What Happened To My Metal??

Cafe Society
1

Most of the metal bands I liked died a slow death due to commercial conquests, like Metallica and Megadeath, or ceased being a cohesive band after awhile (Pantera). To me, metal peaked with CD’s like Rust In Peace, Countdown to Extinction, Master Of Puppets, And Justice For All, Vulgar Display Of Power and Cowboys From Hell. But that’s just me I guess.

I like that really tight riffing style, with dry drums, a very crunchy, defined guitar sound and intelligent, powerful lyrics.

The new metal bands I have a hard time liking, especially ANY of the ones with the “Cookie Monster” vocals. I can dig the riffs, the drumming, the speed…but once the “singer” starts growling and screaming incoherent vocals, it loses my attention.

I like metal with a bit of melody. Or barring that, attitude. Or barring that, understandable (relatively speaking) lyrics. I miss my metal. Heck, I miss Iron Maiden from the 1980’s.

So, given my preferences, where do I look for some good, rock with your cock out metal these days?

2

Trivium Ascendency and Shogun are great albums.

3

Ya know, I thought we were overdue for this thread. It usually pops up in March or April. :smiley:

First, you can check my blog for a couple of album reviews each month. The link is in my sig, and I always have links to songs/videos from albums I’m writing about.

Second, while Metallica has sukt for literally decades now, Dave Mustaine is still churning out kickass Megadeth tunes. I mean, check out Head Crusher from last years’ Endgame. It’s a great album, especially if you liked their first couple of albums. I mean, Ellefson’s back on this album, ya know what I’m sayin’?

Have you heard Gama Bomb? Awesome thrash from Ireland, vox are more power metal-ish than Cookie Monster-ish. STUNNING guitar work. Also, their latest album is available as a free download, and it fucking rocks.

Exodus has been putting out their best material in the last 5 or 6 years or so. Hell, they even re-recorded their classic Bonded By Blood in 2008 (released as Let There Be Blood). 2007’s The Atrocity Exhibition was brilliant and 2005’s Shovel Headed Kill Machine likewise; both are at the top of my list for this band.

Testament is also recording some great stuff in the last few years. Check out The Evil Has Landed and Henchmen Ride from 2008’s The Formation Of Damnation.

Municipal Waste mostly writes songs about drinking, partying, smoking pot, drinking some more and then partying. Check out a rare semi-departure from their usual lyrics in Sadistic Magician.

\m/ \m/

Okay, that’s some thrash. I can list more new thrash bands if that’s what you really like, but just in case, let’s look at some other stuff.
I’ve yet to get an adverse reaction to Blood Island Raiders or Airbourne, although I don’t care for their (new) 2nd album as much as I liked their first.

If you like '70s arena rock, you’ll prolly dig Priestess. If I didn’t have video evidence, I’d swear up and down that this stuff was recorded in the mid-70s after a Blue Oyster Cult session or Sweet or Todd Rundgren or something and locked in a vault for 30 years.

If you like bluesy 60’s garage rock, give Nebula a listen.

I can do this all day and night, but I’ll let others post and then see what you like and dislike before I give you other stuff to listen to.

BTW, check out my review for Shrinebuilder’s album. It’s on my blog, and I’d be really surprised if, given your description of your musical tastes, you didn’t think it was a near perfect album. If you like Sabbath, I don’t see how you couldn’t love Shrinebuilder.

Also, dude, Maiden and Judas Priest just released live albums from last years tours; I’m not a big fan of live recordings, but these are AWESOME.

4

Thank you for that, I have a lot to check out now.

Metallica hasn’t sucked for decades. Just A decade or so.
:slight_smile:

I count them off right at the Black Album.

5

Dude, you do remember when that album came out, right? :dubious:

6

I’m not exactly in the loop any more, if I ever was. (I probably wasn’t.) But depending on what you mean by “cookie monster vocals” (I’m guessing you mean the death metal style of grunted vox) you might look into some of the Swedish melodic death bands. They’ve got a lot of that thrash-style riffing, with a vocal style that’s not quite as grating as the black or death vox.

Also, just because no metal fan ought not to go without hearing it, check out Edge of Sanity (Twilight is a good place to start; if you dig it, you can find their 40-minute epic, Crimson, on your own) and Green Carnation’s Light of Day, Day of Darkness. The latter’s a 60 minute one, but the link’s just for the first bit. More perhaps when I’ve a bit steadier on my feet.

7

Ya know, you just had to remind me that 1990 wasn’t a handful of years ago, didn’t you?

8

Dream Theater.

They are a prog metal band, but they can get heavy when they want to. The vocalist (James LaBrie) is an awesome singer from a technical point of view, though I know a couple people who don’t like his voice all that much. They can get a bit long winded at times, which I happen to like. Their latest album, Black Clouds and Silver Linings, has some pretty heavy stuff. As does Octavarium and Systematic Chaos. That is their newer stuff, they have lots of older stuff that ranges from pretty to way heavy.

Side note, James La Brie has a couple solo albums out. My favorite is Element of Persuasion. The guitarist is pretty damned good. You can hear some samples here.

Nevermoreis another heavy band with a vocalist who can actually sing. They are the remnant of a band called Sanctuary. Sanctuary’s first album, Refuge Denied, should be owned by everyone who digs metal. That album was produced by Dave Mustaine and has an amazing cover of ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane.

Fates Warning is another great band, though they are more prog than really heavy. However, the band is stunningly good. Especially the vocalist, Ray Adler, and the drummer, Mark Zonder. Sadly, Zonder isn’t in the band anymore though I did get to see them a couple months ago with Zonder in the lineup. I cannot recommend ‘A Pleasant Shade of Gray’ and ‘Parallels’ enough.

As a side note, you can go off on hunts for side projects from members of both Dream Theater and Fates Warning. They have tons of stuff and most if it is really good.

Slee

9

Cool, thanks Slee! I suppose I am trying to find something newer that fits along with the tastes in metal music I outlined in the OP. I have a good friend in a popular Cincy-area band that keeps sending me links to various metal bands and most of it is unlistenable to me, for various reasons.

10

Try the latest (and last, I’m afraid) album from “Heaven and Hell” titled “The Devil You Know”.

RIP Ronnie James Dio

11

If you’re looking for Metal with vocalists who can sing, you should probably take a gander at some Symphonic Metal bands. A few OTTOMH - Nightwish, Epica(some growling, not by the lead singer though…), Within Temptation.

12

Sadly, no matter how awesome any new metal bands (not nu-metal) might be, they can’t be as awesome as driving around in my shitbox Olds Cutlass blasting Number of the Beast or Master of Puppets as a 17 year old in the 80s.

13

I gotta disagree, dude. It’s way awesomer now when I cruise in my '78 Blazer blasting World Painted Blood or War Metal Battle Master as a mumbly-something year old in the 'teens.

14

I’ve been listening to free online radio to get some new ideas… for example, right now I’m listening to a station called “Epic Rock Radio” on Live365.com. Sonata Artica!

15

Power Metal. Ugh. You can keep all the Sonata Arctica, the Dragonforce, and Nightwish, thanks. Any others you find, too. I don’t want 'em.

16

That’s cool… that station is not the one for you but there are hundreds of others that might be. On Live365.com you can type in bands you do like and find stations that’ll play them. Or Pandora, which is even more customizable (they have a “never play this again” option that is quite handy).

17

FGIE, did you find anything you liked in all that?

ffs this has to be the shortest metal thread we’ve ever had on the Dope

18

If it is thrash you seek…
**Evile **(especially the latest, Infected Nations and especially the track 100 Wrathful Deities)

Sodom, who never went away in the first place but who keep getting better (especially the self titled album from 2006, especially the track Blood On Your Lips)

Testament, who never really went away either but who keep getting better (especially 1999’s The Gathering, especially the track Legions of the Dead)

And finally venturing away from proper thrash and getting more into the Metalcore/Hardcore/We Sound A Lot Like Pantera Minus the Solos try **Throwdown **(especially the album Venom and Tears, especially the track Hellbent (On War))

Those should be a good start. I found all of these by listening to Last.fm’s Megadeth tagged channel which is a great start to finding even more.

19

I like Electric Wizard and Orange Goblin. Electric Wizard is like a heavier deeper version of Black Sabbath. Orange Goblin is sort of a cross of ZZ Top and The Misfits.

20

Jst my US$.02, because I’m a dick like that…

Their first album, Enter The Grave, was awesome. They were clearly channelling Slayer. On the second album, they lost me because now they sound like '90s Metallica.

I’m a bigger fan of Kreator, personally, but I agree Sodom’s last couple of albums are their best in 20 years by far.

Chuck Billy fucking rocks! I mentioned Testament upthread.

I put Vendetta slightly ahead of Venom & Tears. I really really like Burn and I just think they were tighter and more focused on Vendetta.

FFS don’t waste your time with their latest, Deathless. I’m fixing to rip them and Hatebreed up on my blog for their latest.