... i doubt you have heard Anathema's "Silent Enigma" album. thats their last metal album. but yeah... i dont see how Anathema or even Opeth's "Damnation" is geared towards metal people. its just soft music. thats all, a lot of metal people listen to those releases because of the band's previous history as metal bands, thats all. you can um... listen to flamenco if you want to hear flamenco or middle eastern music if you want that middle eastern feel. music doesnt need to be all over the place to be good. speed is just endurance, good songwriting is skill. sort of like i would say that Michael Romeo is a better all around guitarist than Yngwie Malmsteen because Romeo can shred (not as fast as Malmsteen) and he makes WAY more enjoyable music. not that Malmsteen's music is bad... its just not as creative. just because you can play fast, doesnt mean you're a better musician/just because a song is fast, doesnt mean its a better song. people need to start listening to the music so they can feel the emotion that is being portrayed by the song. to each his own i guess, but half the people i know dont really get the whole purpose of the most of the music that they are listening to. like, "i only care about lyrics" type of people. they make me sick.