Generic Metal Band 101 meets for its album photo shoot:Norman Shrillcream: Dude! Where the f- is Stanley!?!

Yertle Powerchord: F-ed if I know man. I'm f-ing freezing out here.

Jan Solo: These woods are scary dude.

Francis Bangcan: My mom packed me an extra pair of socks and a flashlight. You want them?

Yertle Powerchord: No, goddammit!

Norman Shrillcream: I dunno, man. You better take those socks. Francis' mom is kinda cute.

Jan and Norman: HAIL FRANCIS' MOM!

Stanley Toolow: Hey guys! Sorry, it took me forever to find you out here.

Yertle Powerchord: What the f-, Stanley! We left you a map in your locker!

Stanley Toolow: It's a goddamn napkin that has "Meet us in the Woods of Despair" painted on it! In f-ing whiteout!

Everyone: HAIL THE NAPKIN OF DESPAIR!

First, I'd like to thank the cartoon Metalocalypse as the inspiration for this little sketch. Second, I'd like to point out that scenarios like this are unfortunately common.

Maybe they're less ridiculous, but not by much. I'm not sure when it happened exactly, but somewhere around 1990, a memo must have gone out to 90 percent of the world's Metal bands dictating that smiling in promo photos and in fact any semblance of fun in either image or sound was to be punished by death.

You think I'm kidding? Just ask Varg Vikernes, a former member of the Black Metal band Mayhem, who stabbed his band mate Oystein "Euronymous" Aarseth to death in 1993 after a series of disagreements within Norway's famed Black Metal Inner Circle. Apparently Vikernes still had something to prove, despite having burned down several churches the year before.

Now believe it or not, before Metal got all hot and bothered, it was just good ol' fashioned Heavy Metal: Soundtrack for a good time. Even bands like Mercyful Fate (It's not a typo, they're just Danish), the evillest of them all back in the early '80s, were willing to inject plenty of uplifting chord progressions and groovy, danceable riffs. In fact, by today's standards, classic Fate albums like Melissa and Don't Break The Oath sound like hard rock with a wailing singer and over-the-top guitar solos. Even with the cornball Satanic lyrics, the evil facepaint and the skeletons on stage, they still sounded like they were having a good time. This attitude seems lost on the current generation, which is apparently locked in a faster/heavier/grimmer/eviller/more technical-than-thou arms race.

Recently I've been indulging myself in Metal's back catalogue, a time when the general tone was happier and Metalheads were just good folks looking for a good time, but with heavy riffs. Emerging as my two favorites from this time-travel expedition are the aforementioned Mercyful Fate and San Francisco cult heroes Brocas Helm. Despite having only released its third album, Defender of the Crown (2004), since forming in '81, the previous one, Black?Death, being in '88, Brocas Helm are revered by those in the know as Heavy Metal heroes, and the source of many of Metal's most timeless and humorous clichés (song titles include "Into Battle," "Prepare for Battle," etc.).

Of course, the flame hasn't died completely among the current generation. Over the past year I've become a rabid fan of traditional Metal bands like Crescent Shield, whose debut The Last of My Kind has been in constant rotation in my collection for over a year. I'm also enamored with another San Francisco staple, Slough Feg (formerly The Lord Weird Slough Feg) and its quirky blend of traditional Metal, Celtic folk and Thin Lizzy-inspired sci-fi riffs.

Fortunately, bands on the more extreme end of the spectrum have been similarly inspired, taking a refreshingly tongue-in-cheek approach to sub genres whose modus operandi tends to be a lot more stone-faced. Canada's 3 Inches of Blood comes to mind, proudly sporting a sound that blends the nostalgic sounds of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, such as twin harmonized melodies, galloping riffs and a fantasy lyrical approach, with screamed vocals and the speed of modern extreme Metal. A tip of the hat also goes to Municipal Waste, whose early '90s crossover styled beer 'n' bong antics have sparked a violent resurgence of classic, feel-good party Thrash.

Even the most inaccessible of Metal genres, Grindcore, is getting its dose of happy pills. Australia's The Senseless, a one-man project envisioned by Sam Bean of The Berzerker, has just delivered a monster dose of good feelings with the debut In The Realm of The Senseless. A self-described "extreme happy Metal project," The Senseless delivers hyperspeed blasts around "happy" sounding chord progressions and lyrics that discuss such familiar topics as quitting one's job and the need for a vacation. Now, who can't relate to that?

I'm not ragging on all things grim and decaying. As I've said before, those things have their place and will always be a part of Metal, but I imagine even the most die-hard purists could do with something a little bit more uplifting from time to time. Otherwise Metalheads left and right might start to pack up their things and take their fanatical devotion to more poppy pastures. That is something we simply cannot have.

Is variety not the spice of life? I would like to think it is. And fun is always a good spice to have in any mixture.