I don't really listen to rock, so I'mma put my 10 favorite metal bands instead. I hope that's alright. I'm pretty sure no one's gonna know about any of the bands on this list, and I'm pretty sure no one's gonna care either, but I gotta do this because it'll make me feel better. So here's my top ten, and the reasons why.
10. Kadenzza
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=15280Some of the best symphonic stuff I've heard ever. Their album
The Second Renaissance is everything the name implies. Listening through it is like an awakening of all that is good. Vibrant, energetic, melodic, and just breathtaking.
9. Runemagick
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=456Now Kadenzza is nice and all, but when I'm looking for something a bit more straight, cut, and to the point, I go for the death metal. Runemagick is one to deliver. Not much to say about them except that everything that's good about death metal is done great by these guys. Very few bands can match the quality of the riffs they put out. Best album is probably
The Supreme Force of Eternity. Now come on, with a name like that, you gotta know it's good.
8. Kathaarsys
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=46320My favorite genre of metal is probably progressive. My second favorite would have to be black. Now what happens when you put the two together? Well, you can get a variety of things. One of which would have to be this band right here. Kathaarsys. They make music. It's a beautiful thing. The melodic atmosphere meshed with some extreme technical riffs on the in between. I can't really choose a favorite album from them. I like
Verses in Vain and I like
Anonymous Ballad. I dunno. I might like the Ballad a lil' bit more.
7. Edge of Sanity
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=106While we're on the subject of bands that mix my favorite genres, let's talk about what happens when you mix prog with death. Yes, Edge of Sanity definitely makes the list with their
Crimson II album. It's the follow up, or I guess you could call it a sequel, to their
Crimson album. Now in my experience, whenever I ask someone about how they liked the sequel of some movie or whatever, the usual response is "I liked the first one better." Doesn't matter if we're talkin' movies, music, TV shows, or anything. I don't know if it's because of nostalgia or whatever, but that's usually how it goes down. Now where was I goin' with this? Oh yeah, that's not the case here.
Crimson II takes everything they did on the first album and kicks it up a notch. The riffs are more memorable, the lyrics are great, everyone's spot on with their instruments, everything flows wonderfully. It's just great.
6. Eucharist
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=330Oh yeah, this is probably the best melodic death metal band out there, and by melodic death metal band ever. Now melodic death metal holds a special place in my heart. I first got into metal by listening to metalcore stuff played on the radio. Killswitch Engage, All that Remains, Bullet for my Valentine, etc. So when I delved deeper, the closest thing that seemed to resemble that in the metal world was melodeath. Melodeath was the first real metal genre I ever listened to, and man did I get in deep with that. I found so many bands, but this one...this one right here, is by far the best. Eucharist have amazingly catchy and memorable riffs, stellar drum work, a great atmosphere that's the perfect blend of intensity and smoothness. Both their albums,
A Velvet Creation and
Mirrorworld are absolute must haves for anyone seriously into the genre, and it's for that reason Eucharist makes it onto my favorites list.
5. Skendöd
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=3540269552Man, these guys, two guys actually, are really somethin'. I think it's because of this band right here that I really got into black metal. It's got such a depressive ambiance, makes you feel so devoid of energy, devoid of feeling, devoid of life, and it's still got a nice melodic feel to it. It's beautiful. I remember at the time I got into this band, I was readin' through that apocalypse storyline of Spawn's. It matched up so well. This is everything I look for in black metal. And what's really remarkable about these guys is that they're unsigned, but they released a quality full length album. The production is amazing.
4. Darkspace
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=13746Mmm, these guys know what's up. They're perhaps the most unique black metal band ever. They take the genre and elevate it to a completely higher level. On paper, it's really simple. The sound is really simple, but for some reason it really works. They don't go for anything technical, it's all about creating a scene and sticking with it. And that scene is all about how black space really is, and that's all you need to know for the music to make sense.
3. The Chasm
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=410Truly death metal at its finest. I need to get more of their albums, but the one I got,
Procession to the Infraworld is ballin'. Straight up. The riffs are tight, the pace is great. They know how to make songs, and know how to make them right. They go from mid to fast pace most of the time, making sure you can catch and hold onto the melodic parts while also giving you something fierce and ferocious to take home, too. Must have for anyone who likes death metal.
2. Pain of Salvation
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=547Now this is probably one of the best progressive metal bands in the history of forever. They are masters of their craft. Each album they've put out has been consistently good. I don't think they can do any wrong. My favorite album of theirs has got to be
One Hour By The Concrete Lake. Beautiful, elegant, and everything else.
1. Amaseffer
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=129795And here it is, my all time favorite. Why is that? Well, it's just amazing. And of course they're prog metal. Their
Exodus: Slaves for Life album breathes new life into the classic story of Moses by taking you through his journey, forcing you to live through his struggles, and experience his high points and his low points all through music, and it is for this reason I really enjoy it.
