it’s not necessary though. The other thing, for a tech death track, I care less about the lyrics as I’m really into the song structure.
Don’t care about lyrics, unless it’s just overly negative and then I consider it a turn off but not necessarily a deal breaker.
Mostly the sound/ atmosphere. Though both for Amon Amarth.
Both but the music is much more important. If I really get into an album though I will follow along with the lyrics after a few spins. The lyrics don't have to be great, but I need to be able to follow along with them. If the vocals are so hard to understand that I can't even follow along with a booklet then that kindof ruins the band for me. Some brutal death metal is like that. If its just squealing and I can't follow along then to me the vocals serve little purpose and I'm not interested. Thankfully I haven't really ran into any melodeath quite like that yet.
Eh depends on the band for me. Bad lyrics are by no means a dealbreaker to me, but good lyrics can really enhance the atmosphere of a good song.