Beauty

Okay, a genre of music like heavy metal is usually anything but beautiful. It's ugly, harsh and dissonent but there are a few exceptions to the rule. I'm not talking about, "The hottest woman in metal," I'm talking about music that has the aesthetic of beauty. To understand what I mean, beauty is divided into both masculine and feminine catagories. Masculine beauty reminds me of the works of Picasso, feminine beauty is more similar to a Russian cathedral.

I'd argue that Opeth and Mastodon are beautiful in a masculine way, while Epica has a very feminine beauty. What I mean is that Mastodon has a very strong solid sound that still manages to pull the listener in, while Opeth makes very powerful music that oftentimes breaks into something soft but never leaves the aesthetics of strength, even at it's most vulnerable sounding. Both are examples of the masculine, despite their detail.

Epica and Kamelot come across as very feminine. Neither have very strong vocals, both are filled with nuance and both have a sound that even at it's hardest still appears fluid. It's a very detailed, feminine sound that lacks the strength and solidness of masculine aesthetics.

Dark Tranquillity is more androgynous. I hate using that term with regards to metal because it brings up images of all sorts of 1980s fashion victims but they seem to have both very masculine and feminine characteristics to them while subscribing to neither. Dark Tranquillity is, in a sense, the cock of Lady Gaga of metal. And that's part of what makes them so engaging. They seem to have a beauty to their music that transcends both male and female. So, anybody's thoughts?