AI Metal is Bizarre

So over the past 6-8 months, everyone has been hearing, seeing, and debating online about AI music. I am neither for nor against it honestly, I just kind of sit somewhere in the middle. I am more of a "wait it out" type of guy and go with the flow. Sure I've tried to develop opinions, but since it's still so new, my opinions are constantly changing. AI fits in places, and I'll just adapt as I see fit.

Regardless of that, AI music is one of the hottest places for it to exist; both in a numbers place and for controversy to exist. I see positives and negatives, but honestly nothing has surprised me. As with everything in life, people use it properly, and some abuse it.

With metal in specific, it's been a really strange ride. Metal is a storytelling genre in itself. Often people play metal to express themselves. Hearing AI versions of that has been bizarre.

One of the most prominent places I see AI metal is in the Christian genre as a whole. Lots of controversy in the Christian world, especially CCM and chart topping artists. AI has stolen the spotlight a few times now, and it's interesting to watch and hear opinions of people on either side.

However, because I tend to follow a lot of Christian metal folks across social media, I get fed a lot of... similar content. I would say about 20% of my feed on TikTok for example, is just AI Christian metal. It all sounds the same. You would think with groundbreaking AI models coming out every week and varying degrees of metal in the world, that there would some sort of like... I don't know, balance? I listen to different flavors of metal, but most of what I listen to is on the heavier or more progressive side. I love a good blast beat.

If you've encountered this, you know exactly what I am talking about - the music where the drums are tribal and punchy to a grid, where the bass is fuzzed in between, the guitars sound like they came out of a plugin, the vocals are so crisp and clean (almost nu-metal style), and the mix is pressure cooked to oblivion. I just find it bizarre, because obviously people are prompting something like this.

Are we a hive mind, or are the AI generators just dead set on this type of stuff?

One thing the metal genre has always done is taken other genres of music, and slapped the metal feel to it. Plenty of folks do this online, and to a degree it's interesting. Scrolling across social media though, and hearing a bunch of what AI is doing, I find that a lot of folks are doing metal covers.

First off, how can this even be legal? I would imagine a lot of these would get taken down... but maybe not, since it's transformative so it bypasses copyright laws? Still if you cover something, royalties are to be paid. Or maybe there's just so much, it's hard to keep up with.

Regardless, metal has a certain effect and tonality that can be translated almost to any genre out there. I just grow tired of hearing the same type of covers out there where someone takes a popular song, shoves it into an AI, and out comes... very odd sounds to something familiar.

Out of all the possible humanity we can shove into making music, the most human is the singing. Not because guitars, drums, or anything else is less, but vocals are purely you; your voice, your anatomy, and your natural tendencies. There's nothing quite as human as singing. Most of us were built with a voice, and each voice is quite unique.

AI though man... I have to just laugh at it sometimes. It's almost like it uses the same few combination of vocalists no matter what genre you choose. Also, the note choices themselves often feel very inhuman. They always tend to choose these fried out, topped out vocal lines, because they know how impressive that is to the average listener. Even in the more extreme genres, it's just taking the things that are most impressive and popular and shoving it all into each track it generates.

I personally think out of all the things that AI does, it's going to be quite a long while before it truly starts replacing vocalists.

In country, R&B, CCM, and I am sure other genres, there's a lot of crap AI floating around. People genuinely thinking they have hits from prompts. Maybe they're right, but for the most part, a lot of it is garbage. Much like any other tool that makes it easier to make music, anyone with half a brain starts using it thinking they'll become the next superstar behind a screen.

The funny thing about it is that in a lot of these genres, you have AI topping a few times in Billboard charts, which I genuinely find amusing to say the least. I don't hate AI, but many folks are just floored that they loved something that was AI. It's really something to watch unfold.

Rock and metal haven't had that. At least not yet. I am sure the day will come. The thing is, AI is a conversation nearly everywhere and even though there's AI conversations in different metal areas, it's not this massive subject right now, especially in the metal world.

But why is metal any different?

Metal isn't an identity, passive listening, or mainstream; it's simply a culture. A culture is a group of people who spend time together and develop a community around them. There is no place for AI in a place like that.

However, a prediction by me; all genres of music, including metal, have been slowly drifting away from each other for a long time. They become segmented, and cultures break away until subcultures happen, and subcultures into niches, and niches into nothing. It's only a matter of time before AI works its way in there.

Not just because it's a culture, but it's genuinely often about human struggle and storytelling. Most people who don't listen to metal associate it with Cannibal Corpse, but those guys were out there for shock value. Most metal isn't that, though it can be at times.

You have bands like Amon Amarth who create fictional stories around Norse mythology. You have deeper emotional bands such as Dark Tranquillity or Soilwork who deal with complex emotions. You have music storytellers like Opeth or Dream Theatre. You have grind type music with a message like Cattle Decap. You have bands who talk a lot about struggling like Architects or Bad Omens. You have theatrical bands like Ice Nine Kills or black metal. You have blue collar type death metal like Harm or Crowbar. You have bands like Rivers of Nihil that go deep into their hearts to pull out everything into the music.

AI strips that connection away. Metalheads such as myself don't listen to metal for enjoyment; we listen because there's people behind the music that feel our pain, that understand our feelings and life. So when I find out a band is AI, it's off my list for that very reason. Again, I have nothing against AI music, but if there's no human on the other side to connect to, there's no point for me. It feels immediately empty.

Music, especially metal, means a lot more to me than just pure entertainment. It's helped me through really hard times and made me feel like I wasn't alone. AI just isn't going to do that for me. At least not right now. Who knows what the future brings.

AI has got a long way to go before it can truly impress me. It's fun. I've heard what one of my friends did with it, and I loved it. I tend to stay away from it myself, because I am really invested in the journey. I didn't spend 20+ years of my life learning how to scream, play guitar and bass, and bang on the drums just to simply toss that aside for AI.

I want my all in my music, and there's a ton of folks out there that feel the same.

Anyway, there's an opinion piece for you.