Music You Must Listen To

[SubKamran]

This doesn't have to be just my opinion. Feel free to post what you think people should listen to. Try and include the genre.

1. Children of Bodom - Power Metal with harsh vocals
2. Wuthering Heights - Prog/Power/Folk Metal
3. Dragonforce - Power Metal
4. Therion - Symphonic Metal
5. Bal-Sagoth - Symphonic Metal with harsh vocals
6. Virgin Steele - Classic/Power Metal
7. Angra - Power Metal
8. Dark Moor - Symphonic Metal

I put Children of Bodom first because it's just really awesome music. Get the albums 'Follow the Reaper' and 'Hatebreeder'. They have death metal vocals (i.e. harsh, growling) but the music is power metal. It's awesome. I usually hate those kind of vocals but they're just so good.

Wuthering Heights is awesome music. Therion is really really good if you like sort of an opera-esque metal. Awesome vocals for the opera singers and the music is amazing.

Bal-Sagoth. They're genius. The albums are stories, and one of the albums has the longest song names I've ever seen. The music can't be appreciated unless you listen to the lyrics, because the music paints the picture.

Here, take a look at ONE SONG:

Starfire burning upon the ice-veiled throne of Ultima Thule

Spears agleam in the dying sun,
The blood is spilled, the battle's won,
From the icy throne of God-King shall rule,
When nine stars kiss the moon o'er Ultima Thule.

(Old Northlander war-song, found in the ancient scrolls of Volmyr)

The Final Part of Voryn Helmsmiter's Journey to the Ice Realm:
Blood drips from my frost-encased sword, forming a crimson blossom upon the ice...
My limbs cold, becoming as one with the massing snows... my eyes nearly frozen closed.
For how long had we travelled? The memory grows dim, lost in the cruel, searing storm-winds.
And now, at last... our quest is at an end.
With the blessings of the elders we began our journey beyond the great veil of shadowed glaciers...
They spoke of a prophecy foretold, an ancient and glorious legacy,
A quest for the realm of legendry lost to man since before even the Star-Lords descended...
Now, only I survive, my blood spilling to the ice, turning to crimson crystal upon the deeply frozen earth.
Elder sorcery crackles and hums all about me, coursing through the sky, the snow...
As grim destiny approaches with the freezing boreal gales and this ancient prophecy unfolds...

Predication of the Elders:
Go, follow the witch-lights in the northern night sky, beyond the great silvern mountains...
Let the sacred moon-crystal be your guide, beware the sentinels at the Caverns of Eternal Mist...

Spears agleam in the dying sun,
The blood is spilled, the battle's won,
From the icy throne of God-King shall rule,
When nine stars kiss the moon o'er Ultima Thule.

Swathed in moon-frosts, in icy winds our blazon flying,
Iron gleaming 'neath the stars, black skies ablaze with astral fire,
White wolves (like silent spirits) haunt us, ever northwards, the ice-gem leads us, glimmering,
Powerful spells entwine the shrine of legendry, mighty gates of frozen splendour looming,
When the moon and stars shine as one upon the snows, the ancient ice-gate opens, the prophecy is fulfilled!

Towering, ice-encrusted forms lumber forth from the freezing mist,
(Their eyes shimmering with a fiendish, eldritch malevolance...)
Our steel is raised against their weapons of gleaming crystal,
And the virgin snow is rendered crimson by bloodshed in a searing storm of slaughter.
(Wounded, dying, my flesh rent by weapons no human ever forged or wielded, I am beckoned forward by a strange, alluring force from beyond the veil of swirling mists...)

Shadows, images form in the glittering rune-carved walls of this glacial chamber,
Secrets frozen within the timeless vaults of eternity...
The throne of the time-lost ice realm, entwined in the mantle of such searing star-born power...
This frozen, aeon-cloaked seat of immortal majesty... (of an empire forged long before the vast seas rose in devouring fury!)

What shimmering swords raised in combat once sang with the glorious clamour of steel on steel?
What splendid banners, billowing in the icy gales, once heralded the march of these invincible silverclad legions to the blood-swathed embrace of epic battle?
The glory of untold thousands of years past... this ethereal legacy of mighty Ultima Thule.
The frozen eyes of immortal kings watch me... such a dark splendour!

The Guardian of Ice and Shadow:
The grim Ice-Gods sleep in these frost-bound tombs, illumined by the caress of lunar fire,
And the kiss of star-gleam from the stygian void...
All is now as was foretold in prophecy, written in the very ether of empyreal eternity...
The celestial alignment is night... the conjunction is at hand!

And nine stars illumine the northern heavens, a vast cosmic sigil with the silvern moon at its centre...
Blazing argent light fills the chamber, engulfing the hewn walls of elder ice,
These ancient carvings in a time-veiled tongue, (etched into the primeval ice countless aeons ago, now bathed in diaphonous incandescence by this storm of lucent stellar power, their mindsearing meaning at last becomes known to me...) their cosmic secrets unfold...
The ice-throne is encased by a shimmering wall of writhing cerulean flame,
A lambent flame far colder than the frozen surface upon which it dances...

And then, enlightenment comes, gleaming down upon my consciousness as the bright moon gazes down upon this auroral vista... From my mind is lifted an obscuring veil, a veil induced by sorcerous arts, and I realize I have been merely a vassal of another's twisted will, a pawn in a game which is entwined in treachery and malign aspirations to thresholds of great power. Such a traitorous web has been spun! The elders of my kingdom bow in obeisance to the vile priests of Xothan'kur, and it is their diseased machinations which have urged me here, to the very heart of the far-fabled ice realm... for they seek to usurp the power of the Conjunction, stealing the vast energies of the Ice-Veiled throne and absorbing them into their own leprous, undead bodies, perpetuating the adoration of their abhorrent liege for countless ages, liberating his vile will and enslaving the realms of the world... Aye, for generations they have plotted their actions, and I was the key to this plot, chosen from birth for this fated journey... for the blood of the ancient kings of Ultima Thule runs strong in my veins, and only once in every aeon may one such as I stand before the throne during the great cosmic alignment, when the sorceries of the ancient Ice-Gods are at their peak, and rightfully wield this power unleashed... And yet I vow that the vile minions of Xothan'kur shall not prevail... Liberating the fettered power of the moon-crystal, I sever the tendrils of their dark conjurings, and their aspirations are at an end, their spells broken by the very power which they sought to usurp! The final vestiges of mortal life flee my body in crimson gouts, and at last I realize what the fates have spun for me, and what is carved in the very ice all about me... My destiny is at hand...

The Herald of Enlightenment:
And so, enrob'd by tendrils of starfire and the raiments of lunar mist,
The immortal liege whose sceptred empire is eternity,
Sits enthroned and brooding over his dark realm once more.
The last of my life's blood spills to the ice, (as star-wrought destiny is at last fulfilled.)
Swathed in freezing flame...
The mystic wolves of the frost-moon (slowly, silently) encircle me,
Their eyes are blazing azure, and their fur is whiter than the sublime snows.
Such power! I am the Chosen... the secrets of the earth and the stars are unlocked before me...
I am destined to reign forever... to reign from the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule!

And the longest song name (artist - album name - song name):

Bal-Sagoth - Starfire Burning Upon The Ice-Veiled Throne Of Ultima Thule - And lo, when the Imperium marches against Gul-Kothoth, then dark sorceries shall enshroud the Citadel of the Obsidian Crown

Really really cool music.

 

[PoeticRocker]

If its metal then no i dont have to listen to it

 

[ShadowFox]

Agreed. I can't stand metal myself. It's too angry for my tastes.

 

[ShadowFox]

Probably. The hardest rock I'll generally listen to is Rammstein, so I don't go very deep into metal.

 

[ComradeBadger]

I dislike Metal, so I won't listen

I've given Children of Bodom a try.. and found the singing hilarious :E

 

[Zerimski]

Music you must listen to eh? Well here goes.

I'll start with the ones most people will know of:

Pearl Jam - Grunge
Soundgarden - Grunge
Alice in Chains - Grunge
Stone Temple Pilots - Grunge
Johnny Cash - Oh, come ooooon.
Beck - Everything, but mainly "country/folk"-rock.
eels - Lo-fi rock, mainly.

Ok, now for something a little more obscure.

Temple of the Dog - Grunge
Mother Love Bone - Grunge/"Love Rock"
Apartment 26 - Jazz Metal
Cake - Folky/Bluesy Rock, I guess.
Chris Vrenna/tweaker - Ex-Nine Inch Nails, did the Doom 3 theme so you can guess from that.
Dredg - Progressive expansive metal, I think.
Oceansize - Again, progressive expansive metal.
Amplifier - The loudest 3 piece you're ever going to hear. Progressive metal again.
Alabama 3 - Acid-house-funk-techno-blues.
The Driven - Balls to the wall rock, with a twinge of Pixies.
Half Man Half Biscuit - Comedy Folk
Manu Chao - Technosalsa!

That'll do for now.

 

[slicktick]

The Postal Service - really dont know what genre to put them in

There CD Give Up, which it the only one I know of, is absolutely marvelous. They are sort of a rock alternative, put have a diffrent twist to them. They are one of my favorite bands.

If anyone could help with a description or good genre, that would be great.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Postal Service is good stuff.

 

[CyberSh33p]

Indeed it is, and I don't care what you say, such great heights is a brilliant song

stuff you must listen to? well, you musn't anything really, but I as always am going to say they might be giants are the best evar. because they are, and they have more range than many musicians can dream about.

right now, I am listening to The Cure for the first time, and its just about perfect for my state of mind right now.

 

[Direwolf]

I think theres a few bands/artists that everyone should at least be familiar with, even if they don't like them.
Theres:
Elvis
The Beatles
Bob Dylans
Pink Floyd
and The Rolling Stones.
It doesn't hurt that they're not only some of the best bands ever, but they have an absolutely massive influence upon what we listen to today.

 

[Axyon]

Children of Bodom are, in my opinion, gods of the melodic death/power style. I own all of their albums, and there isn't a single song that I dislike... they all have fantastic tunes, riffs, solos (holy crap, the solos. I could talk for hours about how well Alexi/Alex guitar solo and Janne keyboard solos...) - it's pure perfection.

Out of the four albums (not including Tokyo Warhearts, since it's just live), I'd rank Follow the Reaper as the best, simply because of the self-titled song, Bodom after midnight and Children of decadence. The great thing is that they haven't really changed their sound or style a whole deal in the span of their four albums, unlike other bands... I'm looking in your direction, In Flames.

By the way, you can't really use 'Symphonic metal' as a genre type. The 'symphonic' part is really more used as a descriptive term, ie. Symphonic power or symphonic black metal. Dark Moor and other are really just power metal.

Just thought I'd mention it

 

[WySiWyG]

UK Hip Hop. None of that Fiddy bling I drive a Merc Holla gehto hoodrat shyte you hear on the radio..

Artists like Skinnyman, Fallacy, Skitz, Rodney P, Blak Twang, Estelle, Yogi to name but a few.

Dom and Roland has some of the sickest D&B I have ever heard. That man is a genious.

Not really feeling the metal or grunge. Maybe 12 years ago when I was 11, but that was before I heard Cypress Hill. Will allways have a place in my heart though. Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast came on the radio the other day. The words just rolled out of my mouth like I was possesed!!

 

[Axyon]

Splitting Children of Bodom into its seperate genres, may I recommend:

Melodic Death Metal:

1. Arch Enemy
2. In Flames (Pre-Reroute To Remain)
3. Dark Tranquility
4. Soilwork
5. At The Gates

Power Metal:

1. Nightwish (Obvious choice, it's Symphonic Power metal though. Quite different from regular.)
2. Kamelot
3. Iced Earth (Again, obvious choice)
4. Sonata Arctica - I hate them, but they're popular.
5. Blind Guardian
6. Dream Evil

I predominently prefer Melodic Death metal, but Power is sometimes a refreshing change. I'm also an avid Symphonic Black metal listener. Maybe I'll get into that later

 

[SubKamran]

Splitting Children of Bodom into its seperate genres, may I recommend:

Melodic Death Metal:

1. Arch Enemy
2. In Flames (Pre-Reroute To Remain)
3. Dark Tranquility
4. Soilwork
5. At The Gates

Power Metal:

1. Nightwish (Obvious choice, it's Symphonic Power metal though. Quite different from regular.)
2. Kamelot
3. Iced Earth (Again, obvious choice)
4. Sonata Arctica - I hate them, but they're popular.
5. Blind Guardian
6. Dream Evil

I predominently prefer Melodic Death metal, but Power is sometimes a refreshing change. I'm also an avid Symphonic Black metal listener. Maybe I'll get into that later

Blah, forgot Blind Gaurdian, very good also but alot of their albums require a few listens to appreciate.

 

[Dynasty]

simply cant listen to heavy metal

 

[Axyon]

You've got some great taste there. I feel the same way about Children of Bodom (just got their latest EP-DVD). I do dislike how they're becoming slightly more mainstream, but the music is still excellent, so I don't mind much at all. Arch Enemy's good, but not great. Old In Flames is very fun; I especially like their album Colony. I've heard mixed things about Soilwork...people either hate them or love them, it seems. Can't really judge the others.

As for the power metal, good recommendations. I prefer Iced Earth's older stuff (thrashier than the new stuff); Sonata Arctica I don't like either - it's a matter of taste in their case. Blind Guardian is great, though I don't like their newest album all that much, mainly due to the abundant overuse of keyboards. Nightwish is extremely good, though I can't really listen to them all that much without getting a little bored. Good once in a while, though.

And yes, the black stuff. I'm into quite a bit of the symphonic types myself, namely Nokturnal Mortum and Dissection. Of course, I also listen to quite a bit more straight-up black stuff, like Bathory, Absu, Emperor, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, Mayhem, Nargaroth, and Satyricon (there's a few more, but that'll give you the idea).

I'm not too fond of Arch Enemy's older stuff, but their two albums with Angela are mind blowing. I love it. Soilwork's newest two albums are rather iffy, they've really gone quite mainstream and it's really not that good. Their older albums however are very solid - The Chainheart Machine is their best, and it combines thrash and melodic death beautifully.

Finally, no complaints on the Black metal front - all very good stuff indeed. I've been very addicted to Darkthrone and Emperor lately.

 

[Dalamari]

Led Zeppelin - Babe I'm Gonna Leave you

I think a nuff said is in order here, and it is indeed.

Nuff said

 

[SubKamran]

Why do people think metal is angry or something? It's that teenie-bopper "punk" crap like Avril Lavigne that's angry.

THIS isn't angry!

Dragonforce - Starfire

Outside on a winter's night as the rain begins to fall
There's a chill in the air and the howl of a wolf while the rain beats at the door
Seven kings will ride on the wind up towards the mountains high
And the only sound that will break the air is the warrior's bitter cry

When the dawn of a new day will see the light then the strongest hearts grow old
And the warrior stands on top of the hill in the snow

Dark night with a glimmering light in the distance up ahead
In the forest they dwell with a misty spell no one heard what once was said
And the eagle fly through the clouds while earth bleeds dark and cold
When the voices of men will ring out again all creation shall unfold

When the colour of night will fade to light and the weakest hearts go cold
And the warrior stands on top of the hill in the snow

And we're standing one and all fighting till we fall
Hoping for a better day never giving in
Until we find the words till we find the words to say
Until we find the words to say

Burning starfire shine in the sky
For the lives of great men who stand by your side
When the night fall on we will ride
For no lost souls will live on forever

Dark night on the valley below still the horsemen follow through
It's a forest that leads to the foot of the hill that inside the magic holds
Seven strong they ride on along to the place where sorrow lies
And the shadows of the night will no longer hide all their mysteries come undone

When the colour of night will fade to light and the weakest hearts go cold
And the warrior stands on top of the hill in the snow

And we're standing one and all fighting till we fall
Hoping for a better day never giving in
Until we find the words till we find the words to say
Until we find the words to say

Burning starfire shine in the sky
For the lives of great men who stand by your side
When the night fall on we will ride
For no lost souls will live on forever

And we're standing one and all fighting till we fall
Hoping for a better day never giving in
Until we find the words till we find the words to say
Until we find the words to say

Burning starfire shine in the sky
For the lives of great men who stand by your side
When the night fall on we will ride
For no lost souls will live on forever

For lost souls will live on forever...

All the bands I listed, except Children of Bodom and Virgine Steele, have fantasy lyrics. And in fact, the lyrics are so much better than the crap we have now... at least this music has literary traits. Blind Guardian and Wuthering Heights even sing about Tolkien works... Wuthering Heights is even considered Folk Metal, it has flutes for cripe's sake. And Therion... jesus, the album Lemuria is 90% sung by two opera singers. It's amazing.

And power metal is what it is. Powerful. It's not heavy metal, Dragonforce's music is so... uplifting. Inspirational, almost. Black Winter Night is so powerful, it gets you so damn pumped up.

I dunno, I used to have the pre-conceived notion that metal was for un-intelligent people or that it was not even real music... but there is metal that is really, really good. Not this stupid Korn crap.

Uh yes... but, you are entitled to your opinions...

 

[ThomasToad]

Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix
Sonic Youth
The Doors
Dinosaur Jr.
Velvet Underground
Modest Mouse
Yes(mostly 70's progressive stuff, greatest band ever)
Pixies
Television
Smashing Pumpkins(early stuff)
My Bloody Valentine
Interpol
Pink Floyd
Soundgarden
King Crimson

 

[Axyon]

Why do people think metal is angry or something? It's that teenie-bopper "punk" crap like Avril Lavigne that's angry.

Well, people prefer to emphasize the common conceptions of a genre - when you say 'metal' to someone who doesn't know that much about it, they'll primarily think of Heavy metal, without giving regard to other types of lesser-known metal like Power or Folk.

That said, I do prefer growls, screams and shrieks in my metal

 

[CyberSh33p]

Well, people prefer to emphasize the common conceptions of a genre - when you say 'metal' to someone who doesn't know that much about it, they'll primarily think of Heavy metal, without giving regard to other types of lesser-known metal like Power or Folk.

That said, I do prefer growls, screams and shrieks in my metal

Growls and stuff make me cry
This is why I hate Iced Earth

I prefer a clear voice myself. Metal I've heard isn't very angry though, yeah, its mostly just cause the instrument playing is so loud that I figure people get this conception.

/me does the undead headbanging dance

 

[Zerimski]

Now folk-metal I'm interested in hearing. Any recommendations?

 

[Axyon]

Now folk-metal I'm interested in hearing. Any recommendations?

Heh, you might be interested in Viking metal or Battle metal too

 

[Axyon]

Power Metal:

1. Nightwish (Obvious choice, it's Symphonic Power metal though. Quite different from regular.)
2. Kamelot
3. Iced Earth (Again, obvious choice)
4. Sonata Arctica - I hate them, but they're popular.
5. Blind Guardian
6. Dream Evil

Damn, I forgot Grave Digger as well. If 'Excalibur' isn't the coolest song ever, I don't know what is.

 

[Kristafon]

Now folk-metal I'm interested in hearing. Any recommendations?

Led Zepplin- Volume IV

 

[dj_flameskull]

Ey nice metals sounds u got there. im downloading them now...

btw, you guys who love metals out there: do ya listen to Disturbed?
eventhough these hits are pretty old im still loving them and i love blasting these tracks while driving.

-voices
-down with the sickness
-the game
-liberation
-conflict
-rise
etc etc!! i think 95% of all their songs are my faves!

for some rnb taste:
-my boo : by usher/alicia keys

for some rock with a fusion of little jazz:
incubus album: science (the second album)

hip hops / rap: hmmmm. screw hip hops.

 

[IonizeMyAtoms]

I think a lot of people on here would appreciate The Paper Chase and McLusky (who just broke up! So sad).

I've been listening to lots of Devendra Banhart and The Microphones lately.

Other stuff you should hear at least once before you can die happy:
The Unicorns
The Vermicious Knid
Wintersleep
The Shins
The Sourkeys
The Decemberists
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Arcade Fire (see them if you get a chance, they're touring the states soon, so there's no reason you Americans shouldn't! Best live performance I've ever seen)
Refused
Raising The Fawn
Les Savy Fav
Godspeed You Black Emperor
Frog Eyes
Elliott Smith
Cursive
A Northern Chorus

 

[KagePrototype]

DIsturbed have a talented vocalist, and that's about it as far as I can tell.

 

[Zerimski]

I think a lot of people on here would appreciate The Paper Chase and McLusky (who just broke up! So sad).

McLusky just broke up? :O

And do you happen to know whether or not the The Decemberists supported Cake on their recent tour? I recognise the name, but I'm not sure where from.

 

[IonizeMyAtoms]

McLusky just broke up? :O

And do you happen to know whether or not the The Decemberists supported Cake on their recent tour? I recognise the name, but I'm not sure where from.

Yeah, like literally this past week, I think! It sucks, I had a chance to see them a few months ago but I didn't go!

I'm not sure about the Decemberists thing, sounds kind of familiar

 

[Zerimski]

Yeah, they did. I looked up their website and checked some images. In that case, I caught the last song and a half of their set and thought that they were alright.

 

[dj_flameskull]

DIsturbed have a talented vocalist, and that's about it as far as I can tell.

YEa. that's 101% true! :bounce: i love the voice when he shouts n screams. The double bass drums and heavily distorted guitars go very well with each other :cheers:

 

[IonizeMyAtoms]

Disturbed's singer's voice makes me want to hammer nails into my ears

 

[pgop_7922]

Apartment 26 - Jazz Metal

Manu Chao - Technosalsa!


I really like those 2, and im more into Alternative/Rock Music.
All time favorite band: Garbage.
Last album i liked: Autobiography, the CD is pretty good, but her life performances...THEY SUCK...and thats sad cuz her album is kinda good....and the Lip psync performance p*ssed me off.

I dont listen to anything that has something to do with hate, satan, or any kind of tragedy, i have enough drama in the real world. I dont like metal cuz theyre always screaming.

Anyone heard of Dreamtheatre...i think its classified as a Rock Orchestra by some music magazine, its REALLY good if you like Instrumental Rock.

 

[Ennui]

How Led Zeppelin is folk metal I have absolutely no clue. Unless having a guitar in your music automatically makes it metal, and having overly long flute solos makes it folk, of course, but I don't think that's the case.

I don't quite see the logic in that statement either, but hell, there are some random people online...