Official METAL Thread

[btbam]

Haha thanks. Glad to say after about a week of importing on and off my digital conversion is going well!

[Dylan0987]

Read through the last few pages of this. Kind of started when someone was talking about Ghost. Man, I can't stand Ghost. I went to the Heritage Hunter tour this year with Opeth/Mastodon and Ghost and made a point to not show up until Ghost was done (mission accomplished by the way).

Anyway, if you like Ghost, check out Mercyful Fate/King Diamond



I've pretty much given up on most new extreme metal. All of the new Lamb of God-esque bands (sorry to LoG fans) are just to much to handle. Uninspired, nothing new. It's a sad time. Most death metal has gotten stale as well, the few bands that I care to listen to still are not from the new albums, all older albums. To many extreme tech death metal bands that want to sound like Necrophagist except more wankery (sweep sweep sweep sweep sweep sweep dun dun dun dun dun sweep sweep sweep sweep)



Other more generic death metal wants to sound like Thelema.6/Demigod Behemoth (i.e. a blackened death metal)



Then there is deathcore, which seems to sort of be on the way out. It was all pretty much riding on the back of Despised Icon (who were quite good)



For black metal, it's been pretty quite I find. It's much more interesting than recent Death Metal. New Marduk is great, the last Mayhem album was awesome and there are tonnes of good bands in the underground still like Deathspell Omega (check out Kenose) and Aura Noir.

What I am mostly listening to as of late is stoner/doom/post-metal/drone/whatever the fuck you want to call it. Bands like Neurosis, Sleep, Isis, Kyuss,





I've also been listening to a lot of Grind lately. Super fast and great.




etc. etc.

I'm obviously applying huge blanket statements to Death Metal and the new wave of american heavy metal. In general I have a hard time listening to them, asI'm sure you will with other things.

If you're feeling adventurous check out some of the stuff I posted

[Ixion]

Read through the last few pages of this. Kind of started when someone was talking about Ghost. Man, I can't stand Ghost. I went to the Heritage Hunter tour this year with Opeth/Mastodon and Ghost and made a point to not show up until Ghost was done (mission accomplished by the way).

Ghost is nothing special. They just make solid, old-fashioned metal. And their live performances are pretty funny (as I went to the Heritage Hunter tour as well). But if someone is as deep into metal as you seem to be, then I can see why you'd find them boring.

As for the other genres you listed, I've only listened to some of the more popular bands for each genre, except Grind and Deathcore. I can't see myself ever getting into Deathcore though.

[Ixion]

Amon Amarth - Once Sent From The Golden Hall



Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Released: 1998

Rating: 4/5

This is Amon Amarth's first album and it's certainly rawer and more aggressive than their later work. There is also a lack of choruses, which makes for a fresh listen compared to the proceeding albums, as the band relies more on keeping the songs fresh instead of repeating a sing-a-long chorus. However, each song may not be as memorable, even though the album is quite strong the entire way through.



Strapping Young Lad - City



Genre: Industrial Metal, Extreme Metal

Released: 1997

Rating: 4/5

The heavy wall of sound and Devin's soaring vocals make this album an engulfing listening experience. Half of this album is comprised of some top-notch tracks, such as "All Hail The New Flesh", "Detox", "AAA", and "Spirituality". The rest of the album is solid, with "Oh My Fucking God" being the only track I couldn't get into, even though it seems to be a fan favorite for its wacky nature.

[btbam]

@Dylan, I would probably agree with you sentiments, there are many modern metal bands are goin in the shitter. I think its alot of the just straight grindcore bands that are lackluster. Because i still think there is tremendous talent making incredible music. Take Gojira for example, Between the Buried and Me, Meshuggah, Mastodon, Devin Townsend, Ihsahn. These bands are continuing to make incredible music. I never was a Lamb of God fan, because i really think its metal by the numbers. Heavy in heavy's name only. I want heavy as a really heavy thing! There are bands out there making great shit.

@Ixion, don't forget Shitstorm, Far Beyond Metal, Wrong Side, and Skeksis!

[Dylan0987]

Ghost is nothing special. They just make solid, old-fashioned metal. And their live performances are pretty funny (as I went to the Heritage Hunter tour as well). But if someone is as deep into metal as you seem to be, then I can see why you'd find them boring.

As for the other genres you listed, I've only listened to some of the more popular bands for each genre, except Grind and Deathcore. I can't see myself ever getting into Deathcore though.

They just aren't something I can get into. A lot of friends of mine can't get into them either. Just doesn't work for me.

Deathcore sucks anyway. Don't bother. If you want to check any of it out, it should be Despised Icon. They weren't really Deathcore (particularly on their first two albums) and they were one of the quarterbacks of it when it first hit.

You seem pretty newish to metal as a whole, which is great. Learn the roots. If you like a band, chances are you will like the stuff that influenced them. Nothing is more frustrating then someone saying, "OH MAN, I LOVE IN FLAMES!" or whatever other band and they haven't heard of At The Gates or Dark Tranquillity.

@Dylan, I would probably agree with you sentiments, there are many modern metal bands are goin in the shitter. I think its alot of the just straight grindcore bands that are lackluster. Because i still think there is tremendous talent making incredible music. Take Gojira for example, Between the Buried and Me, Meshuggah, Mastodon, Devin Townsend, Ihsahn. These bands are continuing to make incredible music. I never was a Lamb of God fan, because i really think its metal by the numbers. Heavy in heavy's name only. I want heavy as a really heavy thing! There are bands out there making great shit.

I agree for the most part, although I would probably disagree with you on the grind part (or maybe you just happen to come across bad Grind bands). There are some bands doing interesting stuff, even if I don't care for it, and that is awesome but there is a huge portion of most "popular" extreme metal that is very bland and stale and doesn't really feel like what metal should be about.

Because of that, I've been focusing more on doom/stoner stuff, which is all about feeling the music. Dat groove. Also big into hip hop lately. Wu, Tribe, MF Doom, some others.

Here is some more stuff:


Graveyard:
These guys fucking rule. I don't know what I would classify them as. They are like...hard rock. Straight outta the 70's. So good.


Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats:
Pure (original 6) Black Sabbath worship. Great stuff.

Fuck the Facts:
Great grind from Ottawa. Female singer if that is something you are into.

Cephalic Carnage:
Although their last album wasn't as pleasing to me as their previous, these guys are probably the best "death metal" band going right now that no one cares about.

[DarkVincent07]

I think after doing lots of research, my favourite genres are Metalcore and Nu-Metal... they seem to be what the bands I enjoy hearing the most fall under, so, so be it

Although according to iTunes Soilwork are 'Death Metal' but I don't really see that.. maybe in their older albums. But yeah.. genres confuse me

[Ixion]

Nothing is more frustrating then someone saying, "OH MAN, I LOVE IN FLAMES!" or whatever other band and they haven't heard of At The Gates or Dark Tranquillity.

Well hey, In Flames is one of the pioneers too, along with those two bands. But yeah, I've always known about the Big Three of Melodeath. In Flames was of course the first one I got into, and you have to agree their early albums are fucking great. I have Slaughter of the Soul as well, which is also a pretty kickass album.

I still haven't gotten around to Dark Tranquility yet though. They're on my list.

I think after doing lots of research, my favourite genres are Metalcore and Nu-Metal... they seem to be what the bands I enjoy hearing the most fall under, so, so be it

The two most looked down upon genres. lol

Don't worry though. We're all supportive here. I went through that stage too, as I'm sure many others did as well. Those aren't necessarily bad genres, but there's just much more interesting stuff out there.

Although according to iTunes Soilwork are 'Death Metal' but I don't really see that.. maybe in their older albums. But yeah.. genres confuse me

Soilwork is basically Melodeath with more clean vocals, which makes it sound closer to Metalcore. I'm guessing that's why you're into them.

[DarkVincent07]

AI see I see. I shall evolve! Over time.. Haha. As stated though I do dabble in a bit of everything but those are the genres I seem to like most.
Every week I've been adding more and more albums to my iTunes so eventually I will become more knowledgeable.

For years I just knew what I listened to and listened to what I knew. Was wry closed minded about new music.


The first two albums of Soilwork have next to no clean vocals, and I really dig them which isn't something I usuaLly would enjoy


Via Tapatalk

[Ixion]

The first two albums of Soilwork have next to no clean vocals, and I really dig them which isn't something I usuaLly would enjoy

Yeah, I'm not terribly familiar with Soilwork. Usually when I want to check out a band I'll just listen to a couple songs on Youtube, and if I dig the sound I'll add them to my list. So when I listened to them, I must have checked out their newer stuff.

[Ixion]

Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad



Genre: Industrial Metal, Extreme Metal

Released: 2003

Rating: 4/5

This is a very consistent album, as I found every song enjoyable and there's never a moment devoid of well done riffage. That's the difference I noticed with this album compared to City, as the riffs are the focus this time around instead of the "wall of sound". Both approaches are enjoyable in their own way. However, while being more consistent, this album doesn't have many tracks that will blow you away.



The Gathering - Mandylion



Genre: Gothic Metal, Doom Metal

Released: 1995

Rating: 4/5

This is as soothing as metal can get. The songs are moderately paced and the vocals are angelic. Six of the songs sound quite similar, even though they're still good and contain some interesting sections that add to the gothic atmosphere. With that said, the title song changes things up with an atmospheric instrumental, while the following song, "Sand & Mercury", is the longest song on the album and adds some progressive elements into the mix.

[Lethal_NFS]

Tommy Lee's drum roller coaster solo is pretty damn cool.

[Dylan0987]

Well hey, In Flames is one of the pioneers too, along with those two bands. But yeah, I've always known about the Big Three of Melodeath. In Flames was of course the first one I got into, and you have to agree their early albums are fucking great. I have Slaughter of the Soul as well, which is also a pretty kickass album.

I still haven't gotten around to Dark Tranquility yet though. They're on my list.

Yeah, they are one of the big proponents of melodic death metal. Not ripping on In Flames (even though I can't say I like a lot of their newer stuff), rather as someone who listens to all types of music (metal in particular) it is frustrating to hear people say how much they love X band but don't care to explore outside of that band particularly the bands that influenced them, etc. In Flames and At The Gates were probably a poor example of that. I should use something like...Trivium or Atreyu and At The Gates.

Lunar Strain and The Jester Race are my favorite In Flames albums for sure though.

[btbam]

Tommy Lee's drum roller coaster solo is pretty damn cool.

LOVE IT! haha. Only in Metal can you have anything so ridiculous and awesome at the same time. Metal is the celebration, and parody of its own greatness.

[Ixion]

Yeah, they are one of the big proponents of melodic death metal. Not ripping on In Flames (even though I can't say I like a lot of their newer stuff), rather as someone who listens to all types of music (metal in particular) it is frustrating to hear people say how much they love X band but don't care to explore outside of that band particularly the bands that influenced them, etc. In Flames and At The Gates were probably a poor example of that. I should use something like...Trivium or Atreyu and At The Gates.

Lunar Strain and The Jester Race are my favorite In Flames albums for sure though.

Yeah, I used to be into Trivium too. They're a solid band (and I saw them live with In Flames earlier this year), but once I started exploring other types of metal, I realized how bland they are.

As for In Flames, I think everything from Lunar Strain to Clayman is worth having. They still made some good songs after that, but overall I didn't like how chorus-heavy they became.

[Metal Warrior]

Anyone on here checked out Hell's first ever studio album Human Remains? It was released last year but the funny thing is, this band actually started back in 1982 as a part of the NWOBHM movement! I'm a massive fan of early 80's English bands with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Saxon all at their very best, but I'd never heard of Hell. They sort of failed back then, but they've finally made a record containing stuff they wrote back then. I had the pleasure of seeing them last weekend at a small Belgian metal festival and they simply blew me away with an energetic performance.



Yes it's all a bit over the top but it works! The clip is a good representation of their live show.

Other bands at the festival were Warbringer, a fine young thrash band from LA or thereabouts, Crimson Glory who were supposed to be a big name but sounded like any generic power metal band I've ever heard, Primordial (folk/black metal, not bad but not particularly memorable), Testament with a raging set, Iced Earth (first time I say them with the new singer, great replacement for Barlow) and Immortal. Immortal disappointed me a bit by suddenly stopping way ahead of schedule. Apparently someone threw beer at Abbath and they just sodded off. They still had 2 songs on their setlist including At the Heart of Winter, so that sucked. No Blashyrkh either, massive disappointment. Still a nice show though, with some personal favourites like Withstand the Fall of Time, Damned in Black and the brutal Solarfall.

A week earlier I had been to another local festival with Dio Disciples, Ministry, Saxon, In Flames and Machine Head. Dio Disciples did a fantastic Dio tribute with Tim Ripper Owens on vocals. It was a nice (if short) set with songs from his time at Rainbow, Black Sabbath and of course DIO. Of the top of my head: Stand Up And Shout (killer opening song), Holy Diver, Egypt, Last In Line, Neon Knights, Heaven And Hell, Long Live Rock And Roll and Man On The Silver Mountain. Hell yeah. Of course I would've liked a few others like Don't Talk To Strangers, Rainbow in the Dark, Mob Rules, Die Young and Kill the King, but the great man just has too many brilliant songs in his repertoire to play in a single show (especially if you're not limited to a single on of his bands). It's not the same as seeing Ronnie James Dio himself (and I'm very thankful to have seen him a few times), but it's a wonderful tribute.

Ministry is, I'm sorry to say, utter garbage live nowadays. Al Jourgensen just isn't up to it anymore. It was a pitiful performance by him and the sound was just completely off as well. All I could hear was pounding drums, that's it. Poor show. Saxon completely made up for it though! It was the fourth time I saw them and by far the best. They really got everyone going and singing along, especially on Denim and Leather and Princess of the Night which are always great fan favourites. Biff is still a wonderful singer at the age of 61, it's like his voice has never aged.

In Flames, ugh, what can I say. I'm such a massive, massive fan of The Jester Race. I place it alongside At The Gate's Slaughter of the Soul and Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane as the pinnacle of Gothenburg metal. But I absolutely despise the band they've become today. They've wiped their early classic albums from their memory and become a downright atrocious generic "modern" metal band. I don't think they played a single song from pre-Reroute to Remain. And if they did if would've been a poor excuse anyway, as Anders Friden has become a lousy singer. I'm simply disgusted how they continue to ruin the name In Flames. You might think I'm going a bit over the top here, but music and metal in particular is one of my biggest passions, so this sort of thing really gets to me.

We had to miss most of Machine Head due to personal reasons unfortunately. I'd seen them at Graspop at the end of June anyway so that's not too bad. Not my favourite band but I know they're good for a great live show.

I just love our metal summers over here.

[Ixion]

Anyone on here checked out Hell's first ever studio album Human Remains? It was released last year but the funny thing is, this band actually started back in 1982 as a part of the NWOBHM movement! I'm a massive fan of early 80's English bands with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Saxon all at their very best, but I'd never heard of Hell. They sort of failed back then, but they've finally made a record containing stuff they wrote back then. I had the pleasure of seeing them last weekend at a small Belgian metal festival and they simply blew me away with an energetic performance.



Yes it's all a bit over the top but it works! The clip is a good representation of their live show.

Other bands at the festival were Warbringer, a fine young thrash band from LA or thereabouts, Crimson Glory who were supposed to be a big name but sounded like any generic power metal band I've ever heard, Primordial (folk/black metal, not bad but not particularly memorable), Testament with a raging set, Iced Earth (first time I say them with the new singer, great replacement for Barlow) and Immortal. Immortal disappointed me a bit by suddenly stopping way ahead of schedule. Apparently someone threw beer at Abbath and they just sodded off. They still had 2 songs on their setlist including At the Heart of Winter, so that sucked. No Blashyrkh either, massive disappointment. Still a nice show though, with some personal favourites like Withstand the Fall of Time, Damned in Black and the brutal Solarfall.

A week earlier I had been to another local festival with Dio Disciples, Ministry, Saxon, In Flames and Machine Head. Dio Disciples did a fantastic Dio tribute with Tim Ripper Owens on vocals. It was a nice (if short) set with songs from his time at Rainbow, Black Sabbath and of course DIO. Of the top of my head: Stand Up And Shout (killer opening song), Holy Diver, Egypt, Last In Line, Neon Knights, Heaven And Hell, Long Live Rock And Roll and Man On The Silver Mountain. Hell yeah. Of course I would've liked a few others like Don't Talk To Strangers, Rainbow in the Dark, Mob Rules, Die Young and Kill the King, but the great man just has too many brilliant songs in his repertoire to play in a single show (especially if you're not limited to a single on of his bands). It's not the same as seeing Ronnie James Dio himself (and I'm very thankful to have seen him a few times), but it's a wonderful tribute.

Ministry is, I'm sorry to say, utter garbage live nowadays. Al Jourgensen just isn't up to it anymore. It was a pitiful performance by him and the sound was just completely off as well. All I could hear was pounding drums, that's it. Poor show. Saxon completely made up for it though! It was the fourth time I saw them and by far the best. They really got everyone going and singing along, especially on Denim and Leather and Princess of the Night which are always great fan favourites. Biff is still a wonderful singer at the age of 61, it's like his voice has never aged.

In Flames, ugh, what can I say. I'm such a massive, massive fan of The Jester Race. I place it alongside At The Gate's Slaughter of the Soul and Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane as the pinnacle of Gothenburg metal. But I absolutely despise the band they've become today. They've wiped their early classic albums from their memory and become a downright atrocious generic "modern" metal band. I don't think they played a single song from pre-Reroute to Remain. And if they did if would've been a poor excuse anyway, as Anders Friden has become a lousy singer. I'm simply disgusted how they continue to ruin the name In Flames. You might think I'm going a bit over the top here, but music and metal in particular is one of my biggest passions, so this sort of thing really gets to me.

We had to miss most of Machine Head due to personal reasons unfortunately. I'd seen them at Graspop at the end of June anyway so that's not too bad. Not my favourite band but I know they're good for a great live show.

I just love our metal summers over here.

In Flames' music has gotten very generic over the last ten years, but when I saw them in February, they sounded great, had a lot of energy, got the crowd going, and Anders was really funny. So it was still very enjoyable for me. And for our show, I think the only Pre-Reroute song they played was "The Hive" off Whoracle.

Also, In Flames insist that their modern material is much better for the live setting. They said their newer stuff gets the crowd going more because its heavier and therefore better for moshing (instead of using a lot of melody like their old material), there's always a sing-a-long chorus, and of course their newer songs are simply more well known. I'm not saying I personally prefer to hear their newer songs (obviously not), but I guess that reasoning makes sense.

[Metal Warrior]

I don't think there's any valid reason to justify just how much of a musical change they've gone through. They've gone from being a pioneer of melodic death metal with beautiful harmonic guitar parts to a generic modern metal band. I don't care how much energy they have or how much more suited it is to a live show if the actual music is god awful drab. It has nothing to do with In Flames anymore. Why not become a hair metal band?

[Ixion]

I don't think there's any valid reason to justify just how much of a musical change they've gone through. They've gone from being a pioneer of melodic death metal with beautiful harmonic guitar parts to a generic modern metal band. I don't care how much energy they have or how much more suited it is to a live show if the actual music is god awful drab. It has nothing to do with In Flames anymore. Why not become a hair metal band?

I never said I liked their changes. I was just providing their explanation.

[Metal Warrior]

I never said I liked their changes. I was just providing their explanation.

And I'm just telling you what I think of their explanation.

[Ixion]

Strapping Young Lad - Alien



Genre: Progressive Metal, Extreme Metal

Released: 2005

Rating: 4.5/5

This is my favorite album so far from this band. Not only is this a very consistent album, but it's more progressive and has a greater concern for pacing (partly due to the soft piece, 'Two Weeks', which provides a nice reprieve between the chaos). 'Skeksis' might be one of the most structurally interesting metal songs I've ever heard, while 'Shitstorm' vents Devin's anger in a very enjoyable way. In the middle of the song, there's a certain build-up and eventual climax that is very satisfying. Additionally, the occasional use of deep bass drops throughout the album is something I've never really heard before in this type of music, but I felt they were used sparingly enough to emphasize certain moments without becoming tiresome.



The Gathering - Nighttime Birds



Genre: Progressive Metal, Gothic Metal

Released: 1997

Rating: 4/5

Another extremely solid album from these folks. This album sees the band moving more towards progressive song structures, but overall, the sound is still very similar to the preceding album. Every song is enjoyable, but like with Mandylions, it will take quite a few listens to distinguish some of these songs, as this band can sound pretty 'samey'.

[btbam]

Just wait til you get to "New Black" by SYL. I think you'll end up liking that one the most. Its not as heavy as Alien but it has great songs on it. "Wong Side" epic song, "Far Beyond Metal" is basically a parody and celebration of Metal in general (because it can be pretty stupid genre sometimes lol) basically compares metal to masturbation. The whole album is so solid. hope you enjoy!

[Ixion]

Just wait til you get to "New Black" by SYL. I think you'll end up liking that one the most. Its not as heavy as Alien but it has great songs on it. "Wong Side" epic song, "Far Beyond Metal" is basically a parody and celebration of Metal in general (because it can be pretty stupid genre sometimes lol) basically compares metal to masturbation. The whole album is so solid. hope you enjoy!

Is that your favorite SYL album?

Also, I'm guessing you've listened to Epicloud already? Devin put it up on Youtube I believe, but I think he talks over it. Everyone has been praising it.

[btbam]

Is that your favorite SYL album?

Also, I'm guessing you've listened to Epicloud already? Devin put it up on Youtube I believe, but I think he talks over it. Everyone has been praising it.

i havn't. I didn't know he put it up. If its how he did the commentary for the other DTP albums i'm sure its great. The commentary is just phenomenal. Goes into really great detail about the recording process, the ideas behind the songs etc etc. I'll check it out after i give it a listen.

To answer your first question, its hard to really pick a favorite SYL album since they are all really different. Heavy as a really heavy thing is really raw and intense. Alien is heavy as all hell. And New Black for example is not as heavy but still metal. It also brings back some of the tongue and cheek humor that made Heavy as a really heavy thing great. I think why i don't relate to Alien as much because he tried to hard to make a real, heavy Metal album but kind of forgot what got him there in the first place. Best part about New Black is he doesn't take it seriously. The music is still serious, but then he makes a song like "you suck" and "far beyond metal" which really make the album memorable. So to make a long story longer...Maybe its my favorite?

[Ixion]

i havn't. I didn't know he put it up. If its how he did the commentary for the other DTP albums i'm sure its great. The commentary is just phenomenal. Goes into really great detail about the recording process, the ideas behind the songs etc etc. I'll check it out after i give it a listen.

I just checked and it seems the commentary video has been taken down anyway. Devin wasn't supposed to put it up yet.

Also, what are your thoughts on City? A lot of people seem to think that's his best, and while it has some fantastic songs on it, I think it's slightly overrated, but still very good.