Two Unrelated Genres: Mingus and Five Finger Death Punch?

Two worlds colliding may not even describe the coming comparison - the two worlds might miss each other altogether.
Other than existing in the galaxy of music, the genres of heavy metal and jazz have nothing - reasonably speaking - in common. The chugging breakdowns of the former are about as far as one can get from the
smooth, laid-back trumpet solos of the latter. From what I've seen, jazz proponents laud the difficulty of "their" genre to master and the room for letting loose emotions as the reason for preferring jazz. Metalheads, on the other hand, are busy fending off misconceptions about the "dark" genre they love.
Somehow, I happen to be involved in both. I'm a long-time metal fan who's still trying to wrap his head around the complexities of jazz, as I recently picked up the trumpet to play in one of my school's jazz combos.

The juxtaposition of these two genres sometimes leaves me utterly confused.
The first thing to clarify, or rather specify, is what subgenre of these giant genres I'm talking about. "Metal" is a term broad enough to contain bands from tame Linkin Park to caustic Meshuggah, while jazz largely depends on the era. For the purposes of this blog, I'm focusing on the recordings "Mingus Ah Um" (by renowned bass player Charles Mingus, released 1959) and "War Is The Answer" (by Five Finger Death Punch, released 2009). You can find both at your local libraries: just ask for the CD section.  Check out the Mingus here: Mingus Ah Um and Five Finger Death Punch here: War Is The Answer.
The first thing that struck me about jazz was not the improvisation, nor the artistic style of the performers (though both elements are crucial!); I was held back by the seemingly free-form structure of the tunes. Metal songs have a fairly rigid form; sometimes four repeated chords and two others for a bridge can make up a whole song. In addition, the tried-and-true verse-chorus is rarely altered. Just about every song on the Five Finger Death Punch record follows this form.
My combo is playing three selections from "Mingus Ah Um": "Better Git It In Your Soul," "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," and "Jelly Roll." As a total departure from conventional forms, the sheer amount of chords on "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" simply could not be comprehended by my metal-oriented aeolian brain! It's a good thing the song is a tenor sax feature, because memorizing everything from an F7#9 to the ending Fm11 is just not cool. I say that jokingly, but even a standard 12-bar blues (implemented for example, in the solo section of "Better Git It") has more nuances than the standard metal chorus. "Crossing Over" (on the FFDP record) uses the same four chords for the chorus for example.
Back to the style comparison: if you've ever heard Five Finger Death Punch before (not really for the faint of hear), you'd recognize their mood as quite angsty. "Dying Breed," the title track, and "Burn it Down" will tell you that much. Mingus' "Jelly Roll" and "Better Git It" on the other hand, seem to be lighthearted tracks, characterized by a lot of little fills and polytonal melodies. Ivan Moody (singer of FFDP), on the other hand, is pretty much the only tone you're hear on a FFDP track. The difference in moods is not a surprising find, given the stereotypes that the two genres sometime possess.
The moods of "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," "Crossing Over," and "Far From Home" are surprisingly similary, however. You'd think jazz sans-singer and heavy metal would never have the same mood, but all three are melancholy enough to make the listener sit down and think. The Mingus tune, a deeply sad one, was written for Lester Young, who had died two months before the recording session. "Crossing Over," follows the hardships of relatives of soldiers who had died in combat: again, a phenomenal song that reflects the hardships of death.
I invite the reader to think open-mindedly about two subjects that may have stark differences. Music is a highly opinionated topic, but even Mingus and Five Finger Death Punch can be enjoyed together. There are apparently even heavy metal jazz groups out there...I wonder how that would sound. I bet curious jazz and metal fans alike wonder as well.  And be sure to check out the Mingus Jazz Festival in Nogales in April 2014.
Bryan