How Much 'Harder" Can Music Get?

Hardcore and heavy metal bands have pushed the limits on how hard and aggressive they can make their music, so how are these genres going evolve in the future?

Bands such as Slipknot, Hatebreed, and Skinless, too name a few, will have to be placed in some sort of genre as time goes on. They could all get clumped into some new sort of Classic Nu-Metal genre that vaguely represents the overall actual sound. Surely there is going to be some sort of music progression that is going to place everything I listened to into some sort of “classic” or “old school” category as I get older. The real question is though, what elements are new bands generations from now going to sound like when they compose aggressive sounding music?

There are simple routes that are not too different from what we already hear. New types of distortions for guitar and basses could be developed that blur the sound to an unbearable amount of overdriven mush. Hopefully this doesn’t get to out of hand though, but most talented bands know a ridiculous amount of distortion with no technique of actual playing is worthless.

The second simple route would be tapping into how the vocals are sung, which could lead to interesting developments. Despite popular belief, you can make your song harder by actually having singing in it before you lash out the raspy screams. Death Metal pretty much captured how deep vocals can go though, because bands like Cannibal Corpse, BloodBath, and Six Feet Under have trademarked their music with this vocal style. Most people don’t tend to appreciate their insanely deep vocals though, because they can’t understand what they are saying. If you take them time to acquaint yourself with the deeper vocals there is usually more appreciation for the style. We all know the whole Rap-Rock scene didn’t last very long, so I wouldn’t expect that to ever have too much of a revival. On a side note, you should check out Limp Bizkit’s newest album release, because they really have some good songs on it. Approaching vocals in a different way to aggressive songs could lead to an interesting outcome, but this is not the last option to progress heavy music.

One of the greatest ways to expand aggressive music has only begun to get tapped into, because utilizing electronic elements can greatly enhance the overall sound. One reason it might have just started to catch on was that there really wasn’t adequate electronic music production software available. Now there are many software choices for electronic music composers to create their synthesized elements that it can be rather overwhelming. The only good unbiased advice that can be given on this subject would be to research what electronic music production software has to offer and see how they best suit your needs. Prices can get kind of scary, but there is a website called academicsuperstore.com that can help on that issue. If you are a student or teacher, which you probably are if you’re reading this, you are qualified to receive discounted prices on products. This website helped me afford the electronic music production software that I use now, so hopefully it can benefit you too.

Adding electronic elements to a song can do things that could never be down with the standard instruments. Another benefit is you don’t have to play for years to be decent at creating music, so there are more possibilities for the common person. Even though I have been playing guitar for almost seven years now I can appreciate the possibilities electronic music offers. This is how you truly can break the barriers to what and how music can be created. Even if you don’t want to write more aggressive songs the electronic realm could even better suit softer styles of music.

There is such a vast amount of potential with electronic music that nobody can really predict how far this is going to go and how it is going to be used. The outcomes could turn out very impressive, or ridiculous with too much electronic nonsensical sound. One thing that you can do is mark my words that aggressive music is going to become even more electronic. Even with this progression though, nothing is going to replace the pleasure of hearing traditional hardcore and metal bands.

Who Needs the Creative Page?

Some people might be wondering why we have a creative page in the Hudsonian.  Why we would not have a creative page, would actually be a better question though.

Creativity is in everyone’s blood, but some people just have more than others.  It is in the simple things you do from the outfits you pick out each morning to the more important things like composing your term paper.

Being able to have an outlet to capture any student’s creativity and share it with others is important.  This will inspire and show other’s what their fellow students are expressing, whether it is through a poem, painting, short story, comic strip, or photograph.

The biggest pleasure that can be received by a creative page editor is to see all the submissions that come in and all the great creative work students are composing.  Sharing other students work is the most exciting part, because this allows more people to be exposed to their creative expressions.  This allows people to actually feel what their fellow students have composed, for all to see.

Taking a moment to stop on the creative page also lets students escape some of their daily stressors.  Unrelenting reading assignments and a week full of tests can lead anyone to want to escape their daily life for even just a moment.  Why not give yourself a chance to see what the creative page has to offer in you!

After trying the whole previous semester, there is finally a comic strip being put in the paper.  Besides that, any other graphical images or artwork are always welcome.  If there are any other aspiring comic strip artists, share you comedic creativity with everyone too.

Poetry submissions are in a drought at the moment, but as the semester progress there are more and more great poets sharing their work.  Remember, the only way the paper gets such great submissions is if individuals first submit them.

Soon, there will also be poetry meetings again for this semester.  At the moment there is no date set for the first meeting, but just stop by the Hudsonian office on the campus center second floor sometime and a flyer will be posted outside the office when a date is set.  You could always just stop in though and meet the Hudsonian crew, if you haven’t already.

On the counter, artwork submissions have been almost extinct.  If a fellow editor had not been helping me out, I would have never even had one during last semester.  If you’re an artist and you’re reading this, you know where to come to get your artwork published.

All you have to remember is to submit your creative work to CreativeHud@yahoo.com, or if you just have a question for me, that is fine too.  Any way I can help you out I will try to, so that you can get your creative work published for all to see.

Right now is your chance to enjoy fellow student’s creative expressions.  When you look at the creative page every issue, this is a chance to provoke thoughts or just sit back and think about nothing at all.  Whatever your choice is, enjoyment is not too far away.