I’ve heard some Sentenced. Besides a few tracks off their new album, I’ve heard the cover they did of Billy Idol’s White Wedding. Any suggestions for tracks/albums I should hear?
Century did a couple of Sentenced reissues with two albums packaged together. Amok/Love & Death is the one I’d recommend.
Great suggestions, Lord Ashtar. How I adore Amorphis! Some great stuff from ultrafilter too.
To the OP: If you happen to like In Flames, check out Dark Tranquility. I think they’re miles better. Try Projector, The Gallery, Damage Done… They all sound quite similar actually but these are my faves. At the Gates were pretty good in that style as well. Amon Amarth are kinda similar too, check out The Avenger and Versus the World
ultrafilter already recommended Therion, but I’d recommend Theli instead of Vovin. Speed metal opera… sheer heaven :).
I will second (or third or whatever) Katatonia, The Gathering, Opeth, Agalloch, Anathema and especially the utterly magnificent Arcturus… Both Le Masquerade Infernale and The Sham Mirrors are among my favourite albums.
Lord Ashtar, I feel obligated to back you up on Opeth’s Damnation. Not technically “metal” but what a wonderful album. “Death Whispered a Lullaby” and “To Rid the Disease” are so hauntingly beautiful.
I listened to Amorphis when they first came out and loved their first 2 albums. I hadn’t heard them in years and recently borrowed an album from a friend. I swore they put the wrong music on the CD or the wrong band was printed on the label.
They drastically changed their sound right?
By the way I must plug Bolt Thrower (who’s logo is tattooed on my back from shoulder to shoulder) and Napalm Death.
Grindcore and essential listening for people who enjoy their music on the harder side.
It’s kinda funny–if you listen to all of Amorphis’ albums in order, you’re not going to see too many big jumps in their style (the biggest is between Tales from the Thousand Lakes and Elegy), but they did go from being death metal to prog metal. I like it all, so it’s no big deal to me.
After making this comment, I went back and listened to a few songs off each of their first three albums, and I’ve changed my mind. The biggest jump in musical style was from Karelian Isthmus to Thousand Lakes, but the jump from Thousand Lakes to Elegy sounds bigger cause they went from death vocals to clean.
Thank you. One of the Yahoo! Groups I participate in is dedicated to Opeth, and most of the folk on there hated it. I went to see a show they did in DC a few months ago where they played Damnation from beginning to end along with Benighted, a cover of Deep Purple’s Solider of Fortune, and Face of Melinda. For the whole show, people were yelling out, “Demon of the Fall!” “Black Rose Immortal!” “Serenity Painted Death!”
So naturally I concluded that my brother and I were in the minority of people who like that album. Good to know we’re not alone.
Don’t think anyone has mentioned Paradise Lost yet, but they’re one of the more inflential bands of the genre, launching many sound-alikes while never getting much fame outside of certain European markets. IMO, Katatonia based much of their earlier sound in large part on the PL ‘Shades of God’ album. Like Amorphis, they have also shifted their style from rather brutal Death/Grindcore to a more spare, moody, Depeche Mode-influenced sound with clean vocals. I recommend ‘Icon’, the aforementioned ‘Shades of God’ or ‘Draconian Times’ as the highlight releases of their career. Their last album ‘Symbol of Life’ isn’t bad - it’s more guitar-based than the two that came out before it, which were heavy on the keyboards and downright Pop-esqe in places.
And oh yeah, speaking of more bands in the vein you’re looking for, you might want to check out Rapture, Summoning, October Tide, Diabolique and the mighty Saturnus! Some of them may be a bit hard to locate, but they’re well worth the search.
Oh man! How did I forget Paradise Lost and Rapture? I just found Rapture about six months ago and I am still totally into their album Songs for the Withering. Great stuff.
How about My Dying Bride, they had a violin player!
Aside for keeping up with the latest BT and ND albums, I’ve been out of the loop for years.
Ah the days when I listened to Suffication, Pungent Stench, Disharmonic Orchestra, Macabre, Atrocity, Mortification, Immolation, etc etc.
Okay, how is it that I’ve never heard of Saturnus before? I’ve borrowed a CD from a buddy of mine and these guys kick ass!
Also, I should probably mention Porcupine Tree. They started off very Pink Floydish, but have gotten heavier on their last two albums. I highly advise everyone to listen to their song The Sound of Muzak of the album In Absentia Great stuff.
Hey, as long as you guys are in the mood to recommend metal, I could use some help over here.