MOSH PIT: The "Metalhead" Thread

[Hacksaw Highway]

So I forgot to answer the questions beforew, figured I'd do that
What are your Favourite Bands?
My top 5 metal bands would go:
1. Mastodon
2. Metallica
3. System of a Down
4. Meshuggah
5. Killswitch Engage
Favourite Classic Albums?
Metallica's Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice For All, Meshuggah's Chaosphere, Pantera's Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power, White Zombie's La Sexorcisto and Astro-Creep: 2000.
Best Albums of 2009?
Far and away the best CD of the year is Crack the Skye so far but I'm still waiting to hear Priestess's Prior to the Fire and Converge's Axe to Fall. Dethalbum II by Dethklok blew the first one out of the water, amazing CD especially when you consider the band is a cartoon. Wrath was very good, Killswitch Engage was pretty good too but a little bit of a let down after their last 2 phenominal CDs.
Best Shows You've Been To?
Easily my favorite show was Dethklok, Mastodon, Converge and High on Fire in Vancouver last month. I'm not really into High on Fire but I enjoyed them, Converge I had never really listened to before but after their set i went and bought Jane Doe because they blew me away live. Mastodon was absolutely amazing in every sense of the word, and Dethklok wrapped it up nicely.
Are You in a Band?
Nope, I used to do screaming back up vocals in my friends' band Sting Ray ****e but it didnt fit the music very well and I'm not very good at it either.

 

[Remy LaCroix]

Amazing. I'm surprised that about a quarter of this thread has not-so-obscure-but-still-not mainstream metal bands mentioned here. As for the remaining three-quarters, that stuff isn't metal: Korn, no; Mudvayne, no; Drowning Pool, no; Evanescense, hell no! You get the point.

Back on topic (sorta), is this thread solely about metal? I mean, there are people who listen to that faux-screamo stuff and call it metal/screamo and get away with it. I'm guessing this thread will be the same? If so, will I be able to mention real screamo instead? Or will I have to create a thread for that myself?

ANYWHO, are there any fans of the following:

Zoroaster
A Storm of Light
Battle of Mice
Asunder
Bongzilla
Vital Remains
Darkthrone
Graves at Sea
Shape of Despair
Sourvein
Fondlecorpse
Sombre Forets
The Funeral Orchestra
Neurosis
Saint Vitus
Isengard
Corrupted
Belphegor
Sunn O)))
Behemoth
Cannabis Corpse
Monarch!
Akercocke
Frightmare
Ahab
Weedeater

I'd be nice to have a discussion about metal.

 

[MattMoses]

Amazing. I'm surprised that about a quarter of this thread has not-so-obscure-but-still-not mainstream metal bands mentioned here.

Surely you don't expect people to exclusively listen to uber kvlt underground bands who record their music in a sewer with chainsaws do you? Some of the greatest metal bands of all-time just happen to be well-known.

As for the remaining three-quarters, that stuff isn't metal: Korn, no;

How exactly are Korn not metal? I know they're often borderline hard rock, but nu-metal sadly falls under the broad umbrella term of metal. The same goes for Mudvayne and Drowning Pool. But I'm in agreement with Evanescence.

Back on topic (sorta), is this thread solely about metal?

Metal and its wide array of sub-genres, yes.

I mean, there are people who listen to that faux-screamo stuff and call it metal/screamo and get away with it.

Some if it can easily be defined as metal.

Behemoth
Akercocke
Neurosis

Absolutely phenomenal bands. Seen both Akercocke and Behemoth live and met the guys from Akercocke. Behemoth's death metal phase is just brilliant, I'm not too keen on their earlier Black metal stuff though.

Bongzilla
Vital Remains
Shape of Despair
The Funeral Orchestra
Saint Vitus
Corrupted
Belphegor
Ahab
Weedeter

Great bands. The Funeral Orchestra, Ahab and Weedeater are hit-and-miss for me, but given the right mood, I enjoy the fuck out of them.

Zoroaster
A Storm of Light
Battle of Mice
Asunder
Darkthrone
Graves at Sea
Sourvein
Fondlecorpse
Sombre Forets
Cannabis Corpse
Monarch!
Frightmare

Not so great bands. Most are pretty bad.

Sunn O)))

The most boring pile of festering shit I've ever had the displeasure of hearing.

I'd be nice to have a discussion about metal.

Feel free to talk about anything previously mentioned in more detail. I'd be happy to.

 

[Remy LaCroix]

I just spewed a majority of those bands to see if anybody would be all "ZOMG THEYRE NOT ON A MAJOR LABEL OR TOURING WITH SLIPKNOT OR ON SNO(OZZ)FEST SO THEY MUST SUCK1!1". I should've grown up on my behalf, really.

But I rarely listen to metal as it is. Mostly indie-rock, hardcore or powerviolence.

Anybody a fan of Shai Hulud?


Quote:
How exactly are Korn not metal? I know they're often borderline hard rock, but nu-metal sadly falls under the broad umbrella term of metal. The same goes for Mudvayne and Drowning Pool. But I'm in agreement with Evanescence.

People call Led Zeppelin and KISS heavy metal, when they are clearly not by today's standards. Yeah, their music was out of the norm back in the days, but today it's called "classic rock" (a stupid term used for anything that was popular in the old days).

The terms emo and screamo have been heavily bastardized, yet the bands that are labeled those terms are clearly not emo or screamo. I'd lump metalcore with screamo because people use both terms the wrong way for a good chunk of bands today to justify how a band sounds like, but now I'm just starting to talk out of my bum.

Where was I going with this? Same as above. Just because guitars are down-tuned, double-bass pedals are used, lyrics are screamed out or growled, etc, it doesn't mean it's metal. But who knows, maybe it's just an outcast and doesn't fit in with doom, thrash, death, black, etc metal.

 

[MattMoses]

I just spewed a majority of those bands to see if anybody would be all "ZOMG THEYRE NOT ON A MAJOR LABEL OR TOURING WITH SLIPKNOT OR ON SNO(OZZ)FEST SO THEY MUST SUCK1!1". I should've grown up on my behalf, really.

If you had read the thread beforehand, you would have seen that isn't the case here. The posters in this thread aren't here to look down on other people because of the bands they like.

But I rarely listen to metal as it is. Mostly indie-rock, hardcore or powerviolence.

Indie-rock's about the only genre I truly detest, and powerviolence is pretty awful from what I've heard. Just like a messy collaboration of thrash and grindcore with shitty raw black metal production.

Anybody a fan of Shai Hulud?

I just checked out the song "Misanthropy Pure" and I must say I enjoyed it. I think it's more kinda X's thing so perhaps he'll have something more to say about them.

People call Led Zeppelin and KISS heavy metal, when they are clearly not by today's standards. Yeah, their music was out of the norm back in the days, but today it's called "classic rock" (a stupid term used for anything that was popular in the old days).

I wouldn't argue if somebody called Led Zeppelin heavy metal. I guess I could understand that. KISS on the other hand, glam rock defines them more than anything.

The terms emo and screamo have been heavily bastardized, yet the bands that are labeled those terms are clearly not emo or screamo.

I agree. To me, stuff like Circle Takes The Square, pg. 99 and Orchid are Screamo, while bands like Rites of Spring and Jawbreaker are Emo. Most of this new stuff gets falsely labelled, and these are two genres which tend to have it happen to most.

I'd lump metalcore with screamo because people use both terms the wrong way for a good chunk of bands today to justify how a band sounds like, but now I'm just starting to talk out of my bum.

I enjoy alot of Metalcore. The tag gets thrown around way too loosely these days, but there's still a handful of great bands out there who are playing it. Sadly it's become watered down in recent years and far too many generic metalcore bands are coming to fruition and gaining far too much exposure.

I think we should get back to the metal discussion now.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

So, I was thinking just now....

What are peoples' opinions on Progressive bands that feature elements of Metal, but also feature a wide range of other genres like Pop, Jazz and Folk? Im talking bands like Porcupine Tree, The Dear Hunter, Grayceon, Winds, No-Man, Dream Theater, Riverside....all that kind of stuff.

Any other band suggestions?
Discuss

 

[MattMoses]

What are peoples' opinions on Progressive bands that feature elements of Metal, but also feature a wide range of other genres like Pop, Jazz and Folk? Im talking bands like Porcupine Tree, The Dear Hunter, Grayceon, Winds, No-Man, Dream Theater, Riverside....all that kind of stuff.

I have a love/hate relationship with Prog Metal. Dream Theater being the main one. They're no doubt phenomenal musicians who've wrote some great stuff, but I just find them completely uninteresting. James LaBrie is a huge turn-off, and very rarely do I think keyboards go well in metal (the more symphonic which spans several sub-genres in itself have some pretty great bands like Epica, Emperor and Therion). Porcupine Tree and No-Man have some really solid material. The Dear Hunter, Grayceon and Riverside I never thought were very good, maybe a great song here and there but that's about it.

Winds are just amazing, especially live. I had the pleasure of meeting their guitarist Carl Tidemann when I saw them, very cool guy. The Arcturus fanboy in me came out and I couldn't stop praising his work, he seemed quite thrilled about it. Earlier Winds are the essentials, but I've always thought Prominence and Demise was relatively weak in the riffing department, sounding really uninspired with bland chugging which lacked the groovy and energy of their earlier material. Still, a brilliant band nontheless.

Any other band suggestions?

What with Jazz being one of my favourite genres along with Metal, it's always a real treat to come across a band playing both styles or something similar. One of my favourites is Panzerballet, who are probably one of the most consistently good and entertaining examples of metal and jazz working together. They're kind of post-thrashy with their style of guitar playing, reminiscent of Meshuggah at times, though the focus is usually more on funky hooks than ridiculous time-signatures and pumelling polyrhythms. Add that with some bright and acrobatic sax playing and voila, you have some brilliant music. Their stuff is quite hard to find, and unfortunately, there isn't many samples on YouTube for you to check out, and their MySpace seems to have been deleted.

Diablo Swing Orchestra are another great band. Luckily some of their best stuff is on YouTube. Take a listen:

[YOUTUBE]Ad-l54T_kYY[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]-SWdrQw0e0A[/YOUTUBE]

Bands like Alarum, Dysrhythmia, Canvas Solaris, To-Mera, Martyr, Sculptured and The Faceless also have pretty heavy Jazz influences in their music, though most of these are much heavier, delving in the tech/prog death territory. All worth checking out though.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

BarbedWire... I got your suggestion for iwrestledabearonce's song "Cat's Pajama's" and I have to say, I have not been swayed as of yet to become a fan of them. Granted it might be the way that I am not much of a fan of things being experimental metal, but they don't have anything that I can see that other bands don't have... in otherword, they are nothing special.

Right now, I'd like to counteract these guys with another band that are on the rise at the moment and are within the Melodic Death Metal or (insert start name here)core area. Female singer as well who can sing both scream and clean vocals, as well as being quite attractive... not that appearances of band members influence great music or anything

This band is The Agonist. They formed in 2004 but have not made any albums until 2007 and another in 2009, Once Only Imagined and Lullabies For The Dormant Mind, respectively. As like basically everyone, they sound decent on record... to which the better of the two albums thus far is LFTDM by miles. Live, it depends on which shows you are talking about. They have been known to generate nothing but noise where you'd rather listen to a newly-formed band just jam horribly or get into the show and actually get some hype into seeing them or the main act for the night.

Alissa, the vocalist, is probably the best part about this band. Not because she is the woman or the vocalist, but because she seems to be the most talented of the group. The bass players and drummers do their job correctly, but nothing special. The guitars are alright I guess, but again... its nothing special neither. So, lets take a few looks at what they have produced:

Spoiler: 2007 Album

[YOUTUBE]pZo4bOZf3B4[/YOUTUBE]​

Spoiler: 2009 Album

[YOUTUBE]aXzIeI0mkFI[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]_jud_SnKTlY[/YOUTUBE]​

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

The Agonist, in my opinion, arent really anything special either. I'd rather take IWRESTLEDABEARONCE over them anyday. I know everyone has different tastes and all of that but to me, IWRESTLED... just seem so different from other bands of that genre.....IDK.....I guess its just me. But they are literally unknown where im from.

MattMoses....remind me to kill you in your sleep! I can't believe you got to
A) See Winds live!!!
B) Meet Carl!!!

My favourtie album from them is The Imaginary Direction of Time, but I didnt mind Prominence either. Though, of course, the earlier stuff is much better. I havent really been able to get into Arcturus yet though. The carnival theme tends to annoy me quite often. But I cant deny the talent there.

 

[Amarillo del Bosque Verde]

What are your Favourite Bands? Slipknot,Five Finger Death PUnch All That Remains,Goat****e,BFMV,The Devil wears Prada,Slayer,Megadeth,Lamb of God,Killswitch Engage,Korn,Drowning Pool,Metallica
Favourite Classic Albums?SLipknot-Self Titled,Megadeth-Rust In Peace,Korn-Follow The Leader,Metallica-Master of Puppets
Best Albums of 2009?Lamb of God-Wrath,Mastodon-Crack The Skye,Slayer-World PAinted Blood,Veer Union-Against The Grain
Best Shows You've Been To?Almost Every Mayhem Fest
Are You in a Band?Yesss

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

Whats with all the Five Finger Death Punch hype these days? They seem pretty generic to me. What do you fans see in them that im obviuosly missing, because its not like I've completely ruled them out or anything. I seen live with Divine Heresy and both bands were crap, at least on stage.

 

[Lancer]

Whats with all the Five Finger Death Punch hype these days? They seem pretty generic to me. What do you fans see in them that im obviuosly missing, because its not like I've completely ruled them out or anything. I seen live with Divine Heresy and both bands were crap, at least on stage.

I hear you on Divine Heresy, never saw much in them either. As far as 5FDP goes, yes they are pretty generic. I really don't like "The Bleeding" at all, especially the no-screaming-PG-fuck-it-all-up version they play on the radio.

I never really got into them until the deluxe edition of their first album came out, with "Never Enough" and "Stranger Than Fiction" as the bonus tracks. Those two songs led me to buy it, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Their new album, War Is The Answer, while having a cliche title (what are we still in 2003 or something?), is also a solid effort. Check out their cover of "Bad Company." Also, "Hard To See" is a kickass song with lyrics I enjoy.

Basically, 5FDP appeal to me because they are a simple metal band whose music is easy to headbang to. There's no analyzing of the nuances of the music involved, just enjoy...bang your head...repeat if desired.
Plus, their singer Ivan Moody was also in Motograter.

On a side note, if anyone can guess where my sig comes from, there's some rep involved. C'mon metalheads.

 

[MattMoses]

I agree with you Barbedwire Ropes on 5FDP. The lyrics are pretty horrendous (I remember laughing out loud when I heard "one two, fuck you", seriously, wtf?), completely bland, recycled riffs, the guitar solos sound like they were lifted from a Posion album and there's way too much repeat recycling going on with them. And on top of that, I don't think Ivan's a very good vocalist either.

As for Divine Heresy, I'm so-so with them. Dino's always been able to write killer riffs, and the song "Failed Creation" is nothing more than a rifftastic orgasm. I thought Tommy had a decent voice on record, but live, he was awful. I haven't gotten round to checking out their lastest album with new vocalist Travis Neal, but I haven't heard many good things about it.

On a side note, if anyone can guess where my sig comes from, there's some rep involved. C'mon metalheads.

That's a Demon Hunter album isn't it? One of their better ones if I remember correctly.

 

[Lancer]

That's a Demon Hunter album isn't it? One of their better ones if I remember correctly.

Correct. Yes, and it is a kickass album also. They have three winners in my opinion: The Triptych, Summer of Darkness, and Storm The Gates of Hell (my sig). "Undying" from The Triptych is a great track.

On that subject, Christian metal is not as soft as people claim it is, and it doesn't make you a bible-thumping pussy to listen to it. Demon Hunter, As I Lay Dying, Norma Jean, Underoath, and Haste The Day are all examples of mainstream Christian metal bands. While I am not a big fan of Norma Jean or Underoath, the rest are solid bands worth checking out.

Other kickass bands of the genre include Gryp, Staple, Sleeping Giant, August Burns Red, and Travail.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

But Hank Hell, youre missing out on some of the GREATEST Chrisitan Metal out there.

The bands you mentioned arent really that heavy or crazy. And in the U.S, from what Im told, are extremely mainstream and popular. But there are some underground Christian Metal bands that are fantastic. Maybe a bit generic as well, but they are certainley better than the mainstream alternative.

MISERATION - Thrones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZF9MMx-skc

INTO THE MOAT - Dead Before I Stray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk0ksSIsN30

IMPENDING DOOM - The Serpent Servant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH0XMjiN95Q

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Danger: Wildman!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDP87BvZhqg

WAR OF AGES - Wages of Sin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnxDhrVN_ko

UNEARTH - Black Hearts Now Reign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E0KrBr8uHk



Now of course, im not saying those bands are the best in metal overall. They are just some Christian Metal bands that arent overly terrible, in my opinion.

 

[Lancer]

But Hank Hell, youre missing out on some of the GREATEST Chrisitan Metal out there.

The bands you mentioned arent really that heavy or crazy. And in the U.S, from what Im told, are extremely mainstream and popular. But there are some underground Christian Metal bands that are fantastic. Maybe a bit generic as well, but they are certainley better than the mainstream alternative.

Yeah I know, I threw the names out there to make metalheads aware, that perhaps they knew one or more of those guys. I know of a bunch of underground Christian metal, don't get me wrong...have faith in me... There are some suggestions below...

MISERATION - Thrones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZF9MMx-skc

INTO THE MOAT - Dead Before I Stray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk0ksSIsN30

IMPENDING DOOM - The Serpent Servant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH0XMjiN95Q

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Danger: Wildman!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDP87BvZhqg

WAR OF AGES - Wages of Sin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnxDhrVN_ko

UNEARTH - Black Hearts Now Reign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E0KrBr8uHk



Now of course, im not saying those bands are the best in metal overall. They are just some Christian Metal bands that arent overly terrible, in my opinion.

Checked 'em all out...not a huge fan of Devil Wears Prada though, the vocals don't really appeal to me. Heard them before, but they really didn't catch my ear you could say. That's why I didn't mention them in my last post. The War of Ages and Miseration songs are just amazingly sick. Also a big fan of Unearth, have all of their albums.

Here are my suggestions, check 'em out :

Travail - Weakling

[YOUTUBE]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jevh2XJJ_IA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jevh2XJJ_IA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

Sleeping Giant - Army of The Chosen One

[YOUTUBE]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BpCTQddPZdY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BpCTQddPZdY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

Haste The Day - Babylon

[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wUdAgK4cnLQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wUdAgK4cnLQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

Demon Hunter - Follow The Wolves

[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mIZ9TDIU8Ek&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mIZ9TDIU8Ek&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

 

[AnAirbagSavedMyLife]

REMEMBERING NEVER - the only band you'll need to know. lol

Seriously though, I'm into all types of different metal. From Maiden, Slayer, to Gojira, to August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, The Chariot, For The Fallen Dreams, Murderwalk, Whitechapel, Botch, Killswitch Engage, My America is watching Tigers Die, Sleep, Serapis, Sleep, Oh, The Sleeper, Once Nothing, All That Remains (before they sold out), The Devil Wears Prada, NORA, Evergreen Terrace (seriously, how bad ass is it that they hardcore'd out "Sunday Bloody Sunday"?) Atreyu (OLD!) and I could go on forever...

 

[NSL]

All That Remains (before they sold out)

People that call All That Remains "sell outs" because Phil stopped screaming really piss me off. When ATR released their first album, he went on record as saying that he was going to slowly work "clean" vocals into their sound. So as he started to sing more, and scream less, the music changed to fit the mold. They're still heavy, they still get a crowd into a frenzy, and their lyrics are better than 3/4 of the bands out there right now.

There has never been a phase of their career that has been bad, and I can't wait for whatever comes next.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

and their lyrics are better than 3/4 of the bands out there right now.

You mean the preachy, lame lyrics about being an spiritual individual and how cool it is to hang out with your "bros" on the weekends?

Where are the music may have some slight moments that are worth bearing through, for the most part, its still generic metalcore. The lyrics prove that ten fold. Every metalcore band writes about the same things, over and over again.

 

[Fizzy]

I'm surprised that nobody has fucking mentioned Slipknot in here. I thought we had quite a few Slipknot fans on here along with myself. First off they put on an AMAZING live show. Corey Taylor knows exactly how to fucking work the crowd. I really haven't heard a song by them that I don't love. Best album by them has to be Iowa. Very solid album from start to finish.

Some other bands I like a lot are Slayer(who doesn't like these guys) Killswitch Engaged, A7X, All that Remains and a bunch more. Metal is my favorite genre of music. It's what I listen to 99% of the time. I just love it.

 

[X]

No one has mentioned Slipknot probably because most people consider them to not be very good. Their first album was great and I remember loving it when I was in middle school. Wait and Bleed is still a metal anthem to live forever. After that though they really fell off in my opinion. There were some very good songs on Iowa (I love My Plague), but after that I haven't really found anything of theirs worth listening to. Maybe a song or two here and there. Left Behind wasn't too bad.

 

[Lancer]

I have to agree, Slipknot set the bar very high for themselves on their debut album. That was a kickass record. Iowa was a solid effort but to me some of the songs sounded forced. Standouts were of course "My Plague" and "People=Shit."

I think they rebounded with Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses. "Vermilion" (not the lame-ass slow version, the other one) is my favorite slipknot song. Their new album All Hope is Gone is a good metal album also, I happen to enjoy "Vendetta."

I think a lot of the stigma with Slipknot comes from their slow songs like "Vermilion No. 2" and "Snuff." I agree that it just sounds odd coming from Slipknot, but the songs are okay. And you have to remember that singer Corey Taylor and a couple other members are also in Stone Sour, which gave us "Bother" after all. And "Snuff" is their next single, I heard, so we're all gonna have to get used to it I guess.

I went to one of their live shows in 2004 when they rolled into S.A. They were joined by Lamb Of God, Shadows Fall, and Devil Driver so of course it was a good night to be a metalhead. Aside from the "performance" of "Vermilion No. 2" (they just got out a bigass projector and projected the video on a screen above the stage), their whole set had the entire building going fucking nuts. And of course Joey Jordison (the drummer) had about a five-minute solo that had the crowd in awe.

Despite the opinions of the masses, I think Slipknot is a badass metal band and has made a major contribution to the metal efforts.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

Slayer(who doesn't like these guys)

There are a shit tonne of people who absolutely can't stand Slayer. I am one of them, plus almost 90% of the metalheads I know personally. Sure, 'Reign In Blood' is a classic, and 'South of Heaven' is pretty cool too.....but then it all goes downhill....

Though releasing one of the 20 classic metal essentials in 'Reign' they have also released some of Metal's most embarassing efforts outside of the metalcore movement. 'God Hates Us All' and 'Christ Illusion' are some of the most generic sounding records ever released. So its a love/hate sort of relationship that I have with them.

Its just like with Iron Maiden, I have to give them respect for what they have done for metal, but in the end of the day....all of thier songs sound the same.




P.S: Want Some Good Classic Metal?
check out MANILLA ROAD!!!!!!!
They have been around since 1977, have 12 studio albums under thier belts and still, no one knows who they are. Its Tragic. The same could be said for Saxon.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

So, what are people's top 10 albums lists for this year of 2009?

There have quite a few great records released this calendar year, so what are your top 10 favourites?

 

[Lancer]

Well, I don't have ten, but I have some faves from 2009. Some of them have explanations and stuff, and I would explain more, but I'm still getting over a hangover...so there you go.

All That Remains - Overcome
-Showing progression with songs like "Forever In Your Hands," this is a far cry from earlier efforts like The Calling and The Fall of Ideals.

Killswitch Engage - S/T
-Another band that seems to blend their positive and negative influences into powerful music so seamlessly. This album was influenced by, of all things, a past relationship. More melodic songs on this one like "The Return" and "I Would Do Anything" are present, a powerful listen nonetheless.

Mastodon - Crack the Skye
-You don't listen to them so get pumped, you could say. You listen to them to hear a story in the music. They continue the story arch that began in their previous efforts...making for compelling music.

Unearth - The March
-One of my all time metal faves....any album from them, for me, is worth a buy. This is a step up from III: In The Eyes of Fire, where they return to a similar style used in The Oncoming Storm...one of my top metal albums of all time.

Hatebreed (2) - For The Lions and S/T
-For The Lions is a cover album, where they pay tribute to Suicidal Tendencies, Agnostic Front, The Misfits, and Madball...among many others. The 18 tracks cover everything from punk to hardcore to metal. Hatebreed can do any of those very well in fact. My personal favorite is their cover of Metallica's "Escape." And then of course, they came out with a self titled effort...two Hatebreed albums in one year is always a good thing.

Five Finger Death Punch - War Is the Answer
-They have their detractors, but they are one of my personal faves.

Scar Symmetry - Dark Matter Dimensions
-They lost their original singer, which took them down a notch, but his two replacements did a good job. The music, though, is as brutal, technical, and melodic as ever. And, the lyrics are always amazing.

So there you go.